Shoujo is my absolute favorite genre of anime/manga since I've been a kid. Of course when I was a young girl, the stereotypical things that are aimed towards me made me reach out to this genre but even as I've come into adulthood I still love the shoujo genre. The first anime I ever saw was Shugo Chara. It is a pretty typical magical girl, middle school girl shoujo but I enjoyed it so much as a kid. The main character Amu is pretty different from the normal shoujo girl because she is "spicy and spunky" always putting on a cool front with her classmates but that's not really how she is as a person. I could really relate to her as a kid because everyone wants to be a cool girl but realistically no middle schooler is "cool" and that's okay!
In general, I've always loved the simplicity and mundaneness of a lot of shoujo. Shoujo's like Whisper of the Heart and Ao Haru Ride rely on awesome characterization to make the story interesting and engaging. They teach a lot of awesome life lessons through these relatable characters that include being yourself and how to be a good friend. Of course there is a lot of drawbacks to the shoujo genre including the unrealistic views of romance and relationships. To me, one of the biggest problems of this genre is the weird age gaps that are often seen between the young girl and an older male counterpart. For example, Amu, the main protagonist of Shugo Chara is 11 and has a romantic relationship with a 17 year old high schooler. When I was a kid, I just saw the older character as cool and hot for sweeping up Amu but really it's such a problematic relationship that is seen pretty often in shoujo. But, in general most shoujo relationships just show "first loves" or realistic little crushes that kids have and go through. Even in Whisper of the Heart when they get "married" it's clear that is a very naive and childlike proposal that fit with the youthful tone of the whole movie.
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