Top Shoujo Anime Recommendations

BANANA FISH

Also known as BANANA FISH.

Studio: MAPPA
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Psychological , Thriller

Nature made Ash Lynx beautiful; nurture made him a cold ruthless killer. A runaway brought up as the adopted heir and sex toy of "Papa" Dino Golzine, Ash, now at the rebellious age of seventeen, forsakes the kingdom held out by the devil who raised him. But the hideous secret that drove Ash's older brother mad in Vietnam has suddenly fallen into Papa's insatiably ambitious hands—and it's exactly the wrong time for Eiji Okamura, a pure-hearted young photographer from Japan, to make Ash Lynx's acquaintance...



Tags: Mafia , Gangs , Tragedy , Crime , Conspiracy , Drugs , Male Protagonist , Urban , Primarily Male Cast , Revenge , Guns , Coming of Age , Foreign , Boys' Love , LGBTQ+ Themes , Noir , Anti-Hero , Fugitive , Shoujo , Primarily Adult Cast , Assassins , Classic Literature , Criminal Organization , Orphan , Prison , Tanned Skin , Photography

Fruits Basket: 1st Season

Also known as Fruits Basket (2019).

Studio: TMS Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Tohru Honda thought her life was headed for misfortune when a family tragedy left her living in a tent. When her small home is discovered by the mysterious Soma clan, she suddenly finds herself living with Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure Soma. But she quickly learns their family has a bizarre secret of their own: when hugged by the opposite sex, they turn into the animals of the Zodiac!



Tags: Found Family , Female Protagonist , Family Life , Shoujo , Fairy Tale , Mythology , Coming of Age , Primarily Teen Cast , Urban Fantasy , Ensemble Cast , Orphan , Shapeshifting , Rehabilitation , Animals , Primarily Male Cast , School , Episodic , Slapstick , Bullying , Heterosexual , Male Harem , Unrequited Love , Denpa , Kuudere , Memory Manipulation , Tsundere , Love Triangle , Homeless , Yandere , Agriculture , School Club , Nekomimi , Kemonomimi , Femboy , LGBTQ+ Themes , Crossdressing , Body Horror , Gangs , Gender Bending , Delinquents , Amnesia , Suicide , Nudity , Chibi , Card Battle

Kaichou wa Maid-sama!

Also known as Maid-Sama!.

Studio: J.C. Staff
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance

Being the first female student council president isn't easy, especially when your school just transitioned from an all boys high school to a co-ed one. Aptly nicknamed "Demon President" by the boys for her strict disciplinary style, Misaki Ayuzawa is not afraid to use her mastery of Aikido techniques to cast judgment onto the hordes of misbehaving boys and defend the girls at Seika High School.

Yet even the perfect Ayuzawa has an embarrassing secret—she works part-time as a maid at a maid café to help her struggling family pay the bills. She has managed to keep her job hidden from her fellow students and maintained her flawless image as a stellar student until one day, Takumi Usui, the most popular boy in school, walks into the maid café. He could destroy her reputation with her secret... or he could twist the student council president around his little finger and use her secret as an opportunity to get closer to her.



Tags: Shoujo , Female Protagonist , School , Maids , Work , Tsundere , Primarily Teen Cast , Heterosexual , Episodic , School Club , Femboy , Otaku Culture , Love Triangle , Restaurant , Chibi , Kuudere , Crossdressing

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun

Also known as My Little Monster.

Studio: Brain's Base
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

Standoffish, reclusive Shizuku Mizutani cares far more about earning stellar grades than cultivating friendships. But her opinions on friendship and relationships begin to change when she meets habitual truant Haru Yoshida, who happens to have a rather fearsome reputation. Like Shizuku, Haru’s reputation has made it difficult to make friends. And yet through their budding friendship and stirrings of attraction the unlikely pair learns to understand one another, the world around them, and the tenor of their own emotions.



Tags: School , Shoujo , Female Protagonist , Kuudere , Primarily Teen Cast , Tsundere , Heterosexual , Love Triangle , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist

Ouran Koukou Host Club

Also known as Ouran High School Host Club.

Studio: bones
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Fujioka Haruhi wins a scholarship to attend Ouran Academy, a school reserved for only the most rich and prestigious. Despite what other students may think of her, she cares little for physical appearances or the fact that she is a commoner.

Unfortunately for Haruhi, her high school days take a sudden turn when she stumbles upon the Host Club, an elite club filled with super rich and beautiful boys who use their specific traits and charms to entertain young ladies. Even worse, Haruhi accidentally breaks an 8-million yen vase in the club. Since she is unable to repay her debt with money, Haruhi finds herself with no choice but to work for the Host Club, becoming a male host herself.

Tags: School Club , Shoujo , Parody , Crossdressing , School , Female Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Male Harem , Primarily Male Cast , Ensemble Cast , Tomboy , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Surreal Comedy , Femboy , Meta , Episodic , Twins , LGBTQ+ Themes , Mixed Gender Harem , Heterosexual , Found Family , Love Triangle , Unrequited Love , Chibi , Ojou-sama , Food , Martial Arts , Delinquents , Gangs , Yakuza

Ao Haru Ride

Also known as Blue Spring Ride.

Studio: Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Yoshioka Futaba has a few reasons why she wants to "reset" her image & life as a new high school student. Because she's cute, she was ostracized by her female friends in junior high, and because of a misunderstanding, she couldn't get her feeling across to the one boy she has ever liked, Tanaka-kun. Now in high school, she is determined to be as unladylike as possible so that her friends won't be jealous of her. While living her life this way contentedly, she meets Tanaka-kun again, but he now goes under the name of Mabuchi Kou. He tells her that he felt the same way as she did when they were younger, but now things can never be the same again. Will Futaba be able to continue her love that never even started from three years ago?

Tags: Shoujo , School , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Heterosexual , Coming of Age , Love Triangle , Estranged Family , Primarily Teen Cast , Family Life , Bullying , School Club

orange

Also known as Orange.

Studio: Telecom Animation Film
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Supernatural

Everyone has regrets in life. So who wouldn't take the chance to change the past if given the opportunity? When sixteen-year-old Takamiya Naho receives a mysterious letter, claiming to be from her twenty-seven-year-old self, her life is suddenly thrown into flux. The letter tells her that a new transfer student by the name of Naruse Kakeru will be joining her class, and to keep her eye on him. But why? Naho must decide what to make of the letter and its cryptic warning, and what it means not only for her future, but for Kakeru's as well.



Note: The last episode aired with a runtime of ~40 minutes as opposed to the standard 24 minute long episode.

Tags: Shoujo , School , Tragedy , Time Manipulation , Suicide , Alternate Universe , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , Love Triangle , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Unrequited Love , Bullying , Tsundere

Kimi ni Todoke

Also known as Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You.

Studio: Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Kuronuma Sawako is completely misunderstood by her classmates. Her timid and sweet demeanor is often mistaken for malicious behavior. This is due to her resemblance to the ghost girl from "The Ring", which has led her peers to give her the nickname Sadako. Longing to make friends and live a normal life, she is naturally drawn to Kazehaya Shouta, the most popular guy in class, whose "100% refreshing" personality earns him great admiration from Sawako. So when Kazehaya starts talking to her, maybe there is hope for the friendships Sawako has always longed for. Maybe...there is even a little hope for some romance in her future.

Tags: Shoujo , Female Protagonist , School , Coming of Age , Primarily Teen Cast , Heterosexual , Kuudere , Love Triangle , Bullying , Tsundere , Chibi , Tomboy , Unrequited Love , Gyaru , Baseball , Football

Akatsuki no Yona

Also known as Yona of the Dawn.

Studio: Studio Pierrot
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Since Yona is the only princess of a grand kingdom, she has been raised with great care by her doting father and protected by her childhood friend/guard Hak and others. However, her fate changes on her 16th birthday, when her beloved cousin Soo-won murders her father to claim the throne. She flees the castle to Hak's hometown and begins her new life.



Tags: Shoujo , Female Protagonist , Dragons , Ensemble Cast , Fugitive , Travel , Primarily Male Cast , Coming of Age , Mythology , Royal Affairs , Politics , Reincarnation , Revenge , Historical , Tragedy , Male Harem , Found Family , Heterosexual , Swordplay , Archery , Primarily Adult Cast , Foreign , Orphan , Pirates , Gods , Crossdressing

Hotarubi no Mori e

Also known as Into the Forest of Fireflies' Light.

Studio: Brain's Base
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance , Supernatural

The story of Hotarubi no Mori e centers around Hotaru, a little girl who gets lost in an enchanted forest where apparitions reside. A young boy, Gin, appears before Hotaru, but she cannot touch him for fear of making him disappear.

Tags: Coming of Age , Youkai , Ghost , Tragedy , Rural , Urban Fantasy , Shoujo , Female Protagonist , Iyashikei , Time Skip , Age Gap , Heterosexual , Male Protagonist

Fruits Basket: 2nd Season

Also known as Fruits Basket Season 2.

Studio: TMS Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Psychological , Romance , Slice of Life , Supernatural

A year has passed since Tohru Honda began living in the Souma residence, and she has since created stronger relationships with its inhabitants Shigure, Kyou, and Yuki. She has also grown closer to the rest of the Souma family and has become familiar with their ancestral secret, having helped them with many of their personal issues. The closer Tohru gets, however, the more she begins to realize that their secret holds a darker truth than she first presumed.
Summer is approaching and Tohru is invited to spend her days with the Soumas, mainly Kyou and Yuki. Tohru wishes for an easy-going vacation, but her close relationships with the two boys and the rest of the Soumas may prove to cause trouble. As they grow more intimate, their carefree time together is hindered by older hardships and feelings from the past that begin to resurface. The Eternal Banquet also dawns on the members of the zodiac, and they must tend to their duties alongside the unnerving head of the family, Akito Souma.
With the banquet approaching and a plethora of feelings to be solved, will Tohru's life with the Soumas remain peaceful, or will she find herself in a situation from which she cannot escape?

Tags: Family Life , Female Protagonist , Shoujo , Coming of Age , Mythology , Found Family , Tragedy , Ensemble Cast , Urban Fantasy , Animals , Rehabilitation , Primarily Teen Cast , Philosophy , Femboy , Heterosexual , Bullying , School , Primarily Male Cast , Love Triangle , Orphan , School Club , Shapeshifting , Yandere , Incest , Memory Manipulation , Tsundere , Kuudere , Gender Bending , Body Horror , Age Gap , Bisexual , Unrequited Love , Crossdressing , Nekomimi , Kemonomimi , Suicide , Work

NANA

Also known as NANA.

Studio: MADHOUSE
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance , Slice of Life

Two twenty-somethings seemingly share nothing in common apart from their first name, but a chance meeting on a train bound for Tokyo sets Nana Komatsu and Nana Oosaki on a collision course with destiny. Nana Komatsu, a love-at-first-sight dreamer, aims to find enduring happiness in the big city. Nana Oosaki, neo punk rock vocalist, pursues her burning ambitions of musical stardom and worldwide fame. As their fates increasingly intertwine, they each chase their dreams — until the harsh realities of life in big city Tokyo threaten to tear everything apart.



Tags: Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Band , Coming of Age , Tragedy , Love Triangle , Shoujo , Rock Music , Netorare , Heterosexual , Fashion , Ensemble Cast , College , Kuudere , Age Gap , Nudity , Gyaru , Mahjong , Yuri , Noir

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime

Also known as Snow White with the Red Hair.

Studio: bones
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance

In the kingdom of Tanbarun lives Shirayuki, an independent and strong-willed young woman. Her resourceful intelligence has led her become a skilled pharmacist, but her most defining trait is her shock of beautiful apple-red hair. Her dazzling mane gets her noticed by the prince of the kingdom, but instead of romancing her, he demands she be his concubine. Shirayuki refuses, chops off her lovely locks, and runs away to the neighboring kingdom of Clarines. There, she befriends a young man named Zen, who, SURPRISE, is also a prince, although with a much better temperament than the previous one. Watch as Shirayuki finds her place in the new kingdom, and in Zen’s heart.



Tags: Shoujo , Female Protagonist , Medicine , Heterosexual , Work , Historical , Politics , Swordplay , Agriculture , Love Triangle , Primarily Male Cast

Fruits Basket: The Final

Also known as Fruits Basket The Final Season.

Studio: TMS Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Psychological , Romance , Slice of Life , Supernatural

After last season’s revelations, the Soma family moves forward, but the emotional chains that bind them are not easily broken. Unable to admit why she wants the cure, Tohru wrestles with the truth, aware that time is running out for someone close.

And a secret still lurks that could break another’s heart. But hope is not lost—a clue to the curse is found. Could their imprisonment’s end be near?



Note: This season premiered on Funimation and AnimeLab on March 20, 2021. The Japanese broadcast started two weeks later on April 6, 2021.

Tags: Shoujo , Found Family , Coming of Age , Rehabilitation , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Family Life , Ensemble Cast , Philosophy , Urban Fantasy , Mythology , Animals , Heterosexual , Orphan , Shapeshifting , Gods , Revenge , Bullying , School , Unrequited Love , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Yandere , Love Triangle , Reincarnation , Age Gap , Tsundere , Suicide , Nekomimi , Kemonomimi , School Club , Kuudere , Crossdressing , Gender Bending , Time Skip , Chibi , Femboy , Marriage

Yamada-kun to Lv999 no Koi wo Suru

Also known as My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999.

Studio: MADHOUSE
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance

Akane Kinoshita, a female college student, faces the absolute worst situation when she ends up breaking up with her boyfriend after he has an affair with a woman he met playing an online game. While relieving her stress by rampaging through the open hunting grounds of an online game, Akane spills everything about her heartbreak to “Yamada”, a player she met by chance who happens to be in the same guild. “I don't care,” is his curt reply. But when Akane gets a makeover and joins an offline event to get back at her ex-boyfriend, she hears those dreadful words again. And that was Akane's fateful encounter with “Yamada”─！



Tags: Kuudere , Video Games , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Shoujo , Otaku Culture , Primarily Adult Cast , College , Love Triangle , Age Gap , E-Sports , Unrequited Love , Konbini , CGI

Kamisama Hajimemashita

Also known as Kamisama Kiss.

Studio: TMS Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Fantasy , Romance , Supernatural

Nanami Momozono is alone and homeless after her dad skips town to evade his gambling debts and the debt collectors kick her out of her apartment. So when a man she's just saved from a dog offers her his home, she jumps at the opportunity. But it turns out that his place is a shrine, and Nanami has unwittingly taken over his job as a local deity!

Nanami has all kinda of new responsibilities she doesn't understand, dangers she's unaware of, and a cranky ex-familiar who's... actually pretty hot. What's a new-fledged godling to do?



Tags: Gods , Shoujo , Youkai , Female Protagonist , Kemonomimi , Heterosexual , Urban Fantasy , Age Gap , Episodic , Time Manipulation , Demons , Male Harem , School , Monster Boy , Love Triangle , Meta , Tsundere , Bullying , Slavery , Anthropomorphism

Sukitte Ii na yo.

Also known as Say "I love you"..

Studio: ZEXCS
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

Mei Tachibana has spent her 16 years without a boyfriend or friends. One day, she injures the most popular boy in school, Yamato Kurosawa, due to a misunderstanding. For some reason though, it seems that he takes a liking to her and one-sidedly claims that they're friends. Furthermore, he not only protects Mei from a stalker, but does so with a kiss…?!!

Tags: Bullying , School , Shoujo , Female Protagonist , Love Triangle , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Rehabilitation

Ore Monogatari!!

Also known as My Love Story!!.

Studio: MADHOUSE
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance

Takeo Gouda is a giant guy with a giant heart. Too bad the girls don't want him! (They always go for his good-looking best friend, Sunakawa.) Used to being on the sidelines, Takeo simply stands tall and accepts his fate. But one day when he saves a girl named Yamato from a harasser on the train, his (love!) life suddenly takes an incredible turn! Takeo can hardly believe it when he crosses paths with Yamato again, and he finds himself falling in love with her… But with handsome Sunakawa around, does Takeo even stand a chance?



Tags: Shoujo , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Female Protagonist , Episodic , Unrequited Love , Asexual , Food , Love Triangle , Bullying

Natsume Yuujinchou

Also known as Natsume's Book of Friends Season 1.

Studio: Brain's Base
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Natsume has always been an outcast because he inherited his grandmother's ability to see yokai. After moving to his grandmother's hometown and accidentally releasing a yokai imprisoned in a Lucky Cat statue, he learns about his grandmother's "Book of Friends," which contains the names of the yokai she defeated, and allows its wielder to command the yokai named within. Since then, yokai now visit him on a daily basis, seeking to either get their names back or take possession of the Book of Friends.



Tags: Youkai , Iyashikei , Episodic , Male Protagonist , Outdoor , Adoption , Urban Fantasy , Shoujo , Rural , Found Family , Primarily Male Cast , Bullying , Coming of Age , Estranged Family , Shapeshifting , Primarily Teen Cast , Tsundere , LGBTQ+ Themes

Lovely★Complex

Also known as Lovely Complex.

Studio: Toei Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

Love is unusual for Koizumi Risa and Ootani Atsushi, who are both striving to find their ideal partner in high school—172 cm tall Koizumi is much taller than the average girl, and Ootani is much shorter than the average guy at 156 cm. To add to their plights, their crushes fall in love with each other, leaving Koizumi and Ootani comically flustered and heartbroken. To make matters worse, they're even labeled as a comedy duo by their homeroom teacher due to their personalities and the stark difference in their heights, and their classmates even think of their arguments as sketches.

Lovely★Complex follows Koizumi and Ootani as they encourage each other in finding love and become close friends. Apart from their ridiculous antics, they soon find out an unexpected similarity in their music and fashion tastes. Maybe they possess a chemistry yet unknown, but could love ever bloom between the mismatched pair?



Tags: Female Protagonist , Shoujo , School , Slapstick , Primarily Teen Cast , Heterosexual , Tomboy , Netorare , Transgender , LGBTQ+ Themes , Gender Bending , Tsundere