I think they took it easy because this happened in the showbuisness so people tend to think that every actor are having a wild life. As for Bollywood movies, well some part of India may consider it taboo and others don't.

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My friend tried to get me to read shojo. (understandable, since i'm a girl)
I felt strangely... dirty afterwards.
Well before, i'd read Revolutionary Girl Utena, and although the visuals bugged me insanely and the obvious fan service, it was compelling enough for me to get through.

What my friend was getting me to read was the generic, formulaic shojo Muto was describing. It was so obviously pandering to a female fantasy, almost like porn for women, where they can live out the fantasy vicariously through the bland protagonist. Not to mention the art really bothers me in how simplistic it is. I know it's the "style" but it just looks so half-assed, kind of like Sunday newspaper comics before Bill Watterson happened where each panel would be an exact copy past of the last.

Not to mention, the whole "i have three guys in love with me at the same time" thing feels like a massive ego thing, and almost completely unrealistic. And yes, the guys are definitely jerks. This is NOT good as it's a terrible influence on Shojo manga's demographic, i.e. young and impressionable teenage girls.

Well although I despise bad Shojo with a passion. In the end, i don't think it's the worst thing that ever happened, but i certainly understand why some people would like it.

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Don't forget the added "drama"...
"I have three guys in love with me at the same time. Oh woe is me, this is terrible! Three hot guys, all wanting to impress me, spoil me, treat me to things and love me, it's just terrible. Oh which one should I choose, although it's obvious I only like this one guy - Oh, but the other two were nice to me for five minutes. Oh I don't know which one to choose~"

I never mentioned anything about the obligatory Best Girl Friend the Shoujo Heroine has. The best friend will, of course, be an opposite of the Heroine - but not so much that she is the rival! There may be a short time where she turns into a rival but quickly becomes the best friend again The best friend will be outgoing, maybe have had a boyfriend before or currently be in a relationship, gives the Heroine constant tips and is the only person who ever tells her that she's an idiot for complaining about her "tragic circumstances" of having at least two guys liking her.

Oh God now I am thinking of Koizora! What a crap manga!

C-A

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oh man, that "koizora" manga sounds like a really doozy
hey wait, doesn't the "best girl friend" usually end up with Guy B?

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Sometimes, yeah. Other times she falls for Guy B.2 who is the best friend of Guy B and it generally happens while the Heroine is going out with Guy B.

C-A

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You pretty much pointed out in your first post almost all the reasons why I dislike shoujo manga. To be honest, I tend to dislike stories with romance as the main theme - more because of how most people do a shitty job writing about romance than because I'm personally not too much into romance.

Another thing that bugs me in shoujo manga is how girls generally fall for guys because they're hot. That "Jerk" you mentioned is the kind of guy that would NEVER be popular or a potential love interest to the heroine if he wasn't hot.
Alright, appearances matter, beauty is a big factor of attraction for most people, but I still think that having beauty as your only or most important criteria for attraction dumb. Heck, sometimes the shoujo heroine doesn't even have a decent dialogue with the guy before she falls in love him.