Shojo & Tell: A Manga Podcast
122 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsA manga discussion podcast focusing on shojo (and josei!) series that make your heart go doki-doki. Covering classics like CLAMP’s “Cardcaptor Sakura” and Yuu Watase’s “Fushigi Yuugi” to newer favorites like Kazune Kawahara’s “My Love Story!!” and Hiro Fujiwara’s “Maid Sama!”
Shojo & Tell host Ashley McDonnell discusses one series per episode with a rotating shojo superfan. We're recreating all those impassioned rants you'd have with your friends about your favorite series, just in podcast form.
Shojo [or shoujo] manga: Japanese comics made for young women. A breath of fresh air after reading over 100 volumes of “One Piece.” The underappreciated sibling of all those same-y never-ending shonen titles.
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Episodes
After School Nightmare Pt. 2 (with Mouna Toure)
November 13, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 71.1 MBCovers volumes 6–10 of After School Nightmare by Setona Mizushiro Welcome back to discuss the second half of a manga that is full of twists and turns. This episode, cartoonist Mouna Toure and Shojo & Tell host Ashley have more questions than answers after that whirlwind of an ending. Like, was there ever a real Ai?? Were there two Mashiro Ichijos? No, seriously, _what was up with Sou and Ai_? Mouna and Ashley reprise certain topics, like intersex representation, in light of After School Nig...
After School Nightmare Pt. 1 (with Mouna Toure)
October 30, 2020 15:22 - 1 hour - 84.9 MBCovers volumes 1–5 of After School Nightmare by Setona Mizushiro Welcome to the most mysterious and frightening after school club you’ll ever join. Content warning for sexual assault and gender essentialism themes. This is a manga that isn't afraid to go to dark places, as its intersex main character, Mashiro Ichijo, grapples with his gender (he currently identifies as a "he") and fights his fellow classmates in a collective nightmare, hoping to graduate. Cartoonist Mouna Toure and Shojo & ...
Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden Pt. 2 (with Caitlin, Sara, and Zahra)
October 19, 2020 04:00 - 1 hour - 31.7 MBCovers volumes 7–12 of Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden by Yuu Watase Caitlin (OG Fushigi Yugi superfan), Sara Linsley (manga letterer extraordinaire), and Zahra Ymer (manga scholar in training), and Ashley (Shojo & Tell host) are back for the second half of Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden, aka The Better Fushigi Yugi (sorry, OG FY). This episode gets heavy: The primary topic is about accepting death (it's better if you know going in that priestess Takiko is going to die!). All four talk about the poi...
Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden Pt. 1 (with Caitlin, Sara, and Zahra)
September 17, 2020 04:00 - 1 hour - 81.2 MBCovers volumes 1–6 of Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden by Yuu Watase Genbu Kaiden is Shojo & Tell host Ashley's second-favorite manga (behind only the illustrious Maid-Sama!), and so, this episode has several special guests. Caitlin (OG Fushigi Yugi superfan), Sara Linsley (manga letterer extraordinaire), and Zahra Ymer (manga scholar in training), and Ashley discuss how the series compares to its predecessor, pick apart Watase's sidebar notes (she thinks she'd be Tomite if she were a boy?!), faw...
Paradise Kiss (with Lucy and Robin from CLAMPcast in Wonderland)
July 31, 2020 04:00 - 2 hours - 68.3 MBCovers all of Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa. Welcome to the world of high fashion (or at least, high drama). Paradise Kiss is one of those rare josei titles that got released in English, and it had a huge impact on this episode's special guests, Robin and Lucy (who host the podcast CLAMPcast in Wonderland). Ai Yazawa's work is relatable in many ways, and really inspired Shojo & Tell host Ashley to want to make some art after reading it. In the podcast, Robin, Lucy, and Ashley discuss the conne...
Preview Guide 5: Fushigi Yugi: Byakko Senki
July 23, 2020 14:09 - 30 minutes - 28.2 MBThis is a review of Fushigi Yugi: Byakko Senki volume 1, a new series by Yuu Watase that's going to be released by Viz. Whether you've read the original Fushigi Yugi and Genbu Kaiden or not, you should be hype for the latest (and last) installment in Yuu Watase's beloved series. Byakko Senki is set slightly after Genbu Kaiden and follows Suzuno as she struggles with the sudden loss of her parents and being the destined priestess inside The Universe of the Four Gods. Fushigi Yugi has always ...
Haruka Pt. 2 (with Asher Sofman)
July 16, 2020 04:00 - 1 hour - 33.4 MBCovers volumes 10–17 of Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time by Tohko Mizuno. We’re back to discuss the second half of Haruka, a manga series based on one of the earliest otome game franchises. Suddenly, the story remembers it’s a romance, and all eight of the guardians realize they're vying for the priestess Akane’s heart. And she starts to see all of them as the sexy menfolk they are. (Except Yasuaki, who is still the best. But he's a golem (or is he a homunculus?), so we get it.) Shojo & Te...
Haruka Pt. 1 (with Asher Sofman)
July 02, 2020 01:38 - 1 hour - 38.3 MBCovers volumes 1–9 of Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time by Tohko Mizuno. Haruka (perhaps more widely known as Harukanaru Toki no Naka de) was one of the first-ever otome games, and it launched a franchise that spun off into manga and anime adaptations as well. Though the series didn’t gain popularity in the United States, we thought HARUKA was important to cover for its historical context. In this episode, Shojo & Tell host Ashley and her boytoy Asher journey back to the Heian era with Akan...
Fruits Basket Another (with Jacob Chapman)
June 17, 2020 05:00 - 1 hour - 55 MBCovers all three volumes of Fruits Basket another by Natsuki Takaya Would you like to have another basket of fruit? Natsuki Takaya shows us what the kids of everyone from the original Fruits Basket cast are like in this sequel to the blockbuster series. Another centers around Sawa Mitoma, aka NegaTohru, as she suffers abuse from her single mother and meets the Sohma kids in high school. In this podcast, Fruits Basket fanatic Jacob and Shojo & Tell host Ashley get into whether this sequel se...
Angelic Layer (with Aisha Soleil and Asher Sofman) [Shonen Exception #2]
June 03, 2020 04:00 - 1 hour - 31.1 MBCovers all five volumes of Angelic Layer by CLAMP. What if battle shonen, but for GIRLS? That's the premise of Angelic Layer, where young girls get to fight with super-cool dolls that they control with their minds (OK, Ohjiro can play too). Upon coming to Tokyo, Misaki immediately becomes smitten with this game and learns the ropes very quickly. Shojo & Tell host Ashley, her boytoy Asher, and guest Aisha discuss the gender dynamics of the manga (moms can play with VR tech too!!), the fanfic...
Beast Master (with Asher Sofman)
May 20, 2020 04:00 - 57 minutes - 26.5 MBCovers both volumes of Beast Master by Kyousuke Motomi "There is a beast inside of each of us that protects the things we hold dear." That’s the driving force behind this short story from Kyousuke Motomi (Dengeki Daisy, QQ Sweeper). It follows Yuiko as she tries to tame the beast of a boy named Leo. Shojo & Tell host Ashley and her boytoy Asher discuss how moar money leads to moar problems in Leo’s family, why English is wrong for having “fear” and “hatred” be separate words, how this story...
Ao Haru Ride Pt. 1 (with Shojo Beat Senior Editor Nancy Thistlethwaite)
May 08, 2020 14:00 - 1 hour - 57 MBCovers volumes 1–7 of Ao Haru Ride (aka Blue Spring Ride) by Io Sakisaka. Ao Haru Ride is the story of sweethearts Futaba and Kou after they were separated in middle school and reunited in high school. On this special episode, Nancy Thistlethwaite (the editor of the series for Viz Media's Shojo Beat!) delves into the enduring appeal of Io Sakisaka's work, how Ao Haru Ride pays homage to We Were There by Yuki Obata, and explains the use of some unexpected slang. This is also the first time t...
That Wolf-Boy is Mine! (with letterer Sara Linsley)
April 22, 2020 04:00 - 45 minutes - 41.7 MBCovers all 4 volumes of That Wolf-Boy is Mine! by Yoko Nogiri That Wolf-Boy is Mine! is a lot cuter and more innocent than its title suggests. Four hot boys can shapeshift into animals in a story that's a much lighter and faster FRUITS BASKET. Sara Linsley, the letterer of the series, explains what exactly a letterer does in manga, and why she loves working on Yoko Nogiri's series so much. Discussion topics include: Who is best boy (of course!), how cool Komugi is (so cool), and how actuall...
Meteor Prince (with Asher Sofman)
April 08, 2020 04:00 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBCovers both volumes of Meteor Prince by Meca Tanaka. A wild and whacky ride awaits in this super-short series about an alien named Io (who is essentially Tamaki Suoh from Ouran High School Host Club) looking for his soul mate, Hako, on Earth. Shojo & Tell host Ashley and her lover Asher dive deep into the use of soul mates in literature and have an excessively silly shipping corner. Remember: You and me, baby, ain't nothing but mammals, so let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel. ...
Preview Guide 4: Not Your Idol
April 02, 2020 01:30 - 24 minutes - 22.7 MBThis is a review of Not Your Idol volume 1, a new series by Aoi Makino that's going to be released by Viz. Not Your Idol tackles the ups and downs of idol culture in Japan (as you can probably tell from the title). It follows a girl named Nina, who was once the leader of the idol group Pure Club. At an event for Pure Club, she was attacked by a supposed fan, which leads her to drop out of the group and start dressing as a boy to protect herself. That's only the beginning of the drama, thoug...
Basara Pt. 3 (with Caitlin)
March 24, 2020 04:00 - 1 hour - 60.4 MBCovers volumes 19–27 of Basara by Yumi Tamura (the last third of the series). The war epic that is Basara finally comes to an end in this long denouement (and two volumes of side stories). Shojo manga master Caitlin and Shojo & Tell host Ashley answer a listener question about lost limbs, pay tribute to the characters who didn't survive to the end of the story, go into the handling of the later plot developments involving the White King, Ginko, and chat about all the side stories (there wer...
Basara Pt. 2 (with Caitlin)
February 26, 2020 05:00 - 1 hour - 55.6 MBCovers volumes 10–18 of Basara by Yumi Tamura (the middle third of the series). The middle third of Basara contains some wacky stuff, like a baby who's not really a baby and threatens to stab Sarasa. But honestly, we don't get into all that: shojo manga master Caitlin and Shojo & Tell host Ashley discuss the identity crisis of Sarasa/Tatara and how that's wrapped up in gender, get into Ageha as a character and the manga's main theme about reconciling with your perceived enemies, and both ap...
Basara Pt. 1 (with Caitlin)
February 14, 2020 17:08 - 1 hour - 61.9 MBCovers volumes 1–9 of Basara by Yumi Tamura (the first third of the series) Strap in for a classic epic fantasy shojo series with Basara. Though it never quite blew up in the United States, Yumi Tamura's manga is spectacular, and Anime Feminist's Caitlin and Shojo & Tell host Ashley are here to set the record straight about its greatness. Basara tells the story of Tatara, the child of destiny, who's fated to overthrow the evil rulers of Japan. When Tatara dies, his sister, Sarasa, takes his...
Love in Focus (with Asher Sofman)
January 24, 2020 19:02 - 1 hour - 57.7 MBCovers all 3 volumes of Love in Focus by Yoko Nogiri Love in Focus is a very cute and subtly subversive series about a high school love triangle between Mako, Kei, and Mitsuru and their experiences with a photography club. Shojo & Tell host Ashley and her boytoy Asher heap tons of praise on this highly aware manga. Ashley rants about why Kei is too relatable and therefore is aggravating, there's debate about the state of photography in the modern day, and there are revelations about what ma...
Girl Got Game (with Loyola Rankin)
January 03, 2020 00:42 - 1 hour - 67.5 MBCovers all 10 volumes of Girl Got Game (also known as Power!!) by Shizuru Seino Girl Got Game is a basketball manga about Kyo Aizawa, who’s pretending to be a boy so she can play on the men’s team and live out her father’s dream of becoming an NBA star. And yet it’s also not at all a basketball manga, because they never actually play a basketball game. (Okay. Maybe once. In 10 volumes.) Even so, Shojo & Tell host Ashley and her good friendo Loyola Rankin have a soft spot for this ’90s manga...
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness + My Solo Exchange Diary (with Asher Sofman)
December 18, 2019 04:33 - 58 minutes - 54 MBCovers all of My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness and My Solo Exchange Diary by Nagata Kabi Not a shojo manga episode, yet also not a shonen exception: My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness and My Solo Exchange Diary are memoir manga about a young woman’s experience coming out and dealing with deep-rooted depression. In an episode largely fueled by listener questions, Shojo & Tell host Ashley and her lover, Asher Sofman, go over the most #relatable bits of Kabi's life, whether Kabi should...
Behind the Scenes!! (with ShaeGeeksOut)
November 27, 2019 21:14 - 1 hour - 67.3 MBCovers all seven volumes of Behind the Scenes!! by Bisco Hatori What if Ouran High School Host Club, but with college students who are members of the “art squad”? That’s the premise of Bisco Hatori’s follow-up to her smash-hit, formative comedy series. Shae from Shaegeeksout and Shojo & Tell host Ashley discuss all the ways in which Behind the Scenes!! is and is not like Ouran, give some sound dating advice, shout-out the representation of anxiety in Ranmaru, choose which Goda is better (lo...
Wish (with Asher Sofman)
November 02, 2019 21:48 - 1 hour - 63 MBCovers 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. Pleas...
A Silent Voice (with Kimlinh Tran) [Shonen Exception #1]
October 09, 2019 04:15 - 1 hour - 86.9 MBCovers 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 b...
Moto Hagio’s They Were Eleven, A,A', and A Drunken Dream (with Kate Dacey)
September 25, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 80.6 MBCovers 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 o...
Ouran High School Host Club Pt. 2 (with Rose Bridges and Aisha Soleil)
June 27, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 101 MBCovers 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 hate...
Ouran High School Host Club Pt. 1 (with Rose Bridges and Aisha Soleil)
June 13, 2019 15:22 - 1 hour - 102 MBCovers 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 H...
Phantom Thief Jeanne (with Laura Spicer and Asher Sofman)
May 22, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 105 MBCovers 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 i...
Tokyo Babylon (with Asher Sofman)
May 01, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 71.7 MBCovers 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? ...
Everyone’s Getting Married (with Aisha Soleil)
April 15, 2019 02:21 - 1 hour - 103 MBCovers 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 dun...
Bonus: Fruits Basket Theatrical Release and Sailor Moon: The Super Live
March 30, 2019 21:05 - 43 minutes - 39.7 MBA 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 Fruits Basket in theaters Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live to start the Cherry Blossom Festival Our list of iconic shojo anime:...
The Young Master’s Revenge (with Anna Neatrour)
March 22, 2019 21:14 - 53 minutes - 48.7 MBCovers 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 disrega...
My Love Story!! (with the Manga Mavericks Podcast)
March 07, 2019 03:44 - 1 hour - 102 MBCovers all of My Love Story!! by Kazune Kawahara and Aruko Just how subversive (or not) is this story about an unconventionally attractive hero (Takeo Gouda), his best friend (Makoto Sunakawa), and his cute girlfriend (Rinko Yamato)? What’s up with its purity politics? How does it fit into the rise of shojo with male protagonists? How pleasant is it to see a story about characters in a relationship through 97.892749%* of the story, instead of having a series of miscommunications preventing ...
House of the Sun Part 2 (with Kelly Quinn Chiu)
February 27, 2019 05:23 - 1 hour - 109 MBCovers volumes 8–13 of House of the Sun by Taamo One Panel Later co-host, librarian, and manga reviewer Kelly Quinn Chiu and Shojo & Tell host Ashley dig deeper into the small moments that make this sleeper hit from Taamo so special. OK, honestly, Ashley mostly just rants about how Daiki is perfect and how he was robbed in this manga, while Kelly details how perfect Mao and Hiro’s relationship is. Both express shock and dismay at how, in a manga full of crummy characters like Mao’s dad and ...
House of the Sun Part 1 (with Kelly Quinn Chiu)
February 07, 2019 04:00 - 1 hour - 95.6 MBCovers volumes 1–7 of House of the Sun by Taamo One Panel Later co-host, librarian, and manga reviewer Kelly Quinn Chiu explains why Taamo’s House of the Sun is such a hidden gem. Kelly and Shojo & Tell host Ashley discuss the ups and downs of this slice-of-life drama and age gap romance, why libraries don’t often have digital manga, why Mao is so obsessed with a phallic creature, how Hiro needs therapy (lots and lots of therapy), and how truly awful Mao’s family (and Sugimoto) are. The met...
Kimi ni Todoke Part 3 (with Caitlin Moore)
January 19, 2019 15:30 - 55 minutes - 51.1 MBCovers volumes 21–30 of Kimi ni Todoke by Karuho Shiina (end of the series) Welcome to our final episode on Karuho Shiina’s contemporary classic. Shojo & Tell host Ashley and shojo manga connoisseur Caitlin Moore FINALLY get to reflect on what went down between Ayane and Pin (how it was all handled was such a pleasant surprise!). Plus, Kurumi finally gets her time to shine in our elaborate alt ending where she ends up with Sawako and as a contestant on TERRACE HOUSE (this episode involves a...
Kimi ni Todoke Part 2 (with Caitlin Moore)
January 02, 2019 05:00 - 1 hour - 68.8 MBCovers volumes 11–20 of Kimi ni Todoke by Karuho Shiina Winter is here, which means it’s time to settle in with the coziest manga for the season: the beloved Kimi ni Todoke. Shojo & Tell host Ashley and shojo manga connoisseur Caitlin Moore are back to discuss the good and the bad about the middle of Karuho Shiina’s hit series. Somehow, Kazehaya and Kento have flipped in quality during these 10 volumes (KAZEHAYA. GET IT TOGETHER. HOLD SAWAKO’S HAND.), so a lot is said about how that weirdne...
Kimi ni Todoke Part 1 (with Caitlin Moore)
December 19, 2018 09:00 - 1 hour - 57.1 MBCovers volumes 1–10 of Kimi ni Todoke by Karuho Shiina The year 2018 marked the end of an era: After 30 volumes, the deeply treasured Kimi ni Todoke is over. And to mark this special occasion, we’re once again embarking on a trilogy of podcasts. Shojo & Tell host Ashley is a huge Kimi ni Todoke fan, as is Anime Feminist author/editor and all-around shojo manga connoisseur Caitlin Moore. The two gush about the series’ best qualities (particularly the developments of healthy and tender female...
Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty (with Asher Sofman)
November 28, 2018 09:00 - 1 hour - 61.4 MBCovers Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty by Megumi Morino (all six volumes of the series) “I can't believe Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty single-handedly convinced me that manga was not a mistake.” “This is up there with Erased and Princess Jellyfish for me as far as human relations go.” “I don't know if I'm going to be able to go back to manga after reading this manga, it was everything I ever wanted in a romance manga.” “This manga is much better than you would expect since nobody’s hyped it up — and...
Fruits Basket Part 3 (with ANN’s Jacob Chapman)
November 15, 2018 08:01 - 2 hours - 129 MBCovers volumes 17-23 of Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya The curse has finally broken! And did you hear there’s going to be a new Fruits Basket anime?! Great. We don’t talk about that on this podcast! (This is a manga podcast, after all. And this episode was recorded before the announcement.) But don’t worry, massive Furuba fan and Anime News Network editor Jacob Chapman and Shojo & Tell host Ashley find plenty to talk about in the last third of the series (this concludes our trilogy of podc...
Fruits Basket Part 2 (with ANN’s Jacob Chapman)
November 01, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 107 MBCovers volumes 9-16 of Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya Massive Furuba fan and Anime News Network editor Jacob Chapman is back to discuss the middle third of Takaya’s classic with Shojo & Tell host Ashley. Most of the dark, dark Sohma family secrets have been revealed this time around, and Tohru is in turmoil over Kyo’s fate. But we’re saving most of the Kyo talk for the third and final podcast! This time, Yuki’s struggles shine after his confrontation with Akito. The particular pains of mot...
Preview Guide 3: Ao Haru Ride and Kira-kun Today
October 24, 2018 07:00 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBDiscusses the first volumes of Ao Haru Ride by Io Sakisaka and Kira-kun Today by Rin Mikimoto After September brought no new shojo manga series debuts in the US, October has brought two! Shojo & Tell host Ashley McDonnell and her bestie Asher Sofman have differing opinions on the quality of this month’s debuts. They discuss the wackiness of Kira-kun Today and what makes Io Sakisaka’s much-hyped Ao Haru Ride special (Ao Haru Ride is also known as Blue Spring Ride). Whether you like talking b...
Fruits Basket Part 1 (with ANN’s Jacob Chapman)
October 17, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 110 MBCovers volumes 1-8 of Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya At the height of the mid-2000s manga boom in the US, there was no bigger series than Fruits Basket. And this story about orphaned Tohru Honda and the Sohma family curse has endured, getting a very special rerelease in recent years. For a series this influential, we brought on one of the biggest Furuba fans of all: Anime News Network editor Jacob Chapman. We discuss why Fruits Basket left such a lasting impression, who our favorite Sohmas...
Magic Knight Rayearth (with Asher Sofman)
October 03, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 99.7 MBCovers all of Magic Knight Rayearth by CLAMP (that's six volumes across MKR I and II) Take a trip to Cefiro, grab a sword, and get in a mech in this wild and beautiful Clamp classic. Asher and Ashley do a character walkthrough that’s mostly gushing about how pretty everyone is (Eagle! Lantis! Umi! Fuu! Hikaru! That's only 1/100th of the number of characters in this six-volume manga!), debate whether Princess/Pillar Emeraude committed suicide and how this relates to controversies over assist...
Banana Fish Part 2 (with Marion Bea)
September 19, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 86.3 MBCovers volumes 12 through 19 of Banana Fish by Akimi Yoshida It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for: Banana Fish fan Marion goes on an epic rant about The Ending of the series. Seriously! What?! WHY?! Who thought this was okay!? Marion and Shojo & Tell host Ashley also discuss the role of women in Yoshida’s series, touch on the importance of found families, walk through all the ships we’re given in the end (obviously, OTP is Ash and Eiji), and ponder why Blanca has such broad shoulders...
Banana Fish Part 1 (with Marion Bea)
September 05, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 105 MBCovers volumes 1 through 11 of Banana Fish by Akimi Yoshida It’s a perfect day to discuss Banana Fish, the revived classic about how everyone — except some select gang members and an innocent Japanese boy named Eiji Okumura — wants to kill the brilliant and beautiful and deadly Ash Lynx. Shojo & Tell host Ashley found the biggest Banana Fish fan in Marion, and together they discuss the literary and political history Akimi Yoshida’s work draws from, the representations of race and queerness ...
Preview Guide 2: Shortcake Cake
August 29, 2018 07:00 - 33 minutes - 31.1 MBDiscusses the first volume of Shortcake Cake by Suu Morishita We’re back for our second preview guide, covering this month’s new shojo manga series debut of SHORTCAKE CAKE. Viz Media’s mobile app developer Jeff Ruberg and host Ashley review and react to this first volume, digging into its fresh pop aesthetic, which boy is the cutest, Ten’s really long hair, and more. Should you pick up this volume, or should you just go pick up a piece of shortcake instead? Find out here. LINKS Shortcake ...
Claudine (with translator Jocelyne Allen)
August 22, 2018 06:23 - 1 hour - 66.4 MBCovers Claudine by Riyoko Ikeda (it’s only one volume long!) Though Riyoko Ikeda’s classic manga featuring a transgender protagonist originally came out in 1978, it was officially released for the first time in the US in the summer of 2018 (40 YEARS LATER!). S&T host Ashley asks Jocelyne Allen, the translator of Claudine (and many other manga), about the use of gender pronouns and other translation challenges with this work that's set in early 1900s France, originally published in 1970s Jap...
Pretear (with May Fisher-Guest)
August 08, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 62.4 MBCovers all of Pretear by Junichi Sato and Kaori Naruse (four volumes) Remember back in 2001 when the Pretear anime was the cool new shojo? Did you know there was a manga that’s actually pretty vastly different than that anime you remember so fondly? May Fisher-Guest (host of the Digimon podcast Lost in Translationmon) and ever-present host Ashley get into the differences between the anime and the manga, dissect the series’ connections to the fairytales Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Ci...
Preview Guide 1: Fruits Basket Another and Sacrificial Princess & the King of Beasts
August 01, 2018 16:00 - 43 minutes - 39.8 MBDiscusses the first volumes of Fruits Basket Another by Natsuki Takaya and Sacrificial Princess & the King of Beasts by Yu Tomofuji Welcome to our first preview guide! What's a preview guide, you ask? Our preview guide episodes will cover the first volume of newly released shojo/josei series (in the US), providing first reactions about the manga (mixing review with our normal discussion format). These will be shorter episodes that come out in addition to our normal bi-weekly, in-depth serie...