Hanazakari no Kimitachi e

To qualify for the list, the manga had to be at least 15 years old when the anime came out. Organized in ascending order by length of time between manga and anime. Each manga can only be accounted for once, so no remakes - those go on a separate list.

List is incomplete. Let me know if there are any big ones I'm missing. Thanks to everyone who has helped me add to this list.

Remake version: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/10193
Second remake version: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/58981

Continued stack from: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/15407

I think the title speaks for itself. This a very hyper-specific subgenre found mainly in shoujo. Hana-Kimi's manga was the trendsetter that popularized it.

Adaptations of manga that were published by Shojo Beat. No second seasons or sequels are included, however remakes are. Some of the manga are adaptations of visual novels or light novels but this is composed of any manga that has a counterpart anime.

Not Currently on List:
A Star Brighter Than the Sun (TV)

Stack for anime that feature women crossdressing as men for whatever reason ✨
Made specifically for those too lazy to scroll through the crossdressing tag on MAL (which includes both m2f and f2m crossdressing unlike the idols tag which does separate them;;; which doesnt make sense to me but alas)

Disclaimer than this does NOT include actual transgender or heavily trans-coded anime (ex. stop!! hibari-kun!, lovely complex, etc), this stack is solely for anime in which crossdressing is treated as a hobby or comedy gag instead of an actual gender identity (if I accidentally add any anime in here that are explicitly queer in nature, please let me know! I have obviously not watched every show on this stack)

This list doesn't include anime that feature crossdressing as a one-off comedy gag and then never again, it needs to be at least somewhat relevant to the plot to land a spot on here.

No spoiler tag BUT before you scroll please be aware that I did put in the names of every crossdressing character in this stack so if you wanna be surprised then maybe don't scroll <3

Crossdressing (Male --> Female) stack: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/54023

Whether they're doing it for love, debt, family, work, or any other reason, all these main characters have their reasons for crossdressing. Don't judge them too harshly.

Maybe you watch it for the plot, maybe you watch it to enjoy the comedy, or maybe you watch it because you love it. Just watch and you might discover a new feti... *cough cough*.... Discover their reasons behind doing it.


As a wiseman said
"SOMETIMES IT TAKES A REAL MAN TO BECOME BEST GIRL"

The Spring 2025 season is set to air these shojo/josei anime:

Anne Shirley

Everyday Host

The Dinner Table Detective

The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom

The Gorilla God's Go-To Girl

Hana-Doll*: Reinterpretation of Flowering

Classic★Stars

Himitsu no AiPri: Ring-hen (season 2)

You and Idol Pre-Cure

Uta no☆Prince-sama♪ Movie: Taboo Night Kisses

Pokémon Horizons: The Series

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Some Shojo/Josei anime leaks from sugoilite that are as of yet unconfirmed:

An observation log of my fiance

In the clear moonlit dusk

2 unspecififed Shojo anime sequels

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The 2021 Tokyo Babylon anime seems to have been shelved for the foreseeable future due to having its original contract with its anime studio cancelled due to the studio plagiarizing stuff