The Year 24 Group significantly contributed to the development of subgenres in shōjo manga, and marked the first major entry of women artists into manga. Thereafter, shōjo manga would be drawn primarily by women artists for an audience of girls and young women. The Year 24 Group used bildungsroman genre conventions in their works. Stylistically, the Year 24 Group created new conventions in panel layout by departing from rows of rectangles that were the standard of the time and using panel shape and configuration to convey emotion, and softening or removing panel borders.