Shounen
Genre
Shonen [少年], sometimes seen written as shounen, is the term
given to manga and anime whose target audience is male readers. The
kanji for shonen can be literally translated into
"few" or
"little years". This is appropriate because the shonen age
group consists of boys ranging from eight to eighteen years
old.Shonen manga are often considered to be the opposite of
shojo. Nonetheless, both types of manga can be read and enjoyed
by readers of all ages and genders.
History
Manga had its first basic appearance in
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It wasn't until the late
nineteenth century that manga began being published in magazines
(zasshi) [雑誌]. At that time, the
manga featured in magazines were short, spanning only a few pages
in length. These stories were drawn for young children, but did not
target a specific gender.
A shift in emphasis from gender neutrality towards gender-specific
manga came about in 1902 with the publication of a magazine called
Shojo Kai [少女界], translating to
"Girl's World" in English. It was later in 1959 that two
magazines,
Weekly Shonen Magazine
[週刊少年マガジン] published by
Kabushiki-gaissha Koudansha [株式会社講談社] and
Weekly Shonen Sunday [週刊少年サンデー]
published by
Shogakukan [小学館],
were released.At the time of their first publication, the manga in
these weekly issues comprised no more than 40% of the magazine.
However, it was not long before publishers realized that the number
of subscribers would increase with the addition of more manga and
soon enough more than 50% of these magazines were occupied by
manga.
It was in 1968 that a new weekly shonen manga was released, one
that would become very successful:
Weekly Shonen Janpu[週刊少年ジャンプ], also known as
"Shonen Jump" in the Western world, released by
Shueisha [株式会社集英社]. Today, Weekly Shonen
Janpu has become most popular magazine in Japan and an agreement
between
Shueisha and
VIZ Media has allowed a Shonen
Jump magazine to be released monthly in Northern
America.
Categorized
Shonen manga generally fall under the action and adventure genres.
They often contain elements of violence, though the level varies
between specific manga, and can be graphic and contain mature
themes. Many shonen manga portray a male team, whether a sports
team or a fighting squad, working together for a common goal. Humor
is also a common characteristic of shonen manga, as is the presence
of attractive female characters, sometimes called
bishojo [美少女].
In terms of style, shonen manga are commonly less
"flowery"
than the average shojo manga, though the style of drawing used
depends entirely upon the
mangaka
[漫画家], the creator of the manga. It is important to note
that none of these traits are a requirement for a shonen manga, and
most often the only sure way to determine whether or not a manga is
shonen is to know whether it was originally published in a shonen
magazine.
Today, shonen anime and manga are extremely popular not only in
Japan, but also in the Western world, and, as mentioned previously,
Shueisha's Shûkan Shonen Janpu
is now being distributed monthly in Northern America.
Some popular shonen manga series are
Naruto by
Masashi Kishimoto,
Akira Toriyama's Dragonball, and
Fullmetal Alchemist by
Hiromu Arakawa.
