2008 Readers Poll: Best New Shojo Manga

Author & Artist: Kazune Kawahara
Publisher: Shojo Beat / VIZ Media
Visit Shojo Beat's High School Debut page
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Haruna is a tomboy who gave it her all in softball in junior high. Now that she's in high school, she's determined to be a girly-girl so she can find a boyfriend. But when tips from fashion magazines and shojo manga fail to do the trick, she hires hunky guy Yoh to be her dating coach. The only catch? She's not allowed to fall for him.

Author & Artist: Hinako Ashihara
Publisher: Shojo Beat / VIZ Media
Visit Shojo Beat's Sand Chronicles page
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City girl Ann moves to the countryside after her parents' divorce, and after adjusting to the slower pace and enduring a personal tragedy, she makes friends and falls in love with her neighbor Daigo. But as the seasons pass and the years go by, Ann and Daigo's relationship is tested as their lives go through numerous changes.

Author & Artist: Ai Morinaga
Publisher: TokyoPop
Visit TokyoPop's Your and My Secret page
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Akira is a sweet and sensitive guy. Momoi is one of the cutest girls in school… until she opens her mouth and reveals her loud, crass and outspoken personality. When this mismatched pair has a run-in with Momoi's grandfather's home science experiment, they switch bodies. The really twisted thing is that this gender-switcheroo seems to be a change for the better, with only Akira feeling the pain as his former best pal Senbongi starts to make passes at him/her...

Author & Artist: Ao Mimori
Publisher: Shojo Beat / VIZ Media
Visit Shojo Beat's B.O.D.Y. page
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Sakura has a crush on her tall and mysterious classmate Fuji -- but she's not so sure that he's her dream guy once she finds out that he works at a host club after school.

Author & Artist: Mick Takeuchi
Publisher: Go! Comi
Visit Go Comi's Bound Beauty page
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Chiko can see the red thread that binds two fated lovers together, so what does she do with this special ability? Only what any enterprising young woman would: She makes extra pocket cash by fortune-telling for her classmates. But everything changes when she meets three young men who have similar abilities, and a turn of events unlocks Chiko's powers in a most unexpected way.

Author & Artist: Banri Hidaka
Publisher: TokyoPop
Visit TokyoPop's V.B. Rose page
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Ageha is a gifted seamstress who loves to design and create accessories. When her older sister announces that she's getting married, Ageha is determined to make her sister's day extra special. In the process, she meets Yukari and Mitsuya, the proprietors of Velvet Blue Rose, an exclusive bridal salon and soon finds herself helping other young women to create the wedding of their dreams.

Author & Artist: Natsumi Itsuki
Publisher: Publisher: TokyoPop
Visit TokyoPop's Jyu-Oh-Sei page
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Twins Thor and Rai live a sheltered life on Juno, a terraformed colony of Earth, but after the gruesome murder of their parents, the barely teenaged boys get sent to Chimera, a penal colony planet. Criminals that are sentenced to live on Chimera must deal with huge carnivorous plants and a climate that veers between freezing cold or steaming hot. But there's one way out: Thor must fight for supremacy to become the Beast King, the one lucky soul who is allowed to leave this godforsaken planet.

Author & Artist: Miwa Ueda
Publisher: Del Rey Manga
Visit Del Rey Manga's Papillon page
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Ageha and Hana are twin sisters, but they couldn't be more different. Hana is pretty and popular, while Ageha is frumpy and shy. With some coaching from an unconventional high school counselor, Ageha begins to blossom. However, Hana is not too happy about this change in the status quo, and she starts to act more like Ageha's rival than like her sister.

Author & Artist: Arina Tanemura
Publisher: Shojo Beat / VIZ Media
Visit Shojo Beat's Time Stranger Kyoko page
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Kyoko is a 30th Century princess who is the reluctant heir to the throne. She'd much rather have fun and fall in love like an ordinary girl, but the only way she can do that is if she finds a way to awaken her sister Ui, who has been asleep for many years. Kyoko then goes on a quest to find 12 magical stones and 12 telepaths who can break her sister's curse.

Author & Artist: Machiko Sakurai
Publisher: Del Rey Manga
Visit Del Rey Manga's Minima page
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Ame is so painfully shy and quiet, she can barely look at, much less make conversation with Sasaki, her high school crush. When her class takes a field trip to an amusement park, Ame makes a new friend, Nicori. Nicori is outspoken, brave and loyal... and he's also a stuffed doll that can walk and talk.