In a sea of extremely popular shonen titles, it can be difficult for even the best shojo to stand out. As a result, shojo anime does not always get the attention it deserves. While shojo manga quietly thrives, fewer titles are receiving anime adaptations.
Nonetheless, several shojo anime have stood the test of time, and have set a high bar not just for shojo, but for anime in general. These anime have paved the path for future shojo titles, and proved that shojo is not a genre to be overlooked. From titles that explore heavy topics and tragic backstories, to series that exist as pure entertainment, shojo has something for everyone.
10 Kaichou Wa Maid Sama! Is A Thoroughly Enjoyable Romantic Comedy
Maid-Sama! is a quintessential romantic comedy for any shojo fan, featuring one of the most iconic shojo leads of all time. The series balances comedy and romance masterfully, and while not every element of the story has aged well it now makes for a perfect guilty pleasure.
Misaki is renowned as the iron willed student council president of a rowdy and predominantly male student body in a school that has recently turned co-ed. She maintains a reputation as a strict and diligent president, but harbors a secret that would forever tarnish that image: she works at a maid café. When this secret is discovered by the most popular boy in school, antics ensue.
9 Fruits Basket (2019) Set The Bar For Modern Shojo
The original 2001 Fruits Basket was already a shojo staple, adapted from an incredibly popular manga series by Natsuki Takaya. However, many fans believed the original anime never truly did the manga justice, nor was it able to complete to story.
Fruits Basket's remake came at a time when shojo anime production slowed, overshadowed by popular shonen series. Fruits Basket (2019) was able to make full use of the animation improvements over the past two decades to revitalize the shojo anime genre and set the bar for modern shojo anime.
8 Cardcaptor Sakura Is A Clamp Classic
Clamp is a group of manga authors known for their iconic art style featuring beautiful characters with classically shojo eyes. While Clamp has created several successful works, arguable their most popular remains Cardcaptor Sakura, which follows Sakura Kinomoto as she sets out to retrieve a set of magical cards with the potential to cause great chaos.
Cardcaptor Sakura is another staple of the magical girl genre, boasting surprising depth and a character-centered narrative. The series has much lower stakes than other magical girl series like Sailor Moon, but manages to thrive with it's smaller-scale focus and even poke fun at certain magical girl tropes such as the typical costume transformation.
7 Ouran High School Host Club Is An Absolute Romp
A staple from the golden age of shojo anime, the early-mid 2000s, Ouran High School Host Club has had a lasting impact on the genre, especially the reverse-harem sub-genre. The series follows Haruhi Fujioka, a scholarship student who stands out in a prestigious academy for the sons and daughters of Japan's elite. Finding herself entangled with the schools eccentric Host Club, Haruhi experiences many adventures along the way, all the while acting as a male host.
Ouran High School Host Club is a strong choice for an introductory anime to new shojo fans: its hilarious, goofy, and the romance takes on mostly a side role (at least in the anime). The series is very self-aware and parodies many classic shojo tropes. Fans are also anticipating the live action musical reboot which will open in Tokyo and Osaka, sealing the series lasting relevance.
6 Orange Does Time Travel Well
Orange is a rare series that manages to use time travel on a small scale to further the narrative and character development without many of the pitfalls that often come with it. Orange is a series that will tug at any shojo fan's heartstrings, and sets a high bar for romance-science fiction blends.
When Naho Takamiya receives a letter addressed from her future self, her world turns upside down. The letter perfectly describes the day she is about to have and further alludes to certain regrets her future self has, that the present Naho could reverse.
5 Revolutionary Girl Utena Deconstructs The Magical Girl
Revolutionary Girl Utena is credited with influencing Rebecca Sugar and her creation of the Steven Universe series, and has had a lasting impact since its 1997 release. The series can be seen as a deconstruction of the shojo and magical girl genres, as well as a deconstruction of gender roles. It is known for its exploration of queer and feminist themes.
Revolutionary Girl Utena follows Utena Tenjou who is inspired by a prince who saved her at a young age. Her goal is to one day become a prince herself. The series revolves around a system of magical fencing duels, and features heavy surrealist imagery that begs fans to question whether any of it is actually happening or if it is all in the characters' minds.
4 Yona Of The Dawn Is More Than A Romance
Yona Of The Dawn is a highly regarded manga series that has been running since 2009. The series was given a one-season anime adaptation in late 2014, which was so popular that fans demanded a second season and eventually three OVAs were made as a result.
The series masterfully blends historical drama, swoon-worthy romance and political intrigue. Yona starts as a spoiled princess who fawns over her handsome cousin, Su Won. When Su Won murders Yona's father and assumes the throne, Yona is forced to take responsibility for her actions and become someone her kingdom could depend on.
3 Your Name Became A Global Phenomenon
Makoto Shinkai was already famous in Japan for movies like 5 Centimeters Per Second, but Your Name truly elevated his work to international heights. Released in 2016, Your Name is one of the highest grossing anime films of all time, even able to compete with the works of Hayou Miyazaki.
A grounded fantasy, Your Name takes the body-switching romantic comedy trope and uses it to create a very emotional and character-driven story. Mitsuha and Taki one day wake in each other's bodies, and what's more, this begins to occur intermittently at random. As the two learn to adapt to this phenomenon, they find that more is at stake than they initially realized.
2 Banana Fish Might Be The Darkest Shojo
Banana Fish is a popular and influential manga series from the 80s and 90s, which finally received an anime adaptation in 2018. While primarily a shojo, Banana Fish covers much heavier subjects and themes, and incorporates more action and violence than the typical shojo, giving it a niche appeal to different audiences.
Ash Lynx is a seventeen-year old gang leader in New York City. Ash along with Japanese reporter Eji Okumura, pursue the mysteries behind the words "banana fish." Gritty and dark, Banana Fish sets the bar for a different kind of shojo anime.
1 Sailor Moon Is The Quintessential Magical Girl
Sailor Moon is undoubtedly a cultural phenomenon. The series is credited with revitalizing the magical girl genre by incorporating popular shonen story elements – such as an increased focus on action and fight sequences, transformations, and having a team instead of a solo protagonist – integrated into a female-targeted story.
The series has been incredibly marketable, which has also influenced its successors. There is no doubt that Sailor Moon has had a lasting impact on shojo anime. The series has also largely stayed relevant for the past three decades, and received a remake, albeit not the best-received, in 2014.