The Shōjo Anime Renaissance

Anime is not always there for shōjo fans. Not that there isn't any in a given season, but at times it can feel like every other show that comes out is either an adaptation of a Shonen Jump property, a male power fantasy light novel, or something else that isn't all that concerned with attracting a different viewership. It's easy to look back at 1995, when Fushigi Yugi, Nurse Angel Ririka SOS, Neighborhood Story, Magic Knight Rayearth, and Saint Tail all aired, and feel like the anime industry has been doing shōjo fans dirty lately.

But that seems to be changing. In the past two years, we've started to see something of a shōjo anime renaissance, with more titles aimed at a female audience hitting the airwaves. Magical girls, strong princesses, high school and college romances, working women, and new flavors of BL have all debuted, and that's exciting to see. There's also more variety than in 1995, which leaned heavily into magical girl territory, so let's take a look at what's on offer, either in past or upcoming seasons, because if you're a fan of shōjo and josei, there are a lot of reasons to be happy.

Romance

When I talk to people about shōjo, many instantly think of romance, and that's in line with general “wisdom” about what ladies like to read – just look at the romance novel industry in the West. But it's still true that there are a lot of shōjo and josei romances, the equivalent of the young and new adult categories in prose fiction. Naturally, there are a few in this latest batch of adaptations: A Sign of Affection, A Condition Called Love, Honey Lemon Soda, the third season of Kimi ni Todoke - From Me to You, and Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You. These titles are strictly romances, they solely focus on the love story without distractions like fantasy or reincarnation. Of them, the most classic is Honey Lemon Soda.

Based on the manga by Mayu Murata with twenty-five volumes available in Japanese and a live-action film as of this writing, the story follows Uka Ishimori as she navigates high school. In middle school she was relentlessly bullied, ultimately leading to her retreating into herself, afraid to do anything.

She fails to get into her, or rather, her father's, top-choice school, and she fears that middle school will haunt her forever. But then she meets Kai, a boy with bright blond hair who quietly stands up for her, helping her to see the value in herself. And when she begins to like herself, she finds that other people are willing to be friends with her, too. There's a slow-blooming romance between Uka and Kai that doesn't allow him to overwhelm her; he never sees her as anything but herself, and that helps her to grow naturally rather than at his behest. The story also explores how Uka's overprotective father figures into her self-esteem and fear, pointing out that he's not trying to make her life more difficult or to shelter her too much, he doesn't truly understand what she needs from him – or that she might not always tell him the truth so that he can make the most informed decisions. The story respects its characters (no out-of-character bikinis for Uka at the beach) and allows them to work through their issues on their terms and time. If the 2025 anime adaptation does it justice, this could easily be up there with the third season of Kimi ni Todoke - From Me to You for cathartic romances.

On a different page of the romance spectrum is the upcoming Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You. This one comes from a manga by Haruka Mitsui and falls more in the reverse harem category. Mizuha is the only girl in her friend group, and she's not sure what to do when the dual shocks of the COVID pandemic and her pal Kizaki confessing his feelings for her coincide. It doesn't take long for us to see that the other three boys in the group, Shin, Shuugo, and Airu, are also carrying torches for her, but she remains largely oblivious, possibly out of self-defense.

The story's conceit is that we bounce back and forth between high school and the present when everyone is grown up and working, giving us tantalizing glimpses of how things may turn out without actually providing any solid answers, like a less depressing Orange. It doesn't always work as a device, but the characters and story are good enough that it doesn't matter, and if you like your romances with a healthy dollop of melodrama, this is one you'll want to check out.

That sort of drama is largely absent from the straight romances from past seasons, with A Condition Called Love coming closest with its at times controversial hero, while A Sign of Affection is much more low-key and has the bonus of being set in college rather than high school. But if drama's your thing, you may be more excited about the kissing cousin of the romance genre:

Fantasy Romance

I know, I know. The word “romantasy” exists as a purportedly easier way of naming this genre, but I hate that word for no good reason. In any event, it describes an offshoot of the romance genre where the romantic interest is often otherworldly or paranormal or the story takes place in a fantasy world but is primarily a romance narrative. Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts helped bring this type of tale back years after Yona of the Dawn and Snow White with the Red Hair, and it falls into both categories of fantasy romance: Sariphi is human in a fantasy world and her love interest Leonhardt is a beastman. The Demon Prince of Momochi House, on the other hand, fits the former definition, with a human girl becoming involved with a boy who no longer is and a magical house that sits on the border of the human and spirit worlds. The recently aired (as of this writing) series, Vampire Dormitory takes a third route: it's our regular world, but some vampires are romantically interested in Mito, the heroine. (And yes, for those of you who are wondering, the manga is meant to be serious, not a parody.)

Among the recently aired and upcoming titles, the trend is more on the fantasy world side, and light novels are the source of choice. That goes for the recently announced sequel to Kakuriyo -Bed & Breakfast for Spirits-, which takes place in the spirit realm, but also for both Dahlia in Bloom and The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor.

Both of these are also isekai tales, but they take very different approaches. Dahlia in Bloom is more of a classic: Dahlia is reborn in a fantasy world after dying of overwork back in Japan. She becomes a magic tool crafter. That proves to be the key to her happiness as she realizes that she doesn't need to bow to the whims of her jerk fiancé Tobias and she is a capable woman. It's low-stakes for the most part and fairly cozy, except for the feminist awakening plotline, and I could see it appealing to fans of Travis Baldree and other similar authors. Dahlia does gain a new love interest in Volf, and this continues the cozy vibe, with the two of them waxing eloquent over long, wine-filled meals. It does suffer from some tonal and production issues (you can't unsee those diagonal shadows once you notice them), and unlike Kakuriyo -Bed & Breakfast for Spirits-, this one may not work for everyone. But if you're into the cozy romantic fantasy craze, it's very likely to fit the bill.

The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor is a time loop novel. Jill is framed in one of the classic villainess setups and is set to be executed, only to find herself once again in her ten-year-old body. Determined to not go through that again, she immediately decides to marry Hadis, the eponymous dragon emperor to make sure the tragic and terrible events of the past are thwarted. Sounds good, yes? But there's a major caveat here that you ought to be aware of going in: Hadis is a little too happy to marry a ten-year-old and makes several comments about how glad he is that Jill is (physically) under fourteen.

Yes, there is a plot reason for that, but a romance between a ten-year-old and a nineteen-year-old is hard to stomach. It's a shame, because Jill is a good character: strong, smart, and determined, and Hadis isn't terrible, either. This is a story that would have worked better as our next category, frankly, because the romance risks being a deal-breaker in an otherwise solid Fantasy

Fantasy stories can take on a lot of forms, with sources listing as many as fifty subgenres, and some debate as to whether “romantic fantasy” is a subgenre of romance or fantasy. The list of recent fantasy shōjo anime outside of that contentious subgenre still tends towards low-key sword and sorcery worlds, typically inspired by 18th and 19th century Europe, as is the case with the upcoming Who Made Me a Princess. But we also have Nina the Starry Bride, which draws inspiration from the Middle East, magical girl sequel Maho Girls Precure!: MIRAI DAYS along with other current and recent Pretty Cure franchise titles, and urban fantasy/horror hybrid Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun coming in for a second season.

Who Made Me a Princess technically doesn't belong here, because its animated adaptation is Donghua (Chinese animation), not anime, but it's very likely to appeal to the same crowd.

Based on the manhwa of the same name (which in turn is based on a web novel), the story is a classic isekai tale wherein a modern Korean woman is reborn as the doomed character in a book she read – early enough to formulate a plan to prevent her tragedy from unfolding. She starts as a baby with adult memories and grows up a bit more in each volume, always working towards preventing her eventual novel ending which is, of course, death. There's magic, court intrigue, and complicated character interactions and relationships, making it a potential shoo-in for anyone looking for a pseudo-European fantasy drama.

Nina the Starry Bride is a rags-to-riches tale set in a fantasy Middle East, replete with people pretending to be someone they're not. Nina herself is a street kid, growing up with her “brothers,” who eventually sell her into slavery. Specifically, they sell her to Prince Azure, who needs her to masquerade as his dead sister Princess Alisha, the priestess-princess whose fate is heavily tied to the kingdom's diplomatic relations. Suddenly, Nina's a princess with massive responsibilities, an arranged marriage, and a terrible crush on Azure, who is supposed to be her brother but may not be who he says he is. Nina has to use her wits to survive and balance her masquerade with her feelings and experiences. If there's one thing you should be looking forward to in this series, it's her.

Things get rocky in terms of plot progress around the double-digits in the manga, but the anime may not get there or may be able to switch up the pacing a bit so that it has a better flow. But regardless, this is a good story with a great heroine and an interesting setting, where no one is who they appear to be and not staying on your toes could have disastrous consequences. If you enjoyed Yona of the Dawn, this will hit similar notes, even though its source manga isn't quite as good as that one.

There are more titles to look forward to. True Beauty is an interesting story about how looks matter (or how we're made to think they do) but doesn't quite fit in any of the above genres and can hit some sour notes, with its anime adaptation regretfully doing little or nothing to alleviate that. We've also gotten some charming BL series lately, like Cherry Magic: 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! and Tadaima, Okaeri – don't let the omegaverse stuff scare you away from what's an adorable family story. There are also rumors of a new movie for The Rose of Versailles at some point. It's a good time to be a fan of shōjo anime, and hopefully, new titles will continue to be announced and turn out as well as we could hope.