| − | '''Shounen''' - Japanese for ''young boy'', Shounen is the most popular genre in Japan and the most well known outside the country. Aimed at young teen boys, Shounen are often action/adventure series featuring martial arts, Japanese and Chinese folklore, simplistic animation and conceptual fantasy and science fiction. Popular titles that have been translated to English include [[Naruto]], Bleach, [[One Piece]], [[Dragonball]]/[[Dragon Ball Z|Z]], Gundam, [[Fullmetal Alchemist]], Prince of Tennis, and [[Sgt. Frog]]. Pokemon, the 1990's superfad, is also Shounen. <br /> | + | '''Shonen''' - Japanese for ''young boy'', Shounen is the most popular genre in Japan and the most well known outside the country. Aimed at young teen boys, Shounen are often action/adventure series featuring martial arts, Japanese and Chinese folklore, simplistic animation and conceptual fantasy and science fiction. Popular titles that have been translated to English include [[Naruto]], Bleach, [[One Piece]], [[Dragonball]]/[[Dragon Ball Z|Z]], Gundam, [[Fullmetal Alchemist]], Prince of Tennis, and [[Sgt. Frog]]. Pokemon, the 1990's superfad, is also Shonen. <br /> |
| − | '''Shoujo''' - Japanese for ''young girl'', Shoujo is also popular outside of Japan, with such famous dubs as Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura (Cardcaptors in America), Tokyo Mew Mew and Fruits Basket. Within Shoujo there is the subgenre of Magical Girl, where an otherwise average Japanese girl has magical powers with which she saves the world. More often than Shounen, Shoujo are romance tales or rely heavily on romance in the plot. The Heroine is often saving the world by night and snagging the boy of her dreams by day. <br /> | + | '''Shojo''' - Japanese for ''young girl'', Shoujo is also popular outside of Japan, with such famous dubs as Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura (Cardcaptors in America), Tokyo Mew Mew and Fruits Basket. Within Shoujo there is the subgenre of Magical Girl, where an otherwise average Japanese girl has magical powers with which she saves the world. More often than Shounen, Shoujo are romance tales or rely heavily on romance in the plot. The Heroine is often saving the world by night and snagging the boy of her dreams by day. <br /> |
| | '''Seinen''' - Japanese for young man, Seinen (or seijin) targets the 18 to 40 male audience, though it is not uncommon to find much older men reading manga on the train ride to work. Good examples of seinen anime and manga include: [[Ghost in the Shell]], Gunslinger Girl, Bartender, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, [[Cowboy Bebop]], Elfen Lied, Aria, Bokura no, [[Hetalia: Axis Powers]], as well as the feature films of [[Satoshi Kon]] and [[Makoto Shinkai]]. Titles like Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell are considered classics, while Cowboy Bebop was the first anime aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Seinen shares many elements with shounen, but is often darker and more mature (or immature, depending on the sense of humor) than Shounen, with horror, mystery and suspense. Sometimes, seinen manga features graphic violence, for example in the film [[Akira]]. Often it will also take a slice-of-life look at stories, and provide deeper character insights than shounen action-driven works.<br /> | | '''Seinen''' - Japanese for young man, Seinen (or seijin) targets the 18 to 40 male audience, though it is not uncommon to find much older men reading manga on the train ride to work. Good examples of seinen anime and manga include: [[Ghost in the Shell]], Gunslinger Girl, Bartender, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, [[Cowboy Bebop]], Elfen Lied, Aria, Bokura no, [[Hetalia: Axis Powers]], as well as the feature films of [[Satoshi Kon]] and [[Makoto Shinkai]]. Titles like Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell are considered classics, while Cowboy Bebop was the first anime aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Seinen shares many elements with shounen, but is often darker and more mature (or immature, depending on the sense of humor) than Shounen, with horror, mystery and suspense. Sometimes, seinen manga features graphic violence, for example in the film [[Akira]]. Often it will also take a slice-of-life look at stories, and provide deeper character insights than shounen action-driven works.<br /> |