Highlights:
* Shoujo anime caters to young female audiences.
* Fruits Basket and Kimi ni Todoke are some of the best shoujo anime released recently.
Apart from shonen, shoujo has been one of the most recognizable genres in the manga and anime industry. It emerged in the early 1900s but the influx of woman writers happened around the 1950s and 1960s. A decade afterward, shoujo went through its golden phase, led by classics such as Sunroom Nite and The Rose of Versailles, and it continues to grow in popularity to this day.
- Also Read: 5 Best Shonen Anime Movies of All Time
Shoujo anime primarily features a female lead and focuses on their struggles and aspirations. Thus, it targets a younger female audience. Romance and high school life are prominent features of the genre and the plot isn’t overly dramatic, maintaining a cheerfulness or comicness throughout the story.
5 Best Shoujo Anime That Explore Different Themes
Over the years, viewers have been treated visually by multiple shoujo animes. They aren’t overly emotional but rather are a blend of romance and comedy that also highlight the importance of friendships. Other animes like Rose of Versailles have minimized romance to address more important themes.
Here are the five best shoujo anime of all time.
Kimi Ni Todoke: From Me To You
| Date of Release | October 2009 |
| Writer | Karuho Shiina |
Featuring a female lead whose life is changed by a handsome boy, Kimi Ni Todoke is a classic shojo anime in every sense. Sawako Kuronuma’s ghastly appearance has a negative impression on her classmates who ostracize her. The concept of having friends was alien to Sawako until she caught the fancy of Kazehaya, a popular boy in school.
Sawako and Kazehaya’s love takes center stage but equal importance is given to other characters, their development, and their relationships. It is slow yet wholesome, perfect for viewers who can connect to the emotions of the characters and the purity of Sawako’s heart.
Fruits Basket
| Date of Release | April 2019 |
| Writer | Natsuki Takaya |
Rom-com fans must put Fruits Basket on their watchlist. It tells the story of the cursed Souma family who turn into animals of the Chinese zodiac when they are stressed or embraced by a person of the opposite gender. The orphan girl Tohru Honda learns the only way to get rid of the curse is to defeat the spirit, Akito.
One of the best shoujo anime in 2024, Fruits Basket gets progressively serious. Tohru sympathizes with the Soumas while the story captures the family’s torment and the barbarity of tradition. The struggles and pain of each character are described in detail and some moments could make viewers shed tears.
Nana
| Date of Release | April 2006 |
| Writer | Ai Yazawa |
Compared to the other shoujo anime in the list, Nana is much more serious and contains adult themes. Two girls, Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu, cross paths in Tokyo and decide to live together in a rented apartment. Osaki is a punk musician in the band called Black Stones whereas Komatsu is the everyday Japanese teenager hopelessly pursuing love.
The bond between the two Nanas is tested as things quickly spiral out of control. Komatsu faces a dilemma in choosing her love whereas Osaki reunites with her ex-lover Ren but the media targets the Black Stones by using their relationship as leverage. Nana features the negative effects of fame and addiction in the shoujo anime.
Ouran High School Host Club
| Date of Release | April 2006 |
| Writer | Bisco Hatori |
Parodying the shoujo tropes, the action in Ouran High School Host Club takes place in a prestigious high school where Haruhi, the protagonist, joins as a scholarship student. Things turn south early in the series when Haruhi breaks an ancient vase. They are forced to entertain females in the Host Club to pay off the massive debt.
Ouran features a comedic take on shoujo anime, featuring obvious love triangles, relationships between siblings, weird matches-made-in-heaven, and more. However, hidden beneath the comedy and relationships, there is a critical social commentary regarding gender and class hierarchies. Haruhi is also an adorable character whose story with Tamuki adds (and funnily subtracts) romance.
The Rose of Versailles (Versailles no Bara)
| Date of Release | October 1979 |
| Writer | Riyoko Ikeda |
Set before the events of the French Revolution, Versailles no Bara has two main female characters. On one side is Marie Antoinette, the wife of Crown Prince Louis XVI, who lives a life of luxury and excess. Next is Oscar Fançois de Jarjayes, Commander of the Royal Guard, who was trained by her father at an early age to become a Royal Guard.
As the shoujo anime progresses, disparities between the rich and the poor become glaringly clear. Oscar is forced to change sides after seeing the economic condition of the country. In the meantime, Marie suffers from heartbreak and rejects her loveless marriage despite being a mother. Versailles no Bara features the struggles of women in society, the shocking realities of hierarchies, and how the French Revolution changed the landscape of the country.
- Also Read: 5 Mythology Anime You Should Watch
The female gaze in shoujo animes has led to some remarkable takes on women’s plight and need for independence. They are in stark contrast to shonen anime, in which the majority of characters are male.
