Saiunkoku Monogatari
The Story of Saiunkoku

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(Mainly) Shoujo manga featuring characters who are royalty or filthy rich

*often times it's the love interest who is the royal/rich character

*.♡ *:･ﾟ✧ *.♡ *:･ﾟ✧ *.♡ *:･ﾟ✧
Mangas/LN set in Ancient China ^^

[shoujo/josei/romance/historical, etc]

PD: the LN's that i added have a manga adaptation but they are not in MAL (except Koukyuu no Karasu, at the moment it did not get a manga adaptation) TT
*.♡ *:･ﾟ✧ *.♡ *:･ﾟ✧ *.♡ *:･ﾟ✧

Derived from several Chatty AF podcasts.

See the website for their pros and cons per title:
https://www.animefeminist.com/podcast-chatty-af-65-shoujo-manga-part-2/
https://www.animefeminist.com/podcast-chatty-af-72-bl-manga/
https://www.animefeminist.com/podcast-chatty-af-74-manga-variety-hour-the-monster-mash/
https://www.animefeminist.com/podcast-chatty-af-97-manga-variety-hour-one-shot-wonders/
https://www.animefeminist.com/chatty-af-113-manga-variety-hour-tragedy-tomorrow-comedy-tonight/
https://www.animefeminist.com/chatty-af-117-shonen-jump-manga/
https://www.animefeminist.com/chatty-af-134-yuri-manga-variety-hour/
https://www.animefeminist.com/chatty-af-174-sex-ed-120-part-1/
https://www.animefeminist.com/chatty-af-181-ace-aro-representation-in-anime-and-manga-part-1/
https://www.animefeminist.com/chatty-af-182-ace-aro-representation-in-anime-and-manga-part-2/

See also:
Anime Recs
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/17514
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/17515
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/18757
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/18755
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/18995
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/18999
Other Manga Recs
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/17520
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/28358
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/28535
Chatty AF
Anime
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/22027
Manga
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/25862
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/25883
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/26994
https://myanimelist.net/stacks/27949

Romance mangas that take place in historical China or a China-esque place.

* No reincarnation

[i]Apologies to King Crimson for parodying their album and song title.[/i]

This is a list of manga, manhua, manhwa, webtoons, etc. that are primarily set in the imperial far east.

Court intrigue means political games in a feudal monarchy and aristocracy-based setting similar to Game of Thrones's political machinations. The court intrigue theme is usually part of the historical or fantasy genre.

Isekai/reincarnation in a novel or video game world isn't allowed. The isekai/parallel world has to be diegetic (has to be real in the story and not a novel or video game world created by a human).

Time travel in the same body is okay.

Female characters that possess mental fortitude and don't break under pressure. They must have great resilience in the face of difficult or dangerous situations or even tragedy. They don't have to be super smart or geniuses, mental fortitude/stoicism is what matters. Preferably physical strength isn't their main characteristic but their mental fortitude.

For Physically Strong Women in Manga: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/39375

Unusual/intriguing premise, complex worldbuilding, well-written characters, big cast, supporting characters play important roles, multiple arcs, psychological themes. Long-running series (longer than 5 volumes).

The main plot has to be something other than just romance. It can be romance-focused if it equally focuses on another genre such as supernatural, action, adventure, psychological etc.

Highschool setting or slice of life themes are excluded unless the story has more interesting/unusual themes other than the two.

Manga that were published under the Shojo Beat/Shojo imprint by Viz Media.

Stories with settings in mostly Japan, Korea, China, or fantasy country with eastern design influence.

A list of manga featuring problems that disproportionately impact women. Basically all the trigger warnings for this list including SA, teen pregnancy, domestic abuse, harassment, familial emotional labor, discrimination, EDs, etc

Shojo and Tell is a manga podcast hosted by Ashley McDonnell discussing one shojo/josei manga series per episode with a rotating shojo superfan, with the once in a blue moon shonen or seinen manga discussion episodes.

Part 2: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/74189

Some standout Female-led fantasy/supernatural genre Shojo/Josei that are officially available in English. So these will range from High fantasy to historical fantasy to urban fantasy to supernatural, and more fantasy/supernatural subgenres. This list is arranged chronologically with newest works up top and oldest at the bottom. I haven't included anything that's not either actively available digitally or physically in English, so some great works that are long out of print or japanese only will not be mentioned. Notably absent are female-led Horror-genre Shojo/Josei works, which are separate enough from Fantasy/Supernatural to deserve their own list.

Honorable Mentions:

- Kamikamikaeshi
- Fushigi Yugi
- Sailor Moon
- Card Captor Sakura
- Dawn of the Arcana
- The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess
- Wolf's Daughter: A Werewolf's Tale
- Royal Tailor: Clothier to the Crown
- Beasts of Abigaile
- The Earl & the Fairy (manga and novels)
- The Margrave's Daughter & the Enemy Prince
- Raven of the Inner Palace (novels)
- Pass the Monster Meat Milady
- Cavalier with the Truth
- Aria of the Beech Forest
- Yurara
- Yukarism
- Kiss of the Rose Princess
- A Reincarnated Witch Spells Doom
- My Super Cute Black Mage
- St. Dragon Girl
- Ceres Celestial Legend
- The Prerequisites for Being a Princess
- He's my only Vampire
- Sugar Apple Fairy Tale (novels)
- Chronicles of the Hidden World: How I became a doctor for the Gods (novels)
- Kieli (manga and novels)
- The Tiny Witch from the Deep Woods (novels)