For those new and old to this genre, it’s hard to find something
new to watch or look into when you’ve run out of ideas. This list is to
help those who are into josei find something to enjoy by giving a
background and quick summary of individual titles. I might deviate a
little bit from what is considered josei but it is something that can
appeal to those who like the genre as it contains josei elements. So
without further ado, let’s get to the list.
Paradise Kiss
This was one of the first animes that introduced me to the josei genre altogether. As a young adult female it’s hard to find entertainment specifically targeted at this demographic so to watch this anime and finally find out about josei helped me explore more titles under this category. Paradise Kiss is a story of love and finding yourself as the main character Yukari breaks out of her shell by exploring the world of fashion and modelling. With an overbearing mother she is liberated through her love interest Johji as well as the world her new friends introduce her to. This scenario seems almost too good to be true as so many of Yukari’s wishes are coming true, but the story isn’t following the fairytale formula that you would expect. It has a serious tone to it that never lets it become anything a shoujo would become. If you like stories about growing up and becoming confident in your own skin with a bit of love mixed in the middle then you will love the series. I always recommend it to friends of mine. The manga is great as well if you prefer that medium. The anime stays true to the manga so you won’t be missing out if you skip the manga.
Honey and Clover
This story does not feature a female protagonist but instead has the shy unsure freshman, Yuta Takemoto at the forefront of the story. This story doesn’t center solely around him alone though, there is a cast of quirky characters that make for funny as well as very serious scenarios. Young women can relate to Ayumi Yamada’s character who struggles with the rejection of her longtime love interest. That said, I also believe Yuta’s predicament is universal. He struggles to find his muse and purpose as he goes through university. I think anyone entering university struggles with this problem, deciding your future at such a young age is never an easy decision. If that’s not enough then you’re likely to find something relatable in one of the other characters, their personalities are very diverse. The intermixing of soul searching with love stories makes for a nice dynamic that keeps the story flowing and moving forward. It’s the kind of story that could keep going and going but [unfortunately!] it ends at 2 seasons. I’d suggest this to anyone who’s just entering university/college or looking for a slice of life that hits home a little harder than most other animes.
Princess Jellyfish/Kuragehime
This story is one about the outcasts, about finding love, opening up, and finding yourself when the world is easy to reject you. Anyone a little nerdy knows this feeling, it’s hard to relate to people when you like something taboo or unpopular. Enter Tsukimi who loves jellyfish. She’s an endearing kindhearted girl but a bit of a NEET who finds herself generally unattractive, dressing in sweats all of the time. She lives in the apartment building coined as the Amamizukan with 4 other similarly dorky, similarly unattractive young women. When she stumbles into a crossdresser named Shu who dresses her up to display her true beauty she finds confidence in herself to believe in her beauty inside and out. The anime runs a bit short of the full potential of the story (the manga spans 12 volumes+). I believe the anime leaves just enough to keep you interested in checking out the manga so if you’re curious in the story the anime is an enjoyable watch in tandem with the manga. All the characters are a little crazy and it makes for a lighthearted tone to an oddball story. Check it out if you’re a bit of a nerd for sure!
Natsuyuki Rendezvous
This is a tear-jerker romance that deals with loss and acceptance. It follows 3 characters stuck in a love triangle, but the kicker is one of them is dead. This is because the female lead Shimao Rokka struggles to deal with the loss of her late husband, which is all to the protagonist’s (Ryosuke) disappointment. He finds himself stuck in the middle of these two because he is the only one who can actually communicate her with dead husband. Also to Ryosuke’s disappointment Rokka’s husband has trouble letting her go as well, he still watches over her even from the grave. It’s a really interesting story that makes you question just how far you’d go to connect with someone, as well as just how easy it would be for you to deal with the death of a loved one. It ends a bit abruptly making you want more, so that’s my only disappointment. Definitely an unexpected plot that addresses the problems that most animes don’t tend to address, all within the setting of a flower shop.
Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine/Lupin III: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna
I’m including this one because although it might not be found in the josei lists of other websites, I would definitely put it in mine. It features a similar theme about finding who you are, and struggling with problems of the past as you come into your own. In this setting however, we follow Mine Fujiko a thief who is from the Lupin III universe. Her story is quite obscure and strange, but it’s fascinating. As she explores exotic locations we get flashbacks into her traumatizing past, and we slowly understand exactly where she fits into the grand scheme of things. She’s a strong woman, and it’s great to see a woman thief who is cunning and devious, she’s no damsel in distress. It’s not the traditional josei story, but I believe any josei fan would love this anime. The art is top notch and each episode offers something new and exciting. If you like Lupin III, or thief stories, you’ll love this anime.
Anohana: The Flower We Saw that Day/Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutaci wa Mada Shiranai
That title is a mouthful for sure! This is another one of those titles you wouldn’t typically find under the josei list, but I believe it deserves to be there. The story follows 5 old friends and their struggle to accept their friend’s death many years ago. It’s a story of acceptance, accepting the past as well as who you are. The 5 friends have mostly grown apart, but the ghost of Meiko attempts to pull them altogether again. To do this however, each character has to accept the past and move forward, accepting who they’ve become since the tragedy. It’s an amazing story, anyone who struggles with the loss of a loved one knows that it can deeply shake who you are as you grow up. Any josei fan will appreciate this series, it has all the aspects that make it a great coming of age story as so many other josei series tend to have.
I hope you liked this list and that you found something new to check out!
Christina
Paradise Kiss
This was one of the first animes that introduced me to the josei genre altogether. As a young adult female it’s hard to find entertainment specifically targeted at this demographic so to watch this anime and finally find out about josei helped me explore more titles under this category. Paradise Kiss is a story of love and finding yourself as the main character Yukari breaks out of her shell by exploring the world of fashion and modelling. With an overbearing mother she is liberated through her love interest Johji as well as the world her new friends introduce her to. This scenario seems almost too good to be true as so many of Yukari’s wishes are coming true, but the story isn’t following the fairytale formula that you would expect. It has a serious tone to it that never lets it become anything a shoujo would become. If you like stories about growing up and becoming confident in your own skin with a bit of love mixed in the middle then you will love the series. I always recommend it to friends of mine. The manga is great as well if you prefer that medium. The anime stays true to the manga so you won’t be missing out if you skip the manga.
Honey and Clover
This story does not feature a female protagonist but instead has the shy unsure freshman, Yuta Takemoto at the forefront of the story. This story doesn’t center solely around him alone though, there is a cast of quirky characters that make for funny as well as very serious scenarios. Young women can relate to Ayumi Yamada’s character who struggles with the rejection of her longtime love interest. That said, I also believe Yuta’s predicament is universal. He struggles to find his muse and purpose as he goes through university. I think anyone entering university struggles with this problem, deciding your future at such a young age is never an easy decision. If that’s not enough then you’re likely to find something relatable in one of the other characters, their personalities are very diverse. The intermixing of soul searching with love stories makes for a nice dynamic that keeps the story flowing and moving forward. It’s the kind of story that could keep going and going but [unfortunately!] it ends at 2 seasons. I’d suggest this to anyone who’s just entering university/college or looking for a slice of life that hits home a little harder than most other animes.
Princess Jellyfish/Kuragehime
This story is one about the outcasts, about finding love, opening up, and finding yourself when the world is easy to reject you. Anyone a little nerdy knows this feeling, it’s hard to relate to people when you like something taboo or unpopular. Enter Tsukimi who loves jellyfish. She’s an endearing kindhearted girl but a bit of a NEET who finds herself generally unattractive, dressing in sweats all of the time. She lives in the apartment building coined as the Amamizukan with 4 other similarly dorky, similarly unattractive young women. When she stumbles into a crossdresser named Shu who dresses her up to display her true beauty she finds confidence in herself to believe in her beauty inside and out. The anime runs a bit short of the full potential of the story (the manga spans 12 volumes+). I believe the anime leaves just enough to keep you interested in checking out the manga so if you’re curious in the story the anime is an enjoyable watch in tandem with the manga. All the characters are a little crazy and it makes for a lighthearted tone to an oddball story. Check it out if you’re a bit of a nerd for sure!
Natsuyuki Rendezvous
This is a tear-jerker romance that deals with loss and acceptance. It follows 3 characters stuck in a love triangle, but the kicker is one of them is dead. This is because the female lead Shimao Rokka struggles to deal with the loss of her late husband, which is all to the protagonist’s (Ryosuke) disappointment. He finds himself stuck in the middle of these two because he is the only one who can actually communicate her with dead husband. Also to Ryosuke’s disappointment Rokka’s husband has trouble letting her go as well, he still watches over her even from the grave. It’s a really interesting story that makes you question just how far you’d go to connect with someone, as well as just how easy it would be for you to deal with the death of a loved one. It ends a bit abruptly making you want more, so that’s my only disappointment. Definitely an unexpected plot that addresses the problems that most animes don’t tend to address, all within the setting of a flower shop.
Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine/Lupin III: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna
I’m including this one because although it might not be found in the josei lists of other websites, I would definitely put it in mine. It features a similar theme about finding who you are, and struggling with problems of the past as you come into your own. In this setting however, we follow Mine Fujiko a thief who is from the Lupin III universe. Her story is quite obscure and strange, but it’s fascinating. As she explores exotic locations we get flashbacks into her traumatizing past, and we slowly understand exactly where she fits into the grand scheme of things. She’s a strong woman, and it’s great to see a woman thief who is cunning and devious, she’s no damsel in distress. It’s not the traditional josei story, but I believe any josei fan would love this anime. The art is top notch and each episode offers something new and exciting. If you like Lupin III, or thief stories, you’ll love this anime.
Anohana: The Flower We Saw that Day/Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutaci wa Mada Shiranai
That title is a mouthful for sure! This is another one of those titles you wouldn’t typically find under the josei list, but I believe it deserves to be there. The story follows 5 old friends and their struggle to accept their friend’s death many years ago. It’s a story of acceptance, accepting the past as well as who you are. The 5 friends have mostly grown apart, but the ghost of Meiko attempts to pull them altogether again. To do this however, each character has to accept the past and move forward, accepting who they’ve become since the tragedy. It’s an amazing story, anyone who struggles with the loss of a loved one knows that it can deeply shake who you are as you grow up. Any josei fan will appreciate this series, it has all the aspects that make it a great coming of age story as so many other josei series tend to have.
I hope you liked this list and that you found something new to check out!
Christina
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