Shojo manga and anime are mainly dominated by female protagonists. This is to be expected given that the genre's target demographic is female. In recent years, however, more male protagonists have started to headline shojo series. More significantly, perhaps, is that said series have found success that is comparable to their female-led competition.

On a fundamental level, the sort of stories featuring male protagonists don't seem to differ from those helmed by female leads. What, then, makes male leads appealing to female readers? And how are male leads in shojo manga treated by fans and in merchandising compared to female leads?

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How Shojo Manga Makes Male Leads Appealing to its Target Demographic

DNAngel's Daisuke, Dark, and Satoshi posing.

The main selling point for shojo manga that stars male protagonists is their attractiveness, both inside and out. Natsume from Natsume's Book of Friends is a textbook pretty boy whose defining trait is his unfailing kindness. Daisuke from DN Angel is more on the cute end of the spectrum but is just as kind and selfless as Natsume, while his alter ego, Dark, has more of a bad boy edge to his design and personality. Takeo from My Love Story!! is a rare exception to the rule in that he isn't conventionally attractive, but he's got a big heart, which is the main appeal of his character and has won him his fair share of fans.

More recent examples seem to be taking notes from the popular "Cute Girls Doing Cute Things" subgenre by featuring a larger cast of attractive male characters and focusing more on their relationships with each other. Being shojo manga, many of these titles still feature romantic subplots, although they're not at the forefront. Mao no Kishuku Gakkou (which translates to Mao's Boarding School) takes place in an all-boys school, and most of the story follows the male students, rarely ever focusing on the female students in its sister school. While the titular Mao does have a crush on one of the girls attending the all-girls school next door, the majority of the story's plot focuses more on his budding friendship with his roommate.

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Haru from my roommate is a cat

The main plot of Onee Danshi, Hajimemasu (which roughly translates to I'll Start Being a Feminine Boy) kicks off because of the protagonist Toru's crush on a girl who's afraid of men. Undeterred by her rejection, he decides to take lessons on being more feminine from the only guy that Yuri seems comfortable around -- a feminine boy named Toranosuke. However, most of the story follows the silly shenanigans of Toru and his male friends as they try to earnestly follow Toranosuke's lessons on being more feminine.

My Roommate is a Cat's story focuses more on the relationship between Subaru and his newly adopted pet cat, with most of his close relationships being with male characters. The series has only one prominent female character, and while there are a few moments between her and Subaru that can be read as romantic, as of writing, the manga has still made no attempts to address any possible romantic feelings between either party.

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Comparing Male Shojo Protagonists to Female Shojo Protagonists

Haruhi Fujioka in Episode 1 of Ouran High School Host Club wearing glasses.

While female protagonists in shojo manga can range from plain-looking to attractive, with very few exceptions, male protagonists in shojo manga are almost always conventionally attractive. Likewise, most, if not, all of their male friends are expected to be attractive as well. Because the main selling point for male-led shojo series is the leads' attractiveness, they're often expected to be good-looking.

This is partly because most shojo manga that features male leads have an older target demographic in mind, usually pre-teens or teenagers. Girls who are old enough to have more sizeable amounts of spending money to purchase merchandise of their favorite pretty boy, a type of logic that typically won't apply to female leads in shojo manga and anime outside of those aimed at children.

Male-led shojo manga offer different kinds of stories and viewpoints to be told. Hopefully, with this increase of male protagonists in female-targeted media, more manga and anime in the future will allow for different kinds of protagonists and viewpoints regardless of who the intended demographic is.