We be bloggin'

Hey ya’ll and welcome back to day 4 of Doki Doki Days 2025! We’re pretty excited about today’s content because it’s something that Star and I both really care about: mature shoujo (anime). I sort of mentioned this before during day 2 of Doki Doki Days, but today we’re really going to talk about how there are a lot of more mature shoujo anime and we absolutely love this new trend.

So, growing up, the shoujo we were used to was pretty cut and dry–made for teenage girls, featuring teenage girls. Which is definitely great when you are a teenage or preteen girl. And it could be great occasionally while reliving the past or living vicariously. However, there does come a time when it feels like you’d rather be reading stories where you can see your own age represented. I personally always loved Say I love You in manga form for following the protagonist from high school through some of their college years — truly showcasing growing up in a time that I was, well, growing up. But in college there weren’t a lot of shoujo anime that appealed to me, and I didn’t have time for shoujo manga anymore. However, in recent years, I’ve seen an uptick in older shoujo romances that focus on college kids and even young working adults — just like me. It’s truly wonderful in my point of view. For me, my fascination with more mature shoujo started with Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku.

Wotakoi was a pretty cut and dry comedy/romance shoujo that, while echoing the silliness of some shoujo featuring younger protagonists, featured working adult otaku. There were so many wonderful and relatable things about this show–from hiding being an otaku from people at work, to then making alliances and even romances. It was just a really great story to me. We’ve also gotten shows like the talk of the Doki Doki Days post this year, A Sign of Affection, which I mentioned briefly on day 2 and Star went in depth on yesterday for day 3. This story, while unique in many ways, features college students and a more mature kind of romance than what you’d see in high school dramas. The way in which their love develops is so fascinating to me, as it moves at a quicker pace than shoujo aimed at younger audiences–with the characters sorting out their emotions more efficiently due to their older and more experienced views on life. It was really refreshing as I find myself fatigued sometimes when I watch shoujo after shoujo of teens figuring out their emotions through messy means (though I do still love shoujo like that).

We also get shows like The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague that flips the script and shows romance from an older guy’s pov. I particularly love this anime for that representation. After all, as weebs grow older, both men women and everyone in between come to love shoujo. I like how there’s an mature shoujo anime with a positive portrayal of an older man who falls in love with his coworker and has to learn how to juggle and approach his feelings with her. It’s downright cute.

There’s also anime we haven’t watched or we simply aren’t as huge fans of but we appreciate for their approach at mature shoujo content. Sing Yesterday for Me features a cast of new adults who are very much trying to figure out their own lives, where they’re going, and of course–romance to an extent. While Star and I aren’t huge fans of this show, I have to mention it for how it tackles changing times for people entering into adulthood and the emotions surrounding it. Meanwhile, Grandma and Grandpa Are Young Again, while we haven’t seen, have heard many great things about it. After all, this is a story about an elderly couple who are still in love being young once more and continuing to be in love. It showcases the literal, old married couple but in younger bodies. I know Star and I are both excited to see such a love story.

Overall, this trend of mature shoujo anime is super welcome. And you know, maybe it isn’t even a new trend–maybe it’s actually a trend that has been there all along but that we’ve only just now jumped on. Either way, we do love mature shoujo anime and would love to see more of it. Let us know if you have any recommendations in the comments! And we’ll see you on Doki Doki Days day number four!

AishteLOVEru

xoxo

Luna