Does Shoujo anime also have its overused cliches?

[NPC009]

Well, Japan does release, like, 40 different anime series a year. I assume all originality has been sucked out of the medium and now all they have is a list of cliches to check off. There are only a few exceptions, like Ore Monogatari.

It's a little more than that even. Probably closer to 40 new anime series a season, and the percentage of those being legally streamed is only going up.

What's important to remember, though, is that the majority of these series is based on manga and light novels that have already proven to be fairly popular. They're not so much playing it save by picking popular themes and tropes, but by picking properties that are already doing well but could benefit from being adapted into a different medium. Of course, plenty of manga readers stick to what they know, so... yeah.

 

[Smygskytt]

The Youtube anime reviewer JwsuOtaku decided to do something about the fact that anime writing is piss-poor, and created her own manga radio show adaptation. It's a version of Fruits Basket and it is ten times better than the official anime adaptation. How did she do that? Simple, just up the slapstick and still have actual characters and you are all set. Here is the first episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwaCXCXRgdg

 

[Queen Michael]

snip

Sweet, a chance for me to recommend to the OP a shoujo anime that breaks almost all of those cliches. "Akagami no Shirayukihime", or "Snow White with the Red Hair" has only the barest relation to the Western Snow White, but is a pretty damn good romance. Though clearly being from a more female perspective, it is by no means something that only females can enjoy.

Highly recommended.

Hm... I honestly hadn't heard of that one before. But I do feel extremely tired of the usual clich?s, so I'll go check out that manga right now.

The Youtube anime reviewer JwsuOtaku decided to do something about the fact that anime writing is piss-poor, and created her own manga radio show adaptation. It's a version of Fruits Basket and it is ten times better than the official anime adaptation. How did she do that? Simple, just up the slapstick and still have actual characters and you are all set. Here is the first episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwaCXCXRgdg

Seconded. I usually like JesuOtaku's stuff, and this radio show is no exception.

 

[sageoftruth]

I came in here to post Nozaki-kun, glad to see I was repeatedly beaten to it, so many great jokes about the differences in how girls fiction and guys fiction traditionally depict relationship stuff. The dating sim episode kills me everytime
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEmxgdEloiU

Oh god! That was hilarious, and so prevalent to the subject at hand too. Is the rest of the show like that? If so, I need to see more of it.

 

[Frission]

Yes, although I won't elaborate on why I know.

Try reading something called "Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun", since it's a show based on making fun of these cliches.

 

[RaikuFA]

It's not the tropes that are the problem, it's how you use it. Yeah shoujo uses cliches but the ones that don't make it obvious will survive.

 

[The Philistine]

Shoujo tends to follow the basic story structure of rom-coms. Beleaguered tension between the main couple, slowly getting to know each other until something rocks the boat and they are both miserable while dating other people, and they eventually make amends and confess to each other.

Or it's a magical girl show (i.e. Sailor Moon, rather than dark parodies like Madoka), and the romance ties into the background while fighting monsters of the week.

 

[Smygskytt]

Seconded. I usually like JesuOtaku's stuff, and this radio show is no exception.

It's a shame that she abandoned youtube and went to work for Anime News Network instead. I can't even find articles by specific authors there, and she writes more than just reviews. That site is far to unintuitive. Ugh.