Covers all of Wish by CLAMP

I can be your angle or yuor devil. Shojo and Tell host Ashley and journey-through-all-of-CLAMP pal Asher Sofman go on a bizarre adventure with CLAMP’s JoJo’s fanfiction. Topics of discussion include gender pronouns, purity, tests of love, and shipping, where the conclusion is that the most interesting romantic ship is between Shuichiro and his mom, Hotaru, who is a tree fairy. We know this manga about the angel Kohaku was very formative to plenty of people. Please explain to us why?

REFERENCES

• Wish is available from Dark Horse Comics
• Wish is JoJo's Bizarre Adventure fanfiction
• Everyone on Archive of Our Own won a Hugo Award
• "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction
• If you like Wish, you will like Phantom Thief Jeanne
• Original "Heaven is a Place on Earth" by Belinda Carlisle
• We got so wrecked by Devilman Crybaby
• Everyone should read Tokyo Babylon
• Outro song: Remix of "Heaven is a Place on Earth" by Kill Frenzy

CONTACT US

• Asher on Archive of Our Own: dashery
• Shojo & Tell on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram
• Ashley on Twitter: @AshMcD00

Next episode will be about Behind the Scenes!! by Bisco Hatori

Covers all seven volumes of A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Ōima

It’s a Shojo & Tell first: We’re acknowledging the worthiness of a shonen series. A Silent Voice became one of the most beloved manga of our time thanks to its raw and emotional exploration of bullying and its portrayal of living with a disability. On this episode, voice actress Kimlinh Tran and Shojo & Tell host Ashley discuss whether Shoya is a redeemable character, the effectiveness of punishment, and who wins first place for being the worst character (there are so many top contenders!). Of course, there are also comparisons between the manga and the movie adaptation (spoiler alert: the manga is better, and pushes what the medium can do in its valiant efforts to convey what living is like with deafness) and a weird shipping corner that’s mostly just about Naoka and Miyoko. Lots of ranting about how terrible these kids were to Shoko (and how relatable that is) ensues. 

REFERENCES

• A Silent Voice is available from Kodansha Comics
• The movie adaptation is available on Netflix right now
• The movie adaptation has been receiving love once again in the wake of the deadly arson attack on Kyoto Animation
• Because A Silent Voice (the movie) and Your Name came out around the same time, there was a silly war about which one is better
• Kimlinh has voice acted in: Beyblade Burst Turbo, The Rising of the Shield Hero, Cells at Work, etc.
• Jennifer Lawrence, Gone Girl, and The Cool Girl
• Outro song: lit(var) by Kensuke Ushio from the A Silent Voice soundtrack, which you can purchase on iTunes

CONTACT

• You can find Kimlinh on Twitter (@KimlinhTran), Twitch (@hnilmik), and Facebook (@hnilmik)
• Follow the podcast on Twitter, Instagram, or Tumblr
• Follow Ashley on Twitter @AshMcD00

Our next episode will be about all four volumes of WISH by CLAMP.

Covers They Were Eleven, A, A Prime, and A Drunken Dream, all short works by Moto Hagio

In honor of the release of The Poe Clan by Moto Hagio, longtime manga reviewer Kate Dacey (@manga_critic on Twitter) and Shojo & Tell host Ashley take a look at some of Hagio’s shorter works. They talk about how rare and refreshing it is to read a shojo scifi story, Hagio’s influence on the space of girl’s comics, and how the exploration of gender in THEY WERE ELEVEN and A,A' does or doesn’t align with our modern understanding of gender. If you learn nothing else from this podcast, remember: Iguanas and bulls forever.

Click here for a transcript of this episode

REFERENCES

• Unfortunately, all the Moto Hagio works covered on the podcast are out of print. You can generally find cheap copies of They Were Eleven from eBay and other used sellers, though.
• Support the recent released of The Poe Clan, also by Moto Hagio
• Kate contributed to Manga: Introduction, Challenges, and Best Practices
• Other science fiction shojo manga: Please Save My Earth, Clover, X/1999, Jyu-Oh-Sei, Moon Child, A.I. Revolution
• Absolute Boyfriend by Yu Watase
• Boys Over Flowers by Yoko Kamio
• Masters of long works: Naoki Urasawa, Rumiko Takahashi, Katsuhiro Otomo, Osamu Tezuka
• Other Moto Hagio works: Otherworld Barbara, Heart of Thomas
• People crucial to publishing Hagio’s works in America: Rachel Thorn, Fantagraphics
• The saga of Four Shojo Stories
• Urusei Yatsura was also initially published in floppies by Viz
• Influential female manga artists: Machiko Hasegawa, Hideko Mizuno, Keiko Takemiya
• Other queer shojo series from the ’70s: Claudine, The Rose of Versailles (releasing soon in the US!)
• Random other authors mentioned: David Levithan, Madeleine L'Engle, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Shirley Jackson
• Outro song: "Smiles Its Me!" by Danosongs

CONTACT US

• Kate on the Internet: @manga_critic on Twitter, Manga Critic on Manga Bookshelf
• Shojo & Tell on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr
• Ashley on Twitter: @AshMcD00

Covers volumes 10-18 of OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB by Bisco Hatori

OURAN superfan Rose Bridges, manga reviewer Aisha Soleil chat, and Shojo & Tell host Ashley are back to talk about even more host club hijinks. Specifically, this episode is basically about everything that wasn't adapted into the anime version. (You've been warned.) The three dive into more comparisons between the anime and manga, discuss some responses from listeners about their favorite host club boys (y'all are such haters about the twins, you know that?), talk about why there aren't more reverse harem series of late, and have a 40-minute Shipping Corner. There is just so much to say about Haruhi x Tamaki x Kyoya, okay?

REFERENCES

CONTACT

If you have any comments or questions, you can email [email protected]

Please leave a rating in iTunes or Stitcher!

The podcast is going on hiatus until September 2019! What the next episode is going to be about is still a mystery.

Covers volumes 1-9 of OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB by Bisco Hatori

Bisco Hatori’s breakout hit has made everyone laugh at pretty rich boys and their host club hijinks for over a decade. At the same time, it’s got a fair amount of problematic takes in it. So should OURAN be considered a must-read classic? OURAN superfan Rose Bridges and manga reviewer Aisha Soleil chat with Shojo & Tell host Ashley about who their favorite boy is (lots of unpopular opinions abound, but we can all agree that Haruhi Fujioka is the best part of this manga) and dissect the ups and downs of Ranka’s portrayal as a drag queen. Of course, there's also plenty of talk about gender being a performance, social class being a different kind of performance, and how the facade of the Host Club lets characters be their authentic selves. Welcome to Music Room #3.

REFERENCES

• Ouran High School Host Club is available from Viz Media
  • Support small businesses and purchase from MangaMart!
• Lots of talk about similarities with Fruits Basket
• Tamaki is voiced by Vic Mignogna in the English dub, and he has been accused of sexual misconduct
• Read The Power by Naomi Alderman
• Follow the Manga Mavericks podcast
• What's a fujoshi?
• Ouran definitely inspired Maid-sama!
• Author Bisco Hatori will be attending Anime Expo this year
• Please tell me! Galko-chan 
• Cranbrook Kingswood, aka, "IRL Ouran"
• Super cool to eat at The Ratty
• Crazy Rich Asians, aka, more mainstream Ouran
• Yōji Enokido was a screenwriter on both the Utena and Ouran anime
• Still waiting on that Udon release of Rose of Versailles
• Reminder that you can legally watch all of the Revolutionary Girl Utena anime subbed on YouTube for free
• If you're really into Lobeila in Ouran, get into Strawberry Panic
• Modern Ouran: Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun
• Outro song: A cover of "Sakura Kiss" by AmaLee, which you can buy on iTunes

CONTACT

• Follow Rose on Twitter @composerose
• Follow Aisha on Instagram @MommaLuvsManga
• Watch Aisha's manga reviews on her YouTube channel
• Follow the podcast on Twitter, Instagram, or Tumblr
• Follow Ashley on Twitter @AshMcD00

If you have any comments or questions, you can email [email protected]

Please leave a rating in iTunes or Stitcher!

The next podcast episode will be about Ouran High School Host Club volumes 10-18 (which is the second half).

Covers all of Phantom Thief Jeanne by Arina Tanemura

This is the first series by Arina Tanemura discussed on the podcast! What the heck’s a Phantom Thief, and what does it have to do with Jeanne d’Arc? Wait, God and some angels are here, too? There’s time travel? Long-time Tanemura fan Laura Spicer, Shojo & Tell host Ashley, and begrudging participant Asher Sofman delve into “Arina’s Christianity fanfiction” to discuss purity politics, how the anime compares to the manga, and how everyone in this manga got with the wrong person except Finn Fish and Access Time. (Chiaki doesn’t deserve Maron! HE DOESN’T DESERVE ANYBODY!) Also, did you know that Jeanne d’Arc and Eve (of Adam and Eve fame) are the same? Yeah. You’re in Tanemura land now. Proceed with caution.

REFERENCES

CONTACT US

Next episode will be about the first 9 volumes of Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori

Covers all of Tokyo Babylon by CLAMP

In an alternate Tokyo, Subaru, Seishiro, and Hokuto have otherworldly adventures in this prequel to CLAMP’s unfinished series, X. In a poll about which CLAMP series we should cover next, Tokyo Babylon came out victorious. We’re here to give the people what they want, so on this episode, Shojo & Tell host Ashley and her journey-through-all-of-CLAMP buddy Asher Sofman answer many listener questions, like: Does Seishiro love Subaru? Why is Hokuto so great? What’s the true nature of evil? What were our favorite cases? This is a heavy episode to go with a heavy manga. Watch out for the turn about 30 minutes in. You’ve been warned.

REFERENCES

CONTACT US

Next episode will be about Phantom Thief Jeanne by Arina Tanemura.

Covers all of EVERYONE’S GETTING MARRIED by Izumi Miyazono

This is a josei battle of wills as our heroine (Asuka) wants nothing more than to get married and become a homemaker, while the man she’s fallen for (Ryu) is determined to never be bound by the plague of marriage. (Can’t imagine who wins this war.) Aisha Soleil of MommaLuvsManga tells Shojo & Tell host Ashley what makes EVERYONE’S GETTING MARRIED stand out among other josei fare (the feminism is strong here!) and both constantly dunk on the love rival, Kamiya, for being the worst. Aisha and Ashley also lament that there weren’t enough sexy times in this manga, even though there was a PRIME opportunity for Asuka and Ryu to show off their sexting skills. Honestly, this episode might be a little TMI. You’ve been warned.

REFERENCES

CONTACT US

A bonus episode discussing the release of the first two episodes of the new FRUITS BASKET anime in theaters and the performance of PRETTY GUARDIAN SAILOR MOON: THE SUPER LIVE in Washington, DC for the start of the Cherry Blossom Festival. Shojo & Tell host Ashley and friendo Asher delve into the highs and lows of these shojo special events.

REFERENCES

CONTACT US

Covers all of The Young Master’s Revenge by Meca Tanaka

What if you had scars on your butt. From being bitten by snapping turtles when you were little. That is the whole premise of this comedy from Meca Tanaka, and for such a quick, silly series, it really is delightful. The revenge that Leo, the boy with the turtle butt scars, wants to exact on his childhood friend and crush Tenma of course turns into true love. You’ve seen all these tropes before, but not quite with this amount of disregard and subtle subversion. Shojo & Tell host Ashley and librarian and manga reviewer Anna discuss their favorite scenes (girls kabedon'ing boys!!), how this slots into the current crop of shojo manga with male leads, and have a very silly shipping corner. A short and sweet episode for a short and sweet series!

Click here for a transcription of this episode

REFERENCES

• The Young Master’s Revenge is available in English from Viz Media
• “I Like Turtles” Meme
• One of the most epic mashups of all time that samples the “I like turtles” meme
• If you like Maid-Sama, you’ll probably like The Young Master’s Revenge
• What the heck is a kabedon?
• Other shojo manga with male leads: My Love Story!!, Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, *Behinds the Scenes!!, [Otomen*]9
• The one thing in Shonen Jump with a female lead: The Promised Neverland
• Outro song: “Smile Its Me!” by Danosongs

CONTACT US

• Anna on Twitter: @tangognat 
• Anna’s manga reviews on Manga Bookshelf
• Shojo & Tell on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram
• Ashley on Twitter: @AshMcD00