General Shoujo Thread

SonPan

**** WARNING***
MAJOR SPOILERS WILL BE TAGGED BUT PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS OF SPOILERS**

Hello one and all! After getting permission from the good people here, I have decided to open up this thread aimed mainly at the "Shoujo" manga and anime. For those who don't know Shoujo anime/manga that is aimed at teenage girls demographic. Meaning, it's not a genre in itself but actually contains a lot different genres. Like romantic (school) comedies, slice of life, Magical Girl*, drama, sci-fi ect. All that fun stuff.

We can use this thread to talk about all your favourite Shoujo classics (anime or manga)

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favourite recents,

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and, of course, your favourite ongoing Shoujo anime/manga.

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Guys are more than welcome to discuss what you like/don't like about Shoujo (since everyone knows every guy, admittedly or not has seen all or some of at least Sailor Moon) and take part in discussions. Strictly NO bashing without reason. If your into Shonen and hate anything to do with romance then that is your OPINION and does not mean everyone else should think the same. If your interested but never tried any from these genres than feel free to ask for recommendations.

For starters tell about your first experience with this genre, some of your favourite Shoujo (preferably in different genres) and why you like it. Name the ongoing ones your following and ones your hoping to get an anime adaptation/sequel. Also, why not post moments that moved you the most or that you find the most memorable. (Please use spoiler tags). And also, ones you'd recommend to anyone interested.

So ladies and gentlemen! Let the fun discussions begin! And lets spread the love! :wub:

Malintex_Terek

I'm watching the original Futari wa PreCure! right now. Compared with the amazing HeartCatch, it's a lot less magical and a lot more dramatic. We only have two PreCure fighting alone in a secret war against the Dark Zone which could spell the end of the Earth. Everyone in HeartCatch knew what PreCure were and supported them, in Futari wa it's literally just the two. If the world were to end, nobody would know of the two warriors who fought and died for it.

The Kiriya story is really touching.

Robby

Nodame Cantabile beats all.

Cyclone_Baroness

I liked the Wall flower. A girl that likes the dark and creepy things and is being coached by the most fantastically pretty boys to become a classy lady. And I kinda enjoyed Hanasakeru Seishonen, a reverse harem anime that isn't too bad something about a girl choosing a husband as a challenge her father put forth. But other than Sailormoon and being forced to watch FY I hadn't attempted to get into Shoujo animes.

prolix_purlieu

I honestly thought this was a witty rename of the Bakuman thread to throw people off. Alas, I am the one who has been thrown off.

TLC

Skip Beat is a pretty great shoujo. It's fun, well-written, very emotionally moving at times and has a very badass female lead.

Robby

@prolix_purlieu:

I honestly thought this was a witty rename of the Bakuman thread to throw people off. Alas, I am the one who has been thrown off.

….why the hell would it be that.

TLC

Oh wow, totally forgot this one. Love Hina. I really love this manga. But then again, does it count as a shoujo?

tatermoog

I've tried Ouran High School Host Club, Dengeki Daisy, Skip Beat, and Kimi ni Todoke. I rather liked aspects of them all (especially the first two), but good lord, they can seem to be entirely different series from a chapter-to-chapter basis.

One thing I do like about shoujo (in concept) is that it occasionally runs counter to typical romance expectations in the west. I was pleasantly surprised that Kimi Ni Todoke featured a nice, shy and shunned girl pining after the handsome, popular classmate, only to find out he actually already liked her from the beginning. But in general, it fell into the same problem I have with most shoujo, wherein the female character is wrapped up in the male counterpart to an extent that borders on obsession; Ouran is the only shoujo I tried that managed to avoid this trap for most of the run, and it's a pretty weird one.

Squaztina

My favourites are Glass Mask and 7 seeds. And of course, good old Sailor Moon and many others.
Glass Mask is a true classic and finally the "rival" character is not evil, in fact she is noble and simply great. 7 seeds on he other hand has a very interesting story, I'm a fan of sci-fi. I must say it is one of the best if not the best survival manga.

Nodame Cantabile… it is such a great series. But I think it is josei. Well, who cares, it is good.

SonPan

@Thousand:

Oh wow, totally forgot this one. Love Hina. I really love this manga. But then again, does it count as a shoujo?

Nope Love Hina is Shounen actually (not suprising that its targeted to boys)

@tatermoog:

I've tried Ouran High School Host Club, Dengeki Daisy, Skip Beat, and Kimi ni Todoke. I rather liked aspects of them all (especially the first two), but good lord, they can seem to be entirely different series from a chapter-to-chapter basis.

Ouran was a full entertainer and the last chapter was so satisfying (unlike the naime) but my god Dengeki Daisy is my new addiction. The characters are just soo refreshing. Kurosaki is so fun but at the same time fills in all the Shoujo cliches. Plus, a story about hacking in Shoujo? Yes plz! I think this ongoing manga is just something everyone should try since it has a little bit of everything.

@tatermoog:

One thing I do like about shoujo (in concept) is that it occasionally runs counter to typical romance expectations in the west. I was pleasantly surprised that Kimi Ni Todoke featured a nice, shy and shunned girl pining after the handsome, popular classmate, only to find out he actually already liked her from the beginning. But in general, it fell into the same problem I have with most shoujo, wherein the female character is wrapped up in the male counterpart to an extent that borders on obsession; Ouran is the only shoujo I tried that managed to avoid this trap for most of the run, and it's a pretty weird one.

! I agree I was so suprised that Shouta was already crushing Sawako and that HE was watching her more than she was watching him. And her perception of him being the perfect nice person was just because he tried to match her kindness. sigh love that about that manga. I agree that she is wrapped around him now, but I think it'll change with dvelopment. Since she's actually didnt notice her friends getting hurt because of her obsession with him. When she realizes that she should balance the relationships I'm sure she will change.

@prolix_purlieu:

I honestly thought this was a witty rename of the Bakuman thread to throw people off. Alas, I am the one who has been thrown off.

lol How come?

@Malintex_Terek:

I'm watching the original Futari wa PreCure! right now. Compared with the amazing HeartCatch, it's a lot less magical and a lot more dramatic. We only have two PreCure fighting alone in a secret war against the Dark Zone which could spell the end of the Earth. Everyone in HeartCatch knew what PreCure were and supported them, in Futari wa it's literally just the two. If the world were to end, nobody would know of the two warriors who fought and died for it.

The Kiriya story is really touching.

I've actually never tried any Pretty Cure series. Are they good? I like my shoujo's to be like CardCaptor Sakura/Shugo Chara where theres a mix of male and female characters.

@Squaztina:

My favourites are Glass Mask and 7 seeds. And of course, good old Sailor Moon and many others.
Glass Mask is a true classic and finally the "rival" character is not evil, in fact she is noble and simply great. 7 seeds on he other hand has a very interesting story, I'm a fan of sci-fi. I must say it is one of the best if not the best survival manga.

Nodame Cantabile… it is such a great series. But I think it is josei. Well, who cares, it is good.

I never read Glass Mask. Is there an anime?

Malintex_Terek

Ouran is a parody of shoujo, straight out. It makes fun of the stereotypes and stock scenarios with refreshing wit and humour. However, it eventually decays into a straight shoujo title, but the good impression it gives from the beginning eases people into the change.

Analogy wise, it's similar to The Secret of Monkey Island. People play Secret and wonder why it was so critically acclaimed, the humour seems dated/weird. What they miss is it's primarily a parody of generic adventure games (a la King's Quest) that has somehow emerged as the pre-eminent example of an adventure game. That's not what it was intended for at all!

@SonPan:

I've actually never tried any Pretty Cure series. Are they good? I like my shoujo's to be like CardCaptor Sakura/Shugo Chara where theres a mix of male and female characters.

Didn't you post a poster for Max Heart in your OP?

HeartCatch is really good, but has a few flaws inherent to what it is - it's long and fulled of slice-of-life, which might bore people. The villains are also under-developed, but this is apparently a problem specific only to HeartCatch and a few other titles.

Futari wa is a nice title. It feels darker than HeartCatch even though it probably isn't, but the major focus is on friendship and team-work, though it's not as even paced as other titles.

It's also juvenile in the sense that you're not going to get crazy adult stuff like girls sleeping with guys who sleep with their cousins after getting in a drunken fight with them. But that's an innocent charm, and with no fanservice anywhere it's almost like a shounen anime from before the wacky Jump era featuring heroines.

As mentioned earlier, I don't know if this is a feature of magical girl specifically, but this feels like a very "lonely" title. Futari wa, the otaku Nanatsuiro Drops and Nanoha (for a while) all give off this "coming of age with no-one to guide you" air. HeartCatch didn't have this, nor did Madoka or even Tutu.

FYI, the best PreCure is one I haven't seen, Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star. It's almost like a remake of the original Futari wa, but it supposedly better than HeartCatch. I do think Futari wa has the potential to be better than HeartCatch, but by all reports it'll not meet said potential.

SonPan

I started watching a few episodes of futari wa a few months ago, but never got back to it. But I will thanks to your over-view. I just get bored easily with a girl only cast (that sounds so shallow >.<) but I guess I'll deal with it!

Thanks again!

tatermoog

@Malintex_Terek:

Ouran is a parody of shoujo, straight out. It makes fun of the stereotypes and stock scenarios with refreshing wit and humour. However, it eventually decays into a straight shoujo title, but the good impression it gives from the beginning eases people into the change.

Yeah, the second half of Ouran isn't nearly on the same level, but I agree that I stuck through with it just for the goodwill it created in the first.

Analogy wise, it's similar to The Secret of Monkey Island. People play Secret and wonder why it was so critically acclaimed, the humour seems dated/weird. What they miss is it's primarily a parody of generic adventure games (a la King's Quest) that has somehow emerged as the pre-eminent example of an adventure game. That's not what it was intended for at all!

Well, plus it's a rock-solid adventure game that fixed the problems people had with King's Quest/Space Quest even as it mocked them lovingly. I think this is a case where they had their cake and ate it, too.

Since you seem to be quite the historian of anime/manga, do you have any thoughts on Dengeki Daisy? It's my current guilty pleasure manga, and I was wondering if it's in a particular genre (which would mean there are others like it).

Kareem Said

I find that it's difficult to get into Shojo series for a couple of reasons. They tend to be focused on love triangles and relationships, and solely that so they aren't exactly on par with the more exciting and complex subject matter Shonen and Seinen provide. But I think it's only fair to give the demographic a fair shot like any other.

So what Shojo are the best ones to try out if the closest you've ever gotten to Shojo is the Escaflowne anime. (Which is awesome btw.)

Hiroy

Lovely Complex is really good. It's probably one of the only shoujo animes I finished.

As for manga… there's a ton of them, but my favorite in terms of closure has to be Suzuka. It started off as a typical Love Hina manga, but it grew into one seriously mature story. I didn't read the whole thing since I dropped it years ago when the scanlations were below amateurish, but I read bits an pieces(whatever seemed like a "developing point" chapter title) towards to ending. I liked it. It's one of these gripes I have with shojo. They tend to waste a ton of time teasing the actual relationship happening and it's usually a bummer when the ending offers nothing. It's even more of a bummer when the thing drags on forever for eternity. Despite how Love Hina ended(don't know or care how it ended), I hated the fact that Naru and Ket's relationship kept going up, and then plunging into oblivion due to ONE stupid little thing. I dropped it because I knew it was going to be a big waste of time.

I don't have any other recommendations. I'm a more "slice of life" person.

tatermoog

@Hiroy:

Lovely Complex is really good. It's probably one of the only shoujo animes I finished.

Oh, crap, forgot about Lovely Complex. Couldn't get into the manga, but rather enjoyed the anime (until the last half dozen episodes or so). Plus, Nami's VA plays the main character and does a damned good job, so One Piece fan excuse!

IceBorg

@Hiroy:

Lovely Complex is really good. It's probably one of the only shoujo animes I finished.

As for manga… there's a ton of them, but my favorite in terms of closure has to be Suzuka. It started off as a typical Love Hina manga, but it grew into one seriously mature story. I didn't read the whole thing since I dropped it years ago when the scanlations were below amateurish, but I read bits an pieces(whatever seemed like a "developing point" chapter title) towards to ending. I liked it. It's one of these gripes I have with shojo. They tend to waste a ton of time teasing the actual relationship happening and it's usually a bummer when the ending offers nothing. It's even more of a bummer when the thing drags on forever for eternity. Despite how Love Hina ended(don't know or care how it ended), I hated the fact that Naru and Ket's relationship kept going up, and then plunging into oblivion due to ONE stupid little thing. I dropped it because I knew it was going to be a big waste of time.

I don't have any other recommendations. I'm a more "slice of life" person.

Isn't that shounen? But yeah I agree with you I very much liked it.

But then by the same author there is A Town Where You Live that started good but now everytime I read it I am like "fuck this noise", I only keep reading it because maybe it will get better. I don't think it will because the author put most likable characters in a bus and I don't think that bus will never comeback….....what a shame.

Shezar

I enjoy Kimi Todoke.The other of the same nature with romance and drama but arent shoujo that read recently were Bitter virgin(some wtf scenes with this one) and Nodame Cantabile (realy liked this one).

Edit:i dont believe i forgot about Lovely complex,this another one i enjoyed.

IceBorg

Bitter Virgin is saddest thing ever the last chapter killed me.

Robby

Kodomo No Omocha (Kodocha, stateside) is pretty great too. Sana is a blast, and Hayama is the man. And its one of the rare cases where the anime is actually way better, because its just… way more insane.

Fruits Basket is supposed to be realyl good, and I keep trying, but I can't get past the first couple chapters.

There is of course, Sailor Moon. But that is... uhm... what it is. And most of the work by Clamp.

@Thousand:

Oh wow, totally forgot this one. Love Hina. I really love this manga. But then again, does it count as a shoujo?

It's a harem manga full of panty shots and action scenes. No its not a shojo.

SonPan

@RobbyBevard:

Fruits Basket is supposed to be realyl good, and I keep trying, but I can't get past the first couple chapters.

Oh man Fruits Basket is what got me into the genre. And honestly, its still one of my favourites. The stories are just so varied. And not all of the characters problems are "wanna go out with X character," far from it actually. Plus, Kyo's development throughout the series and his story is just so interesting. And by the end of it you feel like you now how he's going to react. Theres always a character that you could connect with in that manga.
Granted, Tohru, as a character, is not as interesting as the other characters, but the chapters of focus on other characters really make up for it.
Try reading it atleast untill the horse (my favourite female character) is introduced, since thats when it really gets interesting.

Any Shugo Chara fans here?
If so then you understand when I say that I miss this:
[hide]

Ikuto…. more importantly Ikuto AND Yoru is pretty much why I love Shugo Chara so much lol[/hide]
If an anime/manga has fanservice for BOYS (boobs, panty shots, harems, ect) then its not a shoujo lol

Johnnay

I'm not sure if Fruits Basket was what got me into the genre, but it was one of the first manga I actually collected. I haven't even finished the series yet, but it's still the manga I own the most volumes of and I always enjoyed it from what I can remember.

There's one story in it that one of the character's tell that I found really memorable, I'll see if I can remember which volume it was from and post it. Not even a spoiler, it's just something I can always remember about the series when I think back on it. That being said, really like the series… Though I'm not sure how easy it is to get into since it's been a long time since I read the first few chapters, but I'd like to think it improves as it goes on and that it's worth giving a chance.

SonPan

The most memorable story from the earlier chapters is definately Momiji's story. I remember crying buckets, the first time I read it. And still cried when I watched the aniime lol

Malintex_Terek

@tatermoog:

Since you seem to be quite the historian of anime/manga, do you have any thoughts on Dengeki Daisy? It's my current guilty pleasure manga, and I was wondering if it's in a particular genre (which would mean there are others like it).

I'll have to ask my sister, she's the expert on shoujo manga. I haven't personally read that title.

@RobbyBevard:

It's a harem manga full of panty shots and action scenes. No its not a shojo.

Well, I wouldn't use that as the defining criteria. Cutie Honey is full of male-oriented fanservice, but it's still very much a shoujo title.

Squaztina

@SonPan:

I never read Glass Mask. Is there an anime?

Sure, there are two versions, one from 1984 and the other from 2005 and I think the latter is much more appealing to the eye. But I don't know whether it is fully subbed in English or not, since I read mangas rather than watch animes. I can only suggest you to read the manga. (until it is translated ^^""""").

Saturn Beaver

Does Cardcaptor Sakura counts as a Shoujo? Because I love watching the anime when I was a kid, only CLAMP title I ever followed though. Another anime I loved to watch that I don't think has been mentioned here is UFO Baby, just something cute and funny to watch. Also Ultra Maniac on Animax, that was pretty fun. There's also Fushigi Yuugi mentioned in the OP, but personally I liked that more on the myth and war aspects and easily grow tired of the whole Miaka-Tamahome angst and drama.

For manga, there is this one thing that I really liked, named GALS! What I liked about that is that despite being in the usual high-school girl setting, it doesn't delve too deep on relationship problems and drama like romance shoujos usually do, but instead focusing on friends hanging out together and enjoying their youth, it was full of energy and a blast to read. Fruit Basket is also pretty enjoyable, from what little I've read of it.

SonPan

CCS is my FAVOURITE Magical girl shoujo! Love it to death! (like it more than Sailor Moon).

SonPan

I just read the recent chapter of Dengiki Daisy (41) thats translated and OMG I cried. This whole arc has made my cry so much but I'm glad its over.

Just to keep the discussion going. How about we all post their favorite moments (funny or serious) of any Shoujo. In spoiler tags of course…

To get it rolling I'll post a moment from Ouran that still makes me laugh today: (no spoiler tag needed)

"So please make sure that you dont step across this line…"
AHAHA Gets me everytime :P

m00n

I might as well throw in the only Shojo I've read so far. Kare Kano was really cheesy but also fun to read. It's a nice contrast to the shonen that deal with relationships in that the two, (and yeah it's really only two) get together right away. I will never read a shounen about love again because all of them seem to be an endless limbo with ever new girls that have a thing for the wussy guy. And the main girl is often weak too. Neither was the case with Kare Kano where the two start out as strong but cold persons that become more and more human in love. So yeah it was rather refreshing to read a new story and not the same old thing all over again.

I've also promised to read Nodame Cantabile at some point but I still have to do that. I heard good things about it.

Yonkou255

YAY! Im gonna love this thread!

Im reading Tokimeki Tonight and watching the works of the late Kaoru Tada (Ai Shite Night and Itazura Na Kiss.)

Oh and I FUCKING LOVE PRETTY CURE! Seriously, the only truly bad one is Suite. The rest are amazing.

SonPan

The new chapter for Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama and Kimi Ni todoke is out!!
Woooot!
Going to read Maid-Sama first since I'm less excited for that one (it's actually getting kind of dry for me)
Am I the only one who feels that Usui is the Edward Cullen of shoujo… and his "backstory" was lackluster?
Minor comparison spoiler of Usui's past if you care that much.

! I felt it was a bad mix of Tamaki and Ikuto's past

@M00N try Degenki Daisy. It's surprisingly good and it's not really like a normal high school shoujo so its pretty refreshing…

Yonkou255

No Terek. Cutie Honey is Shonen.

GEPPETTOSMONSTER

Would Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles, XXXholic and Fushugi Yugi be considered as Shoujo?

IceBorg

About the first two, too much mind-fuck to be a shoujo.

SonPan

@GEPPETTOSMONSTER:

Would Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles, XXXholic and Fushugi Yugi be considered as Shoujo?

Tsubasa is a Shonen and xxxholic is a Seinin. But FY is definitely a Shoujo. :)
Although, I have to say that Tsubasa has some elements that feel shoujo-ish, maybe cause its character designs are based off of CCS (of the two main characters) or the main story being essentially a love story.

kappa-san

Does anyone remember "Mirmo!" ? It's about fairies from magical cups who grants wishes where the prince fairy is helping the main girl to be with the guy she loves. My favorite was the 3rd season where the evil demon fairy takes over the world. Lots of plot twists I'll tell you.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirmo_Zibang

Sadly, it's rather underrated and anime fans from Latin American countries and Philippines are the only ones who knows this anime outside Japan.

SonPan

Was anyone else very confused with the recent chapter of Dengeki Daisy? Maybe the translation was more wonky than usual, but it was really hard for me to understand what was going on…

Yonkou255

@kappa-san:

Does anyone remember "Mirmo!" ? It's about fairies from magical cups who grants wishes where the prince fairy is helping the main girl to be with the guy she loves. My favorite was the 3rd season where the evil demon fairy takes over the world. Lots of plot twists I'll tell you.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirmo_Zibang

Sadly, it's rather underrated and anime fans from Latin American countries and Philippines are the only ones who knows this anime outside Japan.

YAY! I LOVE MIRMO!

I thought it was boring until the Warumo Gang came along.

RollingStone

@Malintex_Terek:

I'll have to ask my sister, she's the expert on shoujo manga. I haven't personally read that title.

Well, I wouldn't use that as the defining criteria. Cutie Honey is full of male-oriented fanservice, but it's still very much a shoujo title.

Its a Shonen. Go Nagai said so.

And WHY THE FUCK HASNT ANYONE POSTED HERE? Too busy whining about Naruto And Bleach, I guess.

Onepieceanimefan23

It seems no one has posted it here in awhile, well i recently began reading a shojo manga called black bird, and i'm not sure if this has been mentioned but i'm also a fan of vampire knight, and would heartcatch pretty cure count it's a magical girl title but it does have shojo elements in it

Deviant_Mugen

Ah, shojo, I have such a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with the genre. I'll start with something positive, though, and say that I really enjoyed Lovely Complex (which I watched, then read, recently). It just hit all the right notes for me, especially regarding Risa and Otani, which helped me ignore some of its more contrived drama (a shojo staple). After so many plain Jane catches the eye of the popular guy stories, two friends falling in love was a breath of fresh air. If anyone has any recommendations that are similar to it, I'd love to hear about them.

That's the only shojo that I can think of that I didn't end up absolutely hating, unfortunately. Among my list of offenders are:

Bokura ga Ita (My gateway, which I enjoyed a lot, before Yano returned and fucked it all up.)
Kimi ni Todoke (It was okay at first, but then the dragging started and now it seems like it doesn't know where it's going.)
Sukitte Ii na Yo (Mei lost all her character as soon as she gained her token popular asshole, and became a relationship guru, despite having zero experience.)

My deal with shojo manga is that I always end up enjoying the best friend character (who almost always ends up alone) more than the main crush, whom I usually hate; in BgI it was Takeuchi, while in Sukitte it's Kai, and in KnT, I enjoy the other two couples more than the main one. Also, the idealized and, at times, just plain unrealistic depiction of love and relationships tend to make me roll my eyes something fierce (which I suppose is natural, since I'm nowhere near the target demographic). Still, obviously there are shojo manga that avoid these godawful cliches (or at least don't pile them on), but they're just hard to find amidst the sea of generic plain-Jane-meets-popular-asshole fare.

Oh, Ore Monogatari! is another great series, but I think it got dropped by the group that was scanning it, which is unfortunate. Seriously, where else will you find a shojo that stars a big, burly guy and his bro-tastic bishie best friend? Hopefully it gets picked up by someone else, because it had a great premise and characters (and the big guy had just gotten himself a girlfriend, too!)…

Somewhere

I'm not a shoujo reader, but I'll watch drama adaptations of shoujo (usually by following actors & actresses around). Yasuko to Kenji. Mei-chan no Shitsuji. Otomen. Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (particularly the 2007 version).
My overall impression of the genre so far is that they make pretty solid material for live action, actually.

Kdom

I've found a really nice girl mavnga author recently : Hinako Ashihara. Unfortunately I'm not sure she is scanned in English.
I also have very nice Josei readings 7 seeds (her former work Basara is also good), Princess jellyfish, Nodame Cantabile (a must read) and Gokusen (GTO girl version)

MiyamotoMusashi

There are many interesting and unconventional Shoujo out there, it would be a waste really not to try them, a few examples:

Adekan, Ghost Hunt, Natsume´s bood of friends, Dengeki Daisy, Orange, Hajimari no Niina, Tokyo Crazy Paradise, Basara, Banana Fish, No.6, Hotarubi no Mori e…....

Cruithne

One thing that's always bothered me about shoujo manga is how often they romanticize abusive relationships.

And that the misogyny is often worse than in shonen manga.

(Also, am I the only one irked by how seemingly half the covers have the heroine having that blank surprised circle mouth?)

RollingStone

Yes. YES. That shit needs to DIE.