Josei can range from a boy and girl who become a couple after blackmailing each other to an eccentric woman who's extremely talented at playing the piano. It also frequently features more realistic portrayals of romance and situations, unlike shoujo where everything is resolved by the power of love and rainbows.
With the dawn of a new decade a month behind us, we're taking this time to take a look back at all the josei manga that was created through the years. Without further ado, here is the 10 greatest josei manga of the decade according to Goodreads.
10 BEAUTY BUNNY (2014) - (4.04)
Beauty Bunny was written and illustrated by Mario Yoshino, the creator of beloved shoujo manga, Peach Heaven. It follows the story of 17-year-old Kohane Yoshino, a girl who isn't as interested in makeup compared to other high school girls. But on the first day of her new school in Tokyo Iori Yashima, the son of Yashima Cosmetics, calls her ugly.
Kohane hates his large ego until he does her makeup and she realizes he's a pro at it. Beauty Bunny tells the important story that makeup isn't to make you look artificial but to enhance a person's beauty and confidence.
9 QQ SWEEPER (2014) - (4.08)
Created by Kyousuke Motomi, a female mangaka who rather use a masculine pen name because of judgment, QQ Sweeper has a premise that takes its name seriously. Fumi Nishioka is a homeless 16-year-old girl with amnesia who uses an unused room in school as her bedroom. But when she's found by Kyutaro Horikita, a second-year-student with a knack for cleaning, she begins to realize some things are amiss.
She discovers the Horikita family are "Sweepers" -- people who enter other's psyche to clean their minds of bad things, as well as how she has a dormant power inside of her called "Queen" -- the power of mind control, throwing her world into chaos.
8 DEVILS AND REALIST (2014) - (4.14)
Devils and Realist was written by Madoka Takadono and illustrated by Utako Yukihiro. In England of 1889, after 17-year-old genius aristocrat William Twinning learns of his family's bankruptcy, he also happens to accidentally summon a demon while looking for money to pay his tuition.
The demon, Dantalion (named after the Great Duke of Hell) reveals to him that he holds the power to choose the ruler over hell because he's the reincarnation/descendant of Solomon. Because Devils and Realist features nothing but a cast of pretty boys, it's targeted towards women, making it a josei to many others' surprise. The manga is in-depth about its history and magic, making for an enjoyable read.
7 PERFECT WORLD (2015) - (4.16)
This manga was brought to life by newcomer mangaka Rie Aruga. There aren't any manga that deal with disabilities, and when they do, it's usually a big misinterpretation. When 26-year-old Tsugumi Kawana reunites with her crush from high school, Itsuki Ayukawa, she's surprised to find he's now in a wheelchair.
Although she rejects the idea of dating a man in a wheelchair at first, she begins to realize she still holds feelings for him. Perfect World is a look inside how an "imperfect" and "perfect" person fall in love, a look inside the difficulty of disabilities, and the complications ahead of them.
6 QUEEN'S QUALITY (2016) - (4.18)
Sequels either garner extreme hate or more love, and it seems like Queen's Quality is the latter. Continuing from where QQ Sweeper left off, Fumi's then-dormant power Queen has begun to grow as well as become strong enough to make her lose her sense of morality.
In contrast to the semi-lighthearted tone of the original manga, the sequel takes a darker turn, fighting with the rules of right and wrong. The bond, as well as the romance between the two leads, also progresses. Both QQ Sweeper and Queen's Quality hold a story that will be sure to engage fans of the darker aspects of fantasy.
5 HOUSE OF THE SUN (2010 - 2015) - (4.23)
Winner of the 38th Kodansha Manga Award and brought to you by mangaka Ta'amo, House of the Sun centers on the life of 17-year-old Mao Motomiya and the Nakamuras. When she was a child, the Nakamura household was her sanctuary from her strained family. But when they die in an accident, Mao loses her safe place altogether. After some troubles, her childhood friend, 24-year-old Hiro Nakamura, invites Mao to live with him.
House of the Sun deals with dealing with feelings of remorse, abandonment, and holding hope even in the darkest of moments. With Mao's goal being to turn the Nakamura household into a place of laughter, tears, and magic, House of the Sun is sure to pull a few heartstrings.
4 WOTAKOI: LOVE IS HARD FOR OTAKU (2018) - (4.23)
Before anime watchers made Fiction by Sumika a meme, Wotakoi began from humble beginnings. First uploaded as a webmanga by Fujita on Pixiv in 2014, a Japanese online community for artists, it exploded in popularity soon afterward. It was serialized as a manga, and then, made into an anime in Spring 2018.
When childhood friends Narumi Momose, a fujoshi otaku, and Hirotaka Nifuji, a gamer otaku who has been in love with her for a long time, begin dating they realize quickly how hard it is for otaku like them to date normally. It also follows another couple, Hanako and Tarou. The comedy as well as straying away from cliches has made Wotakoi into a fan favorite josei.
3 DAYTIME SHOOTING STAR (2011 - 2014) - (4.37)
When a manga receives a collab clothing line with the creator, Mika Yamamori, you know it's good. After Suzume Yosano moves from the boonies to Tokyo to live with her uncle, she happens to bump into a man with an odd appearance, Shishio, en route to his house.
Suzume soon discovers he's her homeroom teacher and her uncle's friend, and through seeing him frequently, she falls in love with him. And since nothing can be as easy as you think in romance manga, the boy who sits in front of her, Daiki Mamura, begins to fall for her as well.
2 A SILENT VOICE (2011) - (4.38)
A Silent Voice, or sometimes preferred to be called by its Japanese name The Shape of Voice, was written and illustrated by Yoshitoki Ouima. Most adore of the film version over the manga, while others prefer vice-versa. It tells the story of Shoya Ishida, a former bully who used to torment the female protagonist in elementary school, Shouko Nishimiya, for being deaf.
After Shouko transferred because the bullying became too severe, Shoya's so-called friends who also used to bully Shouko turned on him, making him an outcast. However, when Shouko transfers into the same high school as him, Shoya decides to redeem himself by treating her nicer this time around.
1 YOUR NAME (2017) - (4.41)
Your Name, or at first more recognized as Kimi no Na Wa, was the anime movie that thrust Makoto Shinkai into the spotlight and is also the most popular anime movie of all time. For those who didn't want to watch the movie, a novel, as well as a manga, was released. Your Name tells the body-switching story of Mitsuha Miyamizu and Taki Tachibana.
It follows the idea of fate and destiny, with each action they perform in the other's body critical to their lives. Even in manga form, it captured the essence of the movie in 3 volumes, also written by Makoto Shinkai, as well as the votes of readers for this decade.