What shoujo art style/aesthetic do you like the most and/or want to see more like in anime?

Monochrosanity said:
oh really? That’s some exciting news!

I also need to get around to watching the penguidrum movie, especially as I love the original anime.

If you haven’t seen sarazanmai which is his latest work then you should definitely check it out as well.

Crow_Black said:


Yep i have! and another gender bender story i liked i've seen recently, was Rose Of Versailes and that was also a huge influence on Berserk as well too iirc since it took alot of influence from the themes of Versailes.

Oh no, i hadn't yet but i will consider looking at Sarazanmai whenever i get the chance.

On the topic of shojo recs, you may like Fairy Cube by Kaori Yuki if you're in the mood for a nice dark shojo.

Monochrosanity said:
Thanks for the rec, it looks interesting so I’ll give it a read sooner or later.

samashi20 said:
I have been summoned.

@Fario-P Nostalgia is hitting me so hard right now because of Amu's outfits/designs picture you posted.

I think Shugo-Chara's art style is the ultimate art style for me. I like to think that it's so similar to Kaichou-wa Maid-sama art style, but better. The author and the studio put so much effort into coming up with the different outfit ideas and worked so hard on the color coordination as well. I still think that Amu's outfits look so badass and complimented her personality so much. The entire effort of trying to give characters different styles that suited/matched their personality was very appealing. The attention to detail was also impressive and made me a bigger fan of the show. I also liked the change in tone? When Amu was sad for example, she wore darker colors. The contrast also in the outfits and environments of the protagonists and the antagonists was very clever. This can all be summarized in one sentence: expression of the characters and their surroundings through art. I'm a sucker for that.

gintokisbicep said:
i rlly like older shoujo styles more.... maybe cause i just like the girls fashion styles more. especially more darker shoujos cause also..... the guys are lowkey hotter.

RioAl said:
Honestly one thing i considered more for shoujo stuff that i wanted to see more in anime (non shoujo) is the expressive facial emotion. Lots of modern anime nowdays has none of that since they art style are much focused on the body shape.

gintokisbicep said:
i rlly like older shoujo styles more.... maybe cause i just like the girls fashion styles more. especially more darker shoujos cause also..... the guys are lowkey hotter.

AzureWeeb said:
Hmm, that's a hard one....I really like the art style of the Sailor Moon manga.

HeruruMeruru said:
Magic Knight Rayearth, moreso the manga than the anime.

I just love that 90s big gemstones and pauldrons fantasy anime look, and I desperately want it to come back. And I also just really love CLAMP, everything they've done looks gorgeous and shaped my taste in anime and manga.

Fario-P said:
Hell yeah... CLAMP '90s art was really something else...

istheworstgirl said:


jumped in this thread to say "90s CLAMP style" and you beat me to it by 10 minutes! the art for Rayearth especially is some of my favorite shoujo style ever.

Crow_Black said:


x/1999 was one of my first clamp works and i really hope it comes back one day and rayearth is a solid series as well too.

istheworstgirl said:


when i was 10yo i read CardCaptor Sakura for the first time and it blew my mind, i became utterly obsessed with manga from that day on. i used to draw and my first ever drawings were always trying to imitate the styles of clamp from Rayearth, x/1999, CCS etc.

also i know it has a different more delicate style, but i remember really liking the art for Clover. i had it in paperback and it had this beautiful semi-opaque book cover as well. unfortunately i lost all my possessions that i owned before the age of 18, including my collection of books & manga and all my sketchbooks.

Crow_Black said:
Othello Angel Sanctuary and NANA we need more of this kind of aesthetic in shojo that gothic punk vibe and i love my goth aesthetics alot!!!

Teirayo said:
My favorite was always Ouran, it was a big inspiration for me the art style. So distinctly anime but so lively.

Monochrosanity said:
. . . I also have a soft spot for Rose of Versailles, I love the aesthetic of palaces and nobles it uses.

But if you count Utena as shoujo, even though the anime came first, then I have to say that. It’s aesthetic gives off an otherworldly vibe that’s addicting.

Teirayo said:
I think that's a big problem I have with shoujo when they try and do it nowadays, shoujo has always been in my eyes the type of series you could really give a super unique look and artwork to. It's a very artisticly open genre, when I think of some shots I saw in something like Rose of Versailles, Akatsuki no Yona, Ashita no Nadja I feel like, wow, this was made by an artist! Shows full of color, interesting designs, and life and handsome men lol

The other reason is because, not to be mean but a lot of shoujo manga have a very similar artstyle and it's always been interesting to see how individual directors adapt the characters however they want. Now though anime styles are all pretty similar so they just don't really do that as much for some reason.

If they adapted more shoujo from the 2000s and kept the 2000s aesthetic though I'd be especisally happy lmao. I also love the style of 60s/70s shoujo manga, it's even the type of art I make myself, adapting those series and giving the style a SLIGHT tweak comparable to like say Cutie Honey, the opening of Dororo, or Terra e would be really wonderful and would be my ideal tbh

Lucifrost said:

I finished watching Princess Comet today. The characters are incredibly expressive.

St0rmblade said:
Easily Fumiko Takano, her expressivity and dynamism in manga is simply unmached. Unfortunately people ignore her even after the highly successful Heike Monogatari which she did designs for.

istheworstgirl said:


when i was 10yo i read CardCaptor Sakura for the first time and it blew my mind, i became utterly obsessed with manga from that day on. i used to draw and my first ever drawings were always trying to imitate the styles of clamp from Rayearth, x/1999, CCS etc.

also i know it has a different more delicate style, but i remember really liking the art for Clover. i had it in paperback and it had this beautiful semi-opaque book cover as well. unfortunately i lost all my possessions that i owned before the age of 18, including my collection of books & manga and all my sketchbooks.

gintokisbicep said:
oooh definitely anything by matsuri akino. i would almost go as far to call her the the queen of female horror. i find her art style similar to that of ero guro bur rather less gore and sexual and leaning more towards mystery and supernatural but ultimately gorgeous.

and when it comes to men i think i'm just thinking of how they're animated now. like take tokyo mew mew. the guys were so much finer in the 2000 version than now because they're so redefined and just.... pretty that they lost their og cool edge. in general we just don't have as much badass shoujo as we used to so that means character design aren't as unique as thy used to be.

and with fashion idk it just seemed to be cooler and felt that mangaka put more effort but that's all across the board of all genres and demographics honestly.

Fario-P said:

Is this her? I've never heard of her before.
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=42497

istheworstgirl said:
i did still keep sketching but i have a physical disability affecting my hands and arms right now that although potentially reversible means it's very hard for me, painful in fact, to sketch. so unfortunately i have had to stop completely until i (hopefull) get better. i'm currently undergoing medical treatment; the issues with my hands/arms are just one of many symptoms sadly.

i feel very bitter about losing my pre-18 possessions too but it was a complicated personal matter that involved me basically being forced to leave home suddenly so i had to come to terms with it.

also, amen to your post about how we need more 2000s-style adaptations and how the artistic "freedom" of shoujo manga really seems to be limited and in decline since that era. i find it really tragic.

im not sure if it counts as shoujo exactly-- and i havent read the manga yet (although i want to) -- but the Shadows House anime gives me some shades (no pun intended) of that more "free" shoujo vibe in the way it depicts its characters. it especially seems to give some omage or inspiration from parts of utena. does anyone else have thoughts on this or agree with me?

garlicdreab said:
sorry for the long post! I only mentioned more influential artists

Lucifrost said:

I discovered all 3 of them through their anime. I didn't much like their art at first, but it grew on me over time. Have you heard of Shinji Wada? I've been a fan for 2 years! His series "Sukeban Deka" had a successful live-action series in the 80s.
https://myanimelist.net/anime/3765/Pygmalio
https://myanimelist.net/anime/2726/Sukeban_Deka

Do you also like Tezuka's art?

garlicdreab said:
this is a great thread! I LOVE the style of stuff like sailor moon, shugo chara, etc, and I also love princess tutu's art style, that is such an underrated series. But since a lot of ppl have said that I'll talk about some lesser known styles !!

one of my favorite things is shoujo manga from the 1970s because of how beautiful the artwork is, and how usually pretty dark the stories are, but unfortunately most of even the most acclaimed shoujo manga from this era don't have an anime adaptation. (Glass Mask is an exception, having two!)

I don't want this to get too long so I'll condense it by putting everything in spoilers :)






to answer why I picked these, I just love the eyes and the hair and the way the people are drawn in general. everything about it is so beautiful and unique, but a lot of people brush these off as looking too old or flowery / girly. I hope more old manga in general get adaptations, but especially old shoujo!

sorry for the long post! I only mentioned more influential artists if anyone is interested in more obscure mangaka from this era feel free to message me about it! this is something im passionate about so I was happy to be able to put this oddly specific information somewhere lol.

Crow_Black said:


Long posts like that, are honestly highly welcomed especially these days on the forum.

Have you read any of Kaori Yuki's stuff? lot of her art is very highly detailed and very intricate stuff and honestly, i have to look at more older shoujo as lot of it is mainly 2000s and 2010s really but Utena and Versailes are stuff i really liked alot.

garlicdreab said:


I haven't read any of Kaori Yuki's manga, but I have been aware of it! thank you for recommending it ill be sure to remember that. (after looking up panels on google it does look intricate! which I like)

if you enjoy rose of versailles I do recommend the other manga Riyoko Ikeda has written, as they're in the same style. as for utena though, I've never read any of Chiho Saitou's other manga but she wrote the manga for utena so you might enjoy them. :)

garlicdreab said:
this is a great thread! I LOVE the style of stuff like sailor moon, shugo chara, etc, and I also love princess tutu's art style, that is such an underrated series.

Fario-P said:
Sorry for the super late reply, but thank you so much!! I agree!

Please don't apologize for the long post! As Crow_Black said, I love reading long and passionate posts that contribute further to the discussion and there can never be enough of those kinds of posts around here. Besides, I'm actually not all that informed or anything on 70s manga, so seeing your post is extremely enlightening to me. Those pictures truly are works of art, what you said about Keiko Takemiya's shoujo works being ignored sounds pretty tragic, and didn't know those fun facts surrounding razor blades for Riyoko Ikeda and Cruel Angel's Thesis being somewhat attributed to Moto Hagio. The more you know, huh?

This year I bought the manga for Rose of Versailles (found the anime some months before the year started) and very recently Princess Knight. I haven't read/watched either of them so maybe I will eventually see more of what you love about oldschool shoujo too! Thanks again!!

UberBat said:
I'm very picky about eyes in particular. I like consistancy. So I want the same general eye shape on both male and female characters.

UberBat said:
I do like the use of colours in shoujo. And older women are drawn pretty well. I also like the expressive nature. However, I'm not a fan of any sort of chibi art style in female characters. So the big child like eyes and overly wide mouths are not appealing. Especially the eyes. I'm very picky about eyes in particular. I like consistancy. So I want the same general eye shape on BOTH male and female characters.

samashi20 said:
I have been summoned.

@Fario-P Nostalgia is hitting me so hard right now because of Amu's outfits/designs picture you posted.

I think Shugo-Chara's art style is the ultimate art style for me. I like to think that it's so similar to Kaichou-wa Maid-sama art style, but better. The author and the studio put so much effort into coming up with the different outfit ideas and worked so hard on the color coordination as well. I still think that Amu's outfits look so badass and complimented her personality so much. The entire effort of trying to give characters different styles that suited/matched their personality was very appealing. The attention to detail was also impressive and made me a bigger fan of the show. I also liked the change in tone? When Amu was sad for example, she wore darker colors. The contrast also in the outfits and environments of the protagonists and the antagonists was very clever. This can all be summarized in one sentence: expression of the characters and their surroundings through art. I'm a sucker for that.

-FALSE said:
The only shoujo anime I think I've watched is Fruits Basket, but Sailor Moon's art-style is aesthetically pleasing and it very much embodies that cute 90s charm. The newer releases don't lose the essence of that aesthetic too.

Catalano said:
I realized I talked about character designs and not about backgrounds, Tokimeki Tonight looks super pretty in regards to that. I love the painting-like imagery that we get from the episodes and also the style, almost all are gothic or guess gothic-like for I am not an expert, anyways, just see for yourself, it's almost like we're not in japan but in afantasy world where everything is chic and cool

Crow_Black said:


And now its my turn to summon you.

It would be pretty fun to see more of stuff like shugo chara you have a character in the most spookiest goth stuff you can come up with and are put in a wholesome sol like scenario and a whole bunch of hilarity ensures. Closest we got rn is Othello it has the alt chick vibe of Shugo Chara, and it has the bad bitch that takes no shit kind of energy maid sama and skip beat has as well too defo a huge must read.

Also Keep the maid sama shilling going, since i re-watched it as well as going through a re-watch of ouran atm they defo do deserve the fruba treatment.

samashi20 said:

I know right!!! I am still waiting for the Maid-sama reboot. Fun fact, I haven't seen Ouran High School Host Club yet, but I will very very soon. I was so obsessed with Shugo Chara as a teenager, the MC was the IT girl and I loved that.

-FALSE said:
The only shoujo anime I think I've watched is Fruits Basket, but Sailor Moon's art-style is aesthetically pleasing and it very much embodies that cute 90s charm. The newer releases don't lose the essence of that aesthetic too.

samashi20 said:

I know right!!! I am still waiting for the Maid-sama reboot. Fun fact, I haven't seen Ouran High School Host Club yet, but I will very very soon. I was so obsessed with Shugo Chara as a teenager, the MC was the IT girl and I loved that.

GreyStoneFlinger said:
Eldritch abomination villains like those fought in Sailor Moon and Precure.

GreyStoneFlinger said:
Eldritch abomination villains like those fought in Sailor Moon and Precure.

ryo-san said:
@Fario-P, thread reaper
Stop necromancing these old threads and make new ones..