Highlights
- Shojo protagonists like Risa Koizumi and Sawako Kuronuma break away from the usual mold by challenging gender stereotypes and societal expectations.
- Characters like Yukino Miyazawa may seem perfect on the surface, but they also have complex personal lives and hidden insecurities.
- Haruhi Fujioka and Utena Tenjou defy traditional gender roles and expectations, showing that appearances and labels don’t define a person’s true character.
When anime fans think of iconic shojo protagonists, they will likely think of characters like Usagi Tsukino from Sailor Moon or Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket. Fans might notice these characters share some characteristics, like a warm, happy-go-lucky personality, believing in the inherent good in other people, and even being a little clumsy and ditzy.
But plenty of shojo protagonists out there break away from this mold, perhaps by challenging gender stereotypes or having a sharper tongue than most. These girls aren’t inherently ‘better’ than the average shojo protagonist, they just give off a different energy compared to them.
7 Risa Koizumi (Lovely Complex)
Tall, Angry, and Snarky High Schooler
At first glance, Risa Koizumi seems like an aggressive, talkative, and confident high schooler, but underneath that boldness lies some deep-seated insecurities about her height. Towering at 172 cm/5 ft 8 in, she feels self-conscious about her stature since she doesn’t feel particularly feminine or cute.
Making matters worse, she was rejected by a crush twice because of her height, once by a student named Ryoji Suzuki, and then by Atsushi Otani. Koizumi and Otani decide to join forces and help each other pursue their crushes, though they end up falling for each other in their attempts to play matchmaker, even as they constantly bicker.
6 Sawako ‘Sadako’ Kuronuma (Kimi Ni Todoke: From Me To You)
Creepy, Shy Outcast
Like a lot of shojo protagonists, Sawako is a genuinely sweet and kindhearted girl who has a crush on the most popular guy in school. But there’s one thing that sets her apart: Her resemblance to Sadako from The Ring has made her peers reluctant to associate with her, and she has never had any friends as a result.
The popular guy, Shota Kazehaya, was the first person to treat her like an actual human being, and ‘Sadako’ develops a crush on him because of that. Unfortunately, she never developed any social skills due to her lack of friends and is oblivious to the fact that Kazehaya likes her back.
5 Yukino Miyazawa (His And Her Circumstances)
Gifted Student at School, Spoiled Slob at Home
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Release Date |
October 2, 1998 |
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Creator |
Masami Tsuda |
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Studio |
Gainax, J.C Staff |
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No. of Episodes |
26 |
Yukino Miyazawa seems like the perfect student. She gets good grades, is nice to everyone, and is athletically gifted too. But that’s all a ploy to gain attention and admiration, and she’s nothing like that at home. When she meets her match, the new student Soichiro Arima, who also has looks and smarts, her spotlight is taken away from her, and she vows to take it back.
Yukino, in the beginning, comes off as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but the more time she spends with Arima – who also has a dark side and whom she initially rejected – the more she learns to just be herself and to genuinely treat her peers with kindness.
4 Misaki Ayuzawa (Maid-Sama)
Sporty, Hot-headed Tsundere
Misaki Ayuzawa, the first female student council president at a former all-boys school, has a reputation for being a man-hater who rules over male students with an iron fist. Even though she’s respected among the teachers and female student body for being academically and athletically gifted, she has a dark secret. She works part-time at a maid café to support her family, something which the most popular guy in school, Takumi Usui, discovers.
Usui takes a liking to Misaki since she isn’t instantly smitten with him, and he promises to keep her secret. While Misaki is annoyed by Usui at first, she soon warms up to him, even though she remains in denial for a little while.
3 Haruhi Fujioka (Ouran High School Host Club)
Deadpan, Gender-Nonconforming Scholarship Student
Haruhi Fujioka, a scholarship student at an elite academy, believes things like wealth and gender are superficial, and it’s what’s on the inside that counts. She agrees to crossdress and join the school’s host club to pay off a debt she owes to them, and the members don’t even realize Haruhi is a girl at first.
She’s often annoyed by the host club’s antics, especially those of the president, Tamaki Suoh. Although she remains apathetic to most things, including the fact that her true identity might be revealed to the student body, she is dedicated to her studies and has a good understanding of people and their intentions.
2 Utena Tenjou (Revolutionary Girl Utena)
Tomboyish, Princely Swordswoman
In a series that subverts a lot of Magical Girl stereotypes, Utena Tenjou is the brave and forthright protagonist who aspires to be just like the prince who gave her a rose signet ring in her childhood. Insisting on wearing the boys’ uniform at her boarding school, she becomes one of the Duelists, competing for the hand of Anthy Himemiya, the ‘Rose Bride’ who has incredible powers.
Utena vows to protect Anthy from those with nefarious intentions, and they grow from friends to lovers as the series progresses. Throughout the anime, Utena manages to be both courageous and idealistic to a fault, as she fights her way to becoming a noble Prince.
1 Oscar François de Jarjayes (The Rose Of Versailles)
Androgynous Military Officer Who Protects the Queen
The Rose of Versailles manga was initially meant to be a story focusing on the life of Marie Antoinette, but Oscar became so popular that she became the main focus of the anime. While she was born female, she was raised a boy by her military father who wanted a male heir to carry on his legacy. Oscar eventually becomes the Captain of the Royal Guard of Queen Marie Antoinette.
Oscar almost exclusively dresses in masculine outfits, is a skilled fighter, and has many female admirers in the series. She became the inspiration for several cross-dressing heroines in the world of manga and anime.
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