Following the two-and-change shoujo shows in this season has been an interesting look at the sort of evolution this genre has undergone in the 21st century.

There are distinct kinds of styles found in these shows tailored for the female audience - although they still manage to find a large audience for both genders with their emphasis on the emotional and with their sense for gender-neutral slapstick conversational / slapstick humor.

Itazura na Kiss is a throwback to the old days, the anime of the early 90’s built off of manga even older. (Perhaps that’s because it actually is such a well-aged title.) It has a very strong romantic undertone to it, featuring the ever-popular tale of a prospective couple shoved in close quarters. Like many shows of this day, the lead girl is unmistakably the main focus, as she tries to work her way into the heart of the male lead. This is always a large part of the story, with the emotions of the male lead often obscured from view; although, there is always time for more side characters and their stories.

Special A is the new-age shoujo, one with a more balanced feel to its mix of comedy and romance. In here it’s not so much about life lessons and love as much as it is simply having fun; being patently ridiculous in the name of hilarity is all part of the equation. There are interludes for sweet moments, but not even all of these are serious. The story is quite often episodic, with morsels of plot scattered among challenges or events of the week.

Just over a week ago I pitted these two shows against each other after their third episode and declared Special A to be the show with the better start. It was more amusing and had a more appealing cast; although, I declared, when they both stopped spinning their tires and started moving forward with the plot, Itazura na Kiss might be able to make a comeback.

Two episodes later for the both of them I’ve got reason to think just so, but don’t count the comeback done just yet; a new show’s entered in style, smashing through the proverbial glass windows, and it’s name is Toshokan Sensou, i.e. Library War.

Toshokan Sensou at first glance is hardly a shoujo show at all. Anything which has ‘war’ in the title, and features footage of uniformed soldiers engaged in firefights would appear to be much more appealing to adrenaline-filled males.

But look past that and you’ll see an equally engaging second side revolving around the life of Iku Kasahara, a female enlistee in the Library Task Force. Her business relationship with Instructor Dojo, someone who might have a bit more for her that what it seems, and the amusing breaks for slapstick comedy in this show, are definitely enough to flag this down as a show with more than a moderate feminine spin. (This, backed up by the fact that Toshokan Sensou has been serialized as a shoujo manga.)

As we approach the halfway mark for some of these shows on their one-cour (~12 episodes) schedule, it’s time to reevalute the worthiness - as one not quite humble blogger will gauge - of these shoujo-styled anime, in the quickly-becoming infamous fashion of the Series Showdown comparisons.

Except wordy, y’know, but that shouldn’t be a shocker.
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