Must Watch Shojo Anime With the Best Endings, Ranked (2024)

Shojo anime, a demographic targeted primarily toward young women, is often relegated to the shadow of its male-dominated shonen counterpart. This is reflected in the production of these series, as a typical shojo anime will be cut short after one season and never allowed to finish its story. Where shonen series such as My Hero Academia or One Piece can span several seasons, many shojo anime are forced to pack several manga volumes of content into just 12 or 24 episodes.

This leaves shojo anime shows in the tough spot of having to exclude quite a bit of manga content, much to the dismay of fans who argue that the series does not do justice to the manga. Yet, some shojo anime received high praise from viewers and critics despite this. These anime series provide satisfying endings for their characters and leave an impact on the genre, even if some may remain forever unfinished.

Updated on November 27, 2024, by Lauren Younkin: While shojo anime is often given the short end of the stick by production studios, many of these series have still created enduring legacies in the anime community. This list has been updated to include more of such series and comply with CBR's current formatting standards.

13 Yona of the Dawn Is an Action-Packed Adventure

Aired for 1 Season From 2014-2015

Yona of the Dawn steps outside the realm of the traditional shojo series, trading in school settings and slice-of-life for action and political intrigue. As the princess of her nation, Yona has never had to suffer any hardship, but this changes when her cousin murders her father in a coup and she is forced to go on the run with her bodyguard Hak. While traversing the world outside the castle walls, Yona witnesses the dire state of her kingdom and resolves to take matters into her own hands.

Yona of the Dawn was tragically cut short before the anime had the chance to get into the meat of the story. By the time of the finale, the plot seems to have gathered all the elements it needs to launch into the larger narrative with the introduction of the yellow dragon. Unfortunately, the rest of the manga has never been adapted into animation. Three OVAs were released after the finale that at least gave fans the chance to witness Zeno's story, but it will always be a shame that the anime was not allowed to continue past its first season.

Yona of the Dawn

Release Date

Rating

Seasons

Creator

Number of Episodes

Studio

12 Cardcaptor Sakura Is an Iconic Magical Girl Series

Aired for 3 Seasons From 1998-2000

From the acclaimed manga artist group CLAMP, Cardcaptor Sakura is a series that was foundational for the magical girl genre alongside contemporaries like Sailor Moon. The story revolves around the magical deck of Clow Cards and their owner Sakura Kinomoto, who accidentally releases the cards into the world upon discovering them in her father's study. Sakura must then retrieve all the Clow Cards to stop them from wreaking havoc around the city.

Cardcaptor Sakura has some elements of filler in comparison to the manga, and the finale of the original anime wound up having to create its ending. In this version, things end abruptly after the climax and the subplot of Sakura and Syaoran's relationship is left uncertain. However, when the sequel series Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card was set to be animated for a 2018 release, an OVA was first premiered called Sakura and the Two Bears that finally adapted the real ending of the manga for fans to properly understand the transition into Clear Card. This updated ending with its stunning new visuals gives the original Cardcaptor Sakura series the conclusion it deserved.

Cardcaptor Sakura

TV-Y7

Animation

Adventure

Comedy

Drama

Fantasy

Romance

Release Date

April 7, 1998

Cast

Sakura Tange , Junko Iwao , Motoko Kumai , Aya Hisakawa , Emi Shinohara , Hideyuki Tanaka , Masaya Onosaka , Megumi Ogata , Tomokazu Seki , Yukana , Tomoko Kawakami , Nozomu Sasaki

Seasons

4

11 Gakuen Alice Is the Perfect Example of the Magic School Anime

Aired for 1 Season From 2004-2005

Gakuen Alice follows protagonist Mikan Sakura and her life at Alice Academy, a special school where children with powers are hidden away from the rest of the world. Though it may seem magical and innocent on the outside, the school conceals its true motives and shady past from the student body. Mikan, whose family is tied up in the history of the academy, does her best to ignore the discrimination she faces from the students and faculty while helping others where she can.

Unfortunately, the Gakuen Alice anime was another victim of the typical one-season production for a shojo series and never got to finish telling its story. It was, however, able to wrap up its current arc within the 25 episodes it was given. An additional 26th episode was released that functioned more as a recap to bookend the series and was not reflective of the manga's content, but it's a nice treat for those who watched the anime nonetheless.

Gakuen Alice

Release Date

October 30, 2004

Creator(s)

Tachibana Higuchi

Cast

Kana Ueda , Rie Kugimiya , Romi Park , Miwa Yasuda , Fuyuka Oura , Chiwa Saitô , Ai Nonaka , Rie Kanda , Junko Ueda , Megumi Matsumoto

Seasons

1

Writers

Masashi Yokoyama

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll

Franchise(s)

Gakuen Alice

Directors

Takahiro Ômori , Masashi Yokoyama

10 My Love Story!! Goes Beyond Physical Appearances

Aired for 1 Season in 2015

In most shojo romance series, the young female protagonist falls in love with the anime's bishonen male character. At times, shojo series impose traditional gender roles of masculinity and femininity on their viewers. My Love Story!! subverts these stigmas by introducing an unlikely male protagonist. Takeo Goda isn’t the typical bishonen type; he’s tall and muscular, making him appear intimidating to others. However, Takeo has a kind-hearted personality, capturing not only Rinko Yamato’s heart but the audience’s hearts too.

The last episode of My Love Story!! ends on a sweet note. Takeo Goda has competition when it comes to pursuing Rinko’s heart because another man, Kouki Ichinose, shows interest in her as well. Kouki has a crush on Rinko and plans to confess his feelings for her after winning a pâtisserie contest. The series ends with Rinko deciding whether to stay with Goda or start a new relationship with Kouki. It’s clear who the real winner is, though.

My Love Story!!

TV-14

Animation

Comedy

Release Date

April 9, 2015

Cast

Takuya Eguchi , Megumi Han , Nobunaga Shimazaki , Junya Enoki , Kazuyo Aoki , Rina Kitagawa , Kikuko Inoue , Ren Kato , Marie Hatanaka , Seigo Yokota , Kouta Nemoto , Yuka Terasaki , Rena Maeda , Kôichi Tôchika , Akemi Kanda , Ari Ozawa , Tessyo Genda

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

Creator

Production Company

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu

9 Snow White with the Red Hair Is a Romantic Fairytale

Aired for 2 Seasons From 2015-2016

Set in the fictional kingdom of Clarines, Snow White with the Red Hair tells the story of Shirayuki, who is often targeted by others due to her unusual hair color. Thanks to the help of the charismatic Prince Zen, Shirayuki can flee her home country to work as a royal pharmacist for Clarines. Zen and Shirayuki's romance is one of the best in the shojo genre, as they are consistently willing to overcome obstacles in their path to be together.

Even though the anime does not cover the full extent of the manga since it's ongoing, it can end in a place that leaves viewers with hope for the future. With Shirayuki being granted the title of "Friend of the Crown" by her home nation of Tanbarun, she is one step closer to being permitted to have a relationship with Zen in an official capacity. Snow White with the Red Hair concludes without any major cliffhangers and with its current arc resolved.

Snow White With The Red Hair

TV-14

Release Date

July 6, 2015

Cast

Saori Hayami , Ryōta Ōsaka , Yūichirō Umehara

Seasons

2 Seasons

Creator

Deko Akao

Production Company

Bones, Warner Bros.

Number of Episodes

25 Episodes

8 Sailor Moon Set the Standard for Magical Girl Anime

Aired for 5 Seasons From 1992-1997

Sailor Moon is an iconic series for young female fans and foundational in the magical girl genre. The series emphasizes the importance of developing female friendships, advocating for truth and justice, and discovering one’s femininity and identity. Sailor Moon became an early artistic representation of LGBTQ+ themes, queer relationships, and gender-fluid characters, resulting in a large international fanbase within the LGBTQ+ community. Although Usagi Tsukino is the main protagonist, her fellow guardians are dearly beloved by fans. Each guardian has a unique personality and subplot that allows young girls to identify with them.

The series concludes with the final battle between Princess Serenity and Sailor Galaxia. Princess Serenity restores the humanity within Sailor Galaxia, refusing to kill her despite all the harm she has caused. Thankfully this undoes Sailor Galaxia's actions, which include bringing Mamoru and the rest of the Scouts back to life. This would not be the end of Sailor Moon, however; the franchise returned with a reboot in 2014 titled Sailor Moon Crystal, which is more faithful to its source material of the original manga.

Sailor Moon

TV-PG

Action

Drama

Fantasy

Romance

Creator(s)

Naoko Takeuchi

Cast

Kotono Mitsuishi , Aya Hisakawa , Michie Tomizawa , Emi Shinohara , Rica Fukami , Tôru Furuya , Keiko Han , Kae Araki , Yasuhiro Takato

Main Genre

Fantasy

Seasons

5

Creator

Production Company

Writers

Sukehiro Tomita

Number of Episodes

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu

Franchise(s)

Sailor Moon

See Also

10 Movies That Broke All the Rules and Changed Cinema

Directors

Junichi Sato , Kunihiko Ikuhara

7 Rewriting the Present in Orange

Aired for 1 Season in 2016

The anime Orange is about a high school girl named Naho Takamiya who receives mysterious letters from her future self. The letters warn her that she must watch over a new student—Kakeru Naruse—because his future suicide is one of her biggest regrets in life. The entire series follows Naho and the rest of her friends as they try to change Kakeru’s fate. Orange’s exploration of traumatic issues highlight mental health challenges that plague today’s youth.

Aside from the romance and slice-of-life tropes, the series also explores a form of time traveling via letters from the future. The ending of Orange plays into this time travel mechanic, as there are two different endings to the series. In one perspective, there’s a happy ending for all the friends, but in another viewpoint, there’s an alternate universe where Kakeru does die by suicide. The dual nature of Kakeru's fate makes the ending bittersweet for the audience.

Orange

TV-PG

Release Date

July 4, 2016

Cast

Jeannie Tirado , Kana Hanazawa , Seiichiro Yamashita , Micah Solusod , Makoto Furukawa

Main Genre

Drama

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll

Studio

Telecom Animation Film

Aired for 1 Season in 2018

Banana Fish is by no means a typical shojo romance series. It explores mature themes such as homosexuality and violent criminal activity in the context of 1980s New York City. The series is also unique for its occidental commentary on American culture and Western society, as it depicts the West as filled with violence and poverty. However, the series also shows some positive aspects of Western culture, particularly in the allusions to American literature. Overall, the series’ commercial success is due to its captivating storyline filled with mature themes alongside the character development between Ash Lynx and Eiji Okumura.

Banana Fish is not for the faint of heart, and the finale of the series reflects this. Despite fans hoping for some sort of closure between Ash and Eiji, their narrative comes to a heartbreaking end. Eiji writes a letter to Ash after they have parted from one another, and Ash meets an unfortunate fate while reading it. The ending creates a somber atmosphere in which audiences are left to interpret what Ash may be feeling in response to Eiji’s letter.

Banana Fish

TV-MA

Release Date

July 5, 2018

Creator(s)

Akimi Yoshida

Cast

Toshiyuki Morikawa , Yuma Uchida , Makoto Furukawa , Yoshimasa Hosoya , Jun Fukuyama , Hiroaki Hirata , Unshô Ishizuka , Kenji Nojima , Shinji Kawada

Main Genre

Action

Seasons

1

Creator

Akimi Yoshida

Writers

Hiroshi Seko

Number of Episodes

24

Streaming Service(s)

Prime Video

Directors

Hiroko Utsumi

Studio

MAPPA

5 Gakuen Babysitters Provides Wholesome Family Dynamics

Aired for 1 Season in 2018

Despite Gakuen Babysitters being a fluffy slice-of-life series, its premise is surprisingly heavy and its story showcases plenty of moments of emotional depth. Ryuichi and Kotaro are brothers who lost both their parents in a plane accident and are subsequently sent to Morinomiya Academy to live with its chairwoman. The one caveat is that Ryuichi has to help out at the school's daycare for the children of faculty members, which is woefully understaffed.

Throughout the series, Ryuichi gets the chance to bond with the children and their families as a member of the babysitter club. The finale of the series is a culmination of all these relationships in a heartwarming Christmas episode. Though Ryuichi and Kotaro may have started the series alone, the ending shows how many people have become a part of their newfound family.

School Babysitters

Release Date

January 7, 2018

Cast

Koutarou Nishiyama , Yūichirō Umehara , Yûko Sanpei , Nozomi Furuki , Atsumi Tanezaki , Kaede Hondo , Tomoaki Maeno , Konomi Kohara

Seasons

1

Creator

Yuuko Kakihara

Production Company

Brain's Base

Number of Episodes

13 Episodes

4 Balancing Life as a Maid and School President in Maid Sama!

Aired for 1 Season in 2010

Maid Sama! is a rom-com story that takes on the "opposite attracts" anime trope. The popular cool guy, Takumi Usui, develops a crush on Seika High School’s student body president, Misaki Ayuzawa. Usui's fascination with her starts when he discovers her maid café job, something that is wildly out of character with her school persona. The series showcases the fun and adorable side of maid cafés where the workers dress up in fun costumes and the customers eat delicious overpriced desserts. However, it also touches upon the dark sides of maid café culture, including stalking and gender stigmas.

The Maid Sama! anime gives a satisfying and sweet ending for fans despite never being able to fully adapt the content of the manga. Its final episode is set during a school cultural festival, where Misaki and Usui dress up as Romeo and Juliet and watch the fireworks together. The romantic tension between them finally reaches a breaking point and the two kiss as the fireworks go off, marking the start of their relationship. This works as a conclusion for this arc of the narrative, even though Misaki and Usui’s love story is just beginning.

Maid Sama!

TV-14

Release Date

April 2, 2010

Cast

Ayumi Fujimura , Nobuhiko Okamoto , Shiibashi Kazuyoshi , Kana Hanazawa , Yu Kobayashi , Kenichi Suzumura , Riyama Takuya , Kaori Ishihara , Mariya Ise , Kana Asumi , Aki Toyosaki , Kohsuke Toriumi , Yoshimasa Hosoya , Takuma Terashima , Atsushi Abe , Mitsuhiro Ichiki

Seasons

Creator

Production Company

3 Ouran High School Host Club Includes Many Genre Staples

Aired for 1 Season in 2006

The Ouran High School Host Club has cemented itself as a shojo anime classic over the years. The series is known for its comical moments among the host club members as they get into troublesome situations to conceal Haruhi Fujioka’s identity from the other students. The show was also a trendsetter for today’s popular anime tropes, such as cross-dressing and bromances. Ouran High School Host Club commercializes these trends for audiences and sets the blueprint for other rom-com series.

When the Ouran High School Host Club anime was airing, the manga was still ongoing; thus, the last episode was not an authentic depiction of the manga. However, it was still memorable for fans as it provided a dramatic fairytale ending. Tamaki Suoh chases after the kidnapped Haruhi Fujioka, leading him to jump into the river to save her. Although open-ended, the last episode did provide viewers with a glimpse of what hurdles they would encounter in their relationship. Fans will have to read the manga to see what happens next.

Ouran High School Host Club

TV-14

Release Date

April 5, 2006

Creator(s)

Bisco Hatori

Cast

Caitlin Glass , Vic Mignogna , J. Michael Tatum , Todd Haberkorn , Greg Ayres , Luci Christian , travis willingham

Seasons

1

Writers

Yoji Enokido

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll

Franchise(s)

Ouran High School Host Club

Directors

Takuya Igarashi

Aired for 2 Seasons From 2009-2011 With a Third Season in 2024

Kimi ni Todoke is centered on the life of Sawako Kuronuma. Kuronuma faces constant bullying and isolation due to her physical appearance. Fortunately, she soon becomes friends with Shota Kazehaya, Ayane Yano, and Chizuru Yoshida, beginning to enjoy her school life for the first time with support from those around her. Thanks to the help of her friends, Kuronuma develops a sense of independence and assertiveness.

Kimi ni Todoke has a dramatic ending. Kazehaya and Kuronuma officially announce their relationship to their classmates, which leaves many female students disappointed. They start bullying Kuronuma once again as a result, but unlike the first time, Kuronuma can stand up for herself and has a supportive friend group to help her. Though this worked as the conclusion of the series, Kimi Ni Todoke came back for a third season on Netflix in an unprecedented return for a shojo series. Hopefully, other unfinished shojo anime series will receive similar treatment going forward.

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You

TV-PG

Release Date

October 6, 2009

Cast

Mamiko Noto , Daisuke Namikawa , Miyuki Sawashiro , Yûko Sanpei , Yuichi Nakamura , Yuki Ono , Aya Hirano , Masahiro Yamanaka , Miho Miyagawa , Mayuki Makiguchi , Mamoru Miyano , Sakurako Kishiro , Takashi Matsuyama , Nobuaki Kanemitsu , Yurin , Takuma Suzuki

Seasons

3

1 Fruits Basket (2019) Showcases the Potential for Shojo Reboots

Originally Aired for 1 Season in 2001, Then 3 Seasons From 2019-2021

Fruits Basket (2001) was forced to shift away from the original manga content due to its short runtime, creating its own original ending for the characters and leaving several unanswered questions. Fruits Basket (2019) is a rebooted anime series that provides fans with an authentic manga adaptation. Unlike the first series, the reboot goes in-depth when exploring the dark side of the Sohma family. The family suffers from the Chinese Zodiac curse, which causes irreparable harm to their lives. When Tohru Honda learns about their family’s secret, she unintentionally aids in helping the family mend their trauma and wounds with her presence.

The series is an emotional rollercoaster, providing fans with comedic and adorable moments while simultaneously pulling on the audience's heartstrings. The last episode features Tohru and her friends graduating from high school. She reminisces about the good and bad memories with the Sohma family. Yet, Kyo reminds Tohru to look forward to the future. The series finale wraps up all the characters’ storylines, giving them satisfying conclusions in a way that the original anime couldn't.

Fruits Basket

TV-14

Release Date

April 5, 2019

Cast

Manaka Iwami , Laura Bailey , Nobunaga Shimazaki , Jerry Jewell

Seasons

3

Production Company

TMS Entertainment

Number of Episodes

63

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Hulu

Studio