Chihayafuru: How the Cult-Hit Series Combines Shojo, Shonen and Josei (2025)

Manga blurs the line between demographic and genre. Words like shonen, shojo and seinen hold a lot of weight in a series' marketing, and they're generally a fair indicator of content. However, for every manga that is described accurately, there is another severely simplified by its label. There are plenty of series that blend the tropes and tendencies of multiple demographics -- hybrid manga that mix and match, not really fitting into the common categories . These series are a breath of fresh air and, more often than not, they make their unique blend of genres work.

A great example of this isChihayafuru.While it's technically a josei series aimed at adult women, readers would be forgiven for seeing it as a shojo made for girls or even something of a shonen,which are usually aimed at boys. The series gives fans a shojo-esque love triangle, shonen-inspired sporting tournaments and a thick wad of josei maturity, as well as a Japanese literature lesson along the way.

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What is Chihayafuru?

Chihayafuruis an ongoing manga by Yuki Suetsugu, serialized in theBe Lovejosei magazinewith a three-season anime adaptation by Studio Madhouse. Chihayafuruis all about karuta, a card game based around a set of traditional Japanese poems. As a competitive sport, it's hard to get into and isn't widely played, even in Japan.The protagonist is Ayase Chihaya, a young, tomboyish karuta newbie living in the shadow of her famous sister. She's introduced to the competitive side of karuta by Wataya Arata, a karuta prodigy. Chihaya, Arata and a boy named Mashima Taichi spend their days playing the game until circumstances split them up. As the story goes on, Chihaya aspires to be the "Queen"of karuta and to win at Nationals with her high school team. Meanwhile, she is embroiled in a fiery love triangle, with both Arata and Taichi falling in love with her.

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The Shojo Love Triangle

Chihayafuru could very easily be published in a shojo magazine. Its focus onlove, its high school setting, slice-of-life moments and, most importantly, its two cute boys competing over the female protagonist all make the series a contender for the genre. There's Arata, the karuta prodigy, who's something of an idol figure for Chihaya. He's shy, poor and pretty bad at everything that isn't karuta. This is in contrastto Taichi, the good-looking, straight-A rich boy who has everything in the worldexceptfor karuta, though he persists with the game for Chihaya's sake.

Likemostshojo protagonists, Chihaya cares about both boys while being completely oblivious to their feelings. Interestingly, this straightforward, passionate shojo mindset translates directly to her shonen mindset, which is squarely atbecoming the best karuta player in the world. And, while Chihayafuru'sromanceis certainly idealized at points (another shojo mainstay), it retains a dose of josei realism. Each character is flawed and their relationships cannot escape immaturity, insecurity and other adolescent issues often glossed over in a shojo story.

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The Shonen Joyride

Above all else, Chihaya is a shonen protagonist. Straightforward, passionate and ambitious, Chihaya wants to be the Queen just as much Naruto wants to be the Hokage orLuffy wants to be the Pirate King. This leads her to karuta tournaments, which turn the complex card game into an action-packed sport. It takes speed, strategy and endurance, all attributes Chihayafuruuses to create exciting karuta matches clearly inspired by sports shonen. Chihaya also adopts theclassic sports shonen goal of winning Nationals with the high school team. Instead of conflicting with its slow-moving, shojo backbone, Chihaya's shonen aspirations urge the romance forward. The better she gets at karuta, the more she learns of herself, gaining a better appreciation for the game's guiding poetry and its subject matter, which includes love and devotion. She also edges ever closer to Arata, who sits atop the karuta world.

As with any good shonen, Chihaya's passion is infectious and her aspirations are easy to get behind. Still,Chihayafuru'sjosei roots perk up again with the constant reminder that karuta cannot be a professional career and, within her family, Chihaya's aspirations cause conflict. Chihaya's straightforward, karuta-obsessed mindset also interferes with her relationship with Taichi when she fails to understand his feelings.

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The Josei Narrative

It's rare for a josei to contain a dreamy high school love triangle or a shonen-esque sports tournament, as josei stories usually exist outside of high school and have an adult female protagonist. Still,Chihayafurubrings josei realism to its adolescent setting. Chihaya struggles with her uncertain future and terrible grades. Taichi laments over his wasted youth and plays karuta without really enjoying it, much to the disapproval of his controlling mother. Arata struggles with his family's poverty and his grandfather's dementia, all while shouldering the pressure of his prodigious status. There's also Hideo Harada, a wizened karuta player well into his fifties, still desperately seeking the Meijin title (the title of the best male player) after his career stole him away from the game. That being said, Chihayafuru is far from a sad story -- its core messages are warm, romantic and uplifting, intertwined with discussions on theOgura Hyakunin Isshu, the Japanese poetry anthology used in karuta.

Broadly, Chihayafuru is about youth and passion, though not in a way that shuts out an older audience, nor one too difficult for younger readers to understand. The series' themes are far-reaching, and it uses its blend of the shojo, shonen and josei genres to drive them home. Part of the reasonChihayafuruworks is Yuki Suetsugu's skilled writing, though its success also speaks to how well certain tropes work in tandem. The high school love triangle has potential outside of the shojo, and the shonen protagonist can find purpose in a more mature narrative. Similarly, it's easy to see how the genre-centric, definition-obsessed value placed on demographic can simplify complex series and the audiences that enjoy them. After all, for every manga that fits snugly into a box, there's a series likeChihayafuru,which is a lot harder to pin down.

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