Category:Josei

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
(Redirected from Josei)


Manga demographic target groups:

  • Kodomomuke: children age 10 or younger
  • Shonen: "tween" or young-teen boys
  • Shoujo: "tween" or young-teen girls
  • Seinen: older-teen boys or young men (in modern usage, up to age 40)
  • ヤングレディース (literally "young ladies", does not appear to have a Western name): older-teen girls or young women
  • Redikomi (literally "ladies' comics"): women who are older than the audience for ヤングレディース
  • Josei: females age 18-40 (an academic and Western-fan term, not in general use in Japan)

Other Japanese comic styles:

  • Gekiga (literally "dramatic pictures"): adults

Josei is an academic and Western-fan term for two demographic categories of manga, anime, and other entertainment aimed at female audiences aged 18 to 40. The equivalent terms that are in general use in Japan are ヤングレディース (older-teen and young-women) and Redikomi (women who are older than the ヤングレディース demographic). It is not a genre.

Like its male counterpart, it's notable for more realistic, less idealized portrayals of romance and life than in works for young girls.

It typically uses a more realistic artistic style. Most are written by women, and feature in magazines or anthology collections directly sold for the demographic. Stories typically portray everyday life for young Japanese women—usually adults, but occasionally high school age.

Fuji TV's NoitaminA anime block is notable for focusing on this demographic.

Compare Seinen, which is aimed at young men of the same age; and Shoujo, which is aimed at younger females.


Series sometimes mistaken for josei

Actual examples of Josei follow below: