The omnipresent love triangle in shojo romance manga offers a fair bit of drama and endless debates among fans of the shows. However, for some, having just two love interests vying for the protagonist’s affection isn’t enough. Many fans would prefer a full Baskin-Robbins menu of potential suitors for the female lead.
Reverse harems are some of the most common featuresin shojo romance manga. Like their male-centric counterparts, these shows usually feature an audience surrogate character and a cast of romantic interests getting into wacky shenanigans to win their heart. Some of these have a clear winner among the many love interests, while other series have the protagonist end up alone. Still others decide to have an ambiguous ending, leading fans to fight over whom the ‘best boy’ award should go to.
10Kiss Him, Not Me
MyAnimeList Score: 7.51
Kiss Him, Not Meis a reverse harem manga that explorescertain aspects of otaku culture. Kae Serinuma, after losing a lot of weight, suddenly finds herself at the center of attention of her male classmates. But there’s just one problem: Kae is a giant fan of boys' love manga, and is more interested in having her suitors develop feelings for each other.
Despite being caught up in Kae’s intensely nerdy pastimes, the boys aren’t put off at all, competing for her affection, much to her displeasure. The series was adapted into an anime in 2016 and a live-action film in 2020.
9Kiss of the Rose Princess
MyAnimeList Score: 7.49
Kiss of the Rose Princessfollows a high-school girl named Anis Yamamoto, who was gifted a mysterious amulet with a silver rose by her father. After a series of events lead to her losing the amulet, Anis discovers thatshe’s the Rose Princess, bound to four supernatural knights known as the Rose Knights.
Each Rose Knight represents a different suit of playing cards and possesses special abilities. To fulfill her role as the Rose Princess, Anis must kiss the cards to summon the knights. As the series goes on, Anis develops close bonds with the Rose Knights and discovers more about her past.
8Rockin' Heaven
MyAnimeList Score: 7.70
Rockin' Heavenfollows a girl named Sawa Konishi who transfers to a former all-boys school. Teased and bullied relentlessly by students and teachers alike, she meets a boy named Ran Matsuyuki, who also doesn’t seem to like her.
One day, a group of boys throws Sawa’s shoes in the water, and she falls in when trying to get them back. To her surprise, Ran saves her, leading her to slowly develop feelings for him. The series was adapted into a voiceover comic in 2009.
7Alice in the Country of Hearts
MyAnimeList Score: 7.73
Based on the otome game of the same name, which was in turninspired byAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland,Alice in the Country of Heartstells the story of a young, insecure girl named Alice Liddell. One day, she gets carried off to a mysterious world named Wonderland by a man with bunny ears.
In Wonderland, Alice meets an array of quirky characters, many of them being bishie-versions of characters from Lewis Carroll’s classic story. She gets embroiled in political conflicts and romantic entanglements, all while trying to find a way back to her own world.
6Fushigi Yuugi
MyAnimeList Score: 7.63
Aclassic shojo isekai series,Fushigi Yuugifollows two high-school girls named Miaka and Yui, who get transported into a fantastical version of ancient China. There, Miaka discovers she’s the priestess of the goddess Suzaku, and she is tasked with finding the seven Celestial Warriors to summon Suzaku and gain three wishes.
Yui, while trying to help Miaka get back home, becomes the priestess of Seiryuu and Miaka’s rival.Fushigi Yuugiis one of the best-selling manga of all time, spawning an anime, a video game, stage plays, and a stage musical.
5La Corda d’Oro
MyAnimeList Score: 7.79
Adapted from a role-playing game series,La Corda d’Orois about a high-school girl named Kahoko Hino. She attends the prestigious Seiso Academy, which holds a music competition every year. Kahoko doesn’t have any musical talent, but that all changes when she discovers a magical fairy named Lili.
Lili grants her a magical violin and persuades Kahoko to practice and participate in the competition. She becomes attached to the people she’s trying to compete with, and even gets entangled in a love polygon with several of the male characters. The series has become a full-blown franchise, with several games, an anime, a radio show, anda couple of concerts.
4The Wallflower
MyAnimeList Score: 7.96
The Wallflowerfollows Sunako Nakaharo, an introverted girl who has a fascination with gore, horror movies, and other morbid things. She has consciously chosen to abandon all beauty ideals, which has become a great concern for her aunt. To turn Sunako into a proper Japanese lady, she allows four handsome men to live in her huge mansion rent-free, as long as they can transform her niece into a ‘Yamato Nadeshiko,’ the Japanese womanly ideal.
The four men find the task difficult, however, due to Sunako’s stubbornness and weird habits. This leads to a ton of hilarious and dramatic moments. The series would go on to inspire one of fashion designer Julie Haus' collections, and has been adapted into an anime and a live-action drama.
3Daytime Shooting Star
MyAnimeList Score: 8.20
A shojo manga that went on to inspire a clothing line,Daytime Shooting Startells the story of 15-year-old Suzume Yosano, who moves to Tokyo to live with her uncle after her parents move to Bangladesh. She ends up developing feelingsfor her homeroom teacher, Satsuki Shishio, despite their significant age difference.
However, she also grows closer to her classmates, especially the boy who sits next to her in class, Daiki Mamura, who also develops a crush on her. The series was adapted into a live-action film in 2016.
2Ouran High School Host Club
MyAnimeList Score: 8.50
Ouran High School Host Clubis one of the most beloved parodies of shojo manga. It follows Haruhi Fujioka, a scholarship student accepted into the prestigious Ouran Academy. One day, she stumbles uponthe school’s host cluband knocks over their expensive vase.
The club members, mistaking Haruhi for a boy, convince her to join the club and entertain the female students to pay off her debt. Throughout the series, the deadpan Haruhi has to deal with the club members' wacky antics, going from being annoyed to forming close bonds with the members.
1Fruits Basket
MyAnimeList Score: 8.52
Fruits Baskethas almost universal critical and audience acclaim, thanks to itstouching and heartwarming story. Tohru Honda, having recently lost her mother, is forced to live in a tent to avoid burdening the rest of her family. She ends up moving in with the Sohmas, a family afflicted with a curse.
Whenever they are hugged by a member of the opposite sex, each of the Sohmas turns into an animal from the Chinese zodiac. As the series goes on, Tohru learns about each Sohma family member’s traumas and struggles and tries her best to heal their emotional wounds.
