Shojo anime is best-known for romance, drama, and a little bit of action. Since shojo is a demographic and not a genre, there are tons of unique anime that fall within the category of shojo. There’s a shojo anime for every fan including those interested in comedy, fantasy, and slice-of-life.
While most shojo anime are different from each other when it comes to genre, something all shojo anime share is their clichés. Some series try to avoid the typical clichés associated with shojo anime, but others fully embrace their clichés and are better for it.
10/10 Usagi & Mamoru Capture The Definition Of A Cliché Romance
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon is one of the most well-known magical girl anime and one of the best in the minds of its fans. The series does an excellent job when it comes to creating realistic characters that fans can relate to, which is probably why it’s so beloved by female anime fans.
Some may be turned off by Sailor Moon‘s overuse of romance and the power of friendship, but those tropes are exactly why fans love this series so much. If Sailor Moon didn’t have Tuxedo Mask arriving at every battle to give Sailor Moon an encouraging speech, the series just wouldn’t be the same.
9/10 Tohru Honda Stars In One Of The Best & Most Cliché Series
Fruits Basket
Fruits Basket is good at establishing shojo tropes and then flipping them on their heads. It may start out as a reverse harem anime when Tohru is invited to live with Kyo, Shigure, and Yuki, but with the introduction of the rest of the Sohma family, the cast becomes a lot more diverse.
Fruits Basket also plays with the love triangle trope by hinting at the prospect of Tohru liking either Kyo or Yuki, but it becomes apparent that Yuki has no interest in Tohru. Fruit Basket embraces its clichés by playing with them but also adds something new by surprising its audience.
8/10 Yona Makes The Reverse Harem Trope Shine
Yona of the Dawn
Yona of the Dawn is the definition of a reverse harem anime. Not only is Yona traveling with a group of men who are only there to protect her but each of them also has a romantic interest in her. Each character is given a moment of romance with Yona and allowed to swoon over her, which female fans of the series can’t get enough of.
Yona of the Dawn is also incredibly dramatic, which is a shojo trope that most people tend to forget about. Yona isn’t just trying to find love but fighting to save her country from war. War and romance may not mix in most shows, but Yona of the Dawn embraces these tropes perfectly.
7/10 These Boys Know They’re Pretty
Ouran High School Host Club
Shojo is exceptional at creating incredibly good-looking guys. Ouran High School Host Club doesn’t just have attractive men — it has boys that know they’re attractive and fully embrace it by running a host club.
The way Ouran plays with the pretty boy trope can create some truly romantic moments but also some incredibly funny ones. Since Haruhi is always playing the straight-faced woman forced to deal with the random exploits of her super-rich classmates, the trope becomes even funnier.
6/10 If Only Everyone Could Date The Most Popular Boy In School
Maid-Sama!
Maid-Sama! is one of those series that goes all out with its shojo tropes and fans love it even more because of it. Misaki attends a predominantly male school and happens to become the first female president of her class.
On top of that, Misaki gains the attention of the most popular boy in school when he discovers that she secretly works at a maid café. The romance in this series is well done and the growing relationship between Misaki and Usui is incredibly realistic. Even though this series has some drama, the romance and the pretty boys are what fans come back for.
5/10 Sawako Is The Best Shy Girl
Kimi No Todoke
Kimi No Todoke subverts expectations when it comes to romance tropes, but it also fully embraces the tropes that make this series work. There are plenty of shojo anime about a shy girl falling in love with a popular boy. Fortunately, the protagonist Sawako is more than just a shy girl.
Sawako’s struggles with friendship are incredibly relatable. Even though she falls under the trope of a shy shojo girl, it’s not her only personality trait. The romance between the two main characters is far more believable because of how the series builds the characters around their tropes.
4/10 Drama Takes Center Stage, Much To Fans’ Delight
Orange
Orange may seem like a simple slice-of-life romance on the surface, but it also has fantasy and time travel elements. What fans love most about this series is how it embraces its drama as Naho strives to fix her past mistakes.
Orange may have romance and friendship but the characters go through a lot of suffering before those romances pay off, which is basically required for any good shojo anime. Orange definitely has its funny moments spread around. However, the task to save Kakeru from an untimely end is what keeps fans engaged.
3/10 Scary Or Intimidating Characters Still Deserve Love
My Love Story
Shojo loves to create scary-looking characters with hearts of gold and My Love Story isn’t any different. Takeo may be incredibly large and muscular for his age, but underneath his intimidating demeanor, he is an incredibly kind and shy person.
Takeo’s scary looks may be the series’ main trope, but it certainly isn’t the only one this anime embraces. The love between Takeo and Rinko is incredibly rewarding and cute. The fact that they seem like complete opposites from each other on the surface makes their relationship even more enjoyable to fans.
2/10 Playing Around With Reverse Harem Tropes Can Result In Comedy Gold
My Next Life As A Villainess
My Next Life As A Villainess is a comedy, romance, and isekai all rolled into one. The comedy aspect of this series is the best part of it. Catarina constantly finds herself pulled into the weirdest hijinks as she tries to avoid the doom endings of the villainess character she’s been reincarnated as.
While the romance takes a backseat to the comedy, romance is still definitely there. However, the characters growing obsession with Caterina is hard to take seriously. This series is strictly a comedy, which is something it does well.
1/10 Sakura & Nozaki Unwittingly Satirize Themselves
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun is one of those anime that’s a satire of itself, which makes sense considering the anime revolves around the love life of a shojo manga artist. The dramatic irony in this series makes for a great watch.
Most fans who watch this series for the first time assume the romance tropes are going to play out straightforwardly, but instead, the series dodges each trope to create comedy gold. Sakura’s continuous failed attempts at confessing to Nozaki are even funnier since he’s a manga artist who should recognize romance tropes.