Shonen manga is one of, if not the oldest forms of manga in existence, dating as far back as the mid-late 1940s. When TV animation first started to appear in
It’s not exactly clear who wrote the first shonen manga, although it seems Osamu Tezuka played a key role in the early days of shonen manga if he didn’t invent the genre with titles like Jungle Taitei and various one shots. Although you could argue that all manga prior to the 50s was either kodomo or shonen, since shojo, which was introduced by Tezuka with Ribbon no Kishi, seinen, and gekiga were not introduced until then. The first half-hour shonen anime series (or anime series period, no less) was Tezuka’s anime adaptation of Tetsuwan Atom/Astro Boy, (1963) which had been serialized in Kobunsha’s Shonen starting in 1952. This paved the way for various other manga (mostly shonen, but a few shojo) to be adapted into anime for the next decade, as well as some original anime productions being made.
In the wake of Tezuka’s success, many other mangaka began to emerge during the late 1950s and early 1960s, inspired by his approach to manga and adding many things to the shonen (and in some cases, shojo) genre. These included (but were not limited to) Mitsuteru Yokoyama, (Tetsujin-28, Kamen no Ninja Akakage, Giant Robo,
It was also during this time period that the three major publishers of manga established their primary shonen magazines that are still in print today. These are Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine, (1959) Shogakukan’s Weekly Shonen Sunday, (1959) and Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump. (1968) There are and were various other shonen magazines in print before and after this time, but many have ceased publication, changed their format to carry other types of manga, or never reached the level of success of these three. Since these are the three largest manga publishers in
As anime and manga progressed from the 60s into the 70s, new mangaka began to emerge and new ideas began to spring up. It was also at this time period that many anime made originally as anime and not based on manga began to show up. A division between anime and manga first began to appear here, with both moving in their own directions while influencing the other. As such, they’re not shonen in the same sense of the shonen titles being discussed, but they are heavily influenced by the shonen works that preceded them. Prominent shonen mangaka of this time period included Tetsuya Chiba, (Ashita no Joe) Go Nagai, (Devilman, Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, Cutie Honey) Keiji Nakazawa (
The 1980s is probably where many agree the modern shonen manga and anime were born. Toriyama hit major success with his toilet comedy and gag manga, Dr. Slump, Rumiko Takahashi became popular because of her siutuational comedy and character relationships in Urusei Yatsura, and Tetsuo Hara and Buronson popularized martial arts with their violent fighting manga Hokuto no Ken. Sports manga hit it big following off of their predecessors, with new sports mangas like Youichi Takahashi’s Captain Tsubasa. After finishing Dr. Slump, Toriyama went on to make the famous Dragonball manga combining his own sense of humor and attempting to integrate elements of martial arts and fighting from Hokuto no Ken into an adventure story. All of these manga were extremely popular manga, and were all made into extremely popular anime. It would be this generation of shonen manga and anime that came to represent what is commonly thought of when the words “shonen” are mentioned regarding manga and anime. This generation is also the one that serves as the source of inspiration for many shonen authors today. As for contemporary shonen, well, there’s more than a fair share of it out there, for some recommendations continue reading the article.
So now that we have the history out of the way, what else is there to shonen manga and anime? Well there is the question: “What are the defining elements of shonen?” With so many different elements it’s difficult to define the genre, but Weekly Shonen Jump has three elements that it requires of any story submitted, and that I think they work extremely well for defining shonen:
1) Friendship – Camaraderie and teamwork, doing actions for others and the like.
2) Effort – Hard work, diligence, and struggle to make the conflict interesting.
3) Victory – Whether in competition or for the self. This doesn’t mean every ending will a happy one.
Shueisha (WSJ’s publisher) doesn’t specify how these elements have to be implemented, only that they have to be there. Since shonen covers such a wide variety of topics, from fighting, adventure, sports, competition, comedy, romance, history, science fiction, fanservice, fantasy, mystery, slice of life, and much much more, I think shonen is better defined as an idea and spirit covering a large number of genres.
Shonen artstyle has changed greatly over the last 60 years, yet there is a definite style to shonen artwork. Often shonen makes greater use of bolder lines, straighter edges, and fewer curves, but styles vary from artist to artist, and there are many artists capable of drawing in multiple styles for different genres. The method of layout and presentation of panels in shonen manga typically follows Tezuka’s method of manga layout that he pioneered in the late 40s and early 50s, laying out panels in a way so as to best create a “cinematic” feel of motion and action, and external expression of the character’s thoughts and emotions through action, often elements in shonen manga. This is a contrast to style that has evolved for shojo, with layouts more stylized and with emphasis on internal expression, since presentation tends to emphasize internal dialogue, emotional expression through the face, and atmosphere. This is also the reason why there tends to be more shonen anime than shojo anime even though there isn’t currently a substantially larger amount of shonen manga; shonen is typically heavily reliant on movement, and animation is creating motion from still pictures. Even in the cases of many shojo manga that were adapted into anime, many changes are often made to appeal to male tastes. (Sailor Moon being the first example to come to mind) Still, there are always exceptions to the rules in every manga genre.
If all else fails, you can always tell if an anime or manga is shonen or not by finding out what magazine the manga was published in. While this doesn’t really apply for anime original works, (find some other way to categorize them!) The majority of shonen titles are published in a shonen magazine, many of which have the word “shonen” in the magazine title. Just make sure not to confuse shonen and seinen! (Seinen are young men’s comics, often published in magazines with the words “young” or “big” in the magazine title.)
So now you’re probably thinking that shonen is a pretty broad genre, there are tons of titles to try out, and now you want to know what to go after? Well I’ve listed several shonen titles (Around five for each time period and format) available in English via retail, fansub, or scanned translation that I recommend for both long time shonen fans and those just getting started. If you would like more information on a series, check out AnimeNewsNetwork or feel free to contact me. There are plenty of other titles I’d like to recommend but many of them remain untranslated… (Mostly older ones) Happy hunting, and be sure to note if a list is manga or anime!
I have bolded titles I highly recommend:
Eyeshield 21
Hagane no Renkenjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist)
Hunter x Hunter
Naruto
Yakitate!!
Bleach
Eyeshield 21
Meitantei Conan
Yakitate!!
Saint Seiya*
*Technically, Saint Seiya aired back in 1986, but the final arc is in the process of being animated.
Contemporary Shonen Manga (1980-1990)
Dr. Slump
Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star)
Urusei Yatsura
Contemporary Shonen Manga (1990-2004)
GTO
H2
Rurouni Kenshin
Contemporary Shonen Anime (1990-2004)
Rurouni Kenshin (1-62 & OVAs)
Tetsujin 28 (2004)
Classic Shonen Manga (Pre 1980)
Cyborg 009
Devilman
Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy)
Ashita no Joe
Galaxy Express 999
Mazinger Z
(This article was written by Musashi9X)