What is Shojosei Isekai? A Guide on What to Watch

The isekai formula is simple — the protagonist is reborn or transported to another world, often caused by sudden death (Truck-kun, as the meme goes). With memories and knowledge of their previous life, the protagonist experiences their new one with a desire to grow stronger, avoid dying or set out to fulfill their dreams. Lately there has been a rise in “shojosei” isekai. If you’ve been around long enough, you’d have figured out just from seeing the term that it merges “shojo” and “josei,” two genres marketed toward different audiences: younger women and adult women, respectively. One of the earliest examples of shojo isekai is Fushigi Yugi , but in the years since, we’ve seen a heavier emphasis on isekai with male protagonists. It’s already tough as a shojo fan (more on this in another article), but it’s another to be in communities where we’re constantly swept off to the side and/or don’t receive the same production value as male-centric isekai. That’s why I’ve been ecstatic at how many shojosei isekai anime we’ve seen in the last year, not to mention the Winter 2024 anime lineup is stacked with them. If you’re like me and can’t get enough of watching female protagonists being OP or giving you secondhand embarrassment from acting out of pocket, then transport yourself with these shojosei isekai! 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! One characteristic of an isekai is the running titles that expose the plot before you even have the chance to read the summary. A prime example is 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! , one of the newer shojosei isekai shows to grace my Sundays. I haven’t read the source material, but from the title and first episode alone, I was already seated for this show because of how the main character, Rishe Weitzner, originally a villainess, lives out each life after the first with the desire to pick up useful skills and knowledge to survive rather than continue being a political pawn. RELATED: 14 Essential Isekai Anime to Watch on Crunchyroll Sure, she dies six times and doesn’t live past a certain age, but stacking up her experience points (so to speak) from all those lives gives her the upper hand she needs to survive in her seventh and current life. Like many isekai anime, it’s not unusual to see main characters level up and take advantage of the situation with past experiences, giving them foresight. But one person she can’t predict is the crown prince of another kingdom, Arnold Hein. He has been at the center of her demise and now she’s playing her cards right by agreeing to become his fiance. Not every shojo isekai has a romance subplot, but 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! is driven by the relationship between Rishe and Arnold, and I’m here for the fluff, angst, and yearning between them. Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I'm Not the Demon Lord Note: "Otome” means “maiden game” and consists of visual novels (most of the time) with a female main character and several male love interests. In some fandoms, they use the term “otome isekai'' instead. If there was ever an anime that fooled me into thinking I was watching the wrong show, it’s Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I'm Not the Demon Lord . The first episode starts off with Alicia Ehnleit, the heroine of an otome RPG game called Light Magic and the Hero. Alicia is a Light Magic user who instantly captures the hearts of the game’s love interests. It isn’t until Yumiella Dolkness, the game’s hidden boss and villainess, appears halfway through like an unassuming side character. Turns out she was reincarnated into the game and, rather than let the story play out how it’s originally intended — with her death as a result — Yumiella decides to get stronger in secret to avoid the bad ending. By accident, she ends up becoming level 99 and the strongest magic user at the academy much to everyone’s disbelief and dismay. Some villainess origin stories end up in redemption, many of whom become “good” and the original heroine turning out to be “evil.” But for Yumiella, no matter her intentions, she’s still regarded as the villainess because she can use Dark Magic. The way the love interests disrespect Yumiella is irritating but it’s cathartic when she overpowers them even when she’s not at full strength. Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I'm Not the Demon Lord has a charm to it that I don’t usually don’t see in other shojo isekai, and that’s a villainess who embraces the darkness in her (all in favor of Yumiella taking over the world!). Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp Manhwa, or Korean webcomics, have become so huge that they’ve gotten anime adaptations from Japanese studios. Look at The God of High School , Noblesse , and Solo Leveling . But we haven’t seen many anime based on historical reincarnation manhwa — not until Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke’s Mansion and now Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp . These are the webcomics I was addicted to reading when they first released, and truthfully, when I heard that they were getting an anime adaptation, I was cautiously excited. With Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp , it’s funny seeing anime-only viewers catch on to the “reverse isekai” plot. RELATED: A Beginner’s Guide to Manhwa Elise lived as a horrible empress in her original life, so when she’s executed, she’s reborn in the modern world where she becomes a doctor who saves people. While on a flight, she realizes the plane is going to crash and kill everyone, but miraculously, she survives. When she sees an injured survivor, she doesn’t hesitate and saves their life at the expense of her own. When she dies a second time, she wakes up and realizes she’s back in Elise’s body — the OG life. Rather than repeat her mistakes, Elise decides to turn over a new leaf and take what she’s learned as a doctor in her second life and apply it to her current one. It’s refreshing to see an isekai that takes the main character’s expertise and skills from the modern world and has that influence the historical or fantasy one. Elise wants to improve the medical practices in the kingdom and save as many people as she can, all while juggling with her relationship with her former husband from her first life, Linden. The romance is cute, but I’m more impressed by Elise’s medical knowledge and practices than anything. I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss Another reincarnated-villainess-in-an-otome-game anime, I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss is heavy on the romance between Aileen d’Autriche and Claude Ellmeyer. What’s unique about this show is that Aileen remembers her past life where she was a terminally ill Japanese teenager who loved playing an otome game titled Regalia of Saints, Demons and Maidens while in the hospital. She originally forgot when she first reincarnated, but the cancellation of her engagement to the Crown Prince made her remember that she’s the villainess and ends up dying to the final boss, Claude. RELATED: 15 Essential Romance Anime on Crunchyroll Like many shojo isekai protagonists, Aileen uses her knowledge and experiences to avoid the inevitable outcome as much as possible, going so far as to propose an engagement to Claude. The more she hangs around him and his castle, the more she realizes that he’s not at all who he seems based on other people’s misconceptions of him. It’s very fitting that the villainess and ruler of demons work together and end up becoming a pair, especially when neither of them has any evil intentions. It’s a match made in… hell? Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke's Mansion During the quarantine period of the COVID-19 pandemic, I fell deeply into the rabbit hole that is historical isekai webcomics. One of the first ones I came across was Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke’s Mansion , which was one of the earlier isekai webcomics intended for a predominantly female readership that launched the genre into popularity. Euna Park dies after someone purposely pushes her off the roof of a building. She reincarnates as a side character in a novel she read in her previous life, Raeliana McMillan , and, surprising no one, she remembers that Raeliana ends up dying. Not wanting to relive another death, Euna (now Raeliana) strikes up a deal with Duke Noah Volstaire Wynknight to pretend to be his fiancee. My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Fun Fact: My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! has an otome game adaptation, which breaks the fourth wall since the story is based on the protagonist falling into the world of an otome game she was playing. If I had to put out my two cents as to which shojosei isekai catapulted the sub-genre into popularity recently, it’d be My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! Similar to I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss , Catarina Claes bumps her head and remembers her previous life as an otaku. She realizes she’s in an otome game called Fortune Lover and the character whose body she inhabits is the villainess who’s doomed to die no matter what. So, Catarina avoids making the wrong choices by salvaging her relationships with the love interests. She also takes up farming so that she can build her own farm when she’s free from the original story someday. Her actions take a turn, however, and every major character ends up loving her rather than hating her as one should toward a villainess. My Next Life as a Villainess is a fan-favorite and opened up more doors for other shojo isekai to get the anime treatment. The biggest draw is Catarina, as she’s incredibly dense but has a charm that attracts the characters in the story as well as viewers (me). While I haven’t found the time to play the game yet, I get a good laugh out of Catarina’s internal meetings with other versions of herself as they try to come to an agreement on major decisions. As if we don’t all have that in our heads! The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent For a wholesome isekai experience, look no further than The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent . I’ve gushed about this show before and I’ll do it again. And with the second season having recently finished airing, it’s the perfect time to binge. Instead of planning escape routes from an inevitable death, Sei Takanashi enjoys the life she’s been reincarnated into. In her new life, Sei doesn’t have to worry about overtime and falling victim to a toxic corporate environment. Instead, she’s hailed as the Saint in the kingdom of Salutania, where magic is normal. Sei becomes a researcher at the Medicinal Flora Research Institute and studies herbs, creates potions, and uses her Saint abilities to drastically heal wounded knights. She saves the Commander of the Third Order, Albert Hawke, and after he recovers, he ends up falling for her. As Sei navigates and adjusts to her new life, she can’t help but blush and get caught off guard whenever she’s around Commander Hawke. Their relationship is wholesome and a slow burn, so if that’s your jam, you’re sure to love this show (I know I did!). Which shojosei isekai have you watched and which ones do you plan on watching? Let me know in the comments!

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