There’s more to shōjo than Kawaii Queens.
Sure, anime seem like it only focuses on cute girls and their thrilling romances, but there’s more to the medium than just that. Shōjo tells exciting, true-to-life stories about characters and their complicated relationships. The term, which means ‘girl’ in Japanese, has grown to define a series of manga and anime series which now champion slice-of-life stories over Kamehameha fight scenes.
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When it comes to popular shōjo anime, the list goes on and on. The genre started to thrive in the 1970s as manga grew more mainstream. Since then, shōjo has grown following the ‘Japanese Invasion’ of the 1990s.
From Sailor Moon to Lovely Complex, there are hundreds of shōjo titles out there for every fan. Whether you’re a boy or girl, young or old – it doesn’t matter. If you’re interested in shōjo, then there are stories out there for you to squee over.
For those of you looking for anime recommendations, then you should scroll through our slideshow of eight popular shōjo series. The vetted series will make you fall in love and have your heart going doki-doki.
Lovely Complex
Like any good romantic-comedy, Lovely Complex features two hilariously mismatched lovers who you can’t help but ship together.
The anime follows Risa Koizumi, a clumsy and awkward high school student who towers above her classmates. Her friend Atsushi Otani stands at just 5-foot-1 and hopes he’ll one day fall in love with a girl who overlooks his short stature.
The two help each other with their spectacularly short-sighted love affairs when Atsushi develops a crush on one of Risa’s petite friends. And, in kind, Risa finds herself falling for one of Atsushi’s towering classmates. But, when the pair eventually fall for each other, the two must decide how much height – and their friend’s expectations – will affect their budding romance.
Kimi ni Todoke
Life is hard when you look like the creepy girl from an infamous horror flick. Just asked Sawako Kuronuma, the shy yet sweet student lead of Kimi ni Todoke.
The anime follows Sawako as she struggles to make friends because of her uncanny appearance to Sadako from The Ring. Understandably lonely, she tries to liven up her ominous appearance and looks to the school’s most popular boy for inspiration. While most of her efforts fail at first, Sawako’s determination catches the eye of Kazehaya who then takes her on a journey towards self-acceptance, friendship, and even love.
It’s almost to cute for words.
Ouran High School Host Club
Ouran High School Host Club has all the tropes of a well-off anime. There are class differences, light-hearted jokes, dramatic action sequences, and a pair of sort-of incestuous twins – wait, what?
When it comes to Ouran High School Host Club, the shōjo does what few dare and makes viewers fawn over its self-aware fanservice. The popular show follows Haruhi Fujioka, a poor student who attends a prestigious school and is all but invisible to her ritzy classmates. But, when she accidentally stumbles into the academy’s Host Club, Haruhi finds herself indentured to them as she’s thought to be a boy. Once her so-called friends learn she’s actually a girl, the Host Club decides to keep Haruhi’s secret and ultimately fall for her witty, acerbic charms.
Fruits Basket
Fruits Basket is an absolute must for shōjo beginners. The classic series introduces fans to world where Zodiacs are real and very keen on causing mischief.
The anime focuses on Tohru Honda, a bubby student who lives on her own following the death of her mother. However, she’s eventually offered a home by the Sohma Clan once her classmate Yuki and cousin Shigure discover her living in a tent on their property. It doesn’t take long for Tohru to discover that the Sohma Clan is not what she’d call normal as twelve of its members are possessed by the spirits of the Chinese Zodiac. Determined to help the family, Tohru decides she will break the family’s curse and even falls in love along the way.
Boy Over Flowers
In the world of shōjo, Boys Over Flowers is a staple. The anime is based off a hugely successful manga from the 1990s and has since spawned several live-action spin-offs. So, naturally, its anime adaptation had plenty to live up to.
The show follows a poor girl named Tsukushi who attends an elite school for Tokyo’s richest families. On her first day, she bumps into a group of boys known as the ‘Flower Four’ who rule the school with their good looks and charm. However, Tsukushi comes to hate the group’s leader Tsukasa and his arrogant nature even though he is interested in her. The anime shows the ill-matched pair as they grow closer, learn about each other’s hardships, and confront a world that tells them they can’t be together.
Sailor Moon
She is the one named Sailor Moon!
Created in 1992, Sailor Moon made the jump from manga to anime when its show debuted. The shōjo stands as one of the genre’s de facto stories and even helped popularize anime in the Western world. So, really, we have a lot to thank Usagi Tsukino for.
After all, the teenager acts as the protagonist of Sailor Moon. The anime depicts the events which occur after Usagi is gifted with a magical broach that turns her into Sailor Moon. Tasked with guarding the Earth from evil, Usagi teams up with her Sailor Scouts to protect the universe from various villains while also falling for a mysterious vigilante known only as Tuxedo Mask.
Orange
Parallel universes and time traveling are common in anime, and Orange mashes-up the plot devices into something heartbreakingly romantic.
The newer shōjo tells the story of Naho Takamiya, a high school student after she receives a letter from her future self asking Naho to prevent their biggest regret. The mysterious event has something to do with Kakeru Naruse, a new transfer student, but Naho struggles to follow her own directions when she goes against the letter’s wishes. Orange then follows the two characters and their friends in a slice-of-life drama that makes Naho fear she’s done nothing to prevent the tragic future waiting for her.
My Love Story!!
My Love Story!! is definitely one of the more unique shōjo series to come out recently. The quirky romance follows a butch male lead named Takeo Goda as he looks for love in all the wrong places and loses many cute girls to his best friend Makoto.
However, the lead’s luck finally turns when he meets a beautiful girl named Rinko. Her shy, thoughtful nature sends immediately sends Takeo into a heart-spin and leaves him breathless. And, once Takeo saves Rinko from a close call, the two become fast friends. The anime goes on to tell the story of how Takeo wins over Rinko’s heart and accept himself despite what others say about his off-putting appearance.
