What is this genre all about? Shoujo Ai means girls love, and thus explores what happens when two girls (or women) fall in love. This is not to be mistaken for Yuri which is (or, at least, how this term is often used by the western audience) used in adult works. This is not; that means there is no graphical sex.
The male version is Shounen Ai.
We present you the list of Shoujo Ai anime you should watch right now.
Try our anime quiz: Anime Characters Guessing Quiz/Game
Top 20 Shoujo Ai anime you should watch right now. [2025 List]
- 20. Citrus
- 19. Seiyuu Radio no Uraomote
- 18. Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijou.
- 17. Happy Sugar Life
- 16. Sasayaku You ni Koi wo Utau
- 15. Adachi to Shimamura
- 14. Yagate Kimi ni Naru
- 13. Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road
- 12. Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid
- 11. Yuri Kuma Arashi
- 10. Kämpfer
- 9. Strike Witches
- 8. Sakura Trick
- 7. Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo
- 6. Fragtime
- 5. Watashi no Yuri wa Oshigoto desu!
- 4. Akuma no Riddle: Shousha wa Dare? Nukiuchi Test
- 3. Maria†Holic Alive
- 2. Kämpfer für die Liebe
- 1. Simoun
20. Citrus
Yuzu, a high school gyaru who hasn't experienced her first love yet, transfers to an all-girls school after her mother remarries. She's beyond upset that she can't land a boyfriend at her new school. Then, on her first day, she meets the beautiful black-haired student council president Mei in the worst way possible. What's more, she later finds out that Mei is her new step-sister, and they'll be living under the same roof! And so the love affair between two polar opposite high school girls who find themselves drawn to one another begins!
Citrus has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: citrus, Citrus
19. Seiyuu Radio no Uraomote
Yuuhi Yuugure and Yasumi Utatane, two high school voice actresses who just happened to attend the same school and coincidentally got placed into the same class, are the two hosts of a radio weekly program. As fellow classmates and voice actresses, they show all the listeners their great friendship! At least, on the surface. In reality, the quiet girl Chika and the gyaru Yumiko are complete opposites. And they absolutely cannot stand each other. Off air, chaos and insults erupt. On air, they're the best of friends. Just where will this tumultuous relationship lead them?
The Two Sides of Voice Actor Radio has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 声優ラジオのウラオモテ, Seiyuu Radio no Uraomote
18. Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijou.
The story of a reincarnated gamer pursuing her villainous lady love at a fantasy girls’ academy!
Ordinary office worker Oohashi Rei has just woken up in the body of the protagonist of her favorite girls’ otome game, Revolution. To her delight, the first person to greet her is her favorite character, Claire Francois–who just so happens to be the main antagonist of the story. Now, Rei is determined to do what the game never allowed: romance Claire instead of one of the male leads. But how will her villainous lady love react to that?!
I'm in Love with the Villainess has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 私の推しは悪役令嬢。, WataOshi, ทำไงดีเกมนี้นางร้ายน่ารัก, Me Enamoré de la Villana
17. Happy Sugar Life
This is a shivering pure love psycho horror story of a girl named Satou Matsuzaka, who has someone she likes. She experiences a sweet feeling when she sleeps with her, and thought it must be love. Everything will be forgiven as long as she protects this feeling, even if she tricks, commits crimes, steals, or even kills, she thought.
Happy Sugar Life has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: ハッピーシュガーライフ, White Sugar Garden, Black Salt Cage
16. Sasayaku You ni Koi wo Utau
Bubbly, energetic first-year high school student Himari falls head over heels for her senpai Yori after hearing her band perform on the first day of school. Himari tells Yori she just loves her, and to Himari's surprise, Yori says she loves Himari back! But when Himari realizes that she and her senpai are feeling two different kinds of love, she begins to ask herself what "love" really means...
Whisper Me A Love Song has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: ささやくように恋を唄う, Whispering You A Love Song, SasaKoi, Cicha piosenka o miłości
15. Adachi to Shimamura
The second floor of the gym―this was where we always met. It was class time, but of course, there weren't any classes going on in a place like this.This was where Shimamura and I became friends. We hung out here―talking about TV shows and cooking, playing some ping pong... This is where we fostered our friendship.Keeping my head propped against the wall, I let out a small sigh.What was this feeling? Yesterday, I'd dreamt of me and Shimamura kissing.Not that I'm like that. I'm sure Shimamura isn’t either. It’s not even something worth repeating myself about, but really, it’s not like that.It's just that when she hears the word "friend," I want her to think of me first. That's all.
Adachi and Shimamura has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 安達としまむら, Adashima
14. Yagate Kimi ni Naru
Yuu has always dreamt of receiving a love confession but feels nothing when a boy gives her one. Confused, she starts her first year of high school and meets the beautiful student council president, Nanami, who makes her heart skip a beat.
Bloom Into You has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: やがて君になる, Eventually, I Will Become You
13. Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road
The Lost Ones are wanderers who come here from a distant world known as "Japan." No one knows how or why they leave their homes. The only thing that is certain is that they bring disaster and calamity. The duty of exterminating them without remorse falls to Menou, a young Executioner. When she meets Akari, it seems like just another job...until she discovers it's impossible to kill this girl! And when Menou begins to search for a way to defeat this immortality, Akari is more than happy to tag along! So begins a journey that will change Menou forever...
The Executioner and Her Way of Life has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 処刑少女の生きる道〈バージンロード〉, Shokei Shoujo no Ikiru Michi, Virgin Road, The life of an executioned girl - and yet, she lives.
12. Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid
Naïve 16-year-old Mamori Tokonome is accustomed to being teased at school for having an unfortunate surname that can also be read as "virgin." However, young Mamori will soon have to get used to being teased in other ways...
Kidnapped during gym class, Mamori wakes up only to find herself stranded and under attack on the exotic island of Mermaid. Luckily, enigmatic fellow castaway Mirei Shikishima knows exactly how to take the lead—through a passionate kiss, Mirei unleashes Mamori's Exter transformation abilities, turning the innocent red-head into a battle-ready cutlass through the power of arousal.
The duo will need to tap into that power as Mermaid Island is full of potential friends and foes: Charlotte, the sadistic Liberator of an Exter harem; the gluttonous and crafty Meifon; the mysterious but charismatic Akira Hiiragi; and the erotic biker duo Lady Lady. Mamori and Mirei's powerful and intimate embrace is the only way for the pair to ensure their survival on this scandalous island.
Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: ヴァルキリードライヴ マーメイド, Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid
11. Yuri Kuma Arashi
In the past, humanoid bears coexisted with humans. However, a meteor shower that fell onto Earth had a strange effect on bears throughout the world: they suddenly became violent and hungry for human flesh, spurring an endless cycle of bloodshed in which bear ate man and man shot bear, forgetting the lively relationship they once had. The "Wall of Severance" was thus built, separating the two civilizations and keeping peace.
Kureha Tsubaki and Sumika Izumino are two lovers attending Arashigaoka Academy, who, upon the arrival of two bears that have sneaked through the Wall of Severance and infiltrated the academy, find their relationship under a grave threat. The hungering yet affectionate bears, Ginko Yurishiro and Lulu Yurigasaki, seem to see the bear-hating Kureha as more than just another meal, and in getting closer to her, trigger an unraveling of secrets that Kureha may not be able to bear.
When their relationships provoke the Invisible Storm, a group that keeps order within the ideological school, the girls must stand on trial with their love, embarking on a journey of self-discovery en route to attaining true love's "promised kiss."
Yurikuma Arashi has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: ユリ熊嵐, Yuri Bear Storm, Love Bullet: Yurikuma Arashi
10. Kämpfer
Waking up transformed into a beautiful girl might be the stuff of some guys' fantasies, but when the suddenly effeminatized Natsuru is informed by a stuffed tiger that he's now a Kampfer, a mystical fighter who has to fight other Kampfers in female form, his life becomes a living nightmare!
Putting aside the obvious "plumbing" issues, Natsuru's best childhood friend turns out to swing the other way and SHE has a crush on his new female body. Not complex enough? Natsuru's school has separate sections for boys and girls, so he and she are now double enrolled. The rumor-mill has it that he's dating herself. And there are other Kampfers attending the school who want to take her out, and he's not sure which ones mean "on a date" and which ones mean "permanently." Oh, and did we mention that some Kampfers use swords and guns?! Hormones, fists, and other body parts will fly as the daring, new gender-bender defender must become a contender or die!
Kämpfer has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: けんぷファー, Kampfer, Kaempfer
9. Strike Witches
Strike Witches is set in an alternate version of 1944, where the events of World War II are very different than what we know to be true. Alien invaders known as the Neuroi came to Earth in 1939. This is not the first appearance of the Neuroi as they have appeared at seemingly random intervals throughout human history. While the Neuroi primarily attack humanity using aircrafts, their mothership is able to produce a deadly miasma, a chemical that is fatally poisonous to humans, forcing the populations of affected areas to flee their homes. The Neuroi then use the poisoned areas to plunder Earth's natural resources to use against humanity. Luckily the miasma cannot spread across water, making the ocean humanity's main line of defense against the Neuroi.
With normal humans unable to fight in the miasma, witches have become the forefront of military defense against the Neuroi. Each witch is able to deploy a defensive field around themselves that not only blocks the miasma but protects them from physical attacks as well. Utilizing leg mounted machines called Striker Units to fly into combat, the witches use their magical abilities to wield devastating weapons too large and ungainly for a normal person. The series follows the battles fought by the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, who battle on the front lines to defend the British Isles from the Neuroi. Will humanity be able to take back Earth and bring peace to their home? Find out in Strike Witches!
Strike Witches has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: ストライクウィッチーズ, Strike Witches TV
8. Sakura Trick
Love is in the air when the story of Sakura Trick begins. Haruka Takayama and Yuu Sonoda were best friends in middle school, and are now attending Misato West High School together. They are assigned to the same class in their first year, but are given seats on opposite sides of the room! If that wasn't enough, it is announced at the entrance ceremony that the school will be closed in three years. This doesn't bother either of them, as they still plan on having lots of fun together during their high school years.
Haruka gets jealous of Yuu making new friends though, so the two decide to deepen their bond. "Let's do something we'd never do with other girls," Yuu says, and they share a kiss in a vacant classroom after school one day. After that one kiss leads to many kisses, the two begin to realize that the relationship they share has changed completely. But what will happen to their relationship once a disapproving older sister begins to suspect that something is going on between the two?
Sakura Trick has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 桜Trick, Sakura Trick
7. Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo
The royal life of Princess Angelise Ikaruga Misurugi was as idyllic as the life of a sixteen-year-old princess could be. Beautiful, talented, athletic, loved by her people, and soon to be baptized in honor of her ascension to the throne of the Misurugi Empire, Angelise had everything. Even her kingdom was in a blissful age of peace and prosperity thanks to the utilization of an extremely advanced technology materialization force known as "mana."
However, everything Angelise has come to know soon crashes to the ground around her after she is revealed to be a "norma," a member of society resistant to the effects of mana and unable to use it herself. Just like the rest of the norma, Angelise is arrested and removed from society. Now she's being forced to work as a soldier based out of the prison camp, Arzenal, and fly a transforming robotic vehicle called a "Paramail."
To survive, Angelise will have to adapt to several different aspects of her new life in Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo, coping with prison society, relationships with other "norma" women, and piloting her Paramail against giant beasts known as DRAGONs. Will revenge be a great enough motive to encourage her to overcome these challenges? Or will the hate for those that betrayed her tear her apart in the process?
Cross Ange: Rondo of Angels and Dragons has finished airing and it has 25 Episodes. It is also Known as: クロスアンジュ 天使と竜の輪舞〈ロンド〉, Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo
6. Fragtime
What would you do if you could stop time? Moritani for one is using her unusual ability to stop time for three minutes a day to observe the people around her. One day, she chooses to "observe" class idol Murakami's panties—only to find herself in a very compromising situation when her classmate turns out to be immune to her power.
Fragtime has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: フラグタイム, Fragtime
5. Watashi no Yuri wa Oshigoto desu!
Hime gets roped into working at a weird café where the waitresses pretend to be students at an all-girl boarding school. She's strangely taken with her partner Mitsuki, who's so kind to her in front of the customers. There's just one problem…Mitsuki really can't stand her!
Yuri Is My Job! has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 私の百合はお仕事です！, Watashi no Yuri wa Oshigoto desu!
4. Akuma no Riddle: Shousha wa Dare? Nukiuchi Test
Unaired episode 13 of Akuma no Riddle released with the seventh Blu-ray/DVD volume.The special will be previewed at a screening in Tokyo City on November 22, 2014. The BD/DVD will be released on December 17, 2014.
Akuma no Riddle: Shousha wa Dare? Nukiuchi Test has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 悪魔のリドル 勝者はだれ？（抜き打ちテスト）, Akuma no Riddle Special, Riddle Story of Devil Special, Akuma no Riddle Episode 13
3. Maria†Holic Alive
Miyamae Kanako, a high school girl, who is allergic to boys, enrolls in an all-girls school, hoping to find a female romantic partner. However, her ideal candidate, Shidou Mariya, turns out to be a mischievous cross-dressing boy, who together with his sarcastic maid Shinouji Matsurika, give Kanako really difficult times.
Time passes and Kanako still fantasizes about her ideal female romantic partner(s), to no avail, alas. Living in the same room at the dormitory Mariya and his outspoken maid keep on challenging Kanako's sense of reality on a daily basis.
Maria†Holic Alive has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: まりあ†ほりっく あらいぶ, Maria+Holic 2, Maria Holic 2, MariaHolic 2
2. Kämpfer für die Liebe
A two-episode special. They are designated as Episodes 13 and 14, and the first episode is a direct sequel to the previous series while the second episode is about the trans-sex of Natsuru.
Kämpfer für die Liebe has finished airing and it has 2 Episodes. It is also Known as: けんぷファー für die Liebe, Kampfer: Fur die Liebe, Kämpfer episode 13, Kämpfer episode 14
1. Simoun
In the peaceful theocracy of Simulicram, everyone is born female. At age 17, each maiden undergoes a special ceremony where she chooses her sex. However, only Pairs of maiden priestesses can synchronize with the ancient flying ships known as Simoun needed to defend Simulicram. These Pairs refrain from undergoing the ceremony as long as they wish to keep piloting their Simoun.
Aer is recruited to be a Simoun pilot after a terrifying attack by an enemy nation decimates the squadron known as Chor Tempest. To earn her wings she needs to find her way into the heart of Neviril, Regina of Chor Tempest. But Neviril's heart still belongs to her previous Pair, lost in the battle when she attempted a forbidden Simoun maneuver.
Simoun has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: シムーン, Shimuun, Simoon
