Summary
Anime is the go-to way for most peopleto experience a story, but let’s be honest — not all adaptations do their source material justice. A lot of anime tend to skip on not only tiny nuanced details but also fairly crucial plot points. While one can argue that it’s to keep the pacing tight and fit into a season’s runtime, this particular aspect of anime does leave a lot to be desired. While cutting down certain parts of a story is not always a bad thing, it does mean that some series, especially in genres that thrive on character depth and slow-burn development, end up feeling a bit incomplete.
This is especially true when it comes to romance-heavy stories. Sometimes, an anime will rush past the really important little moments that make an otherwise ‘glamorized’ relationship feel real. The worst part of Shoujo anime and its pacing is also the fact that a lot of them stop right when things are just getting to the interesting part. In all of these shows, there’s definitely more to the story than what made it on screen.
Kimi ni Todokemay come across as a generic shy-girl-meets-popular-boy romance, but it’s so much more than that. The anime focuses on young love while also being mindful of some weighty themes like social anxiety and isolation. It revolves around a girl named Sawako who is jokingly nicknamed Sadako because of her resemblance toThe Ringghost. Because of her aversion to social settings, she’s portrayed as an awkward, sweet girl who just wants friends. That’s when the effortlessly charming, popular, and kind classmate, Kazehaya, jumps into the picture.
Their romance is the definition of a slow burn with adorably nervous misunderstandings — but that’s also what makes it so good. The anime is a purely wholesome journey of their growth, both as a couple and as individuals.
Now, the anime does a solid job of adapting their early relationship, but it only covers a portion of the story. While it does have three seasons (with the latest one being aired in 2024), it doesn’t fully show the depth of the main couple or the absolutely adorable side couples. The manga takes things a lot further than one would expect. It touches upon Sawako’s personal growth and her struggles with confidence a lot more.
The originalFruits Basketstarts off like any other classic shojo setup— despite the fact that the manga (and in turn the new anime adaptation) does touch on some very dark themes. It revolves around a sweet but slightly clueless Tohru Honda who finds herself living with a bunch of really good-looking guys from the Sohma family. What follows is a mix of wholesome moments and a series of shocking revelations related to the Sohma family curse.
The 2001 anime adaptation only scratches the surface of the actual story. The manga delves much deeper into the more complex nature of the curse surrounding the Sohma family. Tohru’s own struggles and multi-dimensional personality give her more standing. The original adaptation also leaves so many character arcs feeling incomplete and underdeveloped — almost flat. This particular version feels more like an all-out comedy than what the actual series is.
Boys Over Flowersis the ultimate rich-boy-meets-ordinary-girl romance.Calling it the ultimate shojo mangais no exaggeration considering how his series has not only been adapted into an anime but has also inspired multiple live-action dramas across the world, each with a new name but nearly the same story. The series revolves around this strong-willed yet ‘financially weak’ girl, Tsukushi Makino, who ends up at an elite school home to arrogant socialites with a lot of money. She’s immediately discriminated against and clashes with the richest guy in school and his group of glamorized bullies called F4. What starts as pure animosity between the two slowly turns into something deeper.
While the anime captures the main beats of the story, it cuts out a lot of important developments between Tsukushi and Tsukasa. The overall vibes of the manga aren’t exactly as serious as some other ones on this list, but for those who still want the entire experience, jumping to it after watching the anime would be the best way. For an intense and layered romance, even for a relatively easy-going series, the full experience can only be found in the source material.
Kamisama Kissis probably the one shojo series that spearheaded the shojo trend in primarily shounen-watching anime communities. It’s a charming mix of romance, comedy, andthe supernatural, revolving around a girl called Nanami Momozono. Momozono loses her house and, in turn, unexpectedly becomes the land god of a shrine. In doing that, she’s stuck with an extremely mean-spirited yet ridiculously attractive fox familiar known as Tomoe. Their dynamic is extremely adorable —Tomoe tries to keep up his grumpy act, but it completely falls apart because of how hopelessly he falls for Nanami.
The anime does a great job setting up the romance, but it only covers a fraction of the intensity of the two main characters. It’s also very dispersed and hard to keep track of. So, the best course of action is to read the manga after watching the two main seasons. Fans can then jump into OVAs afterward to get more context behind everything.
Maid Sama! is another one of the ‘classic shojo’ anime that kickstarted the hype behind the genre for international audiences. It revolves around Misaki Ayazawa, a headstrong student body president of a previously all-boys school. As a result, her work is basically cut out for her since she has to work extra hard to prove herself. That’s when Usui Takumi, the aloof yet most popular guy in school, comes into the picture. He stumbles upon a secret about Misaki, one that could wreck her reputation as president if it ever got out. The two enter this game of push and pull until one of them develops feelings.
While the anime captures the early stages of their relationship fairly well, it leaves out some of the most important details from the manga. The anime adaptation is basically just asequence of slapstick comedywith no real ‘substance’ behind the plot of the show. However, the manga significantly changes that. The characters are given detailed backstories that basically show why they are the way they are — particularly Usui.
Yona of the Dawnis the kind of story that deserves a proper deep dive from its viewers. It’s a multifaceted series that beautifully mixes romance, adventure, personal strength, and most importantly: royal politics. The story revolves around a sheltered and spoiled princess, Yona, who’s thrown out into the streets when her cousin orchestrates a coup against her father. That’s when she finally realizes how limited her worldview is, and she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and survival. She slowly transforms from a naive princess into a strong person worthy of leading people.
The premise of the series probably already sounds very heavy — and it’s safe to say that the anime simply cannot capture the entire gravity of it. While it is visually stunning, it manages to only scratch the surface of Yona’s journey. It ends just as the deeper conflicts, character growth, and major romantic developments take shape. The manga, on the other hand, expands on everything, including the very crucial world-building of Yona’s evolving relationship with her bodyguard.
Skip Beat!is known in the shojo sphere for being one of the longest-running manga of all time. Calling it a slow burn would be an understatement since the manga was first released in 2002 and is still going strong. It revolves around a sweet girl named Kyoko Mogami who starts off smitten with her childhood friend, Sho Fuwa. She devotes her entire life to the guy and even moves to Tokyo to care for him — only to discover he was using her the whole time. Whatfollows is her revenge scheme,which eventually turns into her healing.
The anime covers only a minor part of the early stages of Kyoko’s growth. Even the manga takes quite a long time for the real emotional and romantic depth to kick in. Much later into the story, the manga dives exponentially deeper into her as a person and showcases far more depth and skill to her than just being an over-the-top, obnoxious teenager. So, sitting through it is definitely worth a try.
