Shonen Demographic



Shōnen manga is manga published in Japanese magazines aimed primarily at tween and teenaged boys. Shōnen anime is anime based on Shōnen manga. Japanese fiction aimed at this demographic tends to be focused more on "action" than relationships, with romance generally either perfunctory or played for comedy. Physical combat is a common element, and the cast is predominantly male.

Shōnen series were the first to be brought over en masse to the Western world, because it was the closest match to what was being aired by Western networks at the time (nearly all popular Western animation either is geared towards males or has Multiple Demographic Appeal). Thus, it makes up much of the popular American perception of anime.

In Japan, "Shōnen" is a designation of the stories that were published in a particular class of magazines, not a label that describes the genres of the stories in those magazines. That leads to series that are different from the typical Shōnen style but still count as examples, and series that follow all the typical Shōnen tropes but aren't Shōnen because they didn't originate from a Shōnen magazine.

Contrast Shojo, which is aimed at tween and teenaged girls; Seinen, which is aimed at men; and Josei, which is aimed at women.

General Examples

 * Almost anything with Humongous Mecha.
 * Sometimes, adaptations of stories with Multiple Demographic Appeal will create two versions of the story, one Shōnen and one Shojo.
 * The attempted localization of Cardcaptor Sakura in the U.S. could be very generously described as an attempt to create a Shōnen version of the series (i.e., increase appeal in the proven male market), despite the show being entrenched like a rock in Shojo tropes.
 * This practice also occurs in Japan. The Vision of Escaflowne had a Shōnen-version manga produced of its story, while Magic Knight Rayearth's OAVs have a similar bent as compared to the original series.
 * Nearly all the titles featured in the Weekly Shōnen Jump (or simply Jump) magazine have a kind of legacy with each other, enough that a Crossover video game was highly received.
 * The Dragon Ball series is by far the quintessential Shōnen, and due to its age, length and influence provides examples of most of the classic tropes.
 * Of all the ongoing Shōnen series, One Piece is by far the most massively popular. It has drawn a great deal of inspiration from Dragon Ball, but developed a very unique and compelling flavor of its own.
 * Completing the Jump Triforce is Naruto, the most popular anime in America, period.
 * JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, released in 1987, is one of Shōnen Jump's longest running Shōnen series, having reached over 90 volumes in Japan. It was only very recently that it got an official English release, and even then it jumped the gun a little, starting with the more-famous Series 3. With its 7th part, "Steel Ball Run", it has switched magazines and became Seinen.
 * Three-Point Landing: They love this to make the characters look cool.
 * General rule of thumb on the scale of idealism vs. cynicism, most Shōnen works (particularly the action fighter types), tend to fall in the idealist side. Deconstructions, Darker and Edgier, and/or, those that fall in the opposite side of the scale can easily be mistaken as a Seinen series and give a What Do You Mean It's for Kids? reaction (Death Note and Neon Genesis Evangelion are some of the notable examples).

Other Examples in Shonen Jump

 * Angel Densetsu
 * Bakuman｡
 * Beelzebub
 * Beet the Vandel Buster
 * Black Cat
 * Bleach — though it does have a sizable female fan following. The third of the "Big Three" among currently active Shonen Jump series.
 * Blue Exorcist
 * Bobobo-Bo Bo-bobo
 * Butsu Zone
 * Captain Tsubasa — up until the Road to 2002 saga, that is: then it moves into Seinen territory. Makes sense, the readers are mostly adult males (and some adult females) who grew reading it in ''Shonen Jump'.
 * Claymore — although it seems to be aimed at girls more than at boys, since it features an almost all-female cast of characters. It is sometimes thought to be Seinen for the same reason and because of its dark themes.
 * Death Note — although even plenty of anime fans still mistake it for Seinen, mostly because Light is an adult for most of the series and there's the What Do You Mean It's for Kids? factor. Played with in the Bakuman｡ series (by the same creators), in which several characters support Seinen-type stories running in Shōnen magazines.
 * D.Gray-man, even when its Estrogen Brigade says otherwise.
 * Dokonjo Gaeru
 * Embalming
 * Eyeshield 21
 * Fist of the North Star, although Yuria Gaiden and Juuza Gaiden (the most recent ones) are Seinen.
 * Hikaru no Go
 * Hunter X Hunter
 * Katekyo Hitman Reborn—though its audience appears to consist mostly of Periphery Demographic
 * Kimagure Orange Road
 * Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen Mae Hashutsujo
 * Kuroko no Basuke
 * Mazinger Z — its first run, anyway. In 1974, it was moved to Kodansha's TV magazine.
 * Medaka Box
 * Naruto, but it arguably has an even larger female following than Bleach.
 * One Piece, but it attracts nearly every demographic, from kids to teens and adults. Currently Japan's most popular ongoing manga.
 * Papa no Iukoto o Kikinasai!
 * Psyren
 * Rokudenashi Blues
 * Rookies
 * Rosario + Vampire
 * Rurouni Kenshin
 * Saint Seiya
 * Shaman King
 * Sket Dance
 * Slam Dunk
 * Space Adventure Cobra
 * Toriko
 * Yu-Gi-Oh
 * Yu-Gi-Oh First Anime Series
 * Yu-Gi-Oh (Duel Monsters)
 * Yu-Gi-Oh! R
 * Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
 * Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
 * Yu Yu Hakusho — another paradigm of Shōnen.

Non-Shōnen Jump Examples

 * A.I. Love You
 * Air Gear
 * AKB49: Ren'ai Kinshi Jourei
 * Aku no Hana
 * Angelic Layer — by CLAMP, a mangaka team well known for their work in Shojo.
 * ARAGO
 * Area no Kishi
 * Aria - Although it contains elements commonly found in Shojo, Seinen, and Josei manga, it was serialized in a shonen magazine and it tends to be labelled as such.
 * Azumanga Daioh, which is often mistaken for seinen or shojo.
 * B't X
 * Baby Steps
 * Bakugan
 * Black Butler — even though it resembles a mix of Seinen and Shojo much more than actual Shōnen.
 * Blue Exorcist
 * Chuuka Ichiban
 * Code Breaker
 * Deadman Wonderland
 * Detective Conan
 * Digimon
 * Dino Zaurs
 * Eiken
 * Et Cetera
 * Eureka Seven — the anime can go into many genres, but both the manga adaptations were published in Shōnen magazines.
 * Fairy Tail
 * Flame of Recca
 * Fullmetal Alchemist
 * Gamble Fish
 * GetBackers
 * Getter Robo
 * Ghost Talker's Daydream
 * Girls Bravo
 * Great Teacher Onizuka
 * Gunslinger Girl
 * Guyver
 * Hajime no Ippo
 * Hanasaku Iroha
 * Hekikai no AiON
 * Hyakuen
 * Ichigo Mashimaro
 * Inazuma Eleven
 * Karakuridouji Ultimo
 * Karakurizoushi Ayatsuri Sakon
 * Katteni Kaizo
 * Kekkaishi
 * Kiba
 * Kimi to Boku
 * Kunisaki Izumo no Jijou
 * Kurogane Communication
 * The Law of Ueki
 * The Legend of the Legendary Heroes
 * Live On Cardliver Kakeru
 * ''Log Horizon
 * Lost Brain — which is mistaken for Seinen about as often as Death Note is.
 * Love Hina
 * Lucky Star
 * Magic Users Club
 * Maken-ki!
 * Mazinger Z — second run.
 * Mahou Sensei Negima
 * My-HiME — again, has been mistaken with both Seinen and Shojo.
 * Mai-Otome
 * Maoyuu Maou Yuusha
 * Medabots
 * Mirai Nikki
 * Mitsudomoe
 * Muv-Luv — the manga adaptation of Unlimited only; the other adaptations are Seinen.
 * Neko-de Gomen!
 * Neon Genesis Evangelion- often mistaken as pure Seinen, but most of its manga adaptions as well as the anime are either Shōnen or Shōjo.
 * Nichijou
 * Oku-sama wa Mahou Shoujo: Bewitched Agnes (a.k.a. My Wife is a Magical Girl: Bewitched Agnes)
 * Outlanders
 * Patlabor
 * Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle
 * Pokémon, which, along with Dragon Ball Z, helped to popularize the genre in the West.
 * Princess Tutu — the manga, according to That Other Wiki.
 * Rave Master
 * Red Eyes
 * Ronin Warriors — the manga adaption was aimed at a younger male audience with heavy depictions of violence and gore.
 * Every work by Rumiko Takahashi except for Maison Ikkoku:
 * Ranma ½
 * Inuyasha
 * Mermaid Saga
 * Urusei Yatsura
 * RIN-NE
 * Cromartie High School
 * Satou Kashi no Dangan wa Uchinukenai
 * Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei
 * School Rumble
 * Shitsurakuen
 * Spiral
 * Spriggan
 * Soul Eater
 * Star Driver
 * Super Dreadnought Girl 4946
 * Slayers
 * Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann—although Gakuen-hen is technically Seinen, as it runs in Comp Ace.
 * There Beyond the Beyond
 * Tiger Mask
 * Trigun—until it switched publisher and became Seinen.
 * Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle—yes, despite the genre of the various series it's a crossover from it runs in Shōnen magazine.
 * Ultimate Mop Daisuke DX—an Affectionate Parody of Shōnen tropes.
 * Watashi no Messiah-sama
 * Yotsuba&!
 * Yakitate!! Japan
 * Yomeiro Choice—the majority of the series, the first few chapters were published in a Seinen magazine, then it got transferred to a Shōnen magazine and it stayed till the very end. The strong content from its Seinen day still remains through the whole run, making it very hard to label as suitable for the younger audiences outside the Japanese demographic rating of Shōnen.
 * Zatch Bell
 * Zettai Karen Children