Shōjo

The term comes from the Japanese book market and is a target audience label there. In the West, it's used as a style term — for a narrative that is slow, places great weight on glances, and prioritizes inner perspective over plot.

Typically, there is a mismatch between the size of the feeling and the smallness of the occasion. A touch on the wrist carries three chapters. This is precisely what makes the style akin to what the English-speaking scene today calls Yearning.

Important for Everglow: All characters here are adults. We use Shōjo as a description of tone, not age — the excitement of the first time exists just as much at thirty-five.