History Main / WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForLittleGirls

* ''Literature/MagicalGirlRaisingProject'' looks like a normal MagicalGirl series with a cute art style, but it's actually a MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction where [[BattleRoyale the Magical Girls must kill one another to survive]].

* ''Manga/GirlFriends'' 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 YuriGenre is popular amongst females too 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.

* 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 [[BleachedUnderpants 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 making it much more obviously aimed at men.

** ''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 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]]''.

** ''Manga/KOn'' clearly started aimed at a male audience, but appears to have garnered an extensive female fanbase in its wake as well. The anime adaptation helped by [[TamerAndChaster toning down the fanservice]] and ShipTease while adding more character focus. Point in case: it's airing on the Japanese Disney Channel, but edited of course, 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]]''.
** ''Manga/HidamariSketch'': See the quote. It is relatively clean, but it's aired in OtakuOClock with a seinen Demographic, with spots of LesYay here and there.

* ''LightNovel/MagicalGirlRaisingProject'' looks like a normal MagicalGirl series but is a MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction where [[BattleRoyale the Magical Girls must kill one another to survive]].

[[{{Moe}} Well, it's because men like cute girls.]]

* ''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.

* Just like ''K-On!'', ''Franchise/LoveLive'' is a seinen franchise (its manga adaptations and supplementary materials are published in the seinen magazine ''Dengeki G's''), but it's also become popular enough with young girls that [[Anime/LoveLive the original series]] also ended up airing on the Japanese Disney Channel. However, aside from the obligatory BeachEpisode, the fanservice was 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 pretty clean from the start and safe for younger viewers.

* ''Webcomic/{{minus}}'' is a brightly-colored cute-looking webcomic about an [[TheOmnipotent omnipotent]] little girl, albeit with a ton of FridgeHorror, but if Wiki/TVTropes is anything to go by, most of the people who read the comic are men.

* 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 example of this would be the song "Bad Idea", which is centered around the results of Jenna's pregnancy test.

* The ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' franchise. Its promotional materials and [[ComicBookAdaptation manga adaptations]] are printed in seinen magazines and it [[BleachedUnderpants 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 making it much more obviously aimed at men.

* One of the group Mosaic.wav's most well-known songs is the ending theme to the [[ShoujoDemographic very much for little girls]] ''Anime/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}}.

* ''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 with the amount of {{Fanservice}} and dark themes such as child abuse. However, this hasn't stopped Disney itself from promoting it in child and family-friendly spaces such as Disney magazines and social media.

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 instead of young girls). Just take a look at any ''Series/ToddlersAndTiaras''-type show.

[[caption-width-right:300:Rated M for "My Daughter?"]]

* ''Anime/SaintOctober'', although the three {{Magical Girl}}s being named Loli Black, Loli White, and Loli Red was a pretty big hint.

So you find a new show and it has [[ImprobablyFemaleCast an all female cast]], lots of pastel colors, and improbable levels [[UsefulNotes/{{Kawaisa}} cuteness]]. And you think "this would be a perfect show for my eight-year-old sister."

So you find a new show and it has [[ImprobablyFemaleCast an all female cast]], lots of pastel colors, and TastesLikeDiabetes levels of [[UsefulNotes/{{Kawaisa}} cuteness]]. And you think "this would be a perfect show for my eight-year-old sister."

* ''Moetan'' is about a MagicalGirl who teaches her crush English. Blatant ([[OlderThanTheyLook Older Than She Looks]]) {{Lolicon|AndShotacon}} {{Fanservice}} and {{Panty Shot}}s ensue.

* Most ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' 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, such as {{Panty Shot}}s, 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.
* ''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, JigglePhysics, and PantyShots 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]]).

* ''Manga/AkebisSailorUniform'' focuses on Komichi, a girl who's just entered middle school, which makes it seem as though it's a ComingOfAgeStory aimed at preteen girls. The manga is actually seinen, and while it's mostly clean there are still some very noticeable moments of MaleGaze.

* ''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.

* Just like ''K-On!'', ''Franchise/LoveLive'' is a seinen franchise, but became popular enough with young girls that [[Anime/LoveLive the original series]] also ended up airing on the Japanese Disney Channel. However, aside from the obligatory BeachEpisode, the fanservice was 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 pretty clean from the start and safe for younger viewers.

* ''Film/JosieAndThePussycats'' 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.

* ''Anime/YuriKumaArashi'' has a cute and brightly-colored art style, and some of the characters are really bears, 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.

* ''Anime/YuriKumaArashi'' stars some girls who are actually bears, but the show contains some violence.