How did you (the hosts) meet?

Chika: Giana put out an advertisement looking for a co-host for a shoujo podcast. So, I saw it and contacted her about it. The rest is history.

Giana: I was looking to start up a shoujo anime podcast and put out feelers online. When Chika emailed me, we set up a Discord call, and only a few minutes into our hour-long call I just knew I didn’t have to look for anybody else.

 

How would you describe your dynamic as hosts? Who brings what to the table to make such a great team?

Chika: I think we have a friendly dynamic, and the rapport is easily picked up by anyone who listens to us. I handle social media posts, planning logistics, and brand aesthetics. Giana manages editing, and there would be no podcast without that.

Giana: In addition to what Chika said, we’re both so passionate about the media we consume and each bring our own unique perspective to what we’re watching. I feel like we’re both cracking jokes the other doesn’t expect all the time. I also find it so interesting that, for two people who met just to create this podcast, we often find ourselves in agreement with the other’s points.

 

Tell us more about your podcast’s name ‘Shoujo Sundae.’ How did you come up with it?

Chika: I knew we would cover shoujo, but I wanted a marketable element that would set us apart. Associating it with ice cream was fun and just felt right.

Giana: I credit Chika for coining “Shoujo Sundae”! When we realized we could make all of our segments cute ice cream puns, it was so easy to get the ball rolling on branding.

 

Surely this is a creative outlet for the both of you. How does creating and maintaining this platform support you all personally?

Chika: It’s a creative outlet where we have full control over every aspect of what we produce. I think it helps us in a time when so many people, organizations, etc., told us no, and yet here we are, making things happen.

Giana: Having creative control over a passion project is so empowering when you might not have control in other aspects of your life. Sitting down to watch things like Fruits Basket, Ouran HighSchool Host Club, Sasaki and Miyano among other things we’ve covered has also offered an escape from the trials of everyday life. It’s nice to have regular “scheduled TV time”.

 

Shoujo anime is very specific in centering the stories of women characters. How does your podcast and other social platforms connected to the Shoujo Sundae brand  support these stories by dissecting and disseminating information in a way that makes a novice (like myself) interested?

Chika: The best thing about Shoujo Sundae is that people can essentially start listening to our podcast at any episode. Even if someone hasn’t watched or read the show we are reviewing, we summarize the media we talk about before we get into an analysis of it. So, listeners can learn why shoujo media and shoujo characters are important to us. The best way we can support shoujo anime is by actively talking about it.

Giana: As Chika stated, the best way you can support shoujo is by talking about it. The more loud interest there is in shoujo media, the more likely these stories centering women will be picked up and turned into anime for us to enjoy. So that’s why we like to dig deep and give every inch of these stories our full attention.

 

What would you say is the most common misconception of Shoujo anime in comparison to other demographics and sub-genres that are more male-centered?

Chika: I think many people equate shoujo anime to just being romance, and that’s not right. We don’t get the same amount of variety that other demographics get in terms of genre, and I know that because I read shoujo manga. There is just as much self-discovery in shoujo and josei anime as in shounen and seinen anime. People allow their internalized misogyny to dissuade them from taking shoujo anime more seriously.

Giana: Shoujo is so often boiled down to high school romance, and, while I love a good romance, that is certainly not all that shoujo is. Fruits Basket, for example, has romance elements, but is more so about generational trauma and family bonds than the romance threads throughout. But, I’m sure people hear “they turn into animals when they get hugged” and think it’s some fluffy, silly story on the surface. Shoujo, like shounen and seinen, is a demographic. Romance is a genre. There are shounen romances just like there are shoujo romances, but there are also shoujo sci-fis, and actions, and much more to discover!

 

What have you come to value most in terms of growing the brand? How do you feel about maintaining your authentic voices in the age of social media, where everything can become a bit overwhelming and seemingly copy/paste in some cases?

Chika: I value our authenticity. We don’t pay much attention to what other podcasts do or discuss. We focus on our journey. So, staying true to ourselves and competing with ourselves sets us apart from others. We can tell we are doing a good job by seeing how some of our strategies are duplicated by other anime podcasts. I will say that in the age of social media and podcasting, people need to figure out specifically what they want to do and then stick to that. What Shoujo Sundae values or accomplishes shouldn’t be what every anime podcast wants to accomplish. We have our own motivations. If you need to be heavily guided on what you should do next based on what we are doing, then podcasting might not be for you.

Giana: I agree with Chika – our authenticity is what allows us to look back on our catalog and endeavors and feel proud knowing that we’ve spent the last two years being true to ourselves as shoujo fans and creatives.

 

What would you say, as a women-led podcast, has been your biggest barrier in the anime creator space?

Chika: A lot of people act holier than thou about anime but know next to nothing about shoujo anime, and that has been a barrier. People put this onus on women and femme-presenting people that we have to know shounen or seinen titles to be an anime fan. It’s just weird seeing people actively pigeonhole themselves online. I would think that if you like an artistic medium you should explore all aspects of it. That’s why I can say I am a fan of anime because I have watched, read, and enjoyed all demos.

Giana: I think Chika hit the nail on the head. Shoujo is often discarded due to its misconceptions of being superficial, sugary romance stories only. We, as shoujo fans, are often told we aren’t valid anime fans simply because we connect more with shoujo by people who haven’t taken the time to explore the demographic. It’s really ironic for people who haven’t taken the time to understand shoujo to criticize it and try to invalidate people like Chika and I who are also fans of the other demographics. We just connect more to the media beneath the shoujosei umbrella.

 

How does the community you’ve built support you? How important is building community with fellow creators and listeners?

Chika: Our community engages with us in the Shoujo Sundae Discord Server and actively as listeners. It’s always nice to see people commenting in our podcast discussion channel about our episodes because we put a lot of effort into each one. In addition, when they like and share our audiograms, it means a lot to us because we work with an artist to capture certain scenes or characters we talk about. So, people who actively engage with our work and talk with us on social media about our work, specifically are our community.

It’s essential to build a community that cares about your work as a creative. We don’t create things just to throw paint on the wall. We want to be understood and start a conversation. Creating without a community is like watching a slow death, to be honest.

Giana: While it’s just Chika and I (and sometimes some guests) on the podcast, it’s really about having a conversation with our listeners. That’s what our podcast discussion channel is for in our Discord server, and I love engaging with listeners there. There is no conversation without community, and we made this podcast in order to share shoujo with as many people as possible. Community is everything, and I’m so grateful for everyone who’s taken the time to listen, comment, share, and discuss with us about any of our episodes.

 

When formatting your episodes, do you rely on engagement from your listeners to determine the theme of each episode or is it ‘whatever Giana and Chika’ are interested in currently?

Chika: When we discuss themes in our podcast episodes, we always refer to the theme of the content we are watching. So, if anything, it’s our interpretation of the source material. We do rely on listeners’ engagement for moral/emotional support, though.

Giana: The shows and films we pick vary from what we feel like watching and discussing and what we notice people online are interested in/talking about currently. Sometimes we have our patrons vote on a show to cover as well!

 

What classic shoujo anime film and/or series would you recommend to a first-timer? What is a current film/series that currently has your interest?

Chika: I would recommend Only Yesterday as a classic shoujo film that people can enjoy. It’s a coming-of-age film about an adult, and many people need that. It’s hard to recommend things to people if we don’t know the genres they like typically. If someone needs therapy and can’t afford it, I recommend Fruits Basket as a series they can get into. If you want melodrama, check out Peach Girl or Boys Over Flowers. And if you want to be forever changed, watch Revolutionary Girl Utena or read the shoujo manga, Basara by Yumi Tamura.

Giana: I agree with Chika that it helps to know what genres somebody is interested in before giving a recommendation. I think Snow White with the Red Hair could be a nice starting point. It has a lot of interesting elements like a unique world, a strong protagonist, and great romance beats. Fruits Basket is a classic for a reason – it is an absolutely incredible story that everyone can deeply relate to at some point in the plot. A series that currently has my interest is the long-awaited season three of Kimi Ni Todoke which is slated to come out in August!

 

What are some of the goals for your platform? What are some things you’d like to explore in the near future?

Chika: It would be great if more patrons joined our Patreon. We would like to be a weekly podcast and aren’t capable of doing that without monetary support, so we can get editing help. We would like to explore the impact of shoujo adaptations in live-action dramas, and we have already started doing that on our Patreon. We finished covering Hana Yori Dango Season 1 (the Japanese Live-Action from 2005).

Giana: We want to continue to build our community and engage more with listeners in our Discord. Going back to producing content weekly so that we can cover longer shows like those essential shoujo classics like Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Revolutionary Girl Utena would be so amazing! We would need more Patreon support for that. I also think that it would be so cool to be part of a panel at a convention someday.

 

We’ve dropped a few links below for you to explore and connect with our friends over at Shoujo Sundae:

Shoujo Sundae Instagram, Shoujo Sundae Twitter/X, Shoujo Sundae YouTube – Be sure to tune in, like, follow, and rate the pod!