Ask John: Are There Any Shounen Anime Starring Girls?

Question:
Have there been any shounen anime which feature either almost all or all girls or women as the main characters?

Answer:
Determining whether there are any shounen anime featuring primarily female stars depends largely upon how broadly one chooses to define “shounen.” In a very narrow sense, “shounen” anime may be thought of as boys’ adventure series targeted at pre-adolescent and adolescent viewers. Americans typically identify representative shounen stories as titles including Dragon Ball, Fist of the North Star, St. Seiya, Captain Tsubasa, Naruto, Fairy Tail, Tegami Bachi, Yu Yu Hakusho, One Piece, Cross Game, and Slam Dunk. Action, adventure, and sports stories that encourage teamwork, friendship, effort, and courage without a great deal of romance or psychological anxiety are the typical hallmarks of stereotypical “shounen” anime. Under that assumption, it’s difficult to recall shows that seem like shounen anime starring girls. The most immediately evident candidates may be sports anime like Aim For the Ace, Attack No. 1, and Attacker You, but these examples are normally classified as shoujo anime because their primary intended audience is girls.

In a broader sense, Japan frequently classifies any stories targeted at young and adolescent boys as “shounen” stories. Under that broad classification, series including Zettai Karen Children, Negima, Bamboo Blade, Claymore, Azumanga Daioh, and Gunslinger Girl are ones with core or exclusively female casts that are considered “shounen anime.”