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For those who are not familiar, shoujo anime is usually coming of age slice-of-life anime whose demographic is teenage girls. However, everywhere around the world, shoujo anime is largely enjoyed by everyone including middle-aged women. This is primarily because of the happy go-lucky atmosphere that shoujo anime creates that feels nostalgic and romantic. But shoujo anime has not always been popular. It was usually shounen anime that received all the hype and, gradually, the anime world drifted in its direction too. This meant that while shoujo manga continued to be released in Japan, producers didn’t want to pick it up because the general audience enjoyed action-packed shounen anime. However, lately, there has been a resurgence of shoujo anime and we at Honey’s Anime are excited that it’s is making a comeback.
The Drought of Shoujo Anime
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If you take a look at the last few years, there are very few shoujo anime that are really worth noting. Sure, we have some amazing manga that were adapted like Maid-Sama!, Special A, Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Blue Spring Ride, Yona of the Dawn and so on, but most of these anime came out before 2015. For some reason, the flow of shoujo anime trickled to a few drops in the later years despite all of the aforementioned shows receiving great ratings on sites like MyAnimeList. So what’s really the reason? According to our research, producers realized that shounen anime was gaining popularity and thus, had the assumption that most anime fandoms were primarily comprised of guys (even if this is not fully true). That’s why the market shifted and we saw quite the increase of shounen anime. This was definitely frustrating for many shoujo anime watchers because shoujo anime was the reason that many of us were pulled into the world of anime.
The Start of a New Era for Shoujo Anime
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Frustrating as this was for fans of shoujo anime, 2021 was the start of a new decade and that meant changes. Producers finally picked up many shoujo titles like Horimiya, Tonikaku Kawaii, Fruits Basket, HigeHiro, KoiKimo and so on. That means that in 2021, there have been about 10 shoujo anime at the very least which is a big rise in number compared to previous years. This is hope for shoujo fans.
While many of the romance anime that was released in the previous years felt either like they fit the josei genre or somehow still felt catered to boys (we’re looking at you, Rent A Girlfriend), the anime this year felt like shoujo anime was back in the game, with fluttering romance and nostalgia as we watch our protagonist go through life and the struggles of youth. The slice of life aspect that was an integral part of shoujo anime was also back and we could finally get lost in the daydream of youth, romance, and everything rosy. Let’s face it, with the way the world is, we need it.
Shoujo Anime Domination Continues!
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So what does this mean for the future? Well, we can only hope that this increase in shoujo anime keeps steadily rising and that we can finally go back to the glory days of shoujo anime that we all experienced in 2012-2015. 2022 does seem promising in this regard with titles such as Teasing Master Takagi-san Season 3, Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It Season 2, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie, Aharen Is Indecipherable, A Couple of Cuckoos, My Stepmother’s Daughter Was My Ex-Girlfriend to name a few. This means that shoujo anime fans can rejoice and look forward to some great titles next year as well!
Final Thoughts
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While there have been many ups and downs for shoujo anime as a genre, it is safe to say that the fandom still exists and still very much wants to see shoujo manga adapted. While the recent years were less than bountiful, this new decade does give us more hope that perhaps we will be able to see some young love and slice of life school moments in the series that are coming in next year. We hope you enjoyed this article! What is your favorite shoujo anime? Let us know in the comments down below!
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