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First, I’ll go over the predictions for 2015.

Back to 2015 Predictions

• Cooking/Baking/Domesticated Male series continue debuting. [Yep! The trend escalated!]
• More “Vampire Knight” comic and light novel spinoffs as Hakusensha struggles to find a new flagship series for Lala. “Shuriken Pleats” will end or morph into a thinly veiled “Vampire Knight” clone. [Wow! Nailed it!]
• “Urakata” will morph into a romance. “Tamaki” character will take over because bland boy is too bland. [Don’t know. Will see in the licensed version.]
• Why don’t I just expand that to all new series started by mangaka of hit series that just ended will morph into some form of that previous hit. [Some ended. I don’t know about the ones that are still ongoing.]
• Another publisher will debut a magazine to rival Ane Lala (my feeling is that it will be a Cheese! or Betsuma spinoff) [Nope.]
• Some US publisher other than DMP will discover the magic of Ohzora Publishing’s over-the-top costume romances. “Tokyo Super Sheik” must come to the US followed by something tame from the Next F line. “Tokyo Super Sheik” will rule the world! Manga snobs will cry, pound at the dust, and decry the end of manga.[Nope.]
• Epic camels will start appearing everywhere as a gag. [Nope.]
• “QQ Sweeper” will break out now that the romance has been ratcheted up. [Nope.]
• The return of the bland girl!!! But this time the bland girl will be protected from the S-guy by the nice guy. Hooray for White Knights…ugh… [Nope. The S-guy still wins.]
• A US publisher will take a chance on “P to JK” and “HnR” and English-reading shoujo fans will collectively lose their sh*t. The lucky US publisher will swim in gold coins like Scrooge McDuck. The age-gap cherry will be popped, and we’ll finally get “Faster than a Kiss”. [NOPE. Sigh…]
• Princess and Aria will each debut a new series that will blow my mind. [NOPE.]
• Takagi Shigeyoshi will debut an edgy shoujo or josei series instead of saving all the screwed up fun for yaoi. [NOPE.]
• There will be an age-gap oneshot or short series in The Hana to Yume that will go completely sideways and I will LOVE IT. My dream mangaka for this oneshot/short series is none other than Takagi Shigeyoshi or her sister Morie Satoshi. [Nope.]
• “The Sword of Chandra” will become a series in The Hana to Yume. [There’s still hope for this in 2016!]
  

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Predictions for 2016

And now on to the 2016 predictions! Things feel very much in the air right now. Lala is searching for an identity and I don’t have a feel for what will break the gentleness of 2015. But I’m gonna take some guesses:

• Increased BL creep. It will be played off as a gag at first until some mangaka decides to get serious about it.
• Star Wars: TFA will spark a new trend in strong girl adventures that aren’t historical
• Olympic fever will hit as the torch is passed from Rio to Tokyo, so we’ll see some sports shoujo manga with the girls actually doing the sports.
• More male MCs who are very focused on, if not obsessed, with the female MC, but not overtly prickish to her. Rather, the guy will be scheming for exclusivity and attention by swatting away other potential suitors (I’m gonna call them “fly swatter boyfriends”.)
• Perverted females and unwilling guys. Let the S&M gags begins! I saw a few of these stories slipped in as oneshots in the second half of 2015.
• All the boys feeding the women because that is all women’s dream!
• “Urakata” will end and an “Ouran” spin off will begin.

My 2016 Shoujo Wishlist

• A new short series in Ane Lala from Bisco Hatori, preferably a Kyoya Ouran spinoff. Give it to me!!! I’ll give you all my money! Hatori has shown she can write really good young working adult shoujo with “Petite Peche”.
• I’m still begging for a new horror or psychological series from Morie Satoshi and/or her sister Takagi Shigeyoshi.
• More short stories from Mikko Komori (“Yurayura Yureru”)
• Another short series from Rikachi
• The return of themed special Lalas. I NEED Kuro Lala 2016 and Aka Lala 2016.
• More smut oneshots and short series in the magazine supplements.
• Increase the sexual tension in stories. I’m tired of all the cute and shy girls.
• Pirates! I love me some pirates!
• Female Assassin or body guard with a protective prince/king/executive/crime boss.
• More oneshots and short series. 3-chapter series are great!
• Animal stories! I love them tough cat tales.
• More modern or futuristic fantasy.
• A series called “Bitchcraft” where the girls are witches who are sabotaging each other in comedic fashion.

Next up will my 2016 shoujo license predictions and wishlist!