plasmoids | 30 Days of Anime, Day 20: Hey Ladies.

Favorite Shoujo Anime

Yeah, I'm gonna go with Ouran. So much shoujo anime is boring, formulaic, misogynist and just plain dumb. If it's not about a girl obsessed with falling in love, it's about a girl obsessed with sex who finds love, or something equally mind numbing. There's no real thought put into it passed the character designs and names, and sometimes it feels like it's being made up as they go along.

Which is why I really like Ouran. There are A LOT of shoujo I could recommend you that does indeed break the above mold, but Ouran is one of the few I've really enjoyed in anime, and not manga, form. It's about a girl who's pretty much asexual, not interested in finding the man of her dreams and considers gender kind of silly. I really admire Haruhi for being so DIFFERENT from the typical shoujo heroine.

The rest of the series is wonderful, as well. All the different characters Haruhi meets are based on shoujo anime stereotypes, but even they aren't what they appear. Most of these characters learn, usually through Haruhi, that being yourself isn't all that bad, and I love that it teaches this lesson to those watching it. The show is also HILARIOUS, which is a big part of it's popularity. I rarely ever laugh while watching anime (that's the culture gap for you), but Ouran is definitely an exception.

I would pretty much recommend this series to anyone, even people who don't watch anime as a rule. It's not that it's without it's flaws (episode 8, hi), but I think it's got a great message that pretty much anyone can get out of it.