Ask John: Where Has All the Shoujo Anime Gone?

Question:
Where has all the shoujo anime gone? It seems that there were so many titles released specifically for boys in 2003 and only a few for girls over the age of 12. Specifically Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto, E’s Otherwise, Kaleidostar, D.N.Angel, Saiyuki Reloaded & Ultra Maniac. On the boys side there’s R.O.D. TV, Gunparade March, Ninja Scroll TV, Full Metal Panic Fumoffu, Gunslinger Girl, Ai Yori Aoshi ~Enshi~, Peacemaker Kurogane, Air Master, Avenger.. Plus all the countless tv series/oavs made from H-games, like Green Green, Onegai Twins, Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien and don’t forget the late-night pure fanservice shows like Popotan, Mouse & Hand Maid Mai.

It seems like every season, the new anime releases are all men/boys or children’s titles except one or two for girls (for example, the new releases for January that AnimeNation posted, there was one girls’ title). Can you explain this strange one-sidedness? It would seem that demand for anime would be equal between the sexes as it is for manga.

Answer:
Historically the biggest audience for anime is boys and young men. Examining back to at least the 1970s, when television anime began getting popular in Japan, there has never been a time when there were as many shoujo or female viewer oriented anime titles released as shonen titles. When we consider some of the most well known shoujo anime in relation to the history of anime itself- titles like Minky Momo, Sailormoon, Fushigi Yuugi, Utena, Kodomo no Omocha, Nurse Angel Ririka SOS, Wedding Peach, Fruits Basket, Fancy La La, Ultra Maniac- it quickly becomes apparent that these titles represent a period of more than 20 years in the history of anime. American fans may not exactly realize the dispersion of “girls anime” in Japan because most of these shows that have been brought to America have all shown up over here within a period of less than five years. It’s only relatively recently, with the evolution of digital fansubs, that average American fans are now becoming aware of anime release trends in Japan first hand.

Anime series specifically targeted at female viewers have never been as common as anime intended for male viewers, but the scales are balanced somewhat by the fact that anime series made for girls are often more popular and longer lasting than most anime made for boys. Just using 2003’s anime as a reference point, Gunparade March, Ninja Scroll, Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu? Air Master. Wandaba Style, Gadguard, Ikkitousen, Onegai Twins, and many other anime TV series intended for young adult males have come and gone. During the same time, Ashita no Nadja is nearing 50 episodes and counting. Di-Gi-Charat Nyo is closing in on 80 episodes. Mirumo de Pon is approaching 90 episodes. Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch and Kaleidostar are both approaching 40 episodes as of this writing. And the live action Sailormoon looks like it will be extended beyond the usual 12-13 episodes that live action “dorama” series usually run. So while there may not be as many shoujo anime titles, there are typically more episodes of each.

I think it would either take more of an expert than me, or a cultural anthropologist to conclusively explain why there are a greater number of shorter anime titles for male viewers released during the same time period that there are fewer but longer shows released for female viewers. It may be that Japanese female viewers invest more into particular shows than male viewers that become bored with series quickly. It may be that shows for girls are also popular with family viewers, but limited family viewing time prevents an oversaturation of titles. It may be that because most anime is produced by male animators, it unconsciously leans toward male preferences. Or it may be that Japanese producers and distributors have found that female viewers will obsessively consume merchandise based on a single title for an extended period of time while releasing many short series and accompanying merchandise is the most profitable way to take advantage of male consumers. Or, in fact, there may be another reason altogether. Ultimately, the shoujo anime hasn’t really “gone” anywhere. While shoujo anime generally earns higher viewer ratings in Japan than shonen anime, and therefore tends to often have longer broadcast runs than shonen anime, there have never been as many anime shows for women as there are for men.

As a side note in reference to the question, Onegai Twins was not based on an adult PC game, but Popotan was. And while Hand Maid Mai was definitely a fan service title, it was never broadcast on Japanese television. It’s an OAV, released directly to home video.