Absolute Boyfriend (with Asher Sofman)

Shojo & Tell: A Manga Podcast

This episode discusses all six volumes of Absolute Boyfriend by Yuu Watase.

The Ashes are back to do a compare and contrast between two shojo heavyweights, Yuu Watase and CLAMP. Last episode we covered Chobits even though it's a seinen series, partially because we're determined to read every CLAMP series, and partially because we knew Absolute Boyfriend appears to have taken heavy inspiration from Chobits and shojo-ified it. We talk about how Absolute Boyfriend handles sex and A.I. compared to Chobits, whether it's magical and dreamy that your boyfriend can be destroyed and have to go to the Apple Store, and are thankful that, at the very least, Riko is not a schmuck. (Although, she might be the high school female equivalent of a schmuck? You decide after hearing how she handled her love triangle between the figure, Night, and her best friend, Soshi.)

REFERENCES

• Absolute Boyfriend is available in English from Viz Media's Shojo Beat line
• Why do they keep making live action adaptations of this??
• Other Watase series mentioned:
  • Fushigi Yugi
  • Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden
  • Fushigi Yugi: Byakko Senki
  • Ceres
  • Arata
  • Sakura-Gari
• Other CLAMP series mentioned:
  • Legal Drug
  • X
• CLAMP interview mentioned
• Misc. mentions:
  • Megane
  • Boss Baby
  • Twilight
  • Magical Girlfriend
  • Noragami
  • BioShock
  • Hatsune Miku
  • IA
• Outro song: "The Streatham Hill Gods" by Danosongs

CONTACT US

• Asher on Archive of Our Own: @dashery
• Shojo & Tell on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram
• Ashley's Tales of Xillia fanfic: Well Suited