Shojo anime is historically written for a feminine audience, but that doesn't mean that they neglect writing well-rounded male characters, whether they're protagonists or possible love interests. Some character types are known for being one-dimensional, but the best anime gives even the most hotheaded tsundere characters time to develop and a backstory to complicate their motivations.
Shojo anime focuses on interpersonal conflict to raise the stakes, which gives male characters room to grow. The best anime are the ones that have male characters challenging the expectations of the gender binary, where men are given time and space to be vulnerable and experience a full range of emotions.
10 Kakeru Struggles With Processing His Mother's Death
Orange
Orange is a deep anime with a sad, existential plot, in general. Kakeru lives with a lot of internalized trauma from his mother's tragic passing. The premise of Orange has a magical realism aspect, where the protagonist Naho has information from the future in the form of letters from her future self, warning her about something tragic that will befall Kakeru if she doesn't intervene.
The circumstances Naho's trying to prevent are grounded in reality, however. In time, Kakeru talks about his feelings to Naho, opening up to her about the details of his mother's passing and how it affected him.
9 Tomoe Is More Than A Snarky Layabout
Kamisama Kiss
In the first episode of Kamisama Kiss, it seems like Tomoe is a run-of-the-mill tsundere character. He's lazy and arrogant, he's rude to the human protagonist Nanami and saves her amid great protestation.
Before long, Tomoe gets with the program and finds a new routine with Nanami as her familiar, going from lazy to productive and purposeful. His protective actions could even be seen as altruistic, despite his sarcasm. Historical flashbacks illustrate why Tomoe holds humans at arm's length and why he reacts so adversely to feeling abandoned, adding complexity to his character.
8 Ryuichi Is Nurturing And Kind
School Babysitters
When they lose their family, a pair of brothers named Ryuichi and Kotaro are taken in by a school headmistress in School Babysitters. Somewhere between worker and ward, the eldest boy Ryuichi starts babysitting for the school in exchange for full tuition and board for both himself and Kotaro.
The brothers in the anime are a beautiful example of nurturing between siblings and shows how boys can be capable and kind caretakers. Ryuichi is very sweet, socially adept, and works well even with the smaller children he looks after.
7 Shota Is A Well-Rounded Character
From Me To You
Shota explores the idea of putting people on pedestals in From Me to You. He is someone the protagonist Sawako idealizes, along with the rest of her classmates. Eventually the two become a couple, but not before they see each other as whole individuals.
Shota is refreshingly honest, but not without human flaws and foibles he gets from the way he was raised, like the way he processes anger. He does his best to be self-aware, though. Shota's level of discernment makes him an independent thinker, which gives him a nice mix of good and difficult qualities.
6 Junpei Redefines Gender For Himself When He Starts Dancing Ballet Again
Dance Dance Danseur
Junpei let grief and outside expectations keep him from pursuing what he loves, which is dancing ballet in Dance Dance Danseur. Losing a parent and sexism are no easy challenges for a teenager to handle on their own, so it's understandable that Junpei would struggle with these, but he's no longer alone when Miyako, a talented ballerina, gives him an opportunity to dance again.
Junpei flourishes when he begins ballet once more. Dance Dance Danseur is a beautiful, soft anime which dancers and nondancers can appreciate on a deep level.
5 Yamato Kurosawa Has A Realistic And Positive Progression
Say I Love You
Most shojo anime have a girl protagonist but Say I Love You's main character, Yamato, is a guy. Yamato is a fine example of a person who did wrong in the past, sat with the guilt of the wrongdoing, and then sought to actively learn from it moving forward in the future.
When Yamato's friend was bullied, he avoided that friend around the bullies rather than try to help him. He figured that he was a good enough person by remaining his friend in private. In time, Yamato realized that being a bystander was wrong and only added to his friend's pain, so he actively works to become a better person in his future relationships.
4 Prince Christopher Fell For Elianna When She Made Him Apologize To A Book
Bibliophile Princess
Prince Christopher of Bibliophile Princess balances being a pursuing suitor and an unassuming gentleman at the same time, which is a difficult thing to pull off in storytelling. When he offers marriage to Elianna, he cites how she will have access to the royal library, when really he wants to be able to protect and be close to the woman he cares for.
Though Prince Christopher does get to marry the woman he's always had a crush on, he doesn't assume an immediate intimacy with her. He lets the relationship develop naturally, which is part of why he is the strongest character thus far in the series.
3 The Leafe Knights Have Complex Personalities
Pretear: The New Legend Of Snow White
The Leafe Knights in Pretear: The New Legend of Snow White are an interesting collection of male warriors who span an array of character traits. Instead of forest-dwelling dwarves, they are knights with nature-based gifts. With so many characters, more than a few have complex personalities and influence on the plot.
Hayate is the main love interest who at first resists Himeno at the Pretear. Sasame has a complicated personality; he's a determined flirt who also has a cerebral sort of personality and is a good friend to Himeno. His arc is fraught in that he has a falling out with the knights.
2 Tamaki Is Princely
Ouran High School Host Club
Beneath the comic relief Tamaki Suoh brings to Ouran High School Host Club is his serious devotion to his studies and extracurriculars, and his talents with gentility and etiquette. Goofiness aside, he takes on a leadership role well, viewing himself as a kind of patriarch to the club.
Similar to Howl of Howl's Moving Castle, some of Tamaki's persona can be more of an aspirational wish for himself than an actualized reality. But eventually he does become more in touch with his emotions, and he has a good heart.
1 Hijikata Has Many Concerns
Demon Of The Fleeting Blossom
Shojo storylines set in a historical era can have more external conflicts along with interpersonal conflicts, as seen in Demon of the Fleeting Blossom. Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata has complicated feelings for Chizuru who is looking for her missing father.
Hijikata is a warrior who is both feared and respected, who sacrifices a lot. There's a great deal on his shoulders, so it's pleasantly surprising that the show manages to be so smooth and romantic without being melodramatic. The relationship between Hijikata and Chizuru feels authentic.