Shiroi Heya no Futari (白い部屋のふたり, Our White Room or Couple of the White Room) is the first Girls' Love manga. It was written by Ryoko Yamagishi, one of the Year 24 Group (a collective of manga artists who revolutionized Shōjo manga), during The '70s, and is the source of many common Girls' Love tropes. The manga ran for four chapters in the shoujo magazine Hana to Yume in 1971.
Shiroi Heya No Futari contains examples of:
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Simone swallows her pride and tells Resine her love, only to be turned down.
- Asleep for Days: Alluded to, and used as the basis for a joke. After Resine faints during morning assembly, she wakes up in a bed and being watched over by Simone, who says she's been out for three days. When she panics, Simone laughs and tells her she's really only been out for a minute - she was just teasing Resine.
- The Casanova: Simone is a boy-magnet.
- Color Contrast: Resine has almost white hair and clothes while Simone has black hair and wears dark colors.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Resine is an orphan with very rosy memories of her parents.
- Downer Ending: Simone, feeling suicidal, dies at the hands of an ex-boyfriend and Resine never dates ever again.
- Enter Stage Window: Simone's favored method of entering and exiting her dorm room is through the window.
- Gayngst: The last few pages are Resine bewailing that she never accepted Simone's love.
- Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Simone smokes cigarettes, highlighting her rebellious nature.
- It Meant Something to Me: When Simone confesses to Resine that their Romeo and Juliet kiss wasn't just acting.
- Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: One of the perennial Girls' Love tropes that the manga codified. Resine is light feminine, pretty and unassuming, and Simone is dark feminine, striking and confident.
- The Mourning After After Simone dies, Resine vows to never love another as long as she lives.
- Parental Neglect: Simone's mother is a famous actress who spares little time or attention for her daughter.
- School Play: Romeo and Juliet, with Simone and Resine playing the leads. It is foreshadowing that their love will end badly.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Resine is very feminine and shy while Simone is masculine and assertive.
- Trope Codifier: Most of the stereotypical Girls' Love tropes associated with the genre can be traced back to this manga.
