In a throwback to an early tongue-in-cheek blog entry listing some of the best romantic tips shojo manga has to offer, I thought I’d write a similar post on the nuggets of wisdom found in shojo series on friendship. Making friends is hard, and with the wide variety of female friendships in shojo manga — from childhood best friends to frenemies — there’s tons of great advice to help you snag a lifelong gal pal!
Torment them: One of the things that never ceases to amaze me in shojo manga is how many friendships are forged by attempted battery. Too many times in shojo manga, the main female character’s bitchy popular female classmate attacks her out of jealousy because she has a crush on the main male lead. The most extreme example I can think of is Harumi from Mars, who threatens to smash the main female character and artist Kira’s fingers with a dumbbell unless she gives up on the school’s mysterious playboy Rei. Shortly after the incident, Kira quickly forgives Harumi and the two become best friends. Guys horse around all of the time: so why can’t girls make lifelong friendships by punching each other’s lights out too?
Isolate them: If shojo manga teaches readers anything about female friendships in high school, it’s that being more two-faced than Regina George complimenting your sweater is a surefire way to make best friends. Just look at Yuyuka in Daytime Shooting Star, who makes sure transfer student Suzume is the only one left out of a class outing by telling her the wrong meeting place. Once Suzume realizes Yuyuka is jealous of her and is far from the sweet girl she pretends to be, instead of avoiding Yuyuka by any means necessary like most people would, instead, she makes her a confidante. But the best mean girls know that you don’t have to be a direct bully: you can enlist other people to help you! Probably the best example is Maho is Kare Kano, who gets all of the girls in her class to turn against model student Yukino, who has stolen her spotlight. But when her plan backfires and the class starts ostracizing her, Yukino and Maho decide to start living true to themselves instead of trying to be perfect, developing a fast friendship.
Move far, far away: Seeing a friend frequently can often deepen the bonds between people, making them extremely close in a short period of time. But sometimes, getting far the hell away from someone solidifies that bond even faster! Just look at Hotaru and Mikan’s friendship in Gakuen Alice: after Hotaru moves away from her hometown and friend Mikan to the dorms at Alice Academy, Mikan follows her and manages to get accepted at the school. While the stoic Hotaru sometimes treated Mikan as a nuisance, joining Alice Academy gets Mikan to realize how important she actually is to Hotaru, strengthening their friendship.
Steal their crush: Nothing says “let’s be besties” better than making out with your friend’s object of desire. After all, why talk about music, fashion or hobbies when you can obsess over how hot your mutual crush is? Take for example Kimi ni Todoke‘s Sawako, who becomes friends with Kurumi after she finds out that her pretty schoolmate has feelings for her crush Kazehaya. Oh sure, Kurumi sees Sawako as a rival at first and may have spread rumors about her — but once Sawako perseveres in the love triangle and she and Kazehaya become an official couple, Kurumi becomes her close friend. After all, stealing a girl’s man earns respect.
These are just some wonderful examples that show that beneath every female rivalry lies true friendship! If someone tries to attack you or gets 50 girls to bully you, then suddenly decides to be your friend, why bother having a conversation about their previous misbehavior or the trauma you endured at their hands? If you just accept them for who they are, they’ll likely prove to be unwaveringly loyal and an asset to you. After all, a best friend is called a “partner in crime” for a reason.
