The Problem with Modern Shonen Anime...

The anime industry can be divided not only by literary genres ,such as fantasy or sci-fi but also by demographic. This means splitting the industry into four quadrants, shonen, shojo, seinen, and josei. Arguably, the Shonen demographic is the biggest and most universally appealing of them all, but it's not perfect.

For decades, Shounen has entertained audiences across the world, whisking them on exciting adventures from feudal Japan to remote planets under threat from maniacal aliens. Throughout the many exciting stories they tell, there have been recurring, measurable themes likely encouraged in recent anime by their predecessors.


On the upside, there is plenty to love about Shonen, from inspiring and timeless themes to cool combat systems and great humor. Even so, there are some downsides to shonen; certain aspects of the demographic are iffy or downright terrible in some cases. Even Shonen's biggest fans might agree that Shonen's worst side can be a real drag sometimes.


With many stories taking influence from one another's universes, we see the proliferation of common ideas that define the genre. It's time to explore these subjects, noting what works well and does not—whether it falls short of a narrative error or simply perpetuates dated undertones.