10 Best Anime for Girls and Women
List of the Best Anime For Female Anime Fans including Girls and Women
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An anime, one of the hottest contents around the world lately, is open to any audience, whether boys or girls. People tend to think the industry of anime has developed with more male fans, which may be partly true. On the other hand, some popular anime are much more popular among female anime fans including both kids and adults.
In addition to classic genres such as action, romance and fantasy, those anime that are more popular with girls are also categorized as Shojo and Yaoi (Boys’ Love). For both anime beginners and experienced audience, here is the list of 10 best anime for adolescent girls and adult women.
Let’s expand your interest to these good girls’ anime recommendations!
If you developed a fascination for Japan via anime and are planning a trip, begin with this Ultimate Japan Guide: 30 Best Things to Do in Japan.
1. Yuri on Ice
What girls tend to like these days is sports themed anime series, and Yuri on Ice (ユーリ!!! on ICE) is one of the most popular anime with the theme of figure skating. The figure skate on ice has got more attention from international audience especially in the Winter Olympics and other major world championships. It aired with 12 episodes in 2016, which will followed by the first anime movie. Yuri on Ice focuses on two young figure skaters with the same name: Yuri Katsuki and Yuri Plisetsky. Competing with his Russian rival, Yuri Katsuki trains to win the Grand Prix Final under the guidance of a living legend skater Victor Nikiforov.
2. Free!
Free! is one of the most famous sports anime series, popular especially among female anime fans. A renowned Japanese anime studio Kyoto Animation is in charge of the production of the swimming themed anime since the season 1 was released in 2013, which was followed by the season 2 and 3 in 2014 and 2018. There are also several Free! anime movies showing between 2015 and 2022. Free! tells the coming-of-age story of good looking high school boys who newly establishes a swimming school club.
3. Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon is the most famous girls anime that has been watched worldwide by both kids and adults for a long time since its first season started broadcasting in 1992. The classic magical-girl anime, also categorized as action and fantasy, consists of five parts airing from 1992 to 1997. A new series titled Sailor Moon Crystal was released with 39 episodes between 2014 and 2016, followed by Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie in 2021 and Sailor Moon Cosmos The Movie in 2023. Sailor Moon centers on a young girl Usagi Tsukino, who transforms herself into Sailor Moon, and other Guardian girls. You can see how the cool and cute soldiers fight against evil opponents.
4. Pretty Cure
Pretty Cure (プリキュア), which is also known just PreCure, is the most popular modern magical-girl anime franchise especially among female children. The huge series started with 49 episodes in 2004-2005, and the 19th series Delicious Party Pretty Cure began in 2022. Every series features 2-6 young girls who get the power to transform themselves into the legendary magical warriors known as Pretty Cure. Of course, you can enjoy the PreCure story wherever you start.
5. Cardcaptor Sakura
For anime fans not only in Japan but overseas, Cardcaptor Sakura (カードキャプターさくら) is one of the most recommended anime to girls of all time. The successful magical-girl anime, also categorized as romance and fantasy, is adapted from the popular manga series written by Clamp between 1996 and 2000. Firstly, it started with two part known as Clow Card Arc and Sakura Card Arc with 70 episodes totally in 1998-1999 and 1999-2000. In 2018, a new part Clear Card Arc was released with 22 episodes in 2018. Set in a fictional town in Tokyo, Cardcaptor Sakura follows a 10-year-old protagonist Sakura Kinomoto, who collects scattered magical cards called Clow Cards.
6. Fruits Basket
Fruits Basket (フルーツバスケット) is a popular modern romance anime that is adapted from Natsuki Takaya’s manga series serialized from 1998 to 2006. There are two versions of the anime series of Fruits Basket. The former series in 2001 consists of 26 episodes; the latter one has 63 episodes in three seasons airing between 2019 and 2021. A high school girl Tohru Honda lives with her classmate Yuki Soma’s family, who are transformed into Chinese Zodiac animals. It depicts her relationships with various Soma family’s members.
7. Natsume’s Book of Friends
A long-run supernatural mystery anime Natsume’s Book of Friends (夏目友人帳) has been watched by both boys and girls since its first season was adapted from the original manga in 2008. The manga written by Yuki Midorikawa has been serialized since 2005, and there are six seasons in the anime adaptation so far. They were followed by two anime films Natsume’s Book of Friends the Movie in 2018 and Natsume’s Book of Friends: The Waking Rock and the Strange Visitor in 2021. It revolves around a solitary high school student Takashi Natsume, who can see strange things called yokai (Japanese ghosts). He has interacted the yokai through the Book of Friends, which was left by his grandmother and enables the owner to command any yokai named in it.
8. Honey and Clover
As one of the most recommended romance anime to girls, Honey and Clover (ハチミツとクローバー) should be listed here. The romantic, coming-of-age anime is based on the original manga series written by Chica Umino, who is also known for March Comes in Like a Lion. The first season aired with 24 episodes in 2005, followed by the 12-episode second season in 2006. It has got more famous since it was made into a live-action television series in 2008. Set in an art college in Tokyo, Honey and Clover focuses on five main boys and girls representing adolescent worries about the way they live and love.
9. Touken Ranbu
Touken Ranbu (刀剣乱舞), which is originally known as a free-to-play video game released in 2015, was first adapted into the anime series titled Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru in 2016. After the first 12 episodes, the second season came with another 12 episodes in 2018. In addition, three anime movies of Toku Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru -Setsugetsuka- hit the big screen in 2022. Touken Ranbu is much popular among girls partly because of the anthropomorphized Japanese legendary swords characters. Set in 2205, it presents the peaceful life of the various attractive boys and how they execute their mission: preventing the history from being changed by evil forces.
10. Bungo Stray Dogs
A variety of unique detective characters in Bungo Stray Dogs (文豪ストレイドッグス) has attracted lots of male and female anime fans since the supernatural mystery anime series began in 2016. Based on the original manga series written by Kafka Asagiri since 2012, the anime series consists of three seasons so far: 12 episodes in the 2016 first season, 13 episodes in the 2016 second season and 12 episodes in the 2019 third season. Bungo Stray Dogs depicts Armed Detective Agency’s detectives with supernatural abilities who fight against opposite forces such as Port Mafia and The Guild. The characters are given the same name as famous classic authors including Dazai, Akutagawa, Fitzgerald and so on.
Anime-loving girls in Japan often flock to areas like Ikebukuro, where there are many anime shops. We have compiled locations recommended for anime fans across Japan, so if you’re interested, check this out as well: 10 Best Anime Spots in Japan.
For more information about anime and other Japanese pop cultures, check these articles below, too!
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I'm writing by my motto: helping travelers spend their limited time experiencing something priceless in Japan. My articles won't let you down! Living in Tokyo and traveling many popular and hidden sites all over Japan, I deliver well-selected and latest tourist information to you from the perspective of “100% Japanese local”. My specific interests are island hopping, eating countless bowls of ramen, watching anime and reading manga. Enjoy Japan Web Magazine for recommended food spots, hidden gems Japanese Otaku (geek) culture, and everything about Japan :)
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