Shojo anime is made and marketed for a young female audience. It is one of the most popular demographics, but it sometimes doesn’t get the attention and investing that it deserves. Some of the most iconic, standard-setting series are shojo anime, like Sailor Moon and The Rose of Versailles, and surely, there are many more stories of that quality to come.
Many fans of the genre thought that the era of creative and romantic shojo anime was over. Recently, since around 2020, there’s been a lot more movement in shojo anime, with many new releases and even some long-awaited new seasons for some shojo anime classics. Fans dub it the Shojo Renaissance across social media platforms, and the renaissance definitely has many new titles to offer that fulfill the promise of shojo anime.
10
I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss Is a Fun Riff on Isekai Anime
Streaming on Crunchyroll
I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss follows a girl who is reincarnated into an otome game as its minor villainess, Aileen. Aileen’s story followed shortly after the trailblazing light novel adaptation, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Most villainess anime are based on light novels and webtoons.
I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss hits all the subgenre’s main tropes, and creates its own whimsical and sometimes grim world full of dragons, demons, and saints. Villainess anime has its own genre conventions as a subgenre of isekai anime. The protagonist is nearly always a misunderstood or repentant villainess. There are often several bishonen characters, and similar to isekai anime classic Fushigi Yugi, the protagonist is pulled into a literary world. The meta setting is perfect for exploring fairy tale and high fantasy archetypes.
9
Sacrificial Princess & the King of Beasts Feels Like a Classic High Fantasy Anime
Streaming on Crunchyroll
Fairy tale tropes and retellings had a moment in ’90s and early ‘2000s anime with Revolutionary Girl Utena, Pretear: The New Legend of Snow White, and Princess Tutu. Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts is a straightforward retelling of the fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast. Just as with its shojo anime predecessors, the series is very deliberate about incorporating specific fairy tale tropes, but it also expands on the story creatively.
King Leonhart is the series’ cursed beast, but rather than taking a woman prisoner like in the fairy tale, Leonhart liberates the heroine of the story. Sariphi is the series’ Beauty, and like Beauty, her strength lies in her determined and kind spirit. Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts takes place in an immersive fantasy world, with plenty of lush floral settings and dreamy romance scenes.
Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts
- Release Date
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2023 – 2023
- Network
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Tokyo MX
- Directors
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Shigeki Awai, Kenichi Nishida, Teppei Takeya, Yasuo Iwamoto, Makoto Sokuza, Kiyotaka Kantake, Shinpei Nagai, Yuki Morita, Yoshiyuki Nogami, Kozo Kaiho
- Writers
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Atsuo Ishino, Yoriko Tomita
8
The Demon Prince of Momochi House Stars Elegant & Handsome Anime Male Characters
Streaming on Crunchyroll
The Demon Prince of Momochi House is a paranormal romance with a cast full of bishonen characters. Bishonen are men with elegant and princely beauty. Classic shojo anime like Yushigi Yugi and Fruits Basket have plenty of bishonen potential love interests. Fans of The Demon Prince of Momochi House often remark on its similarity to another beloved shojo anime, Kamisama Kiss.
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10 Best Fantasy Shojo Anime, Ranked
Fantasy Shojo anime have some of the most colorful and well written worlds that will have fans of adventure and magic wanting more.
Aoi in his Nue form bears a striking resemblance to Kamisama Kiss‘s main love interest, Tomoe. Both have white hair, ethereal looks, and white fox ears. The Demon Prince of Momochi House certainly takes inspiration from previous fantasy shojo anime, but it adds its own touch. Aoi isn’t a tsundere like Tomoe; his romance is a bit more graceful and mature.
7
My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 Is a Perfect Rom-Com Anime
Streaming on Crunchyroll
My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 has everything a long-time romantic comedy anime fan would want, and it still feels current. Akane is a gamer who retreats to find comfort in her favorite game when her boyfriend breaks her heart. There, she meets one of the best players in the game, Yamada.
Yamada may be excellent at video games, but he is extremely introverted, and doesn’t really know how to talk to girls. Akane is flawed herself, as she sometimes puts her foot in her mouth. My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 is such an enjoyable romance because of the way Akane and Yamada grow together. Akane finds that Yamada’s cold exterior is a thin veil over a very sincere and deep-feeling person. And Akane’s candid nature may be her insecurity, but it’s what Yamada loves most about her.
6
Rishe Is an Incredibly Likable Shojo Anime Heroine in 7th Time Loop
Streaming on Crunchyroll
7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy combines the villainess romance anime subgenre and time travel fantasy. Rishe is stuck in a time loop where she repeats having her engagement to the crown prince annulled, which triggers her eventual death. On the seventh go-round, Rishe comes across another prince, Prince Arnold, who is her kingdom’s sworn enemy, and he proposes to her.
7th Time Loop is a beautifully animated fantasy series, with detailed, whimsical character design and lush action and ballroom dancing scenes. The enemies-to-lovers concept will never go out of style in shojo anime romance. Prince Arnold and Rishe’s tempestuous romance works perfectly in its high fantasy setting.
5
A Sign of Affection Is a Low-Stakes Cozy & Sweet Romance Anime
Streaming on Crunchyroll
Contemporary romance is a staple subgenre for shojo anime, and A Sign of Affection fits perfectly in that category. The series came with a fanbase from the manga series by Suu Morishita. It follows Yuki, a university student who is deaf and communicates best through sign language. She learned how to read lips out of necessity, and she’s used to communicating with others on their terms.
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10 Best Contemporary Romance Anime, Ranked
Contemporary romance anime like My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 and Skip and Loafer don’t skimp on the fluttery feelings.
Itsuomi knows nothing of Yuki’s experience, but he takes the time to understand her as an individual. He’s intellectually curious and loves to learn languages, so he learns sign language to communicate with Yuki on a more direct and personal level. Audiences enjoyed how heartwarming and low-drama the plot is.
A Sign of Affection
- Release Date
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2024 – 2024
- Network
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Tokyo MX, BS4
- Directors
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Shinpei Matsuo, Hidekazu Oka, Tatsu Yamamoto
4
Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You Had Shojo Anime Fans Stuck in Limbo
Streaming on Netflix
The first season of Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You aired over ten years ago, in 2009. Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You‘s first two seasons gathered a devoted fan base, but they spent years and years in limbo, waiting for the third season. The wait was so long that many fans understandably figured that the anime series was forgotten, like so many other shojo anime gems, including Yona of the Dawn.
Kazehaya and Sawako like each other from the start of Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, but they only just begin to date by the end of the second season. Season three was renewed and is now streaming on Netflix with many other shojo anime. The newest installment covers how Kazehaya and Sawako learn to communicate and be vulnerable about their feelings in their relationship.
3
Yakuza Fiancé Revives Yandere Romance Anime
Streaming on Crunchyroll
Yanderes are very rarely the main love interest type in shojo anime romance, but Kirishima breaks the mold in Yakuza Fiancé. A yandere love interest has an obsessive interest in their crush, and they sometimes get quite violent over them. Toxic, dark romances where the love interests are morally gray, or outright villains, were very popular in the early 2000s.
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20 Best Yandere Characters In Anime, Ranked
Yanderes won’t be much fun to date in real life. In anime, however, they become some of the most beloved fan-favorite characters.
Dark romance stories like Diabolik Lovers, which is full of yandere characters, and Vampire Knight were intentionally campy and unrealistic. Yakuza Fiancé fully embraces its soap opera toxicity, but it also produces a surprisingly nuanced yandere in Kirishima. Kirishima is likable because he’s diabolical, but there’s no doubt that his heart belongs to Yoshino, and his antics are as toxic as they are clever and entertaining.
2
Miyo Has a Fairy Tale Anime Love Story in My Happy Marriage
Streaming on Netflix
Miyo Saimori has a very tragic life at the beginning of My Happy Marriage. She is a pariah in her home because her father resents her lack of magical ability, and her stepmother resents evidence of her husband’s previous marriage. Miyo is constantly browbeaten by her stepmother and stepsister in a direct homage to the fairy tale, “Cinderella.”
“Cinderella”-coded protagonists are very popular in shojo anime, though they must be nuanced to be likable. Tohru Honda, the protagonist of Fruits Basket is also a “Cinderella”-coded character. She, like Miyo, makes excellent protagonists because their trauma makes them extremely compassionate and conscientious people. Both Tohru and Miyo have a hidden well of strength inside them that comes to the fore once they’re given a chance to thrive.
My Happy Marriage
- Release Date
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July 5, 2023
1
Maomao Is a Unique & Cunning Shojo Anime Protagonist in The Apothecary Diaries
Streaming on Crunchyroll
The Apothecary Diaries is based on a historical romance and a light novel series of the same name by Natsu Hyuuga. The anime adaptation has been a wild success ever since its release in 2023. It follows Maomao, a highly educated young woman with a scientific mind.
Maomao is an incredibly fun character to follow because she has a unique personality and sense of logic, and she’s clever enough to solve nearly every political or scientific mystery she comes across. Shojo anime has plenty of romance, and a focus on female protagonists and their experience. The Apothecary Diaries has a bit of both. Maomao and the beautiful court official, Jinshi, have a slow-burn romance crosses class divides. Maomao is also the bridge between two different classes of women, from royal concubines to courtesans.
The Apothecary Diaries
- Release Date
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October 22, 2023
- Directors
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Norihiro Naganuma, Akinori Fudesaka
