Josei Manga vs Shojo Manga
▍Josei – 女性
The word Josei doesn’t really have any relations with manga, it simply means Women. Josei Manga are manga aimed at women. Josei Manga tends to deal with more mature and adult scenarios as they generally target older readers. This doesn’t mean that they all feature older characters, it simply means the problems that characters deal with may be more serious.
▍Shojo – 少女
As you may know already, Shojo means young women, and Shojo Manga generally means that the manga is aimed at young women (teens). Typically, Shojo Manga will have romance mixed with other genres.
▍What’s the difference?
The key difference between Josei and Shojo Manga is the target audience. The difference in the target audience directly affects the plot. Josei Manga, being aimed at young adults +, will portray more adult issues and have a more realistic approach to romance to relate to the target audience.
Shojo Manga, on the other hand, portrays romance in a more naive approach and tackle issues that teenagers will be able to relate to.
Incidentally, Shojo Manga will almost always have a female protagonist, whereas Josei Manga, in comparison, will have more male protagonists. It wouldn’t be surprising for a male protagonist Josei Manga to have an abundance of male character or even homoerotic themes.
Both Josei and Shojo Manga have a tendency to have female characters with large eyes.
Josei or Shojo Manga, which do you prefer more? As always, if there is anything else you want us to explain, let us know in the comments!