3-1 Manga Genres

Genre in manga

A classification primarily based on the target audience of the magazine in which a manga is published.

The four major manga genres

Shōjo, Shōnen, Seinen, Josei.

Shōjo target audience

Girls.

Shōnen target audience

Boys.

Seinen target audience

High teens and adult men.

Josei target audience

Adult women.

What determines manga genre?

The target audience of its magazine, not necessarily its actual readership.

Are target audience and actual readership always the same?

No. Anyone can (and does) read any genre.

Major differences between manga genres

Visual style, storytelling style, and themes.

Gendered preferences in manga genres

Reflect society’s beliefs about what boys and girls are like or should like.

The four major genres are based on

Target audience of manga magazines.

Major shōjo magazines

Margaret, Ribon, Wings, Shojo no tomo, Hana to yume, LaLa.

Major shōnen magazines

Shōnen Jump, Shōnen Magazine, Shōnen Sunday.

Major seinen magazines

Young Jump, Big Comic Spirit, Magazine Z, Young Magazine, Young King.

Major josei magazines

Push, Mystery Sara, Cocohana, Collet.

Shōjo subgenres

BL (Boy’s Love), Yaoi, Shōnen-ai, Yuri.

BL/Yaoi/Shōnen-ai

Male–male romance/erotica primarily for girls and women.

Yuri

Female–female romance.

Shōjo panel layout

Flexible panel shapes with irregular or absent gutters.

Shōjo page composition

Characters frequently escape panel boundaries.

Layered panels

A common visual characteristic of shōjo manga.

Extra-diegetic symbols

Sparkles, flowers, stars, etc. used to express emotion or tone.

Typical shōjo facial design

Large eyes with small nose, mouth, and chin.

Shōjo visual emphasis

Faces and emotions.

Another major shōjo emphasis

Fashion and clothing.

Shōjo treatment of gender

Frequently queers gender, sex, and sexuality.

Asaki Yumemishi genre

Shōjo.

Asaki Yumemishi creator

Yamato Waki.

Asaki Yumemishi publication year

2008.

Asaki Yumemishi illustrates

Layered panels, flexible layouts, and characters escaping panel boundaries.

Crimson Hero genre

Shōjo.

Crimson Hero creator

Takanashi Mitsuba.

Crimson Hero publication year

2005.

Crimson Hero illustrates

Extra-diegetic emotional symbols and typical shōjo facial design.

Illustrated Tale of Genji referenced in lecture

12th century.

Shōnen readership

The broadest readership among manga genres.

Typical shōnen panel layout

Regular panels with clear gutters.

Typical shōnen art style

Cartoony.

Typical shōnen protagonists

Young-looking boys.

Typical shōnen visual emphasis

Action, motion lines, and sound effects.

Typical shōnen sexuality

Heterosexuality.

Core shōnen themes

Friendship, perseverance, success.

Common shōnen humor

Scatological (toilet) humor.

Other common shōnen themes

Objectification of women, sex, violence.

Typical shōnen narrative structure

Heroic journey ending in victory for the underdog.

Popular shōnen subjects

Gag comics, action/adventure, martial arts, war, giant robot (mecha).

Subjects common to both shōjo and shōnen

Gag comics, horror/sci-fi, sports, school.

Dragon Ball genre

Shōnen.

Dragon Ball creator

Toriyama Akira.

Dragon Ball publication years

1984–1995.

Dragon Ball illustrates

Action, motion lines, sound effects, heroic journey.

Dragon Ball combines which subjects?

Gag comedy, action/adventure, martial arts.

Sexual dimorphism

Emphasis or exaggeration of physical differences between men and women.

Shōnen depiction of gender

Sexual dimorphism is emphasized.

Shōnen is the opposite of which shōjo characteristic?

The homo-gender world of shōjo.

How is speed conveyed in shōnen?

Action, motion lines, and sound effects.

Scatological humor

Toilet humor.

Seinen target audience

High teens and adult men.

Seinen art style

More realistic and less cartoony than shōnen.

Seinen page layout

More sophisticated than shōnen.

Typical seinen protagonists

Older protagonists.

Typical seinen themes

Business, sex, gambling, hobbies.

Seinen depiction of gender

Sexual dimorphism is emphasized even more than in shōnen.

Josei alternative name

Lady’s Comics.

Josei target audience

Adult women.

Josei art style

More realistic and less cartoony than shōjo.

Josei page layout

More sophisticated.

Typical josei protagonists

Older protagonists.

Typical josei themes

Adult themes, especially realistic romance.

Josei compared with shōjo

Often more sexually explicit.

Ladies’ Comics

Pornographic manga for adult women.

BL stands for

Boy’s Love.

Primary BL readership

Shōjo and Josei readers.

BL story

Male homosexual romance.

Typical yuri setting

School.

Typical yuri protagonists

Teenage schoolgirls.

Common yuri theme

Sisterhood.

“Aesthetic of sameness”

Close emotional and romantic bonds between similar girls.

Origin of the aesthetic of sameness

Girls’ magazines of the 1920s–1930s.

1970s shōjo inherited what concept?

The aesthetic of sameness.

“The homogender world of shōjo culture”

Shamoon’s description of 1970s shōjo’s tendency toward sameness in romantic pairs.

S-kankei

S-relationship.

The “S” in S-kankei stands for

Sister.

North American feminine-viewpoint comics

Mostly indie rather than mainstream.

Hollywood films with female leads (2017)

24%.

Major film characters who were female (2017)

37%.

Speaking film characters who were female (2017)

34%.

Does the lecture claim shōjo/shōnen distinctions prove Japan is behind the times?

No. It presents the question for critical discussion.

Affordances (media studies)

The particular possibilities or experiences that a medium or genre enables.

Lecture’s conclusion about manga genres

Different genres provide different affordances and experiences for creators and readers.