Josei manga

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***Josei* manga** (女性漫画, lit. "women's comics", pronounced [dʑoseː]) are Japanese comics catered specifically to women's interests, and marketed towards older teenage girls and adult women demographics who are able to read kanji without the aid of *furigana*. Subgenres of *josei* manga include "ladies' comics" (レディースコミックス, *redīsu komikkusu*) or "lady-comi" (レディコミ, *redikomi*). Readers can range in age from 18 to 45.

Unlike *shōjo* manga, which is aimed at young girls, *josei* manga often portray realistic romance, as opposed to the mostly idealized romance of *shōjo* manga. They tend to be both more sexually explicit and contain more mature storytelling than *shōjo* manga, although this is not always the case either.

Some of the most popular *josei* manga have featured female protagonists and/or mostly female main cast, and the female characters are often quite compassionate toward other women. Although some *josei* manga can contain plots and characters influenced by *shōjo* manga, others tell action-packed stories and lack the romantic and slice of life elements associated with *shōjo*.

The Western approach to *josei* has all but ignored some of its more recent trends, such as an increase in *shōnen*-influenced series. Although there are housewife-, family-, and young mother-themed *josei* manga published in Japan, very few *josei* series are licensed for Western publication. Anthony Gramuglia, a reviewer for *CBR*, argued that *josei* is the most underserved demographic of anime and manga, stating that since they are "targeted at mature women," they are often overlooked by those in "mainstream anime fandom," and pointed to successful titles within the genre, like *Paradise Kiss*, *Princess Jellyfish*, *Usagi Drop*, *Eden of the East*, *Chihayafuru*, and *My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness*, along with anime like *Aggretsuko*.

## History

*Josei* manga (then called "ladies' comics" or "lady-comi") began to appear in the 1980s, during a boom period in manga, when the women who grew up reading *shōjo* manga in the 1950s and '60s wanted to read works aimed at adult women. The first ladies' comics magazine, *Be Love*, was printed in 1980. There were only two ladies' comics magazines being published in Japan by the end of 1980; however, there were over fifty by the end of 1989. Early ladies' comics were free of sexual content, and the comics became more and more sexually extreme until the early 1990s. Manga branded as ladies' comics have acquired a reputation for being low-brow, and "dirty", and the term *josei* was created to move away from that image.

## *Josei* magazines in Japan[edit]

In a strict sense, the term "*josei* manga" refers to a manga serialized in a *josei* manga magazine. The list below contains past and current Japanese *josei* manga magazines, grouped according to their publishers. Such magazines can appear on a variety of schedules, including monthly (*You*), bi-monthly (*Melody*), and quarterly.

### Libre Publishing[edit]

* *Chocolove* (TL)
* *Vanillove* (TL)
* *Kurofune*
* *Comic Yuri Hime* (GL)
* *Magazine Be × Boy* (BL)
* *BE BOY GOLD* (BL)
* *B-boy Cube* (BL, web magazine)
* *B-boy Cube Bessatsu* (BL, web magazine)
* *B-boy Omegaverse phase2* (BL, web magazine)

### Shueisha[edit]

* *You*
	+ *Office YOU*
	+ *Young YOU*
* *Cocohana* (originally published as *Chorus*)
* *BLink* (BL)

### Kodansha[edit]

* *Kiss*
	+ *Hatsu Kiss*
* *Be Love*
* *Dessert* (also publishes shôjo manga)
* *Ane Friend* (web magazine)
* *Comic tint* (web magazine)
* *Honey Milk* (web magazine)

### Shogakukan[edit]

* *Petit Comic*
	+ *Petit Comic Zōkan*
	+ *Anekei Petit Comic*
* *Flowers*
	+ *Zōkan Flowers*
* *Judy* (defunct)

### Hakusensha[edit]

* *Melody*
* *Silky*
	+ *Love Silky* (web magazine)
	+ *Love Silky Zōkan* (web magazine)
* *Ane LaLa* (web magazine)
* *Hanamaru* (BL)

### Ichijinsha[edit]

* *Monthly Comic Zero Sum*
* *Zero Sum Ward*

### Shinshokan[edit]

* *Wings*
* *Dear+* (BL)

### Seisensha[edit]

* *Mystery Sara* (formerly *Sakura Mystery*)
* *Mystery Blanc*

### Harper Collins Japan[edit]

* *Harlequin* (adapts Harlequin Enterprises novels to manga, 2009-)
	+ *Bessatsu Harlequin* (2009-)
	+ *Zōkan Harlequin* (2010-)
* *Harlequin Original*
* *Otome Dolce* (2017-)

### Akita Shoten[edit]

* *Elegance Eve* (1984-)
	+ *Ren'ai Love MAX* (1999-)
	+ *Ren'ai Cherry Pink* (2006-)
* *For Mrs.* (1986-)
	+ *One Coin For Mrs.* (releases in odd months)
	+ *For Mrs. Special*

### Futabasha[edit]

* *JOUR: Suteki na Shufutachi* (1985-, formerly *Jour*)
	+ *Mystery Jour Special* (1986-)
* *Jour Sister* (web magazine)
* *Doku Ringo Comic* (web magazine)

### Ohzora Publishing[edit]

* *Ren'ai Hakusho Pastel* (1985-)
* *Harmony Romance*
	+ *Harmony Romance Zōkan*
	+ *Harmony Romance DX*
	+ *Harmony Rose*
	+ *Harmony Prince*
* *Young Love Comic aya* (2004-)
	+ *Ane aya* (2015-)
	+ *Le Noel* (2017-)

### Mediax[edit]

* *Sakura: Ai no Monogatari* (1989-2007)
* *15 no Aijou Monogatari* (2003-2007)
* *15 no Aijou Monogatari Special*
	+ *Nazotoki Mystery*
	+ *Manatsu no Kaidan*
* *Sakura Mystery Deluxe* (2007-)
	+ *Bessatsu Sakura Mystery Deluxe*
* *50dai kara no Watashitachi*

### Bunkasha[edit]

* *Kyoufu no Kairaku* (1995-)
* *Manga Grim Douwa* (2005-)
	+ *Onna no Fukou Jinsei* (2011-)
* *Hontou ni Kowai Douwa* (2000-)
	+ *Gokinjou no Kowai Uwasa* (2003-)
* *Harabanjou no Onnatachi* (2001-)
* *Katei Mystery* (2001-)
* *Hontou ni Nakeru Hanashi* (2001-)
* *Hontou ni Atta Onna no Jinsei Drama* (2003-)
* *Hontou ni Atta Shufu no Taiken* (2004-)
* *Mutenki Ren'ai S\*girl* (2004-)
* *Anata ga Taiken Shita Kowai Hanashi*
* *Mangaka no Mystery ga Omoshiroi!*
* *Kindan Lovers* (web magazine)
	+ *Kindan Lovers Romantica* (web magazine)
* *Mitsukoi Tiara* (web magazine)
* *Mitsukoi Tiara Mania* (web magazine)
* *Story na Onnatachi* (web magazine)
* *Mutenki Ren'ai S\*girl Anette* (web magazine)

### Kasakura Publishing[edit]

* *Zettai Ren'ai Sweet* (2001-)
* *Bessatsu Katei Suspense*

### Asahi Shimbun[edit]

* *Nemuki+*
* *HONKOWA*

### Kadokawa[edit]

* *B'S LOG COMIC* (web magazine)
* *Ciel* (web magazine, BL)
* *Emerald* (BL)

### Shushuisha[edit]

* *petit Rose* (with Daitosha)
* *Mobile Ren'ai Sengen* (web magazine)
* *Romance Unico* (web magazine)

## Circulations[edit]

The reported average circulations for some of the top-selling *josei* manga magazines in 2007 are as follows:

 *Office You* | 117,916

For comparison, below are the circulations for the top-selling magazines in other categories in 2007:

 Top-selling *seinen* manga magazine
 Top-selling *shōjo* manga magazine
 Top-selling non-manga magazine

(Source for all circulation figures: Japan Magazine Publishers Association)