I’m done with Shoujo for a while, and am moving on to its natural successor in my series: Shounen manga. Shounen, Japanese for boy, is, obviously, directed towards a younger male audience. And as one can imagine, has a markedly different set of styles and themes than mangas aimed a younger female audience. There is more emphasis on fighting, on the idea of getting stronger, (I say that in the blandest and most general way possible), surpassing rivals, discovering who you are, etc. The humor also tends to be a bit cruder, to put the matter bluntly.
Personally, even as a guy I find Shoujo more interesting, if only because I’ve lived my entire life with what can only be described as passive masculinity, and I find Shoujo opens up an entirely different and interesting set of sensibilities and emotional outlooks that I love exploring. (This does apply more to manga though, as I tend to watch mostly Shounen shows, if only because so many Shoujo animes are awful, even of series I love). In other words, my Shounen suggestions are going to be in some ways more eclectic and diverse than what I suggested with Shoujo.