Please recommend some Josei and maybe shoujo romance

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Jul 15, 2023
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Hey there, first and foremost i'm a guy. I generally hate shoujo and dislike josei.
Second i do recognize that josei can sometimes create fantastic romance stories that do not infringe on dignity of opposite gender.
Now to what i seek is quite simple, a mature romance likely with josei demography and growth of them or at least something akin to slice of life
My reference:Hokuo Kizoku to Moukinzuma no Yukiguni Karigurashi <-- Easily one of the best i've read, simply because of it i couldn't completely abandon Josei demographic. While still somewhat silly because husband was a little feminine and wife was masculine it was majestic to this slice of life peace without major dramas and simply a good family being cultivated. And even their trait reversal slowly became traditional. Wife became more motherly and wife like while husband became fatherly and husband like in traditional sense of things. There was no need for 3rd wheels or love triangles, no major dramas (not artificial bs at least).

WHAT I DO NOT WHAT TO SEE: FMC that has harems, openely(or closely) flirts with guys even with established partners basically speaking FMC (and MMC) who respect monogamy to the fullest extent, bad behavior is being ignored or even praised, overly predatory MMC's or autistic.
My reference(hate was born from this):Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii <-- Story about princess Nikea and her younger husband Emperor, where scummy men kidnap, attempt to violate her and husband safes her everytime and she defends them. This one was so wrong on so many levels, a teen i disliked it as a man i hated it. From logical standpoint she sullied and ruined Emperors reputation and authority. Started to watch as anime, was ok then read manga and hated it, years later returned only to drop it. As i've read this i couldn't sympathize with Nikea nor with her husband. One was stockholm syndrome maiden whose chastity is always in the hands of evil guys and the other despite prior to marriage "conquering the world" because of his smarts and etc. easily loses all prior achievements. The most aggravating thing is that all of those who insulted him were his subjects and after defeating them Nikea shielded them from just punishment..........

So yeah, would be nice to find something with similar theme as Hokuo Kizoku to Moukinzuma no Yukiguni Karigurashi while utterly avoiding Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii. I ask this because female specific genres can be quite painful to read, for me at least.
 
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Jan 9, 2023
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Dive into the works of Kodama Yuki and don't look back :salute: (there will be romance drama, but in a mature kind of way)

If you haven't checked out Sahara Mizu/Yumeka Sumomo, I strongly recommend her as well. She's an author who successfully blurs the line between josei and seinen and is worth the read regardless of demographic.

I don't think I ever seen an isekai/lite fantasy with a worthwhile romance, but I'm guessing it's because the overlap for the target markets is pretty narrow.
 
Joined
Nov 15, 2024
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big second to Ase Sekken by Yamada Kintetsu. One of my favourite Josei. No one makes crazy choices but its pretty funny overall. The main character has good development over time because shes got some stuff going on at the beginning but its just normal self-confidence stuff. Plus it's just good vibes.

Also recommend Honnou Switch
 

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