There are many notable Shojo protagonists who have made their mark in the anime world. They are shown to possess courage and resilience, despite the hardships they face in their daily life. Whether the demographic is fantasy or romance, they haven’t failed to engage the audience with their captivating personalities.
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A lot of them were iconic in the classic era of anime such as Usagi Tsukino and Sakura. In the modern era, Miyo Saimori and Fruits Basket supported their partners in heartwarming moments. There are also some great male protagonists in the Shojo genre which include Yamada and Hirotaka Nifuji.
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Hirotaka Nifuji
Wotakoi: Love Is Hard For Otaku
Hirotaka Nifuji is a serious office-worker who works effectively, but often ends up neglecting his needs. He barely has any expressions on his face, but ends up smiling as the relationship between him and Narumi grows.
He is an aloof guy who cares too much about gaming, but that doesn’t stop him from considering how his girlfriend feels. Their bond also revolves around their gaming and anime habits, as both of them are shown to be gaming together, even as children. Hirotaka also doesn’t shy away from other people knowing his habits and would bring his handheld consoles to work.
6
Usagi Tsukino
Sailor Moon
Usagi Tsukino was a popular shojo protagonist back in the era of retro anime. Even now, she remains popular among modern audiences as she continues to dominate the magical girl genre. Her moves and costumes remain iconic even after decades. Sailor Moon and her squad of sailors are always there to save the day from notorious evils.
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Usagi’s journey started off light-hearted, but things get serious as she continues to grow throughout the series. She develops bravery and strength as her character develops. Like her mother, Usagi becomes the queen of Silver Millenium, and raises Chibiusa as a responsible parent.
5
Sawako
From Me To You
Sawako wasn’t liked at school due to her appearance, even though she was a nice girl at heart. Many students considered her weird, which also hurt her self-confidence a lot. Kazehaya took interest in her regardless, as he found her bashful attitude cute. The anime takes certain dramtic turns due to her overthinking mind, which made things worse than they actually were.
Sawako isn’t open about her feelings, and as a result, a lot of misunderstandings occur between the two of them. Her character developed greatly, as she tried to overcome her negative personality traits and gained enough confidence to speak her mind. Eventually, she also became much more popular in class.
4
Sakura
Cardcaptor Sakura
Sakura is a school girl who took on a lot of responsibility for her age. It’s unexpected for a ten-year-old to go on an adventure to save the world from a disastrous calamity. Her character is fairly realistic about this at least, as she expresses that that task might be too heavy for her at the start of the series.
Together with her partner Kero-chan and her best friend Tomoyo, she does her best to collect all Clow Cards while they are causing some troubles in her town. She also has a friendly rivalry with Lee Chaolan who she ends up falling in love with.
3
Yamada
My Love Story With Yamada-kun At Level 999
Yamada is an obsessive gamer and doesn’t show much emotion to people in real life. He prefers staying indoors and playing games, but he is shown to be more expressive in the online video game he plays with his friends. Gradually, he reveals his tendencies to become an ideal boyfriend to Akane.
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Despite his stern attitude, Yamada is shown to be caring towards the people around him. He barely knew Akane, but was considerate enough to carry her back home when she got sick. The anime slowly developed the chemistry between the two, with them eventually confessing their love to one another.
2
Miyo Saimori
My Happy Marriage
Miyo Saimori is among the best Shojo protagonists in modern anime. Her story started off painfully as she was mistreated by her own family. They forced her to live like a servant and abused her physically and emotionally. While her spirit went down, she accepted all that came her way and then things changed for the better for her.
After she was engaged to Kiyoka Kudo, Miyo expected to be mistreated as he was known for being rude to his ex-fiances. However, he treats Miyo much more kindly. She resolved to try her best and be useful to her future husband. Her confidence developed as she learned new etiquette to fit into the Kudo family more.
1
Tohru Honda
Fruits Basket
Tohru Honda is a kindhearted girl which leads to her becoming close to the Zodiacs. In particular, she got closer to Kyo Sohma who possessed the spirit of a cat. He was often looked down on by others because of being a cat. However, Tohru made him feel secure about himself, despite his terrifying appearance in his complete form.
Tohru had a hard life as she lost both parents when she was young. Her foster family didn’t treat her nicely, but her strength that came from her positive attitude helped her be resilient. She also doesn’t want to trouble anyone which is shown when she prefers to stay in a tent rather than staying over at her friends’ place.
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