20 Shoujo Anime That Are 100% Drama, Laughter, and Tears

This is, I guess, a confession: nothing in the medium frustrates me more than Shoujo anime. It’s aimed squarely at the young and the young at heart, and it’s a place where logic goes to die in a blaze of glory. Clichés, over-the-top drama, and characters so dense that light bends around them—yet, here I am, loving every overdone, melodramatic moment of it. So here’s a list of 20 of my favorites, packed with romantic shenanigans, friendship goals, and the occasional magical girl throwing sparkles at her problems. The more absurd it sounds, the more you’re going to love it. So go forth and binge.

Contents show

1. Fruits Basket

Fruits Basket shoujo anime — Crunchyroll

3 seasons | 63 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll, Hulu

Furuba, you addictive, emotional rollercoaster from hell. Tohru Honda, our lady of eternal optimism, is too pure for this world, and the Soma family is the kind of hot mess I live for. Soap opera-level drama with a zodiac twist—this reboot did not come to play.

2. Ouran High School Host Club

1 season | 26 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix

Rich boys with too much time on their hands get schooled by a girl who’s just too real for their dramatic asses? Why yes! Ouran throws in every cliché that exists and then roasts the genre to a crisp. Peak shoujo madness and anime comedy gold, right here.

3. Sailor Moon

5 seasons | 200 episodes
Watch on: Hulu, Tubi TV

Sailor Moon is the queen of magical girl cheese, and we bow down. She taught us that you can be a crybaby with the attention span of a goldfish and still kick ass, as long as you have friendship, love, and a killer transformation sequence. The cornerstone of our shoujo-loving souls.

4. Cardcaptor Sakura

3 seasons | 70 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll, Netflix

TBH, Clow Reed is the magical equivalent of leaving your LEGOs out for someone else to step on. But I respect Sakura’s hustle. The girl is chasing those rogue cards left and right, with Kero throwing sass from the sidelines. A very good ball of heartfelt 1990s fluff.

5. Kamisama Kiss

2 seasons | 25 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll, Hulu

So, a broke girl becomes a god overnight and shacks up with a fox demon who’s all kinds of smoldering attitude? Kamisama Kiss takes the “girl in over her head” trope, adds a divine twist, and says, “Here, choke on it, you shoujo fiends.” And that we did.

6. Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You

2 seasons | 38 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu

Sawako just wants to make friends, but high school is a judgmental pit of despair. Enter golden boy Kazehaya, and her shell starts to crack. But holy slow burn, Batman—could you two maybe get a move on? But then it HITS, and I’m ugly crying because it’s all so disgustingly sweet.

7. Maid Sama!

1 season | 26 episodes
Watch on: Hulu

Misaki works at a maid café to pay the bills while trying to keep her badass student council president rep. Usui finding out and being a total tease about it? The audacity. It’s a guilty pleasure that nails the hate-to-love trope with a side of questionable labor laws.

8. Yona of the Dawn

1 season | 24 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll, Hulu

Yona lives the cushy princess life until her cousin goes Game of Thrones on her family. So what’s a girl to do but grow a spine, pick up a bow, and serve some revenge (and major hair envy)? A high fantasy story with actual stakes, a hint of romance (hi Hak 😍), and DRAGONS.

9. Princess Tutu

2 seasons | 26 episodes
Watch on: Prime Video

So, a duck turns into a girl who can turn into a magical ballerina. And there’s also a prince, but I didn’t give a [redacted] about him. This is Shoujo at its most avant-garde—a beautiful, dark fairytale you can’t explain to non-anime friends without getting a few side-eyes.

10. Blue Spring Ride (Ao Haru Ride)

1 season | 12 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll

The teenage angst bus is here, and Futaba and Kou are driving. For every “aww shucks” moment between these two, there’s a “just freaking talk to each other” one. But you can’t help but love it and get all nostalgic for those cringey teen years and feels.

11. Revolutionary Girl Utena

3 seasons | 39 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll

Not gonna lie, I had to rewatch this because I had no idea what was even happening half the time. Utena is so far out there with its metaphors, duels, and gender-bending lead challenging every societal norm in the book, that all you’re left with is mad respect.

12. Skip Beat!

1 season | 25 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll

Revenge plot but make it Shoujo. Kyouko’s journey from a lovestruck doormat to a fierce queen in the entertainment world is the glow-up story we stan. It’s as much a middle finger to crappy exes as it is a love letter to finding your own path.

13. The Rose of Versailles

1 season | 40 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll

This is history with a shoujo twist, throwing us into the lavish, dramatic world of Marie Antoinette’s France through the eyes of Oscar, a woman raised as a man. It’s political drama, it’s gender-bending, and it’s tragically beautiful.

14. Snow White with the Red Hair

2 seasons | 24 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll, Hulu

Shirayuki is a herbalist with brains, beauty, and the guts to tell a creepy prince suitor to shove it. It gets her in trouble, yes, but she’s not about that damsel-in-distress life. A fairytale, but with 100% more agency and a love interest who’s a total green flag.

15. Lovely Complex

1 season | 24 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll

Tall girl, short guy, and a whole lot of complexes. Risa and Otani are trying to navigate high school romance when they’re basically the comedy duo no one asked for. Their bickering is half the fun, and when they finally get it together, it’s all the feels.

16. Special A

1 season | 24 episodes
Watch on: Prime Video

Competitive? Overachievers? Can’t stand each other but also can’t stay away? Hikari and Kei, in a nutshell. Special A turns the trope of “I must beat you” into “I must date you,” and I’m not mad about it. I got it out of my system. It’s okay to yell at fictional characters for being oblivious to love.

17. My Love Story!!

1 season | 24 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll, Hulu

Takeo is the giant with a heart of gold who thinks he’s always going to be the sidekick in his own love story. But then a pint-sized cutie pie, Rinko, comes along, and it’s just the sweetest, most wholesome content ever. Protect them at all costs.

18. The Wallflower

1 season | 25 episodes
Watch on: Hulu

Sunako just wants to live her life in gothic solitude, but four pretty boys are on a mission to turn her into a lady. As if. This is an ode to weirdos that pokes fun at vapid transformation stories, giving us a twisted, hilarious spin on love and friendship.

19. My Little Monster

My Little Monster anime — Sentai Filmworks

1 season | 13 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll

A story of a girl who’s all brains and a boy who’s all… not. Shizuku and Haru’s unconventional story is a reminder that sometimes opposites don’t just attract; they collide, explode, and create the chaotic good of romantic comedies.

20. Vampire Knight

2 seasons | 26 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll, Hulu

Yuki’s torn between her childhood crush and a pasty vampire, because, of course she is. It’s as melodramatic and broody as you’d expect from an anime released during the Twilight craze, and we ate it up like the trash pandas we are.

And that wraps up my list of shoujo faves. Agree? Disagree? I want to hear it all. Drop your thoughts in the comments, hit that share button like it owes you money, and don’t forget to check out more of our posts.