100 QUESTIONS FOR A SHOUJO MANGA FAN
The original list was on a Japanese website. The questions were translated and in some cases, "Westernized" by Kuniko Tomita on the Shoujo Manga ML.
Some of my answers are intentionally vague, some I've made applicable to the time when when weekly trips to Japanese Bookstores were the norm for me (they're not anymore). Some I'm not answering at all either because they're not applicable to me, or I'm choosing not to answer them right now (maybe I will someday...)
Q001 What's your handle and age?
E-mail: saihitei (@earthlink.net, hotmail.com & yahoo.com). Age: 30+
Q002 What is your zodiac sign and blood type?
Taurus. Unknown blood type.
Q003 What is your handle derived from?
I chose the name during my intense Fushigi Yuugi fan days (early 1998). Hotohori's one of my favorite characters.
Q004 Tell us about yourself briefly.
look at my website & blog for that.
Q005 What's your PC?
Compaq Presario
Q006 What made you begin to use internet?
Everyone was doing it.
Q007 What's your advantage of using the internet?
Q008 What's your disadvantage of using the internet?
Q009 What made you build your own website?
To see if I could.
Q010 Did/Do you use any software for building your website?
Dreamweaver & Photoshop.
Q011 How did you decide the name of your website?
Flowerstorm: We
wanted a shoujo-sounding, English name.
Cosmic Giggle: I picked up the term from a description of a painting and liked
the sound of it.
Q012 What makes you happy in having a website?
Q013 What makes you unhappy in having a website?
The constant need to update.
Q014 What are you proud of with your website?
The title image for Cosmic Giggle. The SD naked Lucifer pic is adorable.
Q015 Do you have any future plans for your website?
Finish Watase site. Finish Art site. Keep blogging.
Q016 How old were you when you began to read shoujo manga?
25+
Q017 How long have you been a shoujo manga fan?
6 years
Q018 What was the first shoujo manga title that you read?
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon (BSSM)
Q019 What was the first shoujo manga which you spent your allowance on?
("allowance"... cute ;-) BSSM
Q020 What shoujo manga magazines did you subscribe to when you were a child?
Q021 What titles did you like in the magazines above?
Q022 What shoujo manga magazines do you subscribe to?
Used to subscribe to Sho-comi.
Q023 What titles do you like in them?
Watase Yuu's works (at the time, Ayashi no Ceres, Imadoki & Alice 19th) and Kaikan Phrase.
Q024 Have you ever applied to Zenpure(zenin present)?
Not yet.
Q025 Have you ever sent a survey card to the publisher?
No.
Q026 In what order do you read the manga magazine? Do you read the favorite title first?
Favorite first. Next favorite (if applicable) second. Skim through rest.
Q027 Do you subscribe to any magazine other than manga magazines?
Fashion/beauty magazines, home decorating magazines, news/entertainment magazines. Too many to list here.
Q028 Have you ever drawn a shoujo manga?
No.
Q029 Have you ever wanted to become a mangaka?
No.
Q030 Who is your favorite shoujo mangaka?
Watase Yuu
Q031 How many shoujo manga books a month do you buy?
Used to average 5-10 a month.
Q032 How much do you spend a month for shoujo manga?
When I was regularly buying manga, roughly $75-$100
Q033 How many times a week do you go to the bookshop, including used bookstores?
Used to go once a week to Book Off and Asahiya (roughly every other month to Kinokuniya)
Q034 How many compiled shoujo manga books do you have?
More than 500.
Q035 What's
you opinion about Book Off?
(FYI: Book Off is a used Japanese bookstore chain with stores throughout
Japan and one in NY and LA)
LOVE it!
Q036 Have you ever been to a manga cafe? If yes, how often do you go there?
I wish... (no manga cafes here)
Q037 What do you think of yaoi?
Some of it's OK
Q038 Do you publish or write for doujinshi?
No.
Q039 What do you think of doujinshi?
Some of it's OK.
Q040 Have you ever bought manga books/magazines online?
Bought one artbook online (Amano's "Tale of Genji")
Q041 Have you ever bought manga at an online auction?
No.
Q042 Have you ever sold manga at an online auction?
No.
Q043 What the latest title have you purchased?
Fruits Basket
Q044 Tell me the title that you read recently and found interesting.
Yami no Matsuei
Q045 Have you ever sent a fan letter to a mangaka?
No.
Q046 Have you ever been a member of a shoujo mangaka's fan club?
Online clubs/MLs.
Q047 Do you have an autograph of a shoujo mangaka?
Yes. Watase Yuu and Chiho Saito (not together!)
Q048 Is there any new shoujo mangaka who you think should be great?
Q049 Is there a mangaka who you want to meet?
CLAMP, Mihona Fuji, Miho Obana, Wataru Yoshizumi, Yoko Matsushita, Shingo Mayu, Tamura Yumi.
Q050 Is there a shoujo manga title that you were abnormally hooked on?
Fushigi Yuugi
Q051 Is there a shoujo manga title that you want to read again even though you don't remember the author or the title?
I'd love to be able to read some of Mihona Fuji's early stuff. It looks interesting. (at the very least, a summary would be nice)
Q052 Who's your prince/princess among shoujo manga characters?
Q053 What type of male/female character do you like the most?
Q054 Who is the girl that you admire the most among shoujo manga characters?
Yukino Miazawa (KareKano)
Q055 Who's your favorite supporting role character?
Chichiri (Fushigi Yuugi)
Q056 Who's your favorite "nasty" character?
Nakago (Fushigi
Yuugi) & Seishiro (X)
Q057 Who were you shocked at?
Q058 If you have another life, which manga character do you want to become?
Q059 Is there any unfinished title that you want to be finished by all means?
X (CLAMP), Hana Yori Dango (Kamio Yoko)
Q060 Is there any title whose sequel you want to read even though it's finished?
Card Captor Sakura (the HS years ;-)
Q061 Are there any titles that you want to be republished by all means?
Q062 Are there any old titles that haven't been compiled in a book yet but you want to be compiled and published?
Q063 Are there any shoujo mangaka who you want to come back?
Q064 Are there any shoujo mangaka whose newly published books you buy without fail?
Watase Yuu
Q065 Is there any shoujo manga title whose ending is unbelievable?
Q066 Is there any shoujo manga title that made you hesitate to go to the bathroom alone in the middle of the night?
Q067 What shoujo manga title made you laugh the most?
Q068 What shoujo manga titile made you cry the most?
Q069 Is there any shoujo manga title that you can't understand even though the title is said to be a masterpiece?
Q070 Is there any shoujo manga that you lent to your friend and didn't come back?
Q071 What's your most favorite line of a shoujo manga character?
Q072 What's your unforgettable scene?
When, after multiple failed attempts to tell him how she feels, Yukino "tells" him by holding on to his hand in a school meeting.
Q073 Do you have a favorite anime based on shoujo manga?
Fushigi Yuugi, KareKano
Q074 Do you have a favorite drama based on shoujo manga?
Q075 Give me the shoujo manga title that you recommend everyone read by the time he/she dies.
Q076 What shoujo manga title do you want to read by the time you die?
Q077 Is there any out-of-print shoujo manga title that you are looking for?
Q078 What's your treasure among your shoujo manga collection?
Koko wa Greenwood
because it's nearly impossible to find now.
Akachan to Boku because I got it so cheap (the whole set for $18 at Book
Off. And iirc, I got money off with my club card b/c I was buying so much at
the time).
Q079 Tell me what's your shoujo manga best 10.
1. Fushigi Yuugi
2. Ayashi no Ceres
3. Yami no Matsuei
4. KareKano
5. Child's Toy
6. Marmalade Boy
7. Card Captor Sakura
8. GALS!
9. Hana Yori Dango
10. X
Q080 Was there a shoujo manga book that you sold to a used bookstore and bought back later?
None yet. Though I've got Zetsuai & Bronze in the "maybe sell to Book Off" pile, and am wavering on what to do with them.
Q081 Do you read a manga when you are taking a bath? How about in the train?
Bath, no. Train (subway), yes.
Q082 What search engine do you use when you make a search about shoujo manga?
Q083 Is there any official website of a shoujo mangaka that you recommend?
Yumi Tamura - of Basara & Chicago fame (website is in Japanese)
Q084 What's your favorite shoujo manga fan site?
niko-niko.net, hanayume.net, ayashi.net, shoujo.wuv.org
Q085 Do your fellow students or workers know you are a shoujo manga fan?
Yes.
Q086 Do you have any friends who are also shoujo manga fans and discuss shoujo manga with you?
Yes.
Q087 Do you have any other hobbies/interests than reading manga?
Fine Art, in particular:
Impressionism, early 20th c., 18th c, Italian Renaissance, Ukiyo-e.
Collecting fans, watching home-repair/redecorating shows, collecting anime &
fine-art books.
Q088 Do you have a favorite mangaka who is not a shoujo mangaka?
Nobuhiro Watsuki (Rurouni Kenshin)
Q089 Are there any manga titiles other than shoujo manga that you're hooked on?
Rurouni Kenshin
Q090 Who's your favorite novelist?
Jane Austen, Edith Wharton
Q091 Are there any novels that you recommend?
Pride & Prejudice (Austen), Age of Innocence, Summer (Wharton) Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
Q092 Who's your favorite musician/musicians?
Depeche Mode, New Order, Madonna, L'Arc~en~Ciel, Yoko Kanno
Q093 Who's your favorite actor/actresses?
Q094 What's your favorite TV program/programs?
Scrubs, Gilmore Girls, Trading Spaces, The Osbournes, most home-repair/redecorating shows.
Q095 What's your favorite film/films?
Currently, Moulin Rouge, though I'm not really sa film person.
Q096 What do you want in shoujo manga?
Interesting story & characters, nice drawing style, some comic relief, nothing that takes itself too seriously.
Q097 Is there anything you want to say to shoujo mangaka?
Come visit your US fans!
Q098 What does shoujo manga do for you?
Provides an escape.
Q099 Give off a message to those who have read your answers.
I want to see your answers to these questions!
Q100 Would you keep on reading shoujo manga in the future?
YES!