Shōjo literally means “girl” in Japanese, translated it will be girl’s manga or anime for girls. Shoujo manga is aimed at girl readers and Shoujo is not just a genre but a demographic. Shoujo targets a young female audience, typically female teenagers, and Shonen respectively is aimed at young boys from about 12-18 years old. Many of the most popular animes and mangas fall under this category.
Shoujo is the opposite of shonen. Shoujo places importance on the development of interpersonal relationships, romance, life issues during the story rather than just plain fighting and action. The series tends to be more dramatic, but with the adventure, comedy, and action rivaling that which the shonen genre offers. The Shoujo Genre is typically more appealing to young female audiences but that does not mean men or adult women cannot enjoy a good Shoujo anime or manga.
Here is a list of the top 10 Shoujo anime. The list is not ranked by any means and is just pure personal opinion. Feel free to give your own opinion.
Top 10 Shoujo Anime:
Banana Fish
The story takes place in New York and is about Ash Lynx, a teenage gang leader, and Eiji Okumura, a naive assistant photographer. The story portrays the war between Ash and his godfather Dino Golzine and Ash’s struggle to leave his past behind. Ash is also after decoding his older brother’s last words – “Banana Fish” after his brother Griffin returned from the Vietnam war. Ash and Eiji meet each other while Eiji was reporting about the American street gangs and getting kidnapped during his interview with Ash along with Ash’s best friend. The show has two seasons and was directed by MAPPA studio. The show is a fusion of shoujo and shonen anime. The story is written by Akimi Yoshida.
Genre: Shoujo, Thriller, Crime, BL, Psychological
Also read: Upcoming MAPPA Projects In 2022 That You Should Know About
Fruit Basket
The Sohma family is cursed, possessed by the twelve spirits of the Chinese zodiac, they turn into animal forms if embraced by the opposite gender who are not cursed. Tohru Honda, an orphan comes to know about the curse of the Sohma family and during their time together comes to understand their many hardships and tries to genuinely help them. Fruit basket by Natsuki Takaya has till now 63 episodes spanning over three seasons. The story is written by Natsuki Takaya.
Genre: Shoujo, Romantic, Comedy, Supernatural
Also read: 9 Best Quotes from Ayame Sohma, Fruits Basket
Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume’s Book of Friends)
Natsume Yuujinchou or Natsume’s Book of Friends by Yuki Midorikawa is a really well-appreciated piece of art over the years. The story’s protagonist Takashi Natsume is plagued by the relentless Youkai after his grandmother passed away leaving him with the “Book of Friends”. Accompanied by his bodyguard Madara, Takashi ventures to pacify and free the Youkai using the information in the Book of spirits. The series is a slice of life series focused more on character development and inner peace. The story is written by Yuki Midorikawa.
Genre: Shoujo, Slice of life, Supernatural, Mystery
Also Read: Top 10 Slice of Life Anime in March 2022 That You Can’t Miss
Shingeki no Kyojin: Kuinaki Sentaku (Attack on Titan: No Regrets)
Attack on Titan: No Regrets is a spinoff of the popular “Attack on Titan“.The story focuses on Levi before his time in the survey corps while he was still living in the city’s underground where the crime was rampant. Young Levi tries to survive every day with all that he has along with his two best friends Isabel Magnolia and Farlan Church.
Promised a better life, Levi tries to assassinate Ervin Smith, the current captain of the Survey Corps. But he soon finds out life above ground is just as hard as underground if not worse. The story is written by Hajime Isayama.
Genre: Shoujo, Dark, Fantasy, Action
Also Read: Characters Voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya: Levi’s Voice Actor
Yona of the dawn
The story takes place in Kouka which has maintained peace for over 2000 years. Yona, the protagonist of the story is the sole princess of Kouka and is protected by her bodyguard Hak, general of the Wind Tribe. A week before her sixteenth birthday, she witnesses the death of her father by her crush Soo-won, the King’s nephew. Soo-won while driving a sword through the King’s chest reveals his plans to Kouka and says that the plans had been in motion for a long time. Yona now a fugitive has to flee for her life accompanied by her bodyguard Hak. They now escape to the city Fuuga, the capital of the wind tribe. The story is written by Mizuho Kusanagi.
Genre: Shoujo, Adventure, Romance, Fantasy
Also Read: 10 Reasons Why Yona from Yona of the Dawn Is The Most Relatable Shoujo Protagonist
Orange
This story addresses the relationship between Takamiya Naho and Naruse Kakeru. Takamiya one day mysteriously gets a letter from herself in the future. The letter stated the regrets that she had in her life and advised her past self to take care of Kakeru, the new transfer student as he apparently dies by suicide sometime in the future. Will Naho be able to save Kakeru’s life this time or will he still die despite her efforts? The story is written by Ichigo Takano.
Genre: Drama, Romance, Shoujo, Science fiction
Also Read: New Live Action Movie Based On My Boyfriend in Orange Manga Announced
Kamisama Hajimemashita (Kamisama Kiss)
Tomoe, a fox yokai suddenly collapses one day with strange markings all over his body. It was later found out that Tomoe was cursed after making a deal with a fallen god to change himself to a human so that he can be with his lover. But all that managed to achieve was Tomoe being cursed and his subsequent death. Tomoe’s master Nanami Momozono, the land god decides to save the fox by going to the past and preventing Tomoe from ever falling in love. But it seems that there is a forgotten past between the two of them that is coming into light. The story is written by Julietta Suzuki.
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Shoujo
Also Read: Anime Series To Watch If You Love The Fantasy Genre
Ao Haru Ride (Blue Spring Ride)
Futaba Yoshioka who most spent of her time with Kou Tanaka who is also her first love is now trying to fit in with others of her school as Kou transfers to another high school. Due to previously being ostracized by girls due to being too popular with boys, she tries to be the favorite of all this time. Kou returns one day to the shock of Futaba. However both his name and personality are completely different. How will Futaba react to her first love now as he has returned? The story is written by Io Sakisaka.
Genre: Shoujo, Drama, Romance
Also Read: Kaguya-sama: Love Is War Season 3 -Ultra Romantic- To Premiere In US Theaters
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (My Little Monster)
My Little Monster by Robico is the story of Shizuku Mizutani who only cares about her grades and treats her classmates quite coldly. But all that changes when she was tasked with delivering classwork to Haru Yoshida. Rumored to be quite violent Shizuku find out that Haru is nothing like the rumors say and is quite kind. They hit off since neither of them knew how to properly interact with other people. After some time Haru confesses to Shizuku and they both try to understand what they feel for each other.
Genre: Shoujo, Romance, Slice of life
Also Read: Top 10 Cute Moments of Haru and Shizuku!
Waiting In The Summer
Kaito Kirishima while trying out his newly bought camera gets knocked out due to something suddenly falling out of the sky and crashing into him. He later wakes up in his room to find a familiar girl standing there who reveals to him that she was the one who crashed into him. Baffled Kaito has to live with the girl now. His friends gather and make a movie during the summer holidays. The story is written by Yōsuke Kuroda.
Genre: Shoujo, Fantasy, Slice of life, Romance, Comedy, Drama, science fiction
Some other top Shoujo animes include Kodomo No Omocha, Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama, Angel Beats, Bloom Into You, Lovely Complex, Glass Mask. You can watch these anime on Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll, and on other official sites.
Also Read: Top 10 Animated Disney Movies to Watch in March 2022
