Oftentimes, the intended demographic for a particular anime or manga series tends to be obvious because of certain plotlines, tropes, and even art styles, but sometimes, they're less clear-cut. Works that try to appeal to a different demographic in addition to their main one may find their efforts to be a little too successful, sometimes to the point of alienating their intended audience.

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Many series meant for the shonen (adolescent boys) demographic tend to attract an unexpectedly large female fanbase due to having a female protagonist, pretty boy characters, colorful settings, or a focus on romance instead of action and hence, are assumed to belong to the shojo (adolescent girls) genre. It's important to remember that demographic labels are primarily based on what magazine the original manga ran in, and are therefore just nominal. Few elements in these shows would deter male or female fans, they were just created for a different audience than what viewers would expect.

10 Inu x Boku SS

Fans looking at the covers for the anime and manga of Inu x Boku SS could be forgiven for thinking it's a shojo series. It was originally published in Monthly Gangan Joker, a shonen magazine that also ran Akame ga Kill! and Kakegurui. The promotional materials aren't hiding anything, however. The series is indeed a romance with supernatural and reverse harem elements.

The protagonist, Ririchiyo, attempts to improve her poor communication skills by moving into the 'Maison de Ayakashi', an apartment complex that houses a bunch of half-human, half-yokai hybrids. With a romantic plot, cute art style, and plenty of fanservice from both sexes, the series has a wider appeal than what its demographic label would imply.

9 The Prince of Tennis

Nowadays, it's not unusual for sports anime to have more female fans than male, and they have The Prince of Tennis to thank for starting that trend. Despite originally running in Weekly Shonen Jump, the anime would draw in a huge female fanbase, owing to the cast of bishonen (pretty boys), female-oriented fanservice, and more than a few homoerotic moments.

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The creators, taking notice of the female fandom, began producing material specifically for them, including several otome games, ads in shojo magazines, and even several musicals. None of these have been released outside of Japan, unfortunately.

8 Symphogear

Magical Girl anime like Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura are usually aimed at young girls, but there are plenty of shonen and seinen titles in this unique genre. Symphogear, in particular, may fool viewers with what kind of anime it is at first glance. Focusing on a group of idol singers who use music to defeat evil, Symphogear is a sci-fi shonen anime with fight sequences reminiscent of classic battle shonen.

Additionally, since the series focuses on magical idol singers, the heroines' outfits are rather risqué, and the show is more violent than your standard Magical Girl affair, meaning it's most definitely not kid-friendly.

7 Horimiya

A romantic comedy with a relatable female protagonist, pretty character designs, and an overall focus on the romantic relationships of the main cast? Sounds like a typical shojo series, right? Adapted from a webcomic named Hori-san to Miyamura-kun, the Horimiya manga was serialized in the shonen magazine Monthly G Fantasy before getting a TV anime series in January 2021.

The series focuses on Kyoko Hori, a popular high school student with a side she hopes no one finds out about, and Izumi Miyamura, Hori's nerdy-looking classmate who also has a hidden side. By getting to know each other, Hori and Miyamura discover they're more similar than they think, and that one should never judge a book by its cover.

6 Angelic Layer

Manga legends CLAMP are known for their shojo works like Tokyo Babylon and Cardcaptor Sakura, so it's natural to assume that one of their better-known titles, Angelic Layer, would also be aimed at that demographic, especially since it follows so many of that genre's tropes and conventions.

Set in the same universe as Chobits, Angelic Layer was originally published in Monthly Shonen Ace and tells the story of Misaki Suzuhara, a seventh-grader who gets involved in the titular game and her journey to win the national championship.

5 Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun

Even though this series has a shojo mangaka as the male lead and focuses on the various tropes and stereotypes associated with the genre, it was published in the shonen magazine GanGan Online. The fact that the creator, Izumi Tsubaki, also draws shojo manga probably adds to the confusion.

The series follows Chiyo Sakura, a hopeless romantic who falls for Umetarou Nozaki, a seemingly normal teenage boy who's secretly a well-known shojo artist who publishes under the name Sakiko Yumeno.

4 Your Lie in April

The promotional materials and art style for Your Lie in April are very shojo-esque but it's actually a shonen romance. The manga was published in Monthly Shonen Ace, and is about a brooding pianist named Kousei Arima and his relationship with the manic pixie dream girl violinist Kaori Miyazono.

The character archetypes and plot of the series make it clear that this is a romance aimed at a male audience, given that the plot revolves around Kaori giving Kousei a new lease on life.

3 The Ancient Magus' Bride

Even though The Ancient Magus' Bride is about the romance between the teenaged protagonist and a magical being, a pretty common plot in shojo manga, the series was published in a shonen magazine, Comic Garden.

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Elias Ainsworth, the titular magus, initially buys the female lead, Chise Hatori, as a slave, but soon decides to take her in as his apprentice because of her affinity for magical energies. The rest of the series focuses on Chise's adventures as an apprentice, and her growing relationship with Elias.

2 Inuyasha

It's extremely popular on Tumblr, has a strong female protagonist, pretty boys galore, and a male romantic lead with canine ears. But much like Rumiko Takahashi's other works, it was serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday and has plenty of action to go along with the shonen label.

Like Ranma 1/2, Inuyasha's main romantic plot involves the tsundere Kagome Higurashi and the titular half-demon, with plenty of action and fantasy to balance everrything out.

1 Black Butler

Believe it or not, despite its massive female fanbase, Black Butler runs in a shonen magazine, GFantasy. It can be hard to tell, however, given the cast of beautiful men, the colorful Victorian setting, and ample amounts of fanservice.

In contrast to what viewers may assume at first glance, the series is incredibly violent with morally ambiguous characters, and the shonen aspects are more pronounced in the manga than in the anime.

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