No, they’re not shoujo.
When you think of shoujo series, a few things usually come to mind: targeted at girls, female protagonists and romance, of course. And there are some series that look like they could easily be shoujo. However, they aren’t.
- Horimiya
Horimiya is one of the most popular and most-acclaimed romance manga and anime series, and for some reason people like recommending it when it’s time to talk about shoujo series. But in reality, Horimiya is… a shounen!
We have to admit that a story about two school students getting to know each other and becoming closer bit by bit does look like a shoujo manga, but don’t let it fool you.
- Skip and Loafer
You might be surprised, but this one is not even a shounen, it’s a seinen series, which means it’s targeted at young adult men. Men, can you imagine?
For some reason when fans see “romantic comedy,” “drama” and “slice-of-life” next to each other, see the adorable poster for Skip and Loafer with pink typography and learn that this is another story about high-schoolers, they think of shoujo, and we get it. But don’t trust this instinct.
- The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto)
To be honest, we blame Maomao for this one. She’s such an appealing and well-written female character that you can easily think that this is just textbook shoujo, but it’s not.
There isn’t even that much romance in the series (and fans are upset by that, by the way), The Apothecary Diaries knows how to stay entertaining without it. We have mysteries, politics and drama instead of a proper love storyline, and this is just as great.
- Witch Hat Atelier (Tongari Boushi no Atelier)
Another seinen manga series on our list. And another exceptionally good one.
Just like The Apothecary Diaries, Witch Hat Atelier can blame its outstanding female protagonist for the shoujo confusion. Just by looking at Coco you can imagine a great fantasy story with romance and even coming-of-age motifs. But this is not what defines shoujo series, and this is not what defines Witch Hat Atelier.
A high school girl who loves only three things in life, which are video games, cats and chocolate, sounds like a wonderful shoujo protagonist, who’s about to fall in love and be all gooey and adorable.
But no, it’s not like that, this series is actually a shounen. But don’t worry, it’ll still have comedy, romance and a great female protagonist.