Best Shojo Romance Anime, Ranked

Highlights

• Romance in shojo and josei anime highlights genuine relationships and the inner growth of female characters.
• Shojo and josei titles offer pure, feel-good stories with dreamy male leads, differing from popular tropes.
• Anime like “My Love Story” and “Kiss Him, Not Me” showcase unique love stories and memorable characters in the romance genre.

Shojo and josei romance are often underrated compared to their shonen counterpart. They’re known for slow-burn relationships and unrequited love, but that doesn’t mean the romance is something to bring into question. Shojo and Josei, shojo’s more “mature” counterpart, bring out the inner workings of female characters as they fall in love.

Though not exclusively, shojo and josei are told from the perspective of female characters as they grow as people. Many popular tropes, like the shy girl falls for the popular guy, are seen in shojo and josei romance titles, but the stories are vastly different. Shojo and josei romance are typically pure, feel-good stories with dreamy male-leads.

Updated April 9, 2024, by Oluwatokiloba Folami: In anime, there is a place for everyone. Fans who are enthralled by romance can be sure to find and watch a lot of anime until their hearts are content. Shojo’s appeal extends beyond female audiences. In this world of romance, fans watch as characters connect on a deeper level, create sustainable and genuine relationships, and most importantly, fall in love, especially with the least suspecting but quite obvious character. All of these anime celebrate love and highlight its beauty, which is precisely what draws fans to the genre. Love is not a straight path, but the destination is the same for everyone involved.

19 Ouran High School Host Club

From An Errand Girl To The President’s Girlfriend

Haruhi finds herself in a sticky situation after mistakenly destroying an antique worth millions. This beloved antique belongs to the Host Club, and they demand repayment even though it was not really Haruhi’s fault. After being made to join the club as an errand guy to answer their beck and call, all seems to be well again, until these boys notice that Haruhi seems to be attracting a lot of girls into the club, making the guys extremely happy.

These girls think Haruhi is a guy, but only the members of the host club know the truth about her gender. Haruhi spends a lot of time with these boys and significantly changes their lives, and soon after, Tamaki starts having feelings for her, and Haruhi feels the same way. At first, they were oblivious to the fact that they both had romantic feelings for each other, but it only took a while before they both finally confessed to each other.

18 Fruits Basket

A Curse Cannot Stop True Love From Prevailing

Life came at Tohru fast because, after losing her mother, she ended up homeless. Luckily, her grandfather takes her in, but because of a remodel, she finds herself living in a tent in the forest. After she loses her tent, the Sohma family takes her in, and while living with them, she finds herself getting intertwined with the family secret and falling for Kyo Sohma.

The Sohma family is cursed with the spirits of the Chinese zodiac. When Kyo transforms into a cat in Tohru’s presence, she does not run away from him but embraces his state, which resonates greatly with Kyo. Soon after, these two start getting closer, and a romantic bond between them forms.

17 Wolf Girl And Black Prince

A Fake Relationship Turns Official

Erika badly wants to fit in among her friends, and without thinking or paying attention to her lies, she tells her friends she has a boyfriend. It would have made sense for Erika to pull out the picture of an unknown person, but because she put no thought into her lie, the unknown person she shows her friends turns out to be Kyouya.

Stuck in a sticky situation, Erika meets Kyouya and begs him to go along with her lie. He agrees, but not without subjecting her to humiliation and treating her like a dog. However, this was only for a while, as genuine feelings began to bloom. This once-fake relationship turned out to be the real deal as they began to harbor romantic feelings for each other.

16 Kiss Him, Not Me!

One Girl, Five Admirers

Ironically, Kae’s life turns around for good after her favorite character gets killed off, pushing her into a depressive state for a week. After getting over the character’s death, she emerges from her room as a new person. She had shed all of her weight and emerged as a slim and attractive girl.

Kae enjoys imagining boys together romantically, and when she catches the attention of five guys in school, she is frustrated because she wants them to chase each other, not her. However, all these boys had no interest in Kae before her weight loss, except for Mutsumi. Mustumi’s love for Kae never wavered, weight gain or weight loss. Soon after, Kae catches herself falling for Mutsumi, and they soon begin dating.

15 My Little Monster

Opposites Attract

Shizuku Mizutani is cornered by Haru Yoshida on her way out of the classroom after her teacher asks her to bring handouts to Haru Yoshida’s home. Haru takes an instant liking to her when she is on her way out of the classroom.

It is said that Haru is a delinquent, while Shizuku is a studious hermit who is frequently referred to as “dry-ice” by her peers. There is no doubt that this love story about opposites attracting will make anime fans giggle.

14 Kimi Ni Todoke

The Outcast And The Popular Student

Kimi Ni Todoke is a classic for a reason. It follows an outcast, Sawako Kuronuma, as she makes friends and experiences a new side of school with the help of a heartthrob, Shota Kazehaya. Together, the two change Sawako’s reputation and fall for each other on the way.

Nominated for “Couple Ship of The Decade” at the 2020 Anime Trending Awards, Kimi Ni Todoke is as memorable as it is sweet.

13 Maid Sama!

A Special Bond Formed Because Of A Secret

High school student council president, Misaki Azuyawa, isn’t all that she appears. Despite her reputation as a “man-hater,” one put on many of those who fight for gender equality, Misaki also works at a maid cafe to help support her family. When a popular guy, Takumi Usui discovers her position, he decides to keep her secret. Now with a special bond, the two get closer as they navigate high school, social life, and work.

Maid Sama! is another classic shojo romance for the books. It is available to stream on Hidive.

12 My Love Story With Yamada-kun At Lv999

A Breakup Revenge Plan Takes A Romantic Turn

Following the breakup of her relationship with her partner, Akane Kinoshita, a college student, she makes an attempt to make him jealous by using a third party. The person who appeared to be a stranger turned out to be Akito Yamada, a competitive gamer. Soon after, the two individuals come to the realization that they share a similar ground, and they start to develop affection for one another.

This modern rendition of shojo is a slow burn that is well worth the time it takes to watch.

11 Say “I Love You”

Loner Girl And Popular Guy Get Together

Say “I Love You” is a version that is softer and less explicit than the manga of the same name, which came with a rating of R. As Mei Tachibana, a reclusive girl, and Yamato Kurosawa, a popular guy, come to know each other, the story chronicles their relationship of getting to know each other.

Within the framework of a high school setting, this anime delves into topics such as bullying, love, and the attraction between opposites. The original video animation (OVA) and 13 episodes of this series are currently available to watch online.

10 Blue Spring Ride

Old Feelings Spring Up Even After Years Of Distance

While Futaba Yashioka was in middle school, she developed a connection with Kou Tanaka. Despite the fact that their relationship was short-lived owing to Kou Tanaka’s relocation to Nagasaki, he became her first love. She meets a new version of Kou on the first day of high school, and he meets a new version of her.

Both of them are on the same page. Are they going to be able to see through one other’s new social masks and come back to the feelings they had in the past?

9 My Love Story!!

Knight In Shining Armour

Takeo Goda is an unconventional male lead for a romantic comedy, especially a shojo, but he hits his point in more ways than one. The moment that Takeo saves the timid Rinko Yamato from a pervert on the train, the two of them immediately become friends.

The only difficulty is that Takeo thinks Rinko has a crush on his best friend. When it comes to romantic comedies, this is the kind of feel-good comedy that makes shojo exceptional.

8 The Ice Guy And His Cool Female Colleague

A Man Who Tuns To Ice And A Woman Who Can Unfreeze Ice

In a world where descendants of yokai coexist with regular humans, Fuyutsuki offers assistance to a guy who is frozen to the ground while she is on her way to work. It won’t be long before she runs into him once more, as they both work at the same office.

Does his tendency to expel his feelings have the potential to impede the development of their budding romance? The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague is a josei romantic comedy that follows the relationship between two coworkers.

7 Kamisama Kiss

Complete Opposites Cannot Do Without One Another

The iconic shojo romance anime known as Kamisama Kiss follows the protagonist, Nanami Momozono, as she embarks on a mystical journey from being a homeless high school student to becoming a land god. Tomoe, a yokai, is the first person that Nanami encounters when she arrives at her new shrine.

Nanami and Tomoe are polar opposites, but they gradually come to rely on each other due to their shared experiences.

6 Orange

Heads-Up From The Future

One day on her way to school Naho Takimiya receives a letter from her future self, telling her about the weeks to come. She will meet a new student named Kakeru Naruse, she’ll be asked to pinch hit in her softball game, and she’ll fall in love.

Orange is a romantic drama that is on the melancholic side at times, but it’s also heartwarming and charming. It has one seasonal award win at the Anime Trending Awards, and seven award nominations from various award shows.

5 Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun

From Love Confession To A Job

Chiyo Sakura, a student at the high school, has a crush on Umetarou Nozaki, a fellow student who is known for his phlegmatic characteristics. On the other hand, when she makes the decision to discuss her thoughts with him, a funny occurrence takes place, and she finds herself inking his shojo manga.

At what point will Nozaki become aware of Chiyo’s emotions? Not only was this anime considered for the “Anime of the Year” award in 2015, but it was also considered for the “Girl of the Decade” award at the Anime Trending Awards in 2020.

4 My Happy Marriage

Arranged Marriage Gone Right

Miyo Saimori accepted her fate as the wife of a cunning individual when she was assigned to marry the Kuduo family member who was rumored to be a bad boy. Living at the Saimori house, where her stepmother and stepsister are abusive toward her, is hardly the worst thing that could happen to her. However, things are not as they appear to be. It’s possible that Kiyoka Kudou and Miyo are more compatible with one another than the rumors would let on.

My Happy Marriage is a story of faith, love, and commitment to one another.

3 Skip And Loafer

Teenage Romance And Ambition Meet

Skip and Loafer is a romantic comedy set in high school. It follows Mitsumi Iwakura as she moves to Tokyo from a rural town, and starts at an elite high school. She dreams of one day graduating from Tokyo U law school at the top of her class. However, her first day of school doesn’t go as planned, and she meets a popular yet mysterious boy named Sousuke Shima.

This series won the “Favorite Slice of Life” award at the spring 2023 Anime Trending Awards.

2 Wotakoi: Love Is Hard For An Otaku

When a gamer otaku and a Fujoshi otaku meet for the first time since childhood, they can’t help but quickly reconnect. The two, Narumi Momose and Hirotaka Nifuji, start dating early in the show, and we are able to see what it’s like for two otaku to date and grow together.

This josei, otaku romance is a fan favorite and had been nominated for 11 Anime Trending Awards.

1 Snow White With The Red Hair

Shirayuki is a herbalist with bright red hair and an endearing personality. She enjoys her free-spirited lifestyle and wants nothing to change, but one day Prince Raj orders her to become his concubine. Now she must run from her once perfect life, and start anew.

Snow White With The Red Hair is an untraditional take on the classic story, but it makes appropriate nods when necessary. It has seven wins and 17 nominations at the Anime Trending Awards.