When fans generally think of shojo manga, romance and love stories centering around the lives of high school girls come to mind. Shojo is a demographic filled with many compelling and wonderful stories just waiting to be read.
However, for fans of shojo manga who may be a little tired of reading the same plot lines with similar female leads, there's no need to worry. Here are some recommendations for the best shojo manga with male leads.
Earl Cain (1991-1994) And Godchild (2001-2003)
Earl Cain and Godchild (sequel) are gothic horror shojo manga written and illustrated by Kaori Yuki, with both being featured in Hana to Yume magazine. Earl Cain consists of five volumes while Godchild has eight.
Set in Victorian England, Earl Cain focuses on Cain Hargreaves, the 17-year-old son of the wealthy Hargreaves family. As a child, Cain was emotionally and physically abused by his father, Alexis Hargreaves. When Alexis supposedly died, Cain inherited the Hargreaves estate. Standing alongside him is his butler, 28-year-old Riffael Raffit (Riff for short). Later in the story, Cain finds out he has an orphaned half-sister living on the streets named Mary Weather and virtually adopts her, allowing her to stay with them in his father’s home.
Alexis Hargreaves and his sinister organization, Delilah, are the story's antagonists. They conduct unauthorized experiments on corpses, hoping to revive the dead. These resurrected corpses survive on organs “donated” by living people. One of the main antagonists spawning from Delilah is Cain’s half-brother, Jizabel Disraeli. Alongside Jizabel is his assistant, a 35-year-old man with dwarfism named Cassian. Due to his condition, Cassian doesn't look much older than a young teenager.
It’s important to note that Cain Saga features incestuous relationships and glosses over the concept of pedophilia – 20-year-old Oscar Gabriel actively pursues the 10-year-old Mary Weather, saying he wants to marry her when she's older. This is played off as a joke, but their relationship may seem disturbing to many readers.
Banana Fish (1985 – 1994)
Banana Fish, written and illustrated by Akimi Yoshida, spans 19 volumes and features side stories like Angel Eyes and the alternate epilogue, Garden of Light. The story begins in 1973, during the Vietnam War. Griffin Callenreese, an American soldier, tries to kill his own squad. His friend and fellow soldier, Max Glenreed, stops him by shooting him in the leg. While injured, all Griffin can mutter are two words: “Banana Fish.”
12 years pass and Griffin is still alive, but in a vegetative state under the care of his younger brother, Aslan (Ash) Callenreese. Ash, a 17-year-old teenager, is the leader of a gang in New York City. After the prologue in Vietnam, the story starts with Ash patrolling the streets until he finds a man offering him some kind of powder encased in a bag. The man is muttering the address to someone’s home in California and, before he dies, he says the same words Griffin always says: “Banana Fish.” Ash investigates this strange incident, entangling himself with the Corsican mob boss, Dino Golzine.
Away from Golzine and Ash, two Japanese citizens arrive in New York: a photojournalist named Shunichi Ibe and his assistant, Eiji Okumura. They've traveled from Japan to America to do research on the gangs frequenting the streets. Soon, Eiji and Ibe fall into Ash’s world of crime and deceit, helping him unlock the secrets behind the elusive “Banana Fish.”
No.6 (2011 – 2013)
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No.6 is a futuristic, dystopian shojo story set in a Utopian society. The manga was written by Atsuko Asano and illustrated by Hinoki Kino. Asano also wrote the light novels which are published under the same title.
Although No.6 is considered a dystopian fiction series, the city could be considered a utopia by its citizens. Protagonist Shion was raised in a highly privileged and elite environment, only receiving the best schooling and care. Shion is a sheltered boy with little to no understanding of the world outside the “perfect” city, No.6. On his 12th birthday, he meets a fugitive boy named Nezumi (Rat). This meeting will soon change Shion's life and the way he looks at his home.
No.6 is a creative work filled with suspense and adventure as Shion learns to navigate the slums built outside the city. The series is often praised for its LGBT representation and well-written characters.
I Love You, Baby (2002 – 2005)
Yoko Maki's I Love You, Baby focuses on Kippei, a high school student with an energetic personality. While popular among his classmates, he's also created a negative reputation for being a playboy among the girls in his class. Kippei’s life is turned upside down when he’s asked to watch over his abandoned five-year-old cousin, Yuzuyu. He learns to care for his cousin while juggling his growing romantic feelings for his classmate, Kokoro.
Despite what the plot may suggest, I Love You, Baby focuses on the platonic relationship between Yuzuyu and Kippei - but there is a little romance between Kippei and Kokoro as well. It holds strong themes of family bonds, showing the adorable, growing relationship between Kippei and Yuzuyu throughout. Unlike a lot of shojo manga, I Love You, Baby doesn’t take a disturbing turn for the worst -- making Yuzuyu grow up to marry or date her much older cousin – so fans don’t have to worry about potentially triggering content.
Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star (1997 – 1998) and Cowboy Bebop (1998 – 2000)
Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star was written by Hajime Yatate and illustrated by Cain Kuga. It was published in Kodakawa Shoten, with Tokyopop handling the English translation of the two-volume series. Shooting Star is not the only manga published under the Cowboy Bebop title. Another manga was created, titled simply Cowboy Bebop.
Unlike the hit anime series, Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star and the Cowboy Bebop manga don't have overarching plot lines. Instead, they focus on side stories featuring the Bebop crew: Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Faye Valentine, Ed and Ein.
There are many popular shojos out there with excellent female leads and well-written stories, but sometimes it can get dull reading about the love lives of high school girls over and over. For die-hard shojo fans tired of reading the same story with different characters, these are some great shojo manga with awesome male leads.