beccastareyes
2011-08-19 11:25 pm UTC (link)

I prefer action shoujo. The only series I've read recently is Library Wars, which is more SF, about armed conflict in an alternate late 20th century of Japan between a faction of the government who wants to ban books and the local libraries, which want to protect them so everyone can read them. The main character is the first woman to join the armed divisions of the library service, after a Mysterious Man (spoiler: he shows up again) inspires her by saving a favorite book of hers when she was a kid.

Well, and Basara, which is sufficiently ancient that it's hell to find copies of the English translation -- well, at least certain volumes. It's set in post-apocalyptic Japan and is about how a teenaged girl meets a teenaged boy. Only the girl is a prophecized Child of Destiny who will lead the people against the corrupt royal family*, and the boy is the Red King, who isn't too enamored of his family either (understatement) but would rather stay in power. Also, he kind of swore he'd kill the Child of Destiny.

Also, Revolutionary Girl Utena.

* And is actually pretending to be her twin brother. Everyone assumed it was the boy that would be the prophecized hero until he gets killed by the Red King and she starts rallying the villagers to save their lives.

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	undomielregina 2011-08-20 12:03 am UTC (link)
	Seconding Library Wars. Her Majesty's Dog might suit. It's got all the standard shoujo focus on romance but the rest of the plot is really great. What about Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind? It's not strictly shoujo but it has a lot of the same feel. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	beccastareyes 2011-08-20 12:10 am UTC (link)
	Ooh... seconding the rec for Nausicaä! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	myuki_chan 2011-08-20 02:37 am UTC (link)
	I love Basara and I am so ANGRY that Viz discontinued random volumes in the middle of the series but is still selling the rest of it. How does that make any sense?! I have all of them except for Vol. 20. :( And the only copies I can find are ones selling on amazon for ridiculous prices like $130. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	beccastareyes 2011-08-20 02:40 am UTC (link)
	Same here. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	myuki_chan 2011-08-20 02:48 am UTC (link)
	I was pretty lucky to grab a copy of Vol 19 before that one got discontinued too. I'm still keeping a lookout for Vol 20 anywhere I go... but it seems very hopeless. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	beccastareyes 2011-08-20 02:49 am UTC (link)
	::nods:: I keep watching eBay. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	lundy 2011-08-19 11:31 pm UTC (link)
	Re: Pottermore — Registration begins in October for everyone who didn't complete the preregistration in July/early August. I don't know if those who signed up early will see any sort of perks that the October people won't have access to, but you haven't missed out on the site entirely, no. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	ivyette 2011-08-20 11:34 am UTC (link)
	I managed to get into Pottermore early (well, I registered, and it sent me a confirmation e-mail, but I haven't gotten my welcome e-mail yet) and as far as I can tell, all the early registrants get is to be beta testers. I don't think early registrants get anything else, so signing up once it goes completely live in October won't mean missing out on anything. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	agent_hyatt 2011-08-20 02:43 am UTC (link)
	Actually I almost wish Clamp would just hurry up and finish X!! Don't! If they finish it, that will definitely be a sign that the Apocalypse is just around the corner! CLAMP reimagining Legal Drug is foreboding enough! (Reply to this)(Thread)

	trout 2011-08-20 08:53 pm UTC (link)
	What is this about Legal Drug? I haven't heard anything! Link, maybe? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	qem_chibati 2011-08-21 07:37 am UTC (link)
	http://www.animenewsnetwork.com.au/news/2011-08-06/clamp-to-start-new-lawful-drug-manga-series CLAMP published three volumes from 2001 to 2003 before putting the manga on hiatus in Japan. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	trout 2011-08-21 09:20 pm UTC (link)
	Thank you! I'm pretty sure I liked the original three volumes, so that is great news to me. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	batpig 2011-08-20 03:02 am UTC (link)
	I highly recommend Please Save My Earth if you haven't read it yet. Wonderful series. Red River is also a nice action shoujo series, although it's historical. Actually, if you don't mind less than legal means, Chie Shinohara writes a lot of urban fantasy/horror shoujo that are quite fun reads. I'm sad only one of her works ever got picked up in English : (Reply to this)(Thread)

	lainey 2011-08-20 05:36 am UTC (link)
	Seconding PSME. The anime is wonderful too. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hbic_hq 2011-08-27 12:33 am UTC (link)
	I've just read PSME and WTF the lulzy rape storyline, but other than that a GREAT manga :D (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	lainey 2011-08-27 03:11 am UTC (link)
	heh. Gotta agree with you there. WTF describes that aspect of the story perfectly. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	iczer6 2011-08-20 01:58 pm UTC (link)
	If you like CLAMP you may want to check out their other series. I'd recommend RG Veda and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. Dragon Knights and Saiyuki are more shonen the shoujo but I think they're worth a look. And I enjoyed Princess Ai. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	iczer6 2011-08-20 01:58 pm UTC (link)
	And Shinobi Life. More historical but with time travel. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	iczer6 2011-08-20 02:09 pm UTC (link)
	And Planet Ladder, The Young Magician, The Tarot Cafe [if you like manhwa] and of course Angel Sanctuary. I'll stop now. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	atalantapendrag 2011-08-20 02:09 pm UTC (link)
	Ooku: the Inner Chambers is a neat josei alternate history series. In it, most of the men in Japan were killed off by a disease, and the women have had to take over. It's mainly political intrigue. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	beccastareyes 2011-08-20 03:33 pm UTC (link)
	Oooh. I forgot about that. Seconding the rec. (Reply to this)(Parent)

ahiru
2011-08-21 12:11 am UTC (link)

It's not currently available in english, but if you don't mind sticking with scanlations I recommend 7 Seeds by Yumi Tamura (who also wrote Basara, which someone recced above). It takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where the earth got hit by a meteorite. In a last ditch effort to save humanity, five groups of seven people each (plus an eighth as guide) were cryonically preserved and wake up in the ruined future and have to learn to survive. The series skips around between several different groups but the two main focal characters, Natsu of Team Summer B and Hana of Team Spring, are female. There's also some romance -- the person Hana is in love with is on one of the other teams and both are unaware that the other is still alive (which seems like a giant coincidence at first, but it does get explained eventually).

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adevyish
2011-08-21 03:43 am UTC (link)

Speaking of 7 Seeds, the scanlation group currently translating it (Storm in Heaven) does a lot of fantasy shoujo/josei. If you like horror/suspense Dawn Tsumetai Te is decent.

Another scanlation group doing a lot of fantasy shoujo is Dragon Voice - I'd suggest stuff by Shimizu Reiko (who wrote Moon Child) and Midorikawa Yuki (who wrote Natsume Yuujinchou). I haven't actaully read Moon Child or Natsume Yuujinchou despite these being popular and licensed, but I do like their other stuff enough that I should be doing so.

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lucky13
2011-08-21 12:59 am UTC (link)

If you don't mind yaoi overtones (no actual yaoi as yet, though), you might look into Betrayal Knows My Name (Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru/Uraboku) by Odagiri Hotaru. It's urban fantasy with action, romance, Nakama and a lot of interesting characters -- if you liked X you might enjoy it, as I hear it has a similar vibe. The first couple volumes were just recently released in English as an omnibus edition, I think by Yen Press?... I can't by any means recommend the anime though, stay far far away. X_X

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	iczer6 2011-08-21 06:48 am UTC (link)
	Dare I ask what's wrong with the anime? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	lucky13 2011-08-21 03:02 pm UTC (link)
	Terrible direction and writing, mostly. Several characters got butchered into caricatures of themselves and somehow they managed to make nearly every last fight scene slow and boring. As a fan of the manga I was extremely disappointed :( (Reply to this)(Parent)

	adevyish 2011-08-21 03:56 am UTC (link)
	In addition to stuff already above, I'd recommend Trinity Blood which is sci-fi fantasy. If you're ok with SF too, I'd recommend Tokyo Crazy Paradise and Ilegenes (both of which are not licensed yet afaik). (Reply to this)

	phosfate 2011-08-21 04:04 am UTC (link)
	For more CLAMP shojo action, try Angelic Layer, with battlin' customized dolls, and Magic Knight Rayearth, with girl knights and magic and godbunnies. (Reply to this)

	qem_chibati 2011-08-21 07:36 am UTC (link)
	This doesn't quite match your interests but if your a fan of shounen, I'd strongly recommend "ore-sama teacher". The main character Mifuyu is a total arch type of dumb-ass shounen hero - only female, but it's full of shoujoic comedy in addition. (Reply to this)

	hbic_hq 2011-08-27 12:33 am UTC (link)
	you guys are awesome, thanks for all these recs!! PS I've just read PSME and WTF the lulzy rape storyline, but other than that a GREAT manga :D (Reply to this)