Shojo romance is a much underrated anime trope compared to Shounen. Because Shoujo or Josei romance features a slow-burn relationship and wholesome romance in slice-of-life style. Regardless of being underrated, the best taste of romance definitely lies in the Shojo genre.
What is Shoujo or Josei anime?
Shojo especially features female main characters to market to young adult women audiences whereas the Josei genre is marketed to mature adult women. The whole point of Shojo and Josei romance is to run an anime according to a female perspective like how females struggle with their own romantic battles.
From wholesome romance to twisted tales of finding unrequited love, from rom-com to adventurous romance, here are the 15 best Shojo Romance Anime highly appraised by both MAL and average audiences.
15 :Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion
In my opinion, alluring character designs are the heart of any romance anime and Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion has a strong hold on this feature.
The anime title of this anime may maybe long however the story moves along quickly featuring blend of politics and romance.
This Isekai romance anime follows Eunha Park who died in modern Korea and wakes up as Raeliana McMillan; “A Character from a novel series destined to doomed”.
Her awareness of her tragic fate even as a novel character pushes her to do everything “even faking romance” in order to survive.
14: I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss
The harem settings often ruin great romance setups and in case of Shojo reverse harem ruins the plot. However I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss is one of the fewest romance Isekai without harem.
It’s a fantastic rom-com in which you can’t help but admire both the main characters and even the antagonist.
This shojo romance anime premise is pretty similar to Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! where the main blonde lead character Aileen is destined to be doomed as a villainess.
She can avoid her doomed fate if successfully the demon king Claude falls in love with Aileen. The light-hearted approach of this rom-com shoujo has the potential to hook the audiences for the entire show.
13: Blue Spring Ride
Blue Haru Ride may be not a very romance-focused shojo anime but it definitely is the most complete anime you can watch.
As a romance anime weeb, It was not very appealing for me how the short romance anime switches from pure romance to self-discovery and family drama ending
The story follows Futaba, your quirky MC with a twist ‘She tries every ugly activity to be ridiculed by surrounding boys’. Her only comfort is Kou Tanaka ‘the introverted male mc.’
They were childhood friends and used to admire each other, however ended up in separation for some family issues. The fate has reunited the couple once again, can they able to make any difference this time?
12: Kamisama Kiss
The strange relationship is a common trait of supernatural romance anime which is also being used in this shojo in a very light hearted and funniest way.
To be honest there’s nothing very special about this anime other than the feel-good vibe of its characters and easy to get along plot.
The story begins when homeless Nanami Momozono is offered a place to live in a shrine. Even though forcefully she forms a contract with this God to perform supernatural duties and living.
Performing such duties is not a simple task when a snake wants to marry and an evil youkai wants to devour our girl mc.
11: My Happy Marriage
My Happy Marriage is a perfect example of how aesthetics can boost the reputation of any random anime. At least I think the same about the “My Happy Marriage” anime.
Apart from criticism, you can watch this Shojo anime even if you’re not only fan of romance because it serves in action, supernatural, mystery, and family drama along with sadistic romance and happy ending.
The anime features the tormented girl Miyo Saimori, forced to marry a renowned cruel man. Apart from romance and mystery, some mysterious forces are playing at the backend to get their hands on Miyo as she bears a secret power.
Shoujo romance anime is also famous for featuring handsome and attractive male leads, so if you’re an admirer of this trope, go for this anime.
10: My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999
My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 is the latest successful shojo romance anime by Mad House Studios. It’s publicity is another thing because you can’t follow this anime just for its reputation.
Personally, it’s a pretty simple romance story with ups and downs where sometimes it felt like damn funny, and sometimes you can take a nap between scenes, ‘because it’s that slow.’
Akane Kinoshita was about to give up on gaming after getting dumped by her boyfriend. Giving it a last shot, she attends a seminar on popular game where she encounters a cool character Yamada.
Fatefully this will be not their last interaction as Akane has found another reason to follow this game in which Yamada is a prodigy.
9: Lovely Complex
When cuteness, insightfulness, and hilariousness combine, it results in a Lovely complex where the main female towers the whole school even the male mc.
Despite being old, this rom-com has set the bar way higher for any show to catch on, although its MAL ratings speak for its caliber.
One of the highest-rated shojo romance anime ‘Lovely Complex’ follows the towering girl Risa Koizumi struggling to find her place in the romantic world.
She and Ootani ‘male mc’ both have lost their crushes and yet encourage each other about finding their true love. However, destiny has other plans for this odd couple.
8: My Little Monster
By storyline description, this anime literally looks like a straightforward romcom, yet it’s not what it looks like. The reason why I have ranked this show higher on the list is because it features little unpredictable characters.
I won’t think there’s any episode that lacks a damn funny moment or a sweet moment where even viewers felt wholesome out of the premise.
My Little Monster wastes no time in creating an atmosphere for the couple to confess their feelings because shyness and preserveness are alien things for its male and female mc.
The story begins when the damn serious girl Shizuku Mizutani who only knows the world of books is tasked to deliver some printouts to the school’s top delinquent Haru.
7: Maid Sama
Maid Sama! is a anime that shows off the creativity of its author. How he extracts a superb storyline throughout a straightforward plot is truly praiseworthy.
When we happened to hear the word “maid” it usually rings the bell for having lots of fan service and cliche and thankfully this anime doesn’t have this at all.
The story is nothing special and straightforward where lively tsundere girl Misaki “pro-feminist” happens to cross paths with the school’s cool dude Usui.
Honestly, it fails to deliver a pro character development but what makes this shojo romance anime special is Misaki “A lively character who becomes the school’s student council president with her hard work and yet works as a maid due to her poority.
6: Snow White With Red Hair
A shojo romance anime carried by its binge-worthy art style “Thanks to Studio Bones”, and characters.
Don’t set your hope way too high regarding its plot as it can be tiresome to follow sometimes. Overall it’s good romance anime but not a masterpiece for everybody.
A girl with red hair is named Snow White. She works as an apothecary and her looks catch the intrigue of a prince. He forcefully wants to make Snow White his concubine.
On the way to escaping, she meets another prince from a neighboring country who turns out to be a wholesome lad. Within the first interaction their chemistry clicks.
If you’re interested in a plot with similar settings, you should give a shot at “Apothecary Diaries“.
5: My Love Story
Before watching “My Love Story” make sure you take a glance at its genres, because I have seen many people criticizing this anime for not getting what was not even promised by this shojo romance show.
don’t get distracted by its name “My Love Story”, it’s far from seriousness. The sum of this show is pretty simple where comedy and romantic moments reign supreme.
The show follows a pretty straightforward plot where our female MC Rinko Yamato gets saved by a gigantic 7 feet tall lad Takeo Gouda. Even though he falls in love with her at first sight, yet afraid to confess due to his unromantic physique.
4: Nodame Cantabile
If you can keep up with the old-school art style Nodame Cantabile won’t disappoint delivering a blend of comedy and mature plot.
In the genre of music-related anime, Your Lie In April is a priority of every usual Otaku and that’s why Nodame Cantabile remains a Hidden gem.
Shinichi Chiaki is a musician prodigy harvesting a dream to perform in front of European elites. The only thing stopping him is the fear of flying.
The very slow-paced romantic tale begins when he first meets Nodame ‘a girl with no ambitions yet prodigy at playing Piano’. Things get serious when she instantly falls head over heels in love with Shinichi Chiaki.
3: Fruits Basket
Fruits Basket holds a pretty much similar premise to Kamisama Kiss. The only thing that makes Fruits Basket stand out is its characters and their development along the story that will hit you hard.
Tohru Honda lost her home but found shelter living with the Sohma family. She soon learned their strange secret – when hugged, the family members turn into animals of the zodiac.
As a kind girl, Tohru Honda is determined to sort out the problem of the Sohma Clan. If you are fond of watching supernatural romance this shojo anime is a pretty good choice with a completed storyline.
2: Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You
Before 2015, it was the golden age of anime when every adaptation came with at least 24 episodes.
If you’re a cult anime fan, you would have known that classic anime often comes with the most watch-worthy storylines full of quotes, may be this is why “From Me to You” holds a special place in my heart.
The story follows introverted girl Sawako Kuronuma whose life is intertwined with school popular boy Shouta Kazehaya. As they get along Kazehaya begins creating opportunities for Sawako to improve herself.
Quote: “I can’t forget the times we spent alone together. They leave me wanting more.”
1: Nana
It’s sad that many romance anime fans would have once added Nana to the list and forgotten to watch because of its very old-school art style.
Even as of today, I am sure Nana would be a great hit if recreated by some renowned studio. The combination of the ecchi genre and plot creativity would present a masterpiece.
This anime hit revolves around two souls with the same name, differing dreams yet longing for love. Nana K and Nana O, chance brings them together in Tokyo. As one sings rock passionate, the other seeks stable roots.
Bonds form over shared hopes within the big city, but will their journeys stay intertwined as lives and hearts collide upon love’s stage?
