Boys Over Flowers: Hana Yori Dango by Yoko Kamio

 This was the story that got me into manga. Some arbitrary stroke of luck had me stumble across the j-drama when it was coming out and I watched the whole thing (the jdrama is much better than the older version so don't worry if you watched that and didn't like it). So after the first season I was kind of impatient and looked it up and found the anime, which is monstrously long, but worth it I guess, and I've been watching anime on tv since I was a kid so it was an easy transition, then I found out there was a manga... which began my current obsession that is manga.
 
The story is good. I'd like to think of it as one of the classic shoujos, especially compared to a lot of what's coming out today, over hyped drama. The drama in Hana Yori Dango was kind of angsty, as it was a high school drama, but I'd argue not overly so... or maybe there's worse out there, take your pick. There are quite a few problems the heroine faces, but there is a logic to them so her feelings make sense. Though sometimes you just want her and Tsukasa to get over themselves. The art is not my favourite but the story makes up for it, and to be fair I have seen far worse art out there.
 
Anyway, it'll be a trek no matter through which medium you go for the story (though I recommend the manga because it's always better and the anime/ dramas usually change things). It is long, but a lot happens so it's worth it, and if you get into it it'll feel a lot shorter than it actually is, and you'll wonder where it all went when you're close to the end.
 
Every shoujo aficionado should in some way or another acquaint themselves with this story because it's one of the good ones.