I just want to find a lovely boy wearing an oversized brown jacket and settle down in a nice abandoned library that smells like dust and faint wine.

Keanu Reeves photographed by Brad Fierce (1991)

(1977)

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Philippe? Dramatic? Never…

Tom Gauld (Scottish, b. 1976) - The Reason I Stayed In The House All Day    Drawings  (All perfectly valid reasons)

this has aged well

“How to tell the temperature from your cat’s sleeping position.“  From Your Incredible Cat: Understanding the Secret Powers of Your Pet by David Greene.

@notsexualaboutit

cats can tell you everything you could ever need to know

What’s the temperature one in real person numbers

Wouldnt you like to know weather boy

When Bukowski said "We're all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other but it doesn't. We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing."

oh to be a young heroine in a jane austen novel dressed in a beautiful gown and feeling the touch of your lover’s hands while dancing...

My 5 favourite... shoujo animes!

There’s actually no particular reason for this post - no one tagged me or asked for a list, I didn’t have this concept in mind beforehand and eventually got around to it. It was actually just by chance that the idea came about while I was going through my anime list and asked myself the question: “If you had to pick your 5 favourite shoujo animes, what would they be?” And so here we are!

1. Boys Over Flowers (Hana Yori Dango).

Probably my favourite because we have some excellent ingredients in this one to make it one of the best shows of all time! The proof is in the many successful adaptations of it, which remain a classic in most peoples’ hearts, no matter which one you’ve watched. A strong (yet financially poor) female protagonist, accompanied by some classic tropes such as hot, entitled rich boys give way to the perfect set-up for some “opposites attract” action and all the drama that comes with that clash of the main characters living in “different worlds”. Add a few parties and love triangle or two and we’re all set! Very Cinderella-esque, I’d say. The anime has typical 90s flavour with the animation style and such but that’s part of the charm for me - I love the classics. But I promise you this - even if you have to watch the live action series/movies or read the manga - if you love shoujo, you will not regret this one!

2. Peach Girl.

I will admit that this is a bit of an unusual choice but there’s just something about this one that gives it major re-watchability status for me. And there’s also a live action of this one too that came out in 2017, so it’s still popular enough to get an adaptation. I didn’t even think I would get so invested in it, but the drama was just too good to resist! This one is actually pretty hard to describe in a nutshell because it has a number of characters, all connected to each other, who influence each others’ story lines. There’s the average but likeable high school girl (who has a complex about her tan skin) who has loved a guy since middle school but has a shitty friend who has a nasty habit of trying to take everything she likes - including her man (some friend, I’d say!). Throw in the “decoy” guy that she uses to throw off this friend and now we’ve got 2 guys, a girl and not a pizza place, but a shallow, scheming witch of a friend. It was hard deciding which guy I liked better! There is a lot of drama that unfolds and it definitely reads like a soap opera, but that was probably why the damn thing was so addictive to watch!

3. Glass Mask (Glass no Kamen).

A blast from the past with this one, which came out of the 70s - which explains the character designs, even when the show(s) were produced some time after this era. However, style aside, this was another one of my ultimate favourites because it has the air of an almost-tragic romance about it. A poor, young girl who has to make her own way in the world, joins the realm of theatre acting and meets the man that will be her biggest rival and, secretly, her greatest support. It’s another opposites attract sort of setting but with a more mature outlook to it because there’s an age gap between the two - the girl is young and still in high school, whereas the man is older and is in charge of running/financing an opposing theatre group. There’s a considerable amount of drama (literally and figuratively), hardship and struggle for the two of them but the touching moments between them are just so powerful that you can’t help but love every second of this torture. It’s just so worth it. And of course, live action adaptation is also available.

4. Say “I love you” (Sukitte ii na yo).

This is the typical “anti-social type hooks up with popular boy” trope but the execution of it was enough to earn it a place on my list. The reason being that there is some considerable depth to the characters and it’s something that we’re made aware of for all of the main players. Each has their own issues and methods for dealing with them and the story explores this, as well as the way in which the other characters affect or influence the way they develop and move forward in their lives. Our MC is quite relatable (well, she was for me anyway), having suffered through the betrayal of those she thought of as friends and the dissolving of those friendships, which has left her a little jaded and untrusting, with no interest in establishing new connections. Her male counterpart is the opposite - popular, well-liked and sought after by all the girls, he has an open personality and has no trouble making new friends anywhere he goes. Of course, fate runs its course and their chance encounter starts the ball rolling for the two of them as they both learn, together, about life, love and the value of true friends. I loved that it encompasses a lot and doesn’t only focus on relationships as being important, but also friendships too.

5. Skip Beat.

This was a tough one because there are some other choices out there that I really enjoyed but this one ticked some boxes for me that just inched it above the others. It’s one of the more unusual premises for a shoujo because it revolves around a girl who wants to get back at her ex-friend (an idol) by enlisting as a talent and working for a rival agency to make sure that her former friend’s career will never be as successful as her own - a bit of a convoluted plan but she essentially wants to indirectly sabotage his career by being better than him and happens to meet the new interest at her new agency along the way (bonus!). But this crazy premise is perfect for this zany shoujo because it’s got great humour and I can remember having a good few laughs with this one. It’s got that balance between humour and seriousness with drama that’s not too cumbersome but just enough to keep things moving forward. It was probably the first shoujo I ever watched but it’s one that never ages for me because even all these years later, I can still recall just how much I enjoyed it! Be warned though, the ending of the anime won’t leave you satisfied so be prepared to read the manga too!

Honourable mentions.

That brings me to the end of the main list but there are a few titles that deserve honourable mentions because I really did enjoy them and think that they’re also well worth checking out. In no particular order:

1. Ao Haru Ride - some feels with this one. 2. Winter Sonata - Korean drama at its finest. 3. Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge - it’s an unorthodox one, but so funny. 4. Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji - cute, funny, light-hearted fun. 5. Vampire Knight - it’s hot vampires fighting over a girl. Guilty pleasure.