| 1 | %% Image and caption selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1510483593038743500 |
| 2 | %% Please start a new thread if you'd like to suggest an image. |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | [[quoteright:300:[[VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaMk2 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_neptunia.png]]]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:300:Rated M for [[ComicallyMissingThePoint "My Daughter?"]]]] |
| 6 | |
| 7 | ->'''[=YouTube=] user:''' Is this a children's show? If so, why is there a picture of girl mounting another girl lying on the floor?\ |
| 8 | '''Uploader:''' It's NOT a children show. |
| 9 | -->-- Comments on the opening to ''Manga/HidamariSketch''[[note]]For the record, it ''technically'' isn't, but it doesn't have much in the way of family-unfriendly content.[[/note]] |
| 10 | |
| 11 | So you find a new show and it has [[ImprobablyFemaleCast an all-female cast]], lots of pastel colors, and improbably high levels of [[UsefulNotes/{{Kawaisa}} cuteness]]. And you think "this would be a perfect show for my eight-year-old sister." |
| 12 | |
| 13 | And then you discover that the show [[OtakuOClock airs at 3 AM]] and has [[TestosteroneBrigade a fandom]] that's mostly [[SeinenDemographic 16- to 40-year-old males]]. After the initial shock is over you start to wonder why any man would even consider watching a show like this, or why your male buds that like it even have such interests in a series about feminine shenanigans or are invested in [[YuriGenre flowery romance between girls that can't even express attraction to guys]]. Alternatively, you might be a woman or girl wondering why this series you and your fellows enjoy wasn't even primarily made for them, as it would have all the trappings of a perfect girls' show. Or, you might even be a lesbian yourself wondering why this perfect YuriGenre show was made for the opposite older straight male demographic. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Well, it's because men like cute girls. ([[ThatCameOutWrong Not in that way.]]) |
| 16 | |
| 17 | That's not to say that such shows necessarily contain things that would be inappropriate for your little sister, it's just that they're not specifically intended for little girls to watch. Some of these shows do manage a [[PeripheryDemographic female]] [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer fanbase]] on the side. Relatedly, entertainment actually targeted to young girls, especially in the field of music, has become increasingly sexualized, blurring the lines further. The classic examples are {{idol singer}}s and {{girl group}}s such as Music/BritneySpears, the Music/SpiceGirls, and Music/DestinysChild. (While Main/KoreanPopMusic is much less sexualized, it is still intended for older girls above the age of 14 instead of young girls.) Just take a look at any ''Series/ToddlersAndTiaras''-type show. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | On works with cast of other side of gender spectrum, sometimes female-oriented works with {{Bishonen}} characters and bright and flowery setting can be confused as {{Shojo}} genre works for young girls, where in reality, some of these works are classed as either {{Josei}} or BoysLove made for adult female ([[PeripheryDemographic or male]], in case of Boys' Love) audiences. Even an OtomeGame that has all the trappings of content for younger girls can make you wonder why are they made for older female demographic. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | A subtrope of WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids. Not to be confused with a SubvertedKidsShow, which is meant to horrify, or a show that ''is'' for little girls but also has [[PeripheryDemographic an older male fanbase]]. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | See also {{Moe}}, BoysLoveGenre, {{Josei}}, GirlShowGhetto, TestosteroneBrigade and ValuesDissonance. Can be a problem if a MoralGuardian shows this to a child and it's a YuriGenre show. Compare with MultipleDemographicAppeal. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | Again, note that all that is actually required for this trope is that the work is aimed at an older and/or male or unisex audience, not that it has any overt child-unfriendly content. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | ---- |
| 28 | !!Examples: |
| 29 | |
| 30 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 31 | |
| 32 | [[folder:Advertising]] |
| 33 | * ''Advertising/ItsHappyBunny'' looks like a cute cartoon character but is associated with insulting slogans. |
| 34 | [[/folder]] |
| 35 | |
| 36 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 37 | * ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' is about the daily lives of a bunch of high school girls. The manga is serialized in Dengeki Daioh, a {{Shonen|Demographic}} magazine. |
| 38 | ** Also serialized in Dengeki Daioh is ''Manga/{{Yotsuba}}'' and ''Manga/StrawberryMarshmallow''. Both are about cute little girls; both are also {{shonen|Demographic}} series. |
| 39 | * ''Manga/LuckyStar'''s bright colors and [[PuniPlush cute, childish-looking]] female characters make it seem like it's aimed at young girls. Most of the characters are actually in their late teens (the art style [[ArtisticAge just makes them look younger]]) and the anime has a lot of references to {{Otaku}} culture that would go right over a younger audience's head, plus there are several jokes about Konata's father [[ComedicLolicon having a particular interest in underage girls]]. While the manga is technically shonen, the anime [[OtakuOClock aired late at night]]. |
| 40 | * In fact, the majority of "cute girls doing cute things" shows are targeted towards the SeinenDemographic. Case in point: ''Manga/IsTheOrderARabbit'', ''Manga/KiniroMosaic'', ''Manga/AChannel'', ''Manga/{{Kanamemo}}'', ''Manga/{{Yuyushiki}}'', ''Manga/{{Hanayamata}}'', ''Manga/KOn'', ''Manga/HidamariSketch'' and ''Manga/GAGeijutsukaArtDesignClass'' and ''Manga/PlaceToPlace'' are all serialized in the same seinen magazine line (''Magazine/MangaTimeKirara''). |
| 41 | ** ''Manga/KOn'' was originally intended for a male audience, but appears to have garnered an extensive female fanbase in its wake as well. This is largely due to the anime adaptation [[TamerAndChaster toning down the fanservice]] and ShipTease from the manga while adding more character focus. The anime even aired on the Japanese Disney Channel with some minor censorship, and [[http://forum-thalie.fr/thalie/viewtopic.php?f=4&p=99884#p80449 Scuttlebutt has it]] that in France, ''K-On!'' has been promoted in young girls' publications like ''[[WesternAnimation/WinxClub Winx Magazine]]''. |
| 42 | ** ''Manga/HidamariSketch'': See the quote. It is relatively clean, but the manga is aimed at the seinen demographic and the anime first aired at OtakuOClock, with spots of LesYay here and there. |
| 43 | ** ''Manga/GAGeijutsukaArtDesignClass'' is a light-hearted 4-koma Manga about 5 art school girls, with an almost childishly simple PuniPlush art style and virtually no real conflict or drama. Its demographic is listed as {{Seinen|Demographic}}. |
| 44 | ** ''Manga/PlaceToPlace'' is a very cutesy, relatively clean slice of life show about a schoolgirl's first crush. Despite this, its manga runs in a seinen magazine, and the anime aired at [[OtakuOClock 1:25 a.m.]] on TBS. |
| 45 | ** ''Manga/LaidBackCamp'' is a comfy, relaxing series about a group of friends going camping around the country during the off-season. There is pretty much nothing overtly objectionable about the series (aside from perhaps Minami's occasional [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl drunken antics]]), but the manga runs in a seinen magazine and the anime adaptation tends to air late at night. |
| 46 | * ''Manga/HanamaruKindergarten'' focuses on a trio of kindergarten-aged girls and their teacher, and they're drawn in a cute art style. The manga ran in a seinen magazine while the anime adaptation aired at OtakuOClock, and the main source of humor is how one of the little girls wants to marry her teacher...and her mother is ''completely fine with that'', all while being PlayedForLaughs. |
| 47 | * ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'' has a female lead, a focus on romance, and a majority female fanbase. It is a shonen work, not a shojo one. |
| 48 | * ''Franchise/LoveLive'': |
| 49 | ** Despite being about cute, brightly-colored female characters working together to make their dreams come true as idols, it's actually a seinen franchise (its manga adaptations and supplementary materials are published in the seinen magazine ''Dengeki G's''). That said, it's also become popular enough with young girls that like ''Manga/KOn'', [[Anime/LoveLive the first anime]] ended up airing on the Japanese Disney Channel. Aside from the obligatory {{Beach Episode}}s, the various anime series are mostly devoid of fanservice, which is largely restricted to official artwork in supplementary print material (including most infamously a magazine print of Rina Tennoji donning the {{memetic|Mutation}} Virgin Killer Sweater), leaving the franchise safe for younger viewers despite being aimed at adult men. |
| 50 | ** In Hong Kong and Taiwan, ''Love Live!'' is a kids' show, airing on My Kids TV, the same channel that airs ''Anime/PriPara''. It also appears [[https://pripara-daisui.tumblr.com/post/144897217031/angels-pripara-shining-fashion-design in the same children's magazine]] as franchises like ''Anime/PrettyCure'', the works of Creator/{{Disney}} and ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. |
| 51 | ** The second series, ''Anime/LoveLiveSunshine'', aired on the Japanese Disney Channel and Creator/{{NHK}}'s E-Tele service, both of which are aimed at kids. It also [[https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%86%E3%83%AC%E3%83%93%E3%82%A2%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A1%E7%B5%B5%E6%9C%AC-%E3%83%A9%E3%83%96%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%96-%E3%82%B5%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A3%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3-%E4%B8%8A-%E7%9F%A2%E7%AB%8B/dp/4049124467 got a series of children's books!]]. Not to mention Creator/{{Funimation}} actually marketed ''Sunshine'' to American girls, putting it on the shoujo section of its website and advertising male idol series aimed at girls on the Blu-rays. |
| 52 | * The ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' franchise may look like a typical MagicalGirl series for young girls at first glance, but its primary target audience has always been adult men. Its promotional materials and [[ComicBookAdaptation manga adaptations]] are printed in seinen magazines and it began its life as a SpinOff of the HGame ''VideoGame/TriangleHeart3SweetSongsForever''. The first season even has some fanservice; the next ones less so. In some countries they removed the fanservice and marketed it as a shonen show. They still left all the cases of child abuse by the villains, though. Even though it's a MagicalGirl series it's very heavy on the sci-fi and seems more like a Franchise/{{Gundam}} series--intentionally, after one of the writers noticed that Nanoha's Barrier Jacket made her look like a moe Gundam. Later installments take away the MagicalGirl elements and put more emphasis on the sci-fi and action elements, making it much more obviously aimed at men. |
| 53 | * Similar to Nanoha, ''Anime/HappySeven'' and ''Anime/RakugoTennyoOyui'' are both ''Anime/SailorMoon''-style MagicalGirlWarrior shows that cater to the {{moe}} aesthetic and air at OtakuOClock. |
| 54 | * ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' is a surprisingly dark fairytale despite its cutesy name and artwork - not only that, but the manga is actually a shonen, despite ADV Manga mislabeling its demographic as for 5-10 year old girls. |
| 55 | %%* ''Anime/SaintOctober'', although the three {{Magical Girl}}s being named Loli Black, Loli White, and Loli Red was a pretty big hint. |
| 56 | * ''Moetan'' is about a MagicalGirl who teaches her crush English. Blatant ([[OlderThanTheyLook Older Than She Looks]]) {{Lolicon|AndShotacon}} {{Fanservice}} ensues. |
| 57 | * ''Manga/PrettyFace'': In one of his omake, Kano talks about how a little girl came up to him at Jump Festa with her mother and told him she loved Pretty Face and got his autograph. The manga is actually shonen and has quite a lot of fanservice. |
| 58 | %%* ''Manga/KoiCupid''. |
| 59 | * ''Anime/StrikeWitches'' might seem to be for girls judging from the cast, but any of the promotional art should make it clear, from the skimpy outfits and aerial combat, that it is filled with {{Fanservice}} all the way through. |
| 60 | * When you first hear that ''Kiss Players'' is about Franchise/{{Transformers}} powering up by getting a kiss from a human girl, you might think that the series is aimed at young girls. But then when you see the blatant, unrelenting sexual imagery, you think different. |
| 61 | * Can be averted or downplayed with ''Manga/AzurLaneSlowAhead''. It's averted if one knows that ''VideoGame/AzurLane'', the game the manga is based on, is a {{Fanservice}} filled BulletHell game targeted towards men. It's downplayed if one focuses on the marketing that emphasizes a {{Moe}} aspect and that the leading girls are cute and youthful. The actual series however makes it clear that it's not a full on "Cute Girls Doing Cute Things" show, thanks to all the DysfunctionJunction BlackComedy and {{Fanservice}} from the mature ship girls that is retained from the game. ThePowerOfFriendship is also secondary to the girls lusting after the ChickMagnet Commander driving a few plots, though he remains TheGhost. A few comic strips or episodes will clear things the marketing doesn't. |
| 62 | * ''Manga/{{Horimiya}}'' is a charming RomanticComedy that is full of pretty boys, lacks overt fanservice and a more relatable female lead in Hori. It is also targeted towards the Shounen demographic. |
| 63 | * Inverted for ''Anime/SpellboundMagicalPrincessLilPri'', while it is for girls, it is also for a more open market then just young girls due to [[Creator/TMSEntertainment Telecom's]] [[WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures Past]] [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries Productions]]. |
| 64 | * The trope is actually inverted by ''Manga/{{Sabagebu}}''. Knowing this trope, one might think the series is for a seinen audience, especially considering it mixes in a surprising amount of blood in an otherwise moe series, but the manga is in fact shojo. |
| 65 | * ''Manga/ChisSweetHome'' is about a cute little kitty cat and it's in a... seinen manga magazine. There is nothing actually inappropriate for young kids in the series though (indeed, [[http://anime.everyeye.it/notizie/chi-s-sweet-home-l-anime-in-onda-in-italia-su-jimjam-140588.html the anime aired on preschool channel JimJam]] alongside such fare as ''Franchise/HelloKitty'' and ''WesternAnimation/AngelinaBallerina''), so how the heck a manga as child friendly as this ended up in a seinen magazine will be a RiddleForTheAges. (FridgeLogic suggests that the staff of the magazine probably thought ''Chi's Sweet Home'' would serve as a palate cleanser for the readers in case the seinen mangas got too violent for their taste). |
| 66 | * ''Anime/TanteiOperaMilkyHolmes'', while slapsticky, was aiming for the otaku audience from the start. Some of the things Twenty does are a big enough giveaway. |
| 67 | %%* ''Amuri in Star Ocean''. |
| 68 | * ''Manga/BambooBlade'': It's about a group of high school girls who are in their school's kendo club. And the manga is serialized in a... seinen manga magazine. |
| 69 | * ''Manga/YuruYuri'' might be about cute middle-school girls, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin but it has plenty of]] {{yuri|Genre}} and it's clearly for a male audience. There's also the running joke about how Akari's older sister Akane secretly has a very incestuous obsession with her. |
| 70 | %%* ''Manga/MinamiKe''. |
| 71 | * ''Manga/{{Chobits}}'' is by [[Creator/{{CLAMP}} the creators]] of ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'' (which ''is'' primarily aimed at little girls) and has a similarly cute art style, but it's actually a {{Seinen}} series with a fair amount of {{Fanservice}} and existential themes. It was adored by teenage and preteen girls at the TurnOfTheMillennium anime boom, probably because their parents glanced at the covers (which all depict Chii wearing [[CostumePorn pretty, elaborate outfits]]) and thought it must be innocent and girly. |
| 72 | * ''Anime/SasamiMagicalGirlsClub'' is a CuteWitch anime that superficially looks a lot like ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi.'' It aired at [[OtakuOClock 1:30 am]], and it's actually a spinoff from ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'', a sci-fi [[HaremGenre harem series]] that's ''definitely'' not aimed at young girls. |
| 73 | * ''Anime/ALittleSnowFairySugar'' is an extremely cutesy show about a young girl who hangs out with cute little fairies who create the weather. It aired at OtakuOClock and the manga adaptation was {{shonen}}. This is a very odd example, noting that the show itself is very G-rated. |
| 74 | * Although ''Manga/NonNonBiyori'' is relatively clean and can be enjoyed by little girls, this show aired at [[OtakuOClock around 2:00 AM]]. |
| 75 | * Also from Creator/StudioShaft is ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''. It has cute character designs by the [[Creator/UmeAoki creator]] of ''Hidamari Sketch'', and the show itself starts off innocently enough; but by the end of [[WhamEpisode Episode 3]], it becomes a {{dark|erAndEdgier}} and {{deconstructi|on}}ve take on the genre more suited to [[{{Seinen}} an adult audience]]. The fact that Creator/GenUrobuchi is heavily involved is also a big tipoff to anyone who knows his SignatureStyle. The [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion third movie]] invokes this even more; it starts out by thrusting the characters into a stereotypical MagicalGirl series setting, and then cranks up the horror. |
| 76 | * ''Manga/WanderingSon'' is a SliceOfLife centered around kids aging from elementary to high school. The anime has a watercolor style as well. Despite all this it's a seinen, and its content delves deeply into gender and growing up in a way more common in works for teens and adults. It's less graphic than a lot of the mangaka's other works though. |
| 77 | * ''Manga/BokuraNoHentai'' has a very cute, almost simplistic art style and the protagonists are mostly middle schoolers. Marika is very much TheCutie with an idealistic viewpoint who basically thinks she's in a 70s shojo manga[[note]]Seems she never read ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles''[[/note]] ... But it's a rather dark seinen series dealing with anything from puberty to [[spoiler:sexual abuse]]. |
| 78 | * ''Manga/GirlFriends2006'' focuses a lot on fashion, cosmetics, and other typically girly things, giving people the impression that it's a {{Shoujo|Demographic}} manga. Even the fact that it's a YuriGenre series doesn't prevent this, since yuri manga aimed specifically at girls does exist, so people just assume that it's meant for a LGBT conscious young adult audience considering how realistically it handles the issues of a budding sexuality. Thus, people tend to be surprised when they discover that it ran in ''Comic High'', a seinen magazine. |
| 79 | * ''Anime/YukiYunaIsAHero'' and the rest of ''Franchise/YuushaDeAru'' are a seinen MagicalGirlWarrior series with SliceOfLife elements and a cute art style. It has some fanservice that would be unusual in a series for middle school girls, but it's mostly tame. The series revolves around girls helping people out and has a huge flower motif. [[spoiler:A little over halfway through the series it takes [[CerebusSyndrome turn for the worst]] that gives Madoka a run for its money. The girls are less {{Kid Hero}}es and more {{Child Soldier}}s meant to be sacrifices to the WorldTree in a slow, agonizing manner. One of the characters even attempts suicide on-screen, and it's said she attempted it ''over ten times''.]] |
| 80 | * ''Manga/SchoolLive'' is a cute-looking manga about high school girls surviving a ZombieApocalypse on their own. [[ArtStyleDissonance Despite the cute character designs]], it contains a large amount of NightmareFuel, a fair share of {{gorn}}, and a truck load of general despair. The anime adaptation is LighterAndSofter but still gets fairly dark. |
| 81 | * ''Manga/SatouKashiNoDanganWaUchinukenai'' sounds like it's something out of a shoujo manga. It's about a somber middle school girl who is befriended by the eccentric NewTransferStudent who thinks she's a mermaid. There's [[PseudoRomanticFriendship a lot of hand-holding]] between the two and the light novel has {{moe}}, brightly colored artwork. But with a title like ''A Lollipop Or A Bullet'' you shouldn't expect cute fluff from the manga. It's anything but. Umino is [[spoiler:severely abused by her [[AbusiveParents father]]]] and in a truly TearJerker of a BittersweetEnding she [[spoiler:ends up brutally ''murdered'' by [[OffingTheOffspring him]].]] |
| 82 | * ''Anime/{{Symphogear}}'' is a show about a group of girls who fight with the [[MagicMusic power of music,]] but the fighting outfits that they wear are [[{{Fanservice}} a tad revealing]], and the show is much darker than it seems (think Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica). Just in the first episode alone, there is death and blood. |
| 83 | * ''Anime/MaoChan'' is basically a {{Moe}}fied ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Evangelion]]'' (minus the more disturbing elements). The "transformation sequences" are more technological than magical and are stylized like military uniforms. Of course, it was written by Creator/KenAkamatsu, so that should come as no surprise. |
| 84 | * For that matter, Akamatsu's next work after that, ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi''. "Cute 10-year-old boy genius ends up as a teacher at an all-girls middle school" sounds like the premise for a SliceOfLife or RomanticComedy series. Then the first [[BlowYouAway sneeze]] [[ClothingDamage comes]] and you realize it's going to be ''[[{{Fanservice}} that]]'' kind of series. Then you reach volume 4 or so and you realize that it [[GenreShift isn't]]; it's actually a shonen action series (though the {{fanservice}} never really goes away) that was designed as a HaremAnime comedy for a couple of volumes because Akamatsu had been {{pigeonholed|Director}} by ''Manga/LoveHina'' and needed to disguise his true intent from [[ExecutiveMeddling his editors]]. |
| 85 | * From the perspecitve of an American, ''Anime/ShowByRock'' isn't tonally any different than any other series about a girl band, a la ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'' or ''WesternAnimation/JosieAndThePussycats''. The truth is that this is actually an attempt by Creator/{{Sanrio}} to market to young men, and it shows on OtakuOClock. The mobile game it's based on, however, has a wide and diverse audience (in Japan, at least). |
| 86 | * Sanrio also brought us ''Anime/{{Aggretsuko}}'', a series about a cute red panda who's also a put-upon and deeply frustrated OfficeLady. Despite the characters looking no different from any other [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter cutesy Sanrio critter]], [[MatureAnimalStory it's squarely aimed at adults]] and has some content inappropriate for kids. Unlike many examples, it's aimed at adult working women rather than men, however. |
| 87 | * ''Anime/MagicalPlay'' would be easy to mistake as a children's magical girl series, considering its artwork prominently features its young cast and it's categorized under "Kids & Family" by distributor Creator/SentaiFilmworks. However, the DVD is rated TV-14, and the show is, in fact, a magical girl ''parody'' with fanservice-based humor and some surprising violence. |
| 88 | * ''Manga/RozenMaiden'' is a fairly colourful, seemingly MagicalGirl-esque manga about seven living ''dolls'' in various styles of ElegantGothicLolita clothes... and rated seinen, because it contains life-or-death battles, themes of abuse and ParentalNeglect, and generally offers a surprisingly bleak outlook seeing how the dolls eventually have to kill each other because ThereCanBeOnlyOne. There is however, a {{shojo}} spinoff called ''Rozen Maiden: Dolls Talk'', but it's a LighterAndSofter comedy series. |
| 89 | * A movie theater listings website for New York City listed the delayed viewing of the ''Anime/BangDream'' 5th Live concert under "Family", when the series in question is actually aimed at otaku. |
| 90 | * ''Manga/{{Chihayafuru}}'' is a series about a high school girl who gets into competitive karuta (a type of card game). It's often mistaken for a shoujo but ran in a josei magazine. |
| 91 | * Amazon lists ''Literature/SoundEuphonium'' under Kids and Family for this reason. While it is about cute girls in a band, it was made for otaku. |
| 92 | * ''Anime/KingOfPrism'' is a SpinOff of ''Anime/PrettyRhythmRainbowLive'', which was originally marketed towards elementary and middle school girls. However, ''King of Prism'' is aimed at an older female demographic and the series' director, Masakazu Hishida, had initially pitched it as a late-night series (and the television broadcast of the third film, ''Shiny Seven Stars'', was broadcast at 1:30 AM). Despite elements of the other ''VideoGame/PrettySeries'' appearing in ''King of Prism'', it is not officially listed as the ''Pretty Series'' to keep its marketing demographics separate. |
| 93 | * ''Manga/OMaidensInYourSavageSeason'' by Mari Okada is a serious look at a group of teenage girls struggling through puberty and would thus seem aimed at an audience of teenage girls. It ran in ''Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine''. |
| 94 | * ''Manga/AkebisSailorUniform'' is a ComingOfAgeStory about Komichi, a girl who's just entered middle school, which makes it seem as though it's aimed at preteen girls like her. The manga is actually seinen, and while it's mostly clean there are still some very noticeable moments of {{Fanservice}} and MaleGaze. |
| 95 | * ''Anime/YuriKumaArashi'' has a cute and brightly-colored art style, and some of the characters are really bears disguised as human girls, with their bear forms looking more like cute teddy bears than real bears. However, the anime is largely about lesbians dealing with a homophobic society, and it contains some violence and quite a bit of nudity and sexual themes; the opening alone revels in sensual imagery. |
| 96 | * ''Manga/OshiNoKo'' may look like a cute show about the life of an idol from its' artstyle, but it's actually about the dark side of the idol industry, and a major plotline is that [[spoiler: the main idol in the story gets murdered]]. |
| 97 | [[/folder]] |
| 98 | |
| 99 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 100 | * Barbara Slate's ''ComicBook/AngelLove'' comic book series of the 1980s, having rather cute cartoonish artwork, yet dealing with serious topics such as drug abuse, abortion, critical illnesses, and incest. |
| 101 | * Zig-zagged with ''ComicBook/TheUnbeatableSquirrelGirl''. The series was originally promoted as if it was aimed at hard-core comics fanboys who were reading it for the character's AscendedMeme status and the many jokes about obscure Marvel continuity, but it has become very popular with actual preteen girls, with enthusiastic support from Marvel-fan geek parents who are happy that their daughters have a Marvel comic to read that is optimistic and morally-uplifting in its tone and not full of sexual {{Fanservice}}, [[{{Gorn}} graphic violence]], and depressing BlackAndGrayMorality and DownerEnding-filled plotlines. It helps that the fanboy in-jokes aren't obnoxious about rubbing it in non-fanboy readers' faces that they're missing out on anything. Ryan North and Erica Henderson have made it clear that they are completely happy about this and deliberately intended the comic for both demographics. |
| 102 | [[/folder]] |
| 103 | |
| 104 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 105 | * ''Film/JosieAndThePussycats2001'' is, on the surface, about a GirlGroup and has a very lighthearted tone, and as a result seems to be a cutesy film for kids. However, the actual intent of the film was to be a [[CapitalismIsBad satire on capitalism]], something that a fully-educated adult audience would have a much easier time grasping. Unfortunately, reviewers judged it as a kids’ film, and as a result missed the deeper meaning that it was going for. |
| 106 | [[/folder]] |
| 107 | |
| 108 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 109 | * ''[[Literature/WarriorCats Warriors]]'' is often associated with young girls due to its cat protagonists. It's a unisex series that pushes its MiddleGradeLiterature rating with the amount of mature content it contains, meaning it's not recommended for kids under 10. |
| 110 | * ''Literature/MagicalGirlRaisingProject'' looks like a normal MagicalGirl series with a cute art style, but it's actually a MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction where the Magical Girls must kill one another to survive. |
| 111 | * ''Literature/JadeGreen'' generally appears on YA book lists nowadays, but for a while in the early 2000s, teachers often recommended it to middle school girls due to its short length and the author's other books (notably, ''Shiloh''). The plot centers around the ghost of a teenage girl whose 40-year-old adopted brother raped her, cut her hand off with the cleaver she was trying to use in self-defense, and left her to bleed out on the attic stairs. The book is set three years later and there's no graphic flashback, but still not exactly PG fare. |
| 112 | [[/folder]] |
| 113 | |
| 114 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 115 | * TLC's ''Series/ToddlersAndTiaras'', about toddlers in beauty pageants. Mostly a PointAndLaughShow, though. |
| 116 | [[/folder]] |
| 117 | |
| 118 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 119 | * There's a video of a five-year-old girl singing the "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" line from Labelle's "Lady Marmalade." Presumably the train of thought was "It's about dancing, right? Girls love dancing!" Too bad it's not about dancing, it's about a prostitute, and the line translates to "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" |
| 120 | * One of the group Mosaic.wav's most well-known songs is the ending theme to the [[ShoujoDemographic very much for little girls]] ''Manga/MamotteLollipop''. So the show's target audience (and their parents) might be a little shocked to find out the band who did the ending theme is mostly otherwise known for doing themes to {{eroge}}. |
| 121 | * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denpa_song Denpa Song]] in general is this trope as a musical style. Sickeningly cutesy vocals, ultra happy melodies, and high BPM are all staples of the style, making it seem like the target audience is young girls, but with a few exceptions like the above mentioned Kyun Kyun Panic and some songs from VideoGame/PriPara, denpa is made by and for adults in the otaku subculture, and some contain lyrics inappropriate for kids. And, unfortunately, some even have inappropriate lyrics about kids. There is of course some crossover appeal, especially with more mainstream acts like dempagumi.inc. |
| 122 | * The Music/SpiceGirls. It's hard to tell exactly how much of their "Girl Power" theme was serious, and how much was self-parody, but their lyrics make it clear that it was at least about sexual liberation... to the dismay of the parents of the 8 year olds who would parrot the lyrics. |
| 123 | * Back in TheNineties, "Barbie Girl" by Music/{{Aqua}} was all the rage with young girls... Despite containing lyrics like "undress me everywhere". Creator/{{Mattel}} did end up making a {{Bowdlerized}} version for their Toys/{{Barbie}} commercials, however. |
| 124 | * Music/OingoBoingo's 1981 track "Little Girls" is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin indeed about them]]... but from [[PaedoHunt a certain point of view.]] |
| 125 | * Music/MelanieMartinez dresses in sweet lolita-style attire in soft colors. Her voice is sweet sounding and she has songs with names like "Teddy Bear", "Sippy Cup", "Milk And Cookies", and "Dollhouse". She must be kid friendly, right? Nope. For example, "Dollhouse" is about a dysfunctional family trying to keep the facade of a happy family despite the fact the dad cheats, the son uses drugs, and the mom drinks to ignore her husband's infidelity. Even her most PG songs like "Pity Party" are about stuff like having a breakdown because no one came to your birthday party. Most of her songs have heavy amounts of LyricalDissonance. |
| 126 | * Due to being a Disney popstar for years, Music/MileyCyrus continued to be popular with tweens even after she went HotterAndSexier. |
| 127 | * Music/{{TLC}} were a much more DarkerAndEdgier girl group than their contemporaries, with "No Scrubs" using the term "broke-ass" to refer to loser guys and "Waterfalls" having gritty lyrics about [=HIV=]/[=AIDS=] and the drug trade... to the dismay of the parents of little girls who played their songs in their slumber parties. |
| 128 | * ''Music/HypnosisMic'' is a female-oriented music franchise with a CastFullOfPrettyBoys made by Creator/{{Otomate}}. At first glance, it looks similar to other female-oriented male idol franchises, just with Hip-Hop as the main genre. However, it is markedly more mature than most, with some songs being rated as Explicit. To say nothing of the series' story, that is DarkerAndEdgier than most female-oriented male idol franchises. The spinoff manga of the series notably ran on three different Shonen magazines and are classified as such. |
| 129 | [[/folder]] |
| 130 | |
| 131 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 132 | * There are a lot of little girls who love ''Theatre/{{Waitress}}'', despite it having cursing, sexual scenes, and adult themes that would go over a kid's head. An early example of this would be the song "The Negative", which is centered around the results of Jenna's pregnancy test. |
| 133 | [[/folder]] |
| 134 | |
| 135 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 136 | * ''Toys/LittleAppleDolls'' might be popular with more NightmareFetishist preteens, but they probably look like something for your six-year-old daughter or sister. The protagonists are all little girls, but they're DeadAllAlong and creepy. The dolls are also expensive and made for collecting. |
| 137 | * ''Toys/LivingDeadDolls'' is a brand of horror dolls aimed at a 15+ audience. The dolls have been banned in Greece and were almost banned in both Ireland and Singapore because people thought they were aimed at kids. |
| 138 | * Not all ''Franchise/{{Barbie}}'' dolls are aimed at little girls. It has multiple dolls aimed at teenage and adult collectors. |
| 139 | [[/folder]] |
| 140 | |
| 141 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 142 | * ''Franchise/TheIdolMaster'': |
| 143 | ** A cute game series about pop stars! With catchy songs, cute dresses and tons of accessories to dress up. But the target audience is otaku, with overpriced DLC no young girl ([[CrackIsCheaper or most adults]]) can afford. Worth noting though is that Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment attempted to get girls into the series with articles about ''VideoGame/TheIdolmasterDearlyStars'' in girls magazines and the addition of a boy band in ''VideoGame/TheIdolmaster2'', but it never really caught on. Once their other idol game series actually intended for young girls, ''VideoGame/{{Aikatsu}}'', became popular, they stopped trying to market iM@S to girls. Or at least LITTLE girls. |
| 144 | ** The male-focused spinoff game ''VideoGame/TheIdolmasterSideM'' is targeted at girls... Teenage girls and young women, though, not little girls. It's an Idol Game with [[RomanceGame otome game]] elements. |
| 145 | ** The animated adaptations also fall under this too. Of note is ''Anime/TheIdolmasterCinderellaGirls'', which notably has an episode in which had an entire episode's plot be set off by the producer getting MistakenForPedophile for following around three idols and sent to a police box, causing the trio and Chihiro to try and search for him. |
| 146 | * ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasons'' was originally aimed at a gender-neutral audience, but you wouldn't know it by its mainly female fandom. The first few games had male-only protagonists but eventually they added females, either in a GameFavoredGender manner (women couldn't play past marriage) or in their own {{Distaff Counterpart}}s. Modern games always have an option to chose your gender. Starting with ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonTreeOfTranquility'', incarnations of the game have began to look a lot more Bishoujo than before, with things coming to a head in ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasons2014''. |
| 147 | * You'd be surprised at how many clueless parents get ''VideoGame/{{Neptunia}}'' games for their young daughters. You'd think the {{Cleavage Window}}s front and center and the T (M in the case of ''[[VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniamk2 mk2]]'') rating would be enough... Though it's much more understandable with ''[[VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaReBirth1 re;birth 1]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaProducingPerfection Producing Perfection]]'', which feature modest costumes and very bright colors on the box. |
| 148 | ** What makes ''Producing Perfection'' all the more troubling is that alphabetically it is placed right next to the still T-rated ([[ValuesDissonance 3+ in Europe]]) but more family friendly ''VideoGame/HatsuneMikuProjectDiva'' games in store displays. Considering [[Music/{{Vocaloid}} Hatsune Miku]] has a lot of young fans, all it takes is a confused parent who has a child that's into Vocaloid and difficulty remembering long game names seeing two Vita games with an anime [[TeenIdol Pop Idol]] on the cover, picking the wrong one and giving their ten-year-old girl a game that gives you points for upskirt shots, has risque dialog pushing the envelope, and even has nude scenes. Not to mention, a lot of parents dismiss T ratings in rhythm games due to otherwise family-friendly games like ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' and ''VideoGame/RockBand'' having the same rating solely due to language and suggestive themes in song lyrics. That's not to say that the ten-year-old wouldn't enjoy the game. |
| 149 | * ''VideoGame/ArcanaHeart'' features an all-female cast, and some of the [[http://wiki.mizuumi.net/w/File:Ah3lm.jpg cover and promo art]] would not be out of place for a cheerleading sim. It's a FightingGame franchise that rivals ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' and ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' in complexity and Creator/{{SNK}} in difficulty. |
| 150 | * ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' is a VideoGame series ''about'' little (looking) girls firing colourful dots, arrows and lasers at each other, with many of the characters wearing frilly ElegantGothicLolita outfits (though characters in later games tend to wear outfits in other kinds of fashion). However, the games are one of the most famous examples of BulletHell ShootEmUp, even if CuteEmUp is in full swing. Suffice to say, despite their bright and cheery appearance, the games have loads of characters to keep track of, comparatively difficult plots and are just NintendoHard throughout, so while there's nothing in the games that's ''inappropriate'' for children (there's [[NoHuggingNoKissing no sex or romance whatsoever]], the combat is bloodless fantasy violence, and none of the girls are dressed in skimpy clothing), most of the games' content would still be hard for children to follow or understand. The various manga and other related literature also tend to be darker and more depressing compared to the games, sometimes even going as far as being outright scary or visibly violent. That said, despite all this, the series has a huge PeripheryDemographic of children (both boys and girls), although many of them don't actually play the games. Many kids attend Reitaisei (an annual FanConvention dedicated solely to the ''Touhou'' series) with their parents, and the franchise's creator ZUN once received a hearfelt fan letter from an elementary school girl. |
| 151 | * ''VideoGame/{{Medabots}}'' is a kid friendly franchise. When it was announced they were making a game called ''Medabots Girls Mission'' fans thought it was a female-aimed installment aimed at little girls. It's actually a HotterAndSexier 15+ rated game with ClothingDamage on its female protagonists and lots of blatant fanservice. |
| 152 | * Most ''VideoGame/AtelierSeries'' games have teenage female protagonists in a SliceOfLife story with a {{moe}} aesthetic. This contrasts greatly with the gameplay, which is that of a hardcore JRPG with a brutal difficulty curve if you fail to master the deep and complex ItemCrafting mechanics, which might leave younger players frustrated, bored and/or confused. And that's not getting into the large amount of {{Fanservice}} (of both the male and female characters) in the later games DLC which lets you change the characters into bathing suits, and a {{Beach|Episode}} or HotSpringsEpisode in most games, which should be enough to prove that the target audience is much older than you'd think, and surveys held in Japan revealed most of the players are women. |
| 153 | * ''VideoGame/{{IMGCM}}'' shares two traits with {{Shoujo}} anime series ''Anime/PrettyCure'': Evil-exterminating {{magical girl warrior}}s and colorful visuals. However, the former is rated 17+ in smartphones and PC due to some FanService-laden characters, {{stripperiffic}} costumes, and JigglePhysics in the gameplay. Not to mention some mind-screwingly DarkerAndEdgier moments, which include [[spoiler:[[KillTheCutie some heroines']] recurring {{plotline death}}s and [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie a few of them are subsequently corrupted into demons]]]], and HumanoidAbomination demon bosses which make this game ''almost'' equivalent to a MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction (and there’s an official {{NSFW}} version for PC, and it’s even [[{{Exaggerated}} worse]]). |
| 154 | * ''VideoGame/ToukenRanbu'' is a free-to-play Browser Game with a CastFullOfPrettyBoys with an easy-to-pick-up gameplay and Japanese history educational elements...but aside from the gacha elements, later campaigns soon turn to DarkerAndEdgier route with bloodshed. To say nothing of the amount of (relatively tamer) {{Fanservice}} in some of the character designs and injured poses (which are ''less'' than tamer). Adaptations of the game such as the [[Anime/KatsugekiToukenRanbu anime]], theatrical adaptation, and musical are actually targeted to older demographics. The anime ''Anime/ToukenRanbuHanamaru'' seemingly averts this trope, being LighterAndSofter than its' source material, until you realize that the manga adaptation of the anime is classified as {{Shonen}}. |
| 155 | * ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'' is a mobile game featuring {{Bishonen}} cast of characters with strong associations with the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon, but it is a Joseimuke work made for women over the age of 17 (given the platform, majority of smartphone users are adults), with the amount of {{Fanservice}} and dark themes such as child abuse and mental illness. However, this hasn't stopped Disney itself from promoting it in child and family-friendly spaces such as Disney magazines and social media. |
| 156 | * As of 2022, the ''VideoGame/UmaMusume'' franchise is increasingly becoming this. Although its out-there premise ([[Main/InspiredBy real-life racehorses]], reincarnated as [[Main/LittleBitBeastly horse-]][[{{Moe}} girls]] in an alternate world!) was originally expected to appeal only to middle-aged male horse-racing fans and hardcore {{Moe}} otaku, the surprisingly wholesome premise of female athletes competing for glory has given it an unexpectedly-broad fanbase. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv1FVz-QAYk Here's street-pianist and occasional cosplayer Kosame doing a piano rendition of the memetic ''Umapyoi Densetsu'' song from the series]] - of particular note is the little girl passing by with her parents at 1:50, who not only recognizes the song but ''knows the dance moves''. |
| 157 | * In the 2000s, several Platform/PlayStation2 games in the ''Simple 2000'' series of Japanese budget games were exported to Europe. Among these titles was ''Party Girls''[[note]]originally titled ''Mogitate Mizugi! Onna Mamire no THE Suiei Taikai'' (''Fresh-Picked Swimsuits! The Swim Meet Packed with Women'')[[/note]], featuring a bright pink cover that looks like a generic UltraSuperHappyCuteBabyFestFarmer3000 UsefulNotes/{{shovelware}} game. [[CoversAlwaysLie This cover says absolutely nothing about the actual gameplay]], in which women dressed only in bikinis compete in various minigames, including one where they push each other off a platform and into a pool using only their buttocks, and another in which they suggestively rub a thermometer to increase its temperature until they manage to launch a rocket placed on top of the thermometer. Each minigame is followed by a replay during which the camera angles often focus on the women's breasts and crotches, and there's actually a setting that controls how much their breasts will jiggle during gameplay. The European cover also stands in stark contrast to the original cover for the Japanese market, featuring a group shot of the bikini-clad cast and a CERO 18 rating, [[SameContentDifferentRating whereas the game somehow managed to receive both a]] '''''3''''' rating from PEGI in most of Europe and the equivalent '''''0''''' rating from the German USK. |
| 158 | ** [[https://highimpactclassification.wordpress.com/2017/11/26/that-time-japanese-softcore-porn-games-got-a-3-rating-by-pegi-and-almost-no-one-noticed/ This blog post]] discusses ''Party Girls'' and two less egregious examples from the same series, ''Demolition Girl'' and ''Paparazzi''. While the former, in which the player battles a bikini model who [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever has been transformed into a giant]] after being bitten by a strange creature, is described as the tamest of these examples overall, the very first mission involves examining her breasts and buttocks for research purposes, and the cover features a shot of the aforementioned bikini model from behind, which the article describes as "going directly against the PEGI rating, which I’m sure hurt sales some both for bewildered parents and perverts." The latter focuses on photographing the same model, who the player can actually make "adopt a sexy pose"; it also contains at least two uses of "damn". Both games were also rated PEGI 3, in addition to respectively getting 6 and 0 ratings from USK (in contrast, they were both rated 12 by CERO). |
| 159 | [[/folder]] |
| 160 | |
| 161 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 162 | * ''Webcomic/{{minus}}'' is a brightly-colored cute-looking webcomic about an [[TheOmnipotent omnipotent]] little girl, albeit with a ton of FridgeHorror, but if Website/TVTropes is anything to go by, most of the people who read the comic are men. |
| 163 | [[/folder]] |
| 164 | |
| 165 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 166 | * ''WebAnimation/TheMostPopularGirlsInSchool'' is a stop-motion show using mainly Barbie dolls and starring high school girls. It's also incredibly vulgar, sexual, and full of profanity. |
| 167 | * The ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' spinoff ''WebAnimation/TeenGirlSquad'' is about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin four teenage girls]] dealing with boys, fashion, and [[BlackComedy dying horrible deaths]] [[TheyKilledKennyAgain every episode]]. |
| 168 | * While fanmade videos involving ''Toys/LittlestPetShop'' toys are widespread, said videos are just as likely to be aimed at an older demographic as they are towards the toyline's target audience of little girls. ''WebVideo/LPSPopular'' is explicitly made more for the middle school and high school crowd than it is eight-year-olds. |
| 169 | [[/folder]] |
| 170 | |
| 171 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 172 | * ''WesternAnimation/BeeAndPuppycat'', being influenced heavily by the aesthetic of {{shojo}} and SliceOfLife anime, along with its cute, pastel colors, [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids isn't demographically aimed at children so much as young adults around the age of Bee herself]]. That said, it's not particularly vulgar, crude, or even inappropriate for the standards of an adult cartoon: if you don't mind a cartoon cat saying the word "ass" every few episodes, it's perfectly safe for kids. |
| 173 | * ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' was not originally intended for little girls. Creator/CraigMcCracken created it as a parody of the MagicalGirl genre, as he was getting sick of ''Anime/SailorMoon'' [[AdoredByTheNetwork playing on Cartoon Network's Toonami block every day]]. As a TakeThat, he set the girls' ages very low, had them do very inelegant things, and made the villains [[{{Camp}} cheesier than Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinners]]. The intended audience for it was the same as ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' — animation fans in their teens, 20s, and 30s — but it [[AnimationAgeGhetto had to be child-appropriate]] (This was in the days before Creator/AdultSwim). A show like this naturally attracted little girls anyway (though the show was unisex aimed). One can only imagine how things would have turned out if [=McCracken=] was more annoyed by ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' playing on Cartoon Network every day. [=McCracken=]'s college assignment that spawned the series, Whoopass Stew (the title alone should make it clear which demographic he ''wasn't'' shooting for), went as follows. Girls beat the crap out of the Gangreen Gang. Amoeba Boys rob a bank. Girls try to stop them but get stuck in their bodies. Girls prevail by flying to the sun, which ''kills the Amoeba Boys in seconds''. Speaking of {{Magical Girl}}s by sheer irony, Creator/ToeiAnimation (the creators of ''Anime/SailorMoon'') remade the series as ''[[Anime/PowerpuffGirlsZ Powerpuff Girls Z]]'', an actual retelling of the series with a magical girl theme. |
| 174 | * ''WesternAnimation/MakingFiends'' is actually a relatively dark cartoon about attempting murder with demons, and the colors are anything but bright, pastel or pink. But the two main characters [[GirlShowGhetto are young girls]]. The [[WebFirst original web animation]] was for a neutral demographic, but the daughter of a Nickelodeon producer loved it, and so Nick made a deal with Creator/AmyWinfrey to turn it into a cartoon. If you look at any of the message boards for Making Fiends, you'll see that male fans are ''extremely'' rare, though the show has gotten positive reviews from many male critics. Considering Nickelodeon only aired six episodes of the show back in 2008, it could just be that people in general, male and female, haven't had a chance to see it. |
| 175 | * ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' has a majority female cast, is all about family and friendship, has quite a bit of romance, and uses bright colors (even the protagonist has a pink theme, though he's male). The creator Creator/RebeccaSugar has been quoted saying that the show is predominantly aimed at 6-to-11 year old ''boys'' (and it has a TV-PG rating in America), but the show itself actually has a MultipleDemographicAppeal. It's aimed at an unisex audience and contains quite a few {{Shout Out}}s to older works (such as MagicalGirl anime) that younger fans probably wouldn't pick up on. |
| 176 | [[/folder]] |
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