When it first came to prominence, few anime were as popular as Sailor Moon was. It was to Shoujo what Dragon Ball Z was to Shonen, both helping put their respective genres on the map. Even now, the show still holds up fairly well, the main gist translating as well as it did back then.

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While Sailor Moon is still the standard-bearer for the genre, much has changed since it was at the forefront. The genre has grown past its roots as only being for younger girls, making it more diverse than ever.

10 Magical Girls Are A Thing Of the Past

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Magic Flintlocks Attack

When Sailor Moon was at its height, anime studios were naturally trying to copy what was successful, the same holding true for Dragon Ball Z in the Shonen genre. That meant magical girls were everywhere in hopes of capturing the same buzz that Sailor Moon had.

Most weren't as successful, and by now, the fad has died down. Current day shows either are satirical takes on the genre like Kill La Kill or far darker versions like Madoka Magic. It's become too tired a trope.

9 Less About Girl Power

Sailor Chibi Moon

In the 90s, girl power was the main goal of the series, from how cutesy it could be to the friendships the girls within the show had. The central focus was always on how they worked together, males within the show always being shuffled to the back.

Sailor Moon is pretty notorious for this, despite the memes centered around Tuxedo Mask. Nowadays, the genre has moved to more complex themes as it appeals to a broader audience.

8 More Mature

The maturity of the show is two-fold. On one front, the stories have a deeper meaning to them and aren't afraid to touch on subject matter that Sailor Moon would have never dreamed of.

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As a by-product of this, the character's ages have increased, most stories now taking place in either high school or college rather than middle school. Nana is an example of this, showing older characters striving for very real goals that adults could relate with.

7 Endings That Punch You In The Gut

Your Lie in April Kousei Arima Kaori Miyazono

Happy endings were the norm, driving home that everything can be overcome with the aid of your friends. That's far from the case with present-day Shoujo. In some cases, like Blue Spring Ride, the couple doesn't end up explicitly together. In other cases, it turns out even worse than that, Your Lie In April being the gold standard when it comes to sad endings.

By the end of the series, the only emotion felt by most of the characters is sadness. It's something that never would have been done in the past as sad endings were seen as too depressing.

6 Variety In Character Design

Takeo Gouda from My Love Story!!

Personality-wise there's always been variety in characters, especially in something like Sailor Moon. All of the girls felt unique from one another as the story was mostly about them coming together as a unit. What was always the same for many Shoujo of that era was the level of attractiveness everyone had, and many of them had a samey feel to their appearance.

Nowadays, more unconventional beauty is used, such as in My Love Story!! It's allowed the genre to tell different stories and broaden how characters look.

5 The Kabedon

For those who don't know, the kabedon is the moment when a character corners another against a wall, slapping one of their hands against it so the other party can't escape.

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More often than not, it's done by males to females as a prelude to the confession that drives modern-day Shoujo. It's one of the best modern-day tropes and something that only came into play in 2008, popularized by the manga L DK. It plays right into the more aggressive take male characters now have.

4 Romance, Romance, & More Romance

Say I Love You Mei Yamato

Romance was more of a subplot or minor storyline in the past, but now it's the focus of most Shoujo storylines. Almost every popular anime falls into that category, the main plot point always being to see if the couple ends up staying together or not.

That's led to a lot of tropes in the process and at times has made certain shows feel as if they are rehashing the same story. Others have managed to overcome that with added humor or having the romance tie into the plot rather than being the main focus.

3 More Slice Of Life

Tohru holding the Sohma family as animals

Action and heroines were all the rage with Sailor Moon, main characters always rushing off to fight some sort of evil force or save the day, driving home the aforementioned girl power motif. That's all changed recently as slice of life has dominated the genre, even with stories that weren't romance centric.

Few present-day hits don't focus on a more familiar setting, from My Little Monster to even something a little more supernatural like Orange.

2 Yuri & Yaoi Became Accepted

For some time there was always a divide when it came to same-sex relationships (more so Yuri than Yaoi). They existed in Shoujo for a while but lacked the respect that they have now. Far too often, it'd turn into fanservice rather than telling a compelling romantic tale.

That's thankfully begun to change, and such relationships are now not only a norm but treated with the respect it deserves. Such shows as Bloom Into You and Asago To Kase-san being rather popular.

1 It's Not Just For Girls Anymore

The biggest change that's happened in recent years is that Shoujo is no longer a genre that's just for girls, just as shounen isn't just for boys anymore. It's a great thing as gender in no way should dictate a genre.

Girls can like action anime just as much as a guy can like a romance one. This change has helped push the genre into greater heights as it's become more popular than it ever has, especially in the early 2010s, where it underwent huge growth.

NEXT: The 5 Most Popular Couples In Shoujo Anime (& 5 That Got Overlooked)