Have you ever wondered what happened to shoujo anime after the demographic's golden era some decades ago? How can the decline of shoujo anime be explained?
Few shoujo shows seem to come out lately, and when they do, they are rarely what studios bet their success on, nor do we see many shoujo anime beat the success of their shounen counterparts. So, what has changed?
RELATED: The Best Anime Based on Classic Literature
A Very Brief History of Shoujo Anime
Shoujo anime, or shows marketed toward a demographic of teenage girls, have been around as early as the 1960s, with titles such as Osamu Tezuka's Princess Knight and Mitsuteru Yokoyama's Sally the Witch.
Over the next few decades, the shoujo anime category evolved to include a wide range of magical girl anime, school anime, dramas, fantasy shows, and virtually any other genre that may center preteen and teenage girls as protagonists.
While not every anime with a female protagonist is a shoujo (think The Promised Neverland) and not every shoujo has a female protagonist (Banana Fish is often marketed as shoujo), most iconic titles do have girls in the forefront.
The 1970s is considered by many to be the golden age of shoujo manga and anime due to the growth of the market and the inclusion of increasingly complex titles.
The 1980s and 1990s saw the popularization of many subgenres, such as magical girl anime, and even their deconstruction, the latter of which is epitomized in Revolutionary Girl Utena.
Even the 2000s had some great moments for shoujo fans, including but not limited to Fruits Basket and Ouran High School Host Club.
When Did Shoujo Anime Begin to Decline?
The number of very popular shoujo diminished by the 2010s, and no noteworthy shoujo phenomenon has appeared in the 2020s other than the beloved Fruits Basket remake.
New anime seasons bring us an increased number of amazing heroines to root for, from Sagiri in Hell's Paradise to Skip and Loafer's Mitsumi, while Maomao from The Apothecary Diaries is stealing fans' hearts.
Even though fans dub The Apothecary Diaries as an 'honorary shoujo', the manga is still serialized in a seinen magazine, suggesting that the shoujo demographic is becoming smaller and smaller.
Possible Reasons Behind the Decline of Shoujo Anime
While some shoujo anime are still coming out, very few become popular in the mainstream anime sphere.
In Anime: From Akira to Howl's Moving Castle, Susan J. Napier analyzes the plots of many anime whose shoujo protagonist (the term means "girl" in Japanese) disappears. But it now seems that the genre itself is going away.
There are many possible reasons behind the decline of shoujo anime:
Can You Name These Anime Characters On Sight?
Can you name these anime characters on sight? Take the quiz!
Share
Overshadowed by Shounen
While some 2010s and 2020s shows, most notably Fruits Basket and Yona of the Dawn make it to the mainstream sphere, most are overshadowed by shounen giants such as Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer.
Worse still, the increased popularity of a particular type of isekai — the one with a male protagonist reincarnated into another world where he's OP and surrounded by many girls — is becoming so popular that you are more likely to see several versions of it than a single shoujo at any given season.
Anime has traditionally centered on male experiences more frequently, while many shows depict female characters as passive, cute in an exaggerated way, or not particularly smart.
The expectation that more anime fans are male may have something to do with the decline of shoujo anime, but given the vast numbers of girls and women who also like anime, this is probably not the full picture.
Prioritization of Action Series
Another possible explanation might lie in the general prioritization of specific types of media in general, with franchises like Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe dominating entertainment.
Many of the big franchises aren't known for focusing on female characters and the subjects often addressed in shoujo anime, at least not in their initial phases.
Of course, action-packed, marketable shoujo anime have existed from the beginning, with Sailor Moon and other similar shows having brilliant action scenes.
Problematic Elements of Some Shoujo
Overly passive female protagonists, age-gap romances, and the problematic behavior of love interests are some of the elements that some shoujo anime have been criticized for.
Of course, that doesn't explain the decline of shoujo anime fully, as many isekai anime are much more problematic.
Ultimately, it all boils down to studio decisions, many shoujo anime being adapted into live-action first, and of course, fan preferences.
Is a Revival of Shoujo Anime Possible?
While the huge popularity of shounen titles suggests they are preferred by fans, many lament the lack of shoujo options. While a revival of shoujo as we knew it seems unlikely in this decade, there's hope.
Many recent shows have featured shoujo-like themes, characters, and settings while adding their own unique flair.
My Happy Marriage wasn't dubbed as shoujo by most. Even so, it reminded us of beloved shoujo anime settings.
Similarly, Skip and Loafer, which is marketed as seinen, did really well a few seasons ago, and it will resonate with fans of school shoujo of the previous decades while avoiding some of their worst tropes.
Finally, The Apothecary Diaries is here with a rocking heroine that shows labels and genre names don't matter when it comes to good female-driven storytelling.
You may also want to check out our X (formerly Twitter) account @epicstreamanime for all the latest anime news and insights.
READ NEXT: The Best Romance Anime With a Female Lead