As I talked about Shonen last week, you might've guessed what this week's theme would be. That's right, shojo, or manga/anime aimed at girls. While Shonen usually focuses on fighting and lots of male characters, shojo tends to lean more towards relationships and female characters.
As with Shonen Jump, there is a magazine specifically for shojo, and it is called Shojo Beat. The North American magazine currently serializes Absolute Boyfriend, Crimson Hero, Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time, Honey and Clover, Sand Chronicles, and Vampire Knight. All of the SB titles that aren't in the magazine can be found here. I don't read any of them, so I can't list them offhand like I could for shonen.
Other popular shojo titles not owned by SB are: Fruits Basket, and just about anything written by CLAMP and/or Yu Watase. CLAMP titles include Cardcaptor Sakura, Tsubasa, xxxHolic, x/1999, Chobits, Clover, Magic Knights Rayearth, Legal Drug, and I don't even know how many more. Now, not all consider CLAMP to be strictly shojo, but with the number of supposedly implied yaoi pairings like Domeki/Watanuki, those two guys from Legal Drug, Fai/Kurogane (none of which I agree with, especially that last one. Kurogane's in love with Tomoyo!) I find it easier to just consider them all shojos.
Fruits Basket is one of the best manga series I've ever read, let alone the best shojo. The description is so outrageous, I'm not going to bother writing it for fear that it would make you want to not read it, but it really is a great series.
Yu Watase is the author of such famous shojo titles as: Absolute Boyfriend, Alice 19th, and Fushigi Yugi. I read the first volume of Fushigi Yugi and one chapter of Absolute Boyfriend. They weren't really my taste, but they were good enough.
Characteristics of shojo manga are: Female main character; "bi-shonen" male characters (atractive men with a feminine look); the "Jane Austen" syndrome: two characters are obviously in love with each other and refuse to admit it and that is the only plot whatsoever; unnecessarily pretty/frilly/poofy costumes (Tokyo Mew Mew, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Kamichari Karin); yaoi; lack of backgrounds; and a number of other things that I won't go into. As you may be able to tell, I'm a bit biased against shojos. Probably because some of my friends force them onto me, and, me being the obsessed otaku that I am, I read them only to find that they're almost exactly alike. Example: Hana Kimi and Girl Got Game. Girl crossdresses so she can go to a boy's school. Example: Tokyo Mew Mew and Sailor Moon. Group of girls fight the forces of evil. (though I actually love both of those series ^_^; ) Example: Kare Kano, Nana, Imadoki, and about a billion others. Girl likes guy and/or guy likes girl but they go back and forth while juggling high school, sports, clubs, whatever eccentricities they have.
Now, this isn't to say that ALL shojo are like that. In fact, I could have said the same thing about some shonens, but I like shonen. ^_^;; In reality, all the series I mentioned are rather popular. It's just a matter of taste.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Bethel Park Anime #11--Shonen
Hello all! ^_^ After a month-long break, I'm back. Things have been awfully busy over here, but I'll try to update more often from now on.
Today our topic is shonen! There are two main classifications of anime/manga: shonen and shojo. Literally, shonen means "boy" and shojo means "girl". Shonen in anime context is an anime aimed at boys, and shojo likewise is aimed at girls. You may have heard of the magazines Shonen Jump and Shojo Beat. These magazines and subsequnet graphic novels are exclusively either Shonen or Shojo, and are the best examples of sterotypical shonens and shojos. Some people scorn SJ's mangas, but as their slogan states, they ARE the world's most popular manga. American SJ currently serializes Bleach, Bobobo, Naruto, Hikaru No Go, Yu Yu Hakusho, One Piece, and Yugioh GX. They also used to run Shaman King, Yugioh, Yugioh: Millennium World (which came to its natual end, a first for the American SJ), Gin Tama, and Dragon Ball Z. Other titles that SJ publishes but does not run in the magazine are: Death Note, D.Gray-Man, Eyeshield 21, Knights of the Zodiac, Yugioh: Duelist (which in Japan is the same series as Yugioh and Yugioh: Millennium World, but Viz broke it into 3 parts in America so they could release it faster), Rurouni Kenshin, Hunter x Hunter, Beet the Vandel Buster, Buso Renkin, Zombie Powder, Legendz, Reborn, BLack Cat, Claymore, and many, many more...
SJ, while the most obvious publisher of shonen manga, is certainly not the only one. Viz, who owns SJ, has another line of Shonen manga that includes the famous Fullmetal Alchemist. The reason this is published as a Viz action title and not a Shonen Jump title is because they did not run in Monthly or Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. Most mangas in Japan run in a magazine before they are transferred to a graphic novel. FMA, I believe, runs in Monthy Shonen Gangan.
Really, all manga publishers have some shonen to their name, but some titles (and authors) are more obviously shonen than others. Typical characteristics of shonen manga and anime are:
1. The plot is based on fighting/battling. (usually, but not necessarily physically, as we can see with Yugioh and Hikaru No Go)
2. FANSERVICE. X_x As a girl who likes shonen manga, I can't STAND shonen fanservice. Short skirts, low-cut shirts, random yuri hints are all telltale signs of an expected male audience. (Chrono Crusade or Bleach, anyone?)
3. Anti-hero(es). Not a villian exactly, but not a friend to the protagonist, either. Vegeta, Kaiba, Len, Hiei, Manjoume, Renji, Saito, whatshisface from Inuyasha... Kagu? and countless others that I can't think of at the moment.
This isn't really the best example, but if a series has men that are either very masculine, have scars and/or are not attractive, there's a good chance it's a shonen, since shojos typically have very girly-looking, "attractive" men.
The success of an anime series isn't determined by what group of people it's aimed at, but shonen seem to be extra-popular in America, especially with those who don't usually watch anime. We've gone through at least 8 shonen "waves" in my lifetime that I can think of offhand. The first, from waaaay back when, would of course be Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z. The next would be Pokemon. (which completley blew away the wave that could have been Digimon) Yugioh, unfortuantely, got in on Pokémon's success, even though the two are nothing alike. (the simimlarity between cards and monsters apparently was enough, though) Somewhere in there is Inuyasha. I'm not really sure where because I never watched it myself. ^_^;; Then there was a break for a few years when Yugioh went downhill. (robot talking monkeys, anyone?) Naruto was the next BIG hit, and is still going strong today. Fullmetal Alchemist was about the same time as Naruto, but was on much later, and is a much more complex (and BETTER) series, so I think appealed more to otaku than everyday tv watchers. Still, FMA made a big impact, though moreso on the anime community. Bleach was SJ's next big release, which is also still going strong. The most recent shonen anime craze would be Death Note. DN's only got about 38 episodes, though, so it'll only last a year or two.
In contrast, the biggest shojos to hit the states would be the old-school Sailor Moon, (thankfully not dubbed by 4kids, but still horribly edited) Fruits Basket, and... hmm... I guess DNAngel, Azumanga Daioh... but really, shonen dominates the world of American anime. My personal favorite shonen (and all manga, really) is Fullmetal Alchemist. I highly reccommend this series to anyone 13 and up. (Sorry, but it IS on adult swim) I'm also a fan of the other current big shonens, Naruto, Bleach, Death Note, and secretly am a big fan of the original (for the love of Ra, NOT the dub) Yugioh. Seriously, it's one of the worst dubs in the history of anime. Granted, the whole card game thing can get a little old, but there's some good story in there (underneath all the fillers...) and the original's got some great voice actors. Not to mention that Jounouchi and Mai are my favorite anime couple. (which, honestly, is the only reason I kept watching through season 4) It's certainly not a GREAT anime series, but it's better than some I've seen, and certainly better than the common opinion of it.
In other news, Tekkoshocon is quickly approaching. Head on over to tekkoshocon.com to register and get info! Aaron Dismuke (Alphonse Elric) is going to be there, along with Greg Ayres, Matt Greenfield, Tiffany Grant, and others!
Today our topic is shonen! There are two main classifications of anime/manga: shonen and shojo. Literally, shonen means "boy" and shojo means "girl". Shonen in anime context is an anime aimed at boys, and shojo likewise is aimed at girls. You may have heard of the magazines Shonen Jump and Shojo Beat. These magazines and subsequnet graphic novels are exclusively either Shonen or Shojo, and are the best examples of sterotypical shonens and shojos. Some people scorn SJ's mangas, but as their slogan states, they ARE the world's most popular manga. American SJ currently serializes Bleach, Bobobo, Naruto, Hikaru No Go, Yu Yu Hakusho, One Piece, and Yugioh GX. They also used to run Shaman King, Yugioh, Yugioh: Millennium World (which came to its natual end, a first for the American SJ), Gin Tama, and Dragon Ball Z. Other titles that SJ publishes but does not run in the magazine are: Death Note, D.Gray-Man, Eyeshield 21, Knights of the Zodiac, Yugioh: Duelist (which in Japan is the same series as Yugioh and Yugioh: Millennium World, but Viz broke it into 3 parts in America so they could release it faster), Rurouni Kenshin, Hunter x Hunter, Beet the Vandel Buster, Buso Renkin, Zombie Powder, Legendz, Reborn, BLack Cat, Claymore, and many, many more...
SJ, while the most obvious publisher of shonen manga, is certainly not the only one. Viz, who owns SJ, has another line of Shonen manga that includes the famous Fullmetal Alchemist. The reason this is published as a Viz action title and not a Shonen Jump title is because they did not run in Monthly or Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. Most mangas in Japan run in a magazine before they are transferred to a graphic novel. FMA, I believe, runs in Monthy Shonen Gangan.
Really, all manga publishers have some shonen to their name, but some titles (and authors) are more obviously shonen than others. Typical characteristics of shonen manga and anime are:
1. The plot is based on fighting/battling. (usually, but not necessarily physically, as we can see with Yugioh and Hikaru No Go)
2. FANSERVICE. X_x As a girl who likes shonen manga, I can't STAND shonen fanservice. Short skirts, low-cut shirts, random yuri hints are all telltale signs of an expected male audience. (Chrono Crusade or Bleach, anyone?)
3. Anti-hero(es). Not a villian exactly, but not a friend to the protagonist, either. Vegeta, Kaiba, Len, Hiei, Manjoume, Renji, Saito, whatshisface from Inuyasha... Kagu? and countless others that I can't think of at the moment.
This isn't really the best example, but if a series has men that are either very masculine, have scars and/or are not attractive, there's a good chance it's a shonen, since shojos typically have very girly-looking, "attractive" men.
The success of an anime series isn't determined by what group of people it's aimed at, but shonen seem to be extra-popular in America, especially with those who don't usually watch anime. We've gone through at least 8 shonen "waves" in my lifetime that I can think of offhand. The first, from waaaay back when, would of course be Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z. The next would be Pokemon. (which completley blew away the wave that could have been Digimon) Yugioh, unfortuantely, got in on Pokémon's success, even though the two are nothing alike. (the simimlarity between cards and monsters apparently was enough, though) Somewhere in there is Inuyasha. I'm not really sure where because I never watched it myself. ^_^;; Then there was a break for a few years when Yugioh went downhill. (robot talking monkeys, anyone?) Naruto was the next BIG hit, and is still going strong today. Fullmetal Alchemist was about the same time as Naruto, but was on much later, and is a much more complex (and BETTER) series, so I think appealed more to otaku than everyday tv watchers. Still, FMA made a big impact, though moreso on the anime community. Bleach was SJ's next big release, which is also still going strong. The most recent shonen anime craze would be Death Note. DN's only got about 38 episodes, though, so it'll only last a year or two.
In contrast, the biggest shojos to hit the states would be the old-school Sailor Moon, (thankfully not dubbed by 4kids, but still horribly edited) Fruits Basket, and... hmm... I guess DNAngel, Azumanga Daioh... but really, shonen dominates the world of American anime. My personal favorite shonen (and all manga, really) is Fullmetal Alchemist. I highly reccommend this series to anyone 13 and up. (Sorry, but it IS on adult swim) I'm also a fan of the other current big shonens, Naruto, Bleach, Death Note, and secretly am a big fan of the original (for the love of Ra, NOT the dub) Yugioh. Seriously, it's one of the worst dubs in the history of anime. Granted, the whole card game thing can get a little old, but there's some good story in there (underneath all the fillers...) and the original's got some great voice actors. Not to mention that Jounouchi and Mai are my favorite anime couple. (which, honestly, is the only reason I kept watching through season 4) It's certainly not a GREAT anime series, but it's better than some I've seen, and certainly better than the common opinion of it.
In other news, Tekkoshocon is quickly approaching. Head on over to tekkoshocon.com to register and get info! Aaron Dismuke (Alphonse Elric) is going to be there, along with Greg Ayres, Matt Greenfield, Tiffany Grant, and others!
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