Despite the shojo genre being targeted towards young female audiences, that doesn't mean every anime has to follow the same formula. While older series such as Sailor Moon and even Tomorrow's Nadja were expected to have a klutzy heroine as the protagonist, recent shojo series have experimented with having them be older or even more mature.

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If one looks hard enough, many unconventional shojo anime can be found. Along with the genre-breaking My Love Story, here are 10 other shojo anime to watch if a fan is tired of the same old formula.

10 My Love Story — A Modern Beauty And The Beast Romance

My Love Story, Takeo, Rinko & Sunakawa

My Love Story is already a unique gem, as it has two stark differences than usual shojo anime has—a male protagonist and one who considers himself not very "attractive." Takeo Gouda is perhaps one of the sweetest characters in anime, and he happens to save a young girl named Rinko Yamato from a groper on the train.

After he saves her, she confesses her love for him and asks if she would date her. After becoming lovers, the two navigate the troubles of dating and do not care about what others say about appearances. As long as there's love, who cares what others think?

9 The High School Life Of A Fudanshi — A Boy Loves Reading BL

High School Life Of A Fudanshi Ryou Sakaguchi

There's nothing wrong with having a hobby—however, it's easy for others to tease people depending on how they view it. In this instance, BL—or boys' love, for short—is depicted as being something women love. In The High School Life of a Fudanshithe protagonist Ryo Sakaguchi loves anything, such as manga, that features boys' love.

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However, the fact that he likes boys' love and is a straight man makes others around him uncomfortable, and he's too shy to buy doujinshi by himself, so he keeps it to himself. Although he has a friend who accepts his hobby, he still thinks it's a bit odd—although he does befriend a fujoshi, a girl who loves boys' love and becomes best friends.

8 Sanrio Boys — A Story About Boys Who Love Adorable Sanrio Mascots

Sanrio Boys

Sanrio Boys is another anime about accepting one's love for a hobby, although others may not align it with one's gender or even personality. Each character in the series has a love for a Sanrio character—the people behind Hello Kitty, My Melody, and Aggretsuko.

Kota Hasegawa loves Pompompurin because his grandmother gave it to him as a child, but as he grew older, he thought he's a boy who loves it to be odd. After he meets other characters who reveal their love of the adorable mascots, he begins to speak more openly about his adoration for the mascot and what led him to like it.

7 Hakkenden: Eight Dogs Of The East — A Supernatural Adventure Filled With Fantasy And Magic

Shino Inuzuka Hakkenden

Hakkenden: Eight Dogs Of The East is a relatively unknown shojo anime that follows two young men and one girl—Shino Inazuka, Sosukue Inukawa, and Hamaji. After their village is lit afire under the excuse that it was causing havoc because of a virus, they are given an ultimatum when a man appears to either become strong or stay weak.

They now live under the strict observation of the Imperial Church, where they discover that all is not what it seems—and Shino becomes the holder of a dangerous weapon called the Devotion bead.

6 Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-san — A Skeleton Who Adores Books Helps Various Customers Find What They're Looking For

skullface bookseller hondasan

Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-san tells the story of a shopkeeper named Honda and his daily life. He has been working at the bookstore for ten years, and he knows almost everything about the shop he works out.

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Although Honda has been in charge of foreign books and manga, he cannot really speak English, which causes hilarity. What's even more interesting about the manga is that the manga itself is based on the author's retail experiences, Honda, and her days working as a bookstore employee.

5 Lovely★Complex — A Tall Girl And Small Boy Fall In Love Amidst Various Misunderstandings

Lovely Complex Koizumi Otani

Lovely★Complex—also known as Love★Com—tells Risa Koizumi and Atsushi Otani's story, two characters who have a complex about their height. Risa is taller than the average Japanese girl, and Atsushi is shorter than the average Japanese boy. Because of this, they are known as a comedy duo throughout their school.

However, after getting to know each other, they become best friends. Although Risa falls in love with Atsushi, he begins to date someone else—making their relationship and how everything normally preceded in shojo anime completely different from the norm. Will Risa's feelings reach Atsushi in the end?

4 Yona Of The Dawn — A Scorned Princess Reclaims Her Kingdom

Akatsuki No Yona

Yona of the Dawn follows a naive princess of the Kouka Kingdom who learns about reality in the harshest way possible. Su Won, the cousin she was in love with, killed her father and caused a coup d'état with the intent of becoming the new king himself.

She then becomes intent on taking back her kingdom with her bodyguard and childhood friend Hak Son. After they become fugitives, they try to find the Four Dragons and journey through various kingdoms in this epic fantasy to discover the truth behind why Su Won killed her father, as well as the mysteries surrounding the other characters.

3 I Love You, Baby★★ — An Irresponsible Teenager Learns To Take Care Of A Young Child

I Love You, Baby Anime

I Love You, Baby★★ is one of the most wholesome anime and manga series out there. Kippei Katakura is a high schooler who is flirty but is quite easygoing and caring.

After deciding to take care of a young girl named Yuzuyu Sakashita, who was abandoned by her mother, he learns what it means to be responsible and even treats her as his younger sister. Along the way, he even gains a girlfriend named Kokoro Tounaga, and they become somewhat of a family.

2 The Seven Metamorphoses Of Yamato Nadeshiko♥ — A Young Girl Receives Training To Become A "Proper Lady"

7. The Wallflower Yamato Nadeshiko 2

The Seven Metamorphoses Of Yamato Nadeshiko♥ is one of the earliest examples of how shojo and comedy don't have to follow the same formula as everything else. After Sunako Nakahara was rejected by her first love because of her appearance, she becomes a shut-in and rejects anything that has to do with beauty.

She begins to love the occult, as well as have morbid thoughts. To counteract this, her aunt sends her to her mansion, where she makes an ultimatum with four boys—they can live there rent-free if they turn Sunako into a proper lady.

1 Hell Girl — An Eternally Damned Girl Carries Out Revenge

Hell Girl

Hell Girl is more on the morbid side of things, but it is still a shojo series. Ai Enma is none other than the person who carries out punishments unto whoever asks for it with the Hell Correspondence—a way to contact her that changes with the time period.

No matter what the era, everyone thirsts for revenge at least once—with that thought process, each episode deals with a tale of a character either wishing for revenge upon someone so they can send them to hell or relinquishing the thought. However, there's a heavy price for wising someone death—and that the fact that you will go there, as well.

NEXT: Dr. Stone & 9 Other Unconventional Shonen Anime