Like with every anime genre out there, shojo (especially romantic shojo) is full of tropes, clichés and questionable character developments that make fans wonder “Why the hell did they do that?” Of course, this is not to say that every shojo anime out there has these issues, seeing how there are some fantastic shojo anime that break every trope out there (like Laughing Under the Clouds and Snow White with the Red Hair).
Sadly, such anime are few and far between. Most shojo shows keep on airing problematic content even in the year 2021, making fans wonder when (if, at all), they would be rid of such mistakes permanently.
10 The Jerk Main Lead Who Remains Desirable Throughout, Just Because He’s Good Looking
Often, male leads indulge in not only problematic behavior (being rude to the girl or publicly humiliating her), but also criminal activities (stalking her, touching her in inappropriate ways, etc). Such behaviors are justified, in the anime, as signs of the boy’s romantic feelings towards the girl.
However, this needs to be done away with. Female leads should instead have more of a spine, where they should stand up and call out male leads for all their problematic behaviors. An excellent example of an exception to this rule is Ore Monogatari!!
9 When A Girl Falls For A Boy Just Because He Treated Her Like A Decent Human Being
This trope would be understandable if the girl came from a broken family where she was never treated with respect. However, a girl who comes from a decent home and has at least one close friend in school, is someone who is emotionally secure.
Even if she isn't, she should easily be able to differentiate between someone being nice to her, and someone showing romantic interest in her.
8 Normalization Of Unhealthy Relationships Where The Girl Is Always The Victim
Take Maid-Sama, for example. The female lead falls in love with her stalker who not only blackmails her, but touches her inappropriately, dictates what she should wear or who she should or shouldn’t talk to.
To the average person, these are instant red-flags of a toxic relationship, and they should rightly be treated as such, especially in a show geared toward a largely female audience that already has a skewed understanding of what is romantic, and what isn’t.
7 The Best Boy Of The Show Is Ignored Always In Favor Of The Rude Male Lead
This is especially problematic when the best boy has been nothing but a supportive friend, but the female lead ends up falling in love with the handsome jerk anyway, simply he’s the main character.
Real life doesn’t work that way, and while shojo is essentially a form of escapism for young girls, that shouldn’t stop mangaka and anime studios from showing a more realistic romantic approach towards the show's far superior male side characters.
6 The Absolutely Unnecessary Confusion Due To Lack Of Communication
When done right, misunderstandings can become a vital part of plot development, like how Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun’s Nozaki assumes Chiyo's confession as her admiration for his manga work.
However, shojo anime has for long used this concept to merely create unnecessary drama and angst. Open channels of communication, especially with regards to their interactions with people of the opposite gender, could easily make for a much more relaxed viewing of said anime.
5 Little To No Focus On Female Friendships & Bonding
The sole focus of romantic shojo series is always the romance between its leads. While that in itself isn’t problematic, the issue is when that is shown to be the female protagonist’s sole relationship which progresses.
Female bonding and platonic relationships are already rare in anime, so it doesn’t make sense for shojo to follow that route. If anything, the genre should go out of its way to not only promote female friendships, but to put them on the same pedestal as romantic relationships.
4 Female Leads Have No Goals & Aspirations Beyond Wanting The Cool Guy To Love Them Back
They appear to have no life outside of school – everything that happens, happens inside their school premises. Passions, hobbies, goals, dreams, aspirations, and motivations are concepts that largely do not exist in the shojo genre.
Yona from Yona of the Dawn is a great exception to this rule. From being a spoilt and pampered brat, she grows into a beautifully strong and persevering young woman, who won’t rest until she gets her much-needed vengeance against Su-Won.
3 Spiteful Or Uninteresting Female Side Characters, Or Worse — None At All
Again, for a show designed for female audiences, one would expect at least a few interesting female characters in every show, most of whom would serve specific purposes in the plot. Sadly, these shows keep on focusing on the romance between their lead characters, relegating all the side characters (especially females) as mere background/filler characters.
Their presence usually adds nothing to the plot, which is why it would be exciting to see shojo do away with this basic mistake, for good.
2 There’s No Concept Of Consent Because No Means Yes
One of the two most common examples of this is when the girl rejects the guy, but he disrespects her decision because apparently, nothing is more attractive to an anime girl than guys who cannot handle rejection (like in My Little Monster).
The second most obvious example is when the male lead kisses the girl, without once asking if she’s okay with it because he just assumes she’s as interested in taking things to the next level, as he is. Such displays of lack of respect and boundaries are something that is normalized as “romantic” in these shows.
1 The Stark Contrast In The Appearances Of The Male & Female Characters
Girls are thin, short, have pale skin, eyes as big as saucers, and skirt lengths that would violate school policies of all schools across the globe. The boys are much taller, usually have athletic builds, have more tan skin, and of course, have elongated eyes to emphasize their manliness and often, their “I’m too cool for you” attitude.
It would be nice to see characters not characterized on the basis of their genders, as well as the inclusion of darker-skinned characters, especially when it comes to female leads.