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Number of sales and date that number was acquired from in notes for each. Some of them I have personally estimated a higher figure than the date says.

No. 112 would be Gaki Deka by Tatsuhiko Yamagami with 30 million (Nov. 16th, 2017)

No. 114 says Jingi, but it seems to be Tachihara Ayumi's other work Maji! due to the dates and amount of volumes.

No. 11 is Senri no Michi mo by Ippo Ohara & Satoshi Watanabe, which started in 1989 and ended in 2022 with 134 volumes & 693 chapters in Weekly Golf Digest.

No. 19 is Kowashiya Gen by Hashino Hideki & Sadayoshi Ishii, which started in Jan. 10th, 2003 and is ongoing with 112 volumes & 1067 chapters in Weekly Manga Times.

No. 20 is Hakuryuu, which started in 1996. I have put Hakuryuu Legend instead because I could not find an earlier version.

No. 43 is Kabachitare! by Takashi Tajima & Takahiro Kochi, which started in 1999 and is ongoing with 93 volumes & 974 chapters in Weekly Morning Kodansha.


Number of volumes and chapters in notes.

A list of the earliest manga series and one-shots with a focus on mlm relationships. 👨‍❤️‍👨 These series are often notable for the social and political factors that motivated a lot of these stories, and one of my goals in producing this list is exposing others to the world of different themes and ideas being explored in early series. While some of these approach mlm relationships from the perspective of second-wave feminists expressing their sexuality in a time where women being overtly sexual was looked down upon, a large amount of series listed do tackle issues faced by many gay and queer men throughout the world during the 80s and 90s, such as prostitution, drug abuse, homophobia, and the AIDS epidemic. Besides this, while many stories here have difficult subject matter, there is a lot of hope in these narratives and many examples of genuine queer romance sprouting from the developing genre.

For the sake of preservation, the list will be ordered on release date and will only include works that have been either officially released in English or have received unofficial scanlations. For simplicity sake, I won’t be including outright pornographic series (yaoi or bara), but series that present sex but are not focused on titillation are absolutely fine.

This is for your friends who only know manga through anime or only relate it to shonen and ecchi, it’s not necessarily directed at a “manga beginner” but at those who aren't part of the niche and want to see the different perspectives the medium can offer. I'm obviating some extremely popular works for variety's sake, shoujo and josei are overlooked enough in this kind of stacks ;) 3 volumes and up, well drawn, mostly easy to follow, interesting visual and narratively.

Some other aspects I considered:
- Cinematic vibes
- Human drama
- Down to earth, realistic characters
- Cross-cultural appeal (e.g pop culture references, foreign settings, etc)
- No out of place fanservice
- No tropes that might break the immersion (e.g. author insertion)

Manga published in over 100 volumes


Manga with more than 100 volumes published as of January 2023
Excludes manga that have been published in more than 100 volumes in total, including Gaiden, sequels, spin-offs, etc.

Note: Due to the number of missing manga from the database I will add the ones that would be included in the stack at the bottom of this description. And will leave room in the stack for these manga in the case that they are added in the future.

There are a number of works that I've not been able to read at all or read completely in the list so my commentary on those entries is limited, also my Japanese reading skill is limited currently so that limits some of the commentary as well. Also the list is mainly focused on the older titles as my knowledge on newer titles is relatively limited when it comes to shoujo manga.

Related links:
History of "Shoujo" Anime - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/16071
List of Shoujo manga released before 1980s - https://myanimelist.net/clubs.php?cid=84956

The beginnings of the history of girls comic magazines in Japan can be traced to the early 1900s with one of the first notable magazines "Shoujo no Tomo" gaining popularity among the female audience. The strong visual presence and the character design that are usually associated with shoujo manga draw their roots also to that period. Among the early pioneers of the visual approach "Jun'ichi Nakahara" is usually mentioned due to the influence of his design and approach to the character when it comes to shoujo manga.

This list attempts to collect some of the most important works when it comes to the history of shoujo manga, starting from the beginning. This is done so that people who are interested in or new to the history of "Shoujo" manga can gain atleast some kind of understanding of the history and the development throughout the years.

I will try to write my short spoiler free review/thoughts for each of the entries on this list to explain further why I think the entry is important as far as the history of "shoujo" manga is concerned.

Important manga missing from the database:

1957 - Shoujo Club - Fuichin-san (フイチンさん) - Ueda Toshiko (上田としこ)
https://myanimelist.net/manga/148274

Most early shoujo mangaka were men, and shoujo manga didn't have a particular "identity" in 1950s, as it was mostly just used as "a springboard" for authors aiming for the more popular shounen magazines. However Ueda Toshiko took everyone by storm as a female author with "Fuichin-san" one of the "big hits" in the evolving 1950s - 1960s shoujo manga scene.

The story focuses on the character "Fuichin" and is set on a period near WW2 in Manchuria. It is said that Ueda Toshiko drew some inspiration from her own experiences in Manchuria durin that period.

1958 - Shoujo - Tokyo Paris (東京・パリ) - Takahashi Macoto (高橋真琴)

Takahashi Macoto is often credited with popularizing the usage of glitter or star shaped visual in the eyes of the characters when it comes to the visual design of the character. The works of Takahashi Macoto usually put heavy emphasis on his detailed art and design of the characters.

1960 - Shoujo - Maki no Kuchibue (マキの口笛) - Maki Miyako (牧美也子)
https://myanimelist.net/manga/142707/Maki_no_Kuchibue

Maki Miyako drew popularity in early 1960s scene with hit works such as Maki no Kuchibue. The work features a dramatic approach to the world of "dance" and "performance". The visual approach in the art used by Maki Miyako was also emphasised in the series with intricate portrayals of fashion and passion.

The popularity of this work and her art resulted in Maki Miyako being let in charge for the original design of the Licca-chan toy doll franchise which debuted in 1967.

1962 - Shoujo - Shimai Futari (姉妹ふたり) - Maki Miyako (牧美也子)

1963 - Ribon - Chibikko Tenshi (ちびっこ天使) - Yokoyama Mitsuteru (横山光輝)

The series featured a "pair" of "angels" who were able to use magic, they came down to earth and caused all sorts of mischief with their powers. Often considered something of a precursor to the acclaimed series "Mahoutsukai Sally"

1966 - Ribon - Honey Honey no Suteki na Bouken (ハニーハニーのすてきな冒険) - Mizuno Hideko (水野英子)
https://myanimelist.net/manga/112823/Honey_Honey_no_Suteki_na_Bouken

1967 - Ribon - Sweet★Lala (スイート★ラーラ) - Kitajima Yoko (北島洋子)

1967 - Margaret - Comet-san (コメットさん) - Yokoyama Mitsuteru (横山光輝)
https://myanimelist.net/manga/139540

1969 - (Unknown) - Ballet Hoshi (バレエ星) - Tani Yukiko (谷ゆき子)
https://myanimelist.net/manga/142708/Ballet_Hoshi

1969 - Margaret - Glass no Shiro (ガラスの城) - Watanabe Masako (わたなべまさこ)
https://myanimelist.net/manga/129561

A list of best-selling manga and light novels targeted at female audience.
Info taken from Wikipedia and some manga sites/blogs

List of longest manga series by number of pages (estimate)

解体屋ゲン

26883 pages
103 volumes

カバチタレ

22320 pages
93 volumes

総務部総務課山口六平太

17658 pages
81 volumes


Anime: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/32408
Manga: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/39346
Live: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/39525
All: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/39354

Most of the shoujo manga made by men were created in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Back in those days it wasn't out of the ordinary. The father of manga himself, Osamu Tezuka, created many shoujo manga, including the famous Ribbon no Kishi (Princess Knight).

After the 70's, shoujo manga created by men became a very rare occurrence with the only ones remaining being horror mangaka like Junji Ito, Umezu Kazuo and Morohoshi Daijirou publishing in horror shoujo mangazines.

On the other hand, shounen manga created by women became a common occurrence, kick-started by the influential Rumiko Takahashi beginning with Urusei Yatsura in 1978.

A shoujo manga means a comic published in a magazine targeted towards the
young female demographic (under 18) in Japan.

Josei means a comic published in a magazine targeted towards the mature female demographic in Japan.

A selection of BL themed manga with unique perspectives, art styles and dynamics, from high school romances to horror and science fiction.

I picked them based on the following criteria:
- The main character is in love with a man (not necessarily requited or fulfilled)
- The emotional beats are deeply tied to an homoerotic relationship
- The author is already known for writing BL

I'm being generous with what I call BL #imsorry. I have my own list to go through so I'll keep adding after careful consideration ^_−☆

The order is from shortest to longest more or less. Enjoy!

* = i had to use the advanced search to find these, possibly not the most accurate result
2001-2050: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/48905
Anime 1951-2050: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/48293
Anime 2001-2050: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/45933

Manga somehow related to Clamp: referenced in their works and mentioned in interviews.

Not on MAL:
Macaroni Horenso by Tsubame Kamogawa (mentioned in xxxHolic)
Comet-san by Mitsuteru Yokoyama (Kobato inspiration)
Kyonyuu Hunter - Ohkawa likes this but I'm unsure about the author, I'm gonna assume it's the one by Kouichiro Yasunaga

Manga that influenced Yoshihiro Togashi's work in one way or another. Mentioned in interviews or referenced in his works. Inspired by this: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/50621

There might be stuff missing. If he referenced something else, tell me!

Second part of the 100 shoujo manga recommendations mentioned in their video Shoujo Manga INSPIRED Dandadan?!

A a mix of old and recent, short and long-running manga to represent the variety of female targeted demographics, with a focus on shoujo. Still going through this list so I'll probably switch things from time to time.

I made sure to include the following themes:

- Magical Girls
- High school comedy
- High school drama
- Family drama
- Historical
- Career stories and adult cast
- Sci fi
- Action and thriller
- Horror
- Short story

Earliest Recordings of Girls Love (GL) Manga - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/68503
-------------
Unlisted:
Utsukushiki Kussetsu - December 1985 (forcibly unadded due to hentai tag)

Tags for visibility: (ignore)
yaoi やおい boys love boys' love ボーイズ ラブ bl ビーエル bōizu rabu boizu rabu shounen-ai shōnen-ai 少女愛 gay bisexual polysexual pansexual homosexual homosexuality bara 薔薇 rose ゲイ漫画 gei komi ゲイコミ gay comics gay manga seme 攻め top uke 受け bottom june ジュネ tanbi 耽美

This list will skew a bit older as Japanese companies can be hit or miss about reporting digital manga sales, whereas they hold physical sales as the gold standard. Even then, they can be inconsistent in reporting sales for manga. Due to this, there could definitely be more Shojo/Josei manga out there that have sold ≥ 10 million volumes, especially if a good chunk of those sales were digital.

Additionally, this list will skew toward longer-running series as those in general have an easier time surpassing the 10 million mark compared to shorter series that are still widely popular (eg Paradise Kiss, due to its shorter length, hasn't surpassed 10 million volumes sold since to complete the series it requires readers to buy fewer volumes).

I'm not going to write exact numbers since those are in constant flux, but I'll note levels of 10 million+, 20 million+, etc to denote when a manga has surpassed a certain level of sales.

List is arranged in order of MAL members for each title

Wasn't enough room among the 50 slots to include these:

- Love me, love me not (20 million+)

- The Bride of Deimos (10 million+)

- Ppoi! (10 million+)

- Kodocha (10 million+)

- Angel Sanctuary (10 million+)

- Hana no Asuka Gumi (10 million+)

- Life (10 million+)

- Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai (10 million+)

- LDK (10 million+)