What Does It Contain
Shonen series are varied just like any other kind of anime genre, but it has its tropes. In general, shonen anime titles are categorized by their explosive action and leading male protagonists. These shows are often most plot-focused and tell an sequential story about the lead’s desire to overcome an insurmountable task. Shonen anime tends to be longer than other titles from other genres, and it has the greatest visibility with international fans.
The Seven Deadly Sins Season 4
Princess Elizabeth flees from the kingdom of Britannia in search of the warriors known as the Seven Deadly Sins after discovering that they were exiled because they were accused by the Sacred Knights, who have killed the king and seized the throne.
Elizabeth will soon find the first of the warriors, Meliodas, a peculiar boy who runs a tavern with Hork, a talking pig. So begins The Seven Deadly Sins, one of the best current animes to watch in 2021. You can find the three seasons of the anime on Netflix, as well as the movie The Seven Deadly Sins: Prisoners of the Sky.
What Is The Meaning Of The Japanese Word Shounen
Definitions states that shounen, or shonen manga and shonen anime are classifications of anime and manga whose target demographic is young males. The word shounen means few years in English, according to Kotaku. Many of these manga and anime series are aimed at a young male audience and have a male protagonist who is a young boy.
In Japan, the word shounen is used to refer to boys under the age of fifteen. According to Japanese Tactics, Japanese people use it to refer to boys from middle school to high school age. People in Japan use it in a similar way that English-speakers might call out, Hey, boy! or, Excuse me, young man! when trying to get the attention of a young boy they do not know. While it is not commonly used in Japanese speech in person, it is often used in anime.
In anime, the word shounen is used to refer to the target audience of these programs. In English, the genre could be described as young adult, but specifically focused toward young men. The target audience of shounen anime is between ages 12 and 18. Many of these anime and manga are focused on action, fighting and adventure. However, in recent years, series focused around comedy and series with female protagonists have become more and more popular and common.
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My Personal 5 Favorite Shounen
I don’t hate the shounen genre, but it isn’t my favorite.
Having said that, my all-time top five shounen series would be:
Yes, that puts the same manga author on there twice , but he deserves it! The main reasons I like all of these shounen are their stellar relationship-building between characters. These shows have character growth. Characters who are very different at first learn to get along and work together over time. I know that when I say relationships, people think of the romance genre, but friendship relationships that build up over a long time are a staple of good shounen.
Sword Art Online: Alicization War Of Underworld 2nd Season
Sword Art Online: Alicization premiered in Japan in October 2018 and is streaming on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and FunimationNow. The series is adapting the entire Alicization Arc of Reki Kawaharas original novels and will air for four hours, or four quarters of a year. Sword Art Online: Alicization War of Underworld, the second half of the Sword Art Online: Alicization anime, premiered in Japan on October 12 and the first part aired for 12 episodes. War of Underworld is listed with a total of 23 episodes.
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Types Of Anime: Shonen
Did you know that there are different types of anime? The five types are shonen, shojo, seinen, josei, and kodomomuke. Each kind of anime is focused on a specific target population of viewers. These kinds of anime are not genres.
One particular anime is called shonen. First, shonen anime is a category of anime made specifically for younger boys. Usually there is some type of main character, normally male, who has muscles, good martial arts abilities, and some type of ability to enhance their strength. Characters that fit this style of character include Son Goku, Dragon Ball Natsu Dragneel, Fairy Tail and Monkey D. Luffy, One Piece. A major character trait for these characters are their appreciation for their friends and their willingness to fight for them. For example, in One Piece, Luffys brother, Ace, had been captured by the Marines. In order to save him, Luffy broke into the Marine prison, Impel Down, and had started a massive battle on Marineford, the headquarters of the Marines.
Which of the five types are your favorite? Watch and participate every Friday at 2:00 in order to see some of the types in action!
Spy X Family By Tatsuya Endo
Spy x Family is one of the most hilarious and exciting new shonen manga around. It has yet to be adapted into an anime but thats just a matter of time.
Written and drawn by Tatsuya Endo, Spy x Familybegins with legendary spy Twilight, a man of mystery whose newest mission tasks him with getting close to a dangerous and corrupt politician. To do that, however, Twilight must assemble an entire family.
The politician he is after is famously reclusive, and the only way for Twilight to get near him is by adopting a child and enrolling her in the same school that his targets children attend.
When Twilight meets six-year-old Anya at a local orphanage, he adopts her without knowing that she is a telepath her powers were bestowed upon her by scientific testing.
Next, Twilight meets Yor, a young woman desperately in need of a boyfriend in order to better blend into ordinary society. Unbeknownst to Twilight, Yor is also a trained and accomplished assassin by night.
With that, we have a delightful setup for a comedy action shonen manga that meets and succeeds all expectations.
Spy x Familyis exquisitely drawn, carrying both its comedy and action scenes flawlessly, with gorgeous character and environmental details .
The comedy in this series is laugh-out-loud, with a lot of it coming from Anya, a wide-eyed and sweet girl who often becomes overwhelmed by her telepathic powers.
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Chainsaw Man By Tatsuki Fujimoto
At the time of writing, it has just been announced that the Chainsaw Manmanga is getting an anime adaptation. This is big news because Chainsaw Man has been the hot modern shonen manga of the last year or so.
This trend of horror infusion into modern shonen manga continues here with Chainsaw Man. Though this series is having a lot more fun with it. In zombie terms, its more Dead Rising than 28 Days Later.
So, yes, Chainsaw Manis a shonen manga, but only barely. It has an unlovable, childish protagonist, an absurd premise, and a thirst for blood and chaos.
Its far more seinen than shonen in both its visuals and its themes. But thats the trend that modern shonen manga has taken.
Chainsaw Mantells the story of Denji, a hot-headed and not entirely clever young man in debt to the yakuza .
Fortunately, the world is populated by devils, born from human fear and frequently hunted by people like Denji, who is looking to reduce his debt by working as a devil hunter.
When the story begins, Denji is accompanied by his pet devil dog named Pochita. Pochita is a friendly devil who happens to look and work like a chainsaw.
When Denji is betrayed and killed by the same yakuza his is working off his depts for, his body merges with Pochitas and he is reborn as a human-devil hybrid with the powers of a chainsaw.
The initial plot is absurd, and Fujimoto is very much aware of that. Its a story with dark and brutal elements, while also leaning on the absurd and the funny.
What Is A Shounen Anime Genre: A Term In Perpetual Evolution
The rules of the Shounen anime genre dont know any limit. The definition of the term remains vague and in perpetual evolution. In fact, each classic shônen anime contributes to defining the codes of the Shounen.
For example, Dragon Ball and Saint Seya knew how to pose the basics followed by One Piece in which Eichiro Oda puts more emphasis on the desire to surpass oneself, to realize ones dreams and to exceed ones own limits, becoming a new source of inspiration for the new Shnen anime like Boku no Hero Academia for example.
Naruto also offers an interesting added value. It is not an initiatory journey, even if the themes of learning, coming of age and dreams remain very important.
In Narutos story, Masashi Kishimoto increasingly emphasizes the attachment to the nation. Naruto is ready to do anything to defend his country, his native land, despite the inhabitants rejection of him.
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My Hero Academia By Kohei Horikoshi
Lets start off with something that certainly is suitable for kids, but one that is also filled from the crown to the toe top full of thoughtful themes, compelling villains, and character arcs that more resemble twisting, winding roads.
My Hero Academiais the biggest shonen manga and shonen anime in the world right now .
Inspired by eighty years of American superhero comics from the folks at Marvel and DC, My Hero Academiais a Japanese manga series that puts its own spin on a world populated by superheroes.
My Hero Academia in an alternate world where the majority of people have some sort of unique trait or other .
People with the most powerful quirks often end up trying to use them for personal gain and become supervillains, while others with a better moral compass train to become professional heroes.
Our young shonen protagonist, Deku , worships Japans mightiest hero, All Might, only to find out that his own quirk never manifested.
His dreams are dashed until a freak incident puts him in All Mights path, and Japans greatest hero passes the power of his own quirk onto Deku.
My Hero Academiahas been running for some time and it has gone from strength to strength. The series is consistently smart, taking the moral questions, themes, and tropes of superhero comics and using them to carve out compelling new story arcs with speed and consistency.
The Japanese Word Shounen
The Japanese word shounen is spelled as which means boy or juvenile when translated into English. If we were to put an age range on it, I would say that it applies to middle school to high school age.
In other words, its used to describe a minor from the age of 12 to about 18.
You know how we might call out Hey, boy or something like You, young man when we are trying to get the attention of a kid whose name we dont know? Well, the word shounen can be used in a similar situation in Japanese.
Although I dont hear it used by people in the real world all that often, I do hear it used in anime a fair amount. Even when a person does know the name of a boy, he or she might still decide to refer to them as shounen in place of their name.
This kind of highlights the status difference between the two people, just like you might see in English when an older person says something like Hey, boy. Youd better watch yourself as a warning, even thought they know the kids name is Dan or something.
At any rate, Im sure you get the gist of the words meaning in Japanese at this point. Lets move on to how it applied in Japanese.
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The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K
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Did you watch the previous entry, A Silent Voice, and now you are sad? Well, we have just the anime for you.
The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K is an anime counterpart for its Manga. The manga was written and illustrated by Asou Shuuichi.
It’s a comedy series that focuses on the life of Kusuo Saiki. He might look like a normal guy but can actually use psychic powers.
But despite that, he is still chill. Instead, he doesn’t want any of these powers and aims for a normal life.
The story follows his hardships with these powers in a fun and humorous manner. So if a refreshing anime is your search then Saiki can help you out.
Dr Stone By Riichiro Inagaki And Boichi
While a lot of classic shonen manga followed many of the tropes weve already mentioned, modern shonen manga is taking the genre in more fun and varied directions.
One Punch Man has added a lot of comedy, satire, and philosophy to the genre and Dr. Stonebrings the edutainment genre to the world of modern shonen manga.
Before it was adapted into a anime series, Dr. Stonewas the big shonen manga for those manga readers that love to have something unique which anime viewers cant share with them.
And while the anime is excellent, the Dr. Stone manga remains something very well worth reading.
The biggest reason for that, in my opinion, is the writing. The translation of the Dr. Stonemanga is handled by Caleb Cook, who also happens to be the translator for the My Hero Academia manga and Hells Paradise: Jigokuraku .
Caleb Cook is one of the best translators in the business. Hes so good, in fact, that Ill pick up a book if I know hes the translator, even if the initial premise of the manga doesnt grab me. And thats exactly what happened with the Dr. Stonemanga.
Dr. Stoneis a post-apocalyptic manga series about an arrogant, brash scientific genius .
When a sudden apocalypse turns everyone in the world into a statue, Senku is one of the first humans to return to life after nature has reclaimed the land over the course of 3,700 years.
This is a fun and inventive approach that, to my knowledge, has never been applied to modern shonen manga before.
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Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken
What else is there to say to make you watch this?
Out of all the isekai series saturating the market ever since the debut of Sword Art Online, this has been a rare refreshing take on that whole genre.
Instead of being a generic male novice, this sees the main character live his new life as a slime a cute, small slime.
With a rich and vivid fantasy world, plus a lighthearted vibe that sometimes makes me think of KonoSuba, the anime is such a good relaxer after a long day.
Rimuru Tempest is one of the most lovable anime protagonists of the past decade, and I cant wait for the sadly delayed second season to arrive.
Best Shonen Anime Ever
Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, and many more – anime’s shounen series tend to be very popular. But which are the best shows of them all?
Though shonen can often be derided for its formulaic nature, it still remains one of the most popular anime genres of them all. Thats due in no large part to most of the series knowing what theyre best at and sticking to it: Impressive fight scenes, strong and often likable character archetypes, and powerful stories surrounding themes of friendship, family, and being an all-around decent person.
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Still, over the years theres been no shortage of impressive shonen anime thanks both to Shonen Jump and its many competitors. So for this list, were cutting things down to the cream of the crop. Which shonen anime stands as King among them all?
Not everyone is impressed by the shonen genre of anime since it is known for following a rather simplistic formula and many of the shows fall into cliché plots and stories. However, despite its familiarity, shonen anime remains extremely popular. We thought now would be a good time to update this list and add a few more fantastic shows for those who are looking for their next shonen anime addiction.
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Looking For Example Shows
There are quite a few good resources that you can use to find new and interesting anime , but what I typically do is check out the lists on My Anime List.
There is one in particular that is devoted to the shounen manga genre that I think you might find useful for the purposes of finding new and interesting stories.
The reason why I have it go to the manga is because there is a much larger selection than the anime.
And if its a fairly popular story, then there is a good chance that there is an anime adaptation of it as well. Im sure that you can find it by searching the name in a good streaming service like Crunchyroll or Funimation.
The Promised Neverland By Kaiu Shirai And Posuka Demizu
This is a pretty important one for a number of reasons. In fact, if this list was in order of quality or importance , The Promised Neverlandwould be at the top.
The Promised Neverlandis a shonen manga that stands head-and-shoulders above the rest and, more than any other, it demonstrates what sets modern shonen manga apart from its predecessors.
Set in a quaint and idyllic country manor called Grace Field House, the series follows a group of orphans who have all grown up under the watchful eye of Isabella, their Mother.
Our protagonists are the three eldest orphans, twelve-year-olds Emma, Norman, and Ray.
The mangas very first chapter reveals the truth of Grace Field House: that the world outside is run by monstrous demons and that their home is a farm for raising humans as cattle.
Thus begins a desperate escape attempt consisting of tactical mind games against Isabella.
The reason why The Promised Neverlandis so important is that it shares so few tropes with classic shonen manga. Its a series that, as it progresses, crosses paths with every single genre you can think of: mystery, horror, fantasy, science fiction, dystopia.
The Promised Neverlandelevates the genre of shonen manga to new heights entirely. It explores outside the box that the shonen genre has placed itself in. Its plot and setting feel reminiscent of Kazuo Ishiguros Never Let Me Go. At least, at the beginning.
But The Promised Neverlandgrows and evolves like no other manga out there.
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