NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Shonen

Shōnen (少年), commonly spelled shounen, is a Japanese word usually translated as "young boy", although it is commonly used to refer to males of up to high-school age as well. The word is composed of the characters meaning "few" and "year[s]". The word can also mean "pure of heart". In English, it usually refers to anime and manga which is primarily intended for boys, although there can be crossover appeal to girls as well. Some popular examples are Mobile Suit Gundam, Dragon Ball, and Fist of the North Star. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A scene from Cowboy Bebop (1998) Anime (アニメ) is Japanese animation, sometimes billed in the west under the portmanteau Japanimation. ... Rurouni Kenshin manga, volume 1 (English version) Manga (漫画) is the Japanese word for comics; outside of Japan, it usually refers specifically to Japanese comics. ... Mobile Suit Gundam (Japanese: 機動戦士ガンダム) is a televised anime that was written and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino and is made up of 43 episodes that were aired in 1979. ... Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール) is a Japanese manga by Akira Toriyama serialized in the weekly anthology magazine Weekly Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1995 and originally collected into 42 individual books. ... Fist of the North Star (Japanese: 北斗の拳; Hokuto no Ken) was a manga series that was originally serialized between 1983 and 1988 in the Weekly Japanese version of Shonen Jump, originally created by Tetsuo Hara. ...

Shōnen anime and manga is characterized by high-action, often humorous plots featuring male protagonists. The camaraderie between boys or men on sports teams, fighting squads, etc. is often emphasized. Unrealistically attractive female characters are also common (see fanservice), but are not a requirement—Dragon Ball Z for example has only a few unremarkable female characters. The art style of shōnen also tends to be less flowery than that of shōjo, although there is significant variability by artist. Fanservice (or fan service) is a vaguely defined term used in visual media, particularly in the anime fandom (in Japanese, it is simply spoken as service (saabisu)), to refer to elements in a story that while potentially superfluous to a storyline, are designed to amuse or excite the audience. ... The Dragon Ball Z logo (English manga) Dragon Ball Z (ドラゴンボール Z, Doragon Bōru Z) is the long-running sequel to the popular shōnen anime Dragon Ball. ... Shōjo (少女 lit. ...

In contrast to shōnen, anime and manga for men (college age and up) is called seinen. Despite a number of significant differences, many Western fans don't make a distinction between shōnen and seinen. This is due to the fact that very few seinen manga have been published outside of Japan. On the other hand, many older men in Japan read shōnen magazines because of their ease of reading during commutes to and from work on trains. Consequently shōnen magazines (including Shonen Jump) are the most popular manga magazines in Japan. Seinen (Japanese: 青年) is a subset of anime or manga that is generally targeted at a 18 - 25 year old male audience, but the audience can be much older with some comics aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. ... In rail transport, a train consists of a single or several connected rail vehicles that are capable of being moved together along a guideway to transport freight or passengers from one place to another along a planned route. ... Shonen Jump, volume 1, issue 1 (English version) Weekly Shonen Jump (週刊少年ジャンプ Shūkan Shōnen Janpu), with a circulation of over 3 million, is one of the longest-running, weekly manga compilations in Japan. ... This is a listing, by country of publication and target audience, of manga magazines. ...

Several series have notorious female audiences, who predominantly included them in non-canonical yaoi (and even shota-con) fanwork and dōjinshi. In the context of fiction, the canon of a fictional universe comprises those novels, stories, films, etc. ... Cover of Fake by Sanami Matoh. ... Shotacon (ショタコン,ショタ) is a japanese and animanga term for a sexual complex where an adult, usually male, is attracted to an underage boy. ... Dōjinshi (; also romanized as doujinshi) are self-published Japanese works, including but not limited to comic books ( manga), novels, fan guides, art collections, and games. ...

Also see shōjo—anime and manga intended for girls, josei—anime and manga intended for adult women, and seinen—anime and manga intended for adult men. Shōjo (少女 lit. ... Josei (Japanese: 女性, lit. ... Seinen (Japanese: 青年) is a subset of anime or manga that is generally targeted at a 18 - 25 year old male audience, but the audience can be much older with some comics aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. ...

List of shōnen anime and manga

(NOTE: this list does not include seinen titles) Seinen (Japanese: 青年) is a subset of anime or manga that is generally targeted at a 18 - 25 year old male audience, but the audience can be much older with some comics aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. ...

Categories: Anime | Japanese terms | Manga Angelic Layer (エンジェリックレイヤー Enjerikku Reiyā) is an anime and manga series released by the manga team CLAMP. The manga is published in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten. ... Bleach (ブリーチ) is a manga and anime series by Tite Kubo (久保帯人 Kubo Taito), mangaka of Zombie Powder. ... Boys Be (ボーイズ・ビー) is an anime TV-series published in 2000 by Hal Film Maker in 13 episodes. ... Devil Hunter Yohko (a. ... Digimon (Japanese: デジモン, Romaji dejimon) was originally a dueling digital pet (digi pet), or tamagotchi, called Digital Monster created by Bandai on June 26th, 1997, although it had been clear that Bandai had been planning Digimon since the beginning of that year. ... Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール) is a Japanese manga by Akira Toriyama serialized in the weekly anthology magazine Weekly Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1995 and originally collected into 42 individual books. ... Fist of the North Star (Japanese: 北斗の拳; Hokuto no Ken) was a manga series that was originally serialized between 1983 and 1988 in the Weekly Japanese version of Shonen Jump, originally created by Tetsuo Hara. ... Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. ... Gate Keepers [ゲートキーパーズ] is a Japanese anime series produced by GONZO. It was broadcasted in Japan in the year 2000. ... Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny is the second TV series set in the Cosmic Era universe of Gundam. ... Gundam is a collective term for the Universal Century (UC) series like Mobile Suit Gundam and series in alternative timelines, such as Gundam Wing, made by Sunrise Inc. ... Fighting Spirit, known in Japan as Hajime no Ippo (はじめの一歩) is a sports anime and manga series created by Jyoji George Morikawa (森川ジョージ) which was serialized by Kodansha in Shonen Weekly (週刊少年マガジン). ... Hikaru no Go (ヒカルの碁) is a popular Japanese anime and manga coming of age story based on the board game Go written by Yumi Hotta and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. ... Hunter × Hunter is a manga by Yoshihiro Togashi about a 12-year-old boy named Gon Freaks, and his quest to find his father, Gin Freaks. ... Initial D (頭文字D Kashimoji Dī) (pronounced i-ni-sh&l dE) is an anime series published by Avex, based on the manga. ... Love Hina manga, volume 1 (North America English version) Love Hina (ラブひな Rabu Hina) is a popular manga (and anime) series by author Ken Akamatsu. ... Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke with the logo of the series they star in. ... Onegai Teacher (おねがい☆ティーチャー) is anime and manga, about a boy, Kei Kusanagi, who suffers from a very rare disease that puts him in a standstill, a functionally comatose state caused by stress or extreme anxiety, lasting anywhere from hours to months or longer. ... One Piece (ワンピース wanpīsu) also known as Drake, and the search for treasure in Greece, is ananime and manga about a crew of pirates led by Monkey D. Luffy who set out in search of the legendary treasure One Piece. ... Ranma ½ Graphic Novel, Volume 1 English version, Second Edition Ranma ½ (らんま½, Japanese pronunciation: Ranma Nibun no Ichi) is a comedy anime and manga by Rumiko Takahashi (高橋留美子) about a boy named Ranma Saotome (早乙女乱馬) who was trained from early childhood to age 16 in the martial... Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac logo (English manga) Saint Seiya (聖闘士星矢), also known as Knights of the Zodiac, is an anime and manga series about a group of five mystical warriors called the Saints (or Knights) who have adopted various constellations as their totems of power. ... Anime frame from the opening showing Tenma, the main female character. ... Shaman King logo Shaman King (シャーマンキング Shāman Kingu) is both an anime series and a manga series by Hiroyuki Takei. ... Slayers (スレイヤーズ Sureiyāzu) is an anime and manga series based on a series of graphic novels written by Kanzaka Hajime that parodies RPGs with the story of Lina Inverse and Gourry. ... Steel Angel Kurumi (鋼鉄天使くるみ; Kôtetsu Tenshi Kurumi) is a manga series and an anime series; it has been translated and released in the U.S. by ADV. The English dub features the voice acting of Claudia Black, an actor known for her role in the Farscape science fiction series. ... Trigun manga, volume 1 (English version) Trigun (トライガン) is a sci-fi manga series with a steampunk Wild West theme created by Yasuhiro Nightow in 1995, and adapted into a 26 episode anime series in 1998 by Madhouse. ... Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE (ツバサ－RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE－) is a manga made by CLAMP which is running in Shonen Magazine in Japan. ... Urusei Yatsura (うる星やつら) is a well-known 1970s and 1980s manga and anime series created by Rumiko Takahashi. ... Video Girl Ai (電影少女) is a manga series created by Masakazu Katsura and published by Shueishas Weekly Shonen Jump. ... Whistle! (ホイッスル！) is a manga by Daisuke Higuchi. ... Yu-Gi-Oh! manga volume 1 (English version) Yu-Gi-Oh! (遊☆戯☆王 yūgiō, Japanese for King of Games) is a popular Japanese anime and manga franchise from Kazuki Takahashi that mainly involves characters who play a card game called Duel Monsters (originally called Magic and Wizards (M&W... YuYu Hakusho logo (English manga) YuuYuu Hakusho (幽★遊★白書 YūYū Hakusho, literally The Playful Ghost White Paper, meaning Ghost Files/Poltergeist Report) is a manga and anime series by Yoshihiro Togashi. ...