Manga Terminology 101 ~ Doujin Manga Society

You might have seen me or several other people maybe even yourself using these terms, but for my surprise the notion I had for some of the basic terminology of Manga were incredible wrong.

Things are not as simple as they seem.

Originally my intention with this post was to share the definition for the terms we commonly use in DMS to label or classify some Anime or Manga into different genres.

Though as I made my research and found out that not only us, but also several fans and major publishers in the western use this terms immensely wrong. I have decided to clarify once and for all what each of this terms actually are used for and what they really mean.

The basics terms I will be explaining today are the following:

Shonen

I won't even ask why are they dressed as "Toreros"

Shojo

Those..eyes..they are staring into my soul!!

Seinen

This guy really likes black

Josei

We all know what this 2 are doing tonight

Just a little clarification before I start, unlike what I (and probably many others believed) thought these terms are not genres per se, but rather the target demographic they are aimed for.

Shonen

The most common type of Manga and incredible enough the most wrongly labeled.

Fans usually classify Shonen as a Manga or Anime that has a male protagonist, that is often involved in an epic journey to either fight evil, become a star athlete at a specific sport or game and even just the daily life of a teenage boy as he grows and enjoys the blessings of friendship.

The truth is what really says or gives the term "Shonen" to a Manga has minimal to do with the story, characters or characteristics of its art. What determines if a Manga is Shonen or not is the magazine where it's being serialized.

Let me introduce to all of you dear readers a Shonen Manga which doesn't have a Male protagonist nor action nor fan service nor anything that we commonly associate with Shonen Manga

Yes this is also a Shonen!

Yotsuba! tells the story of a 5 year old adopted girl who might seem a bit odd and ignorant to many things a kid her age should known, the story focuses on her misadventures with her friends as she learns new things and often confuse their intended purposes.

This Manga is being serialized and published in the weekly Shonen Manga magazine Dengeki Daioh since March 2003

Shojo

This type of Manga are commonly aimed towards girls from 10 to 18 years old, usual characteristics includes the interaction with characters in romantic ways or just deep emotional interaction between characters.

This, unlike the previous term, seems to be easily identified, right? Well my dear readers as you I thought as well that I could easily identify a Shojo Manga by its art and characteristics.

And this!! Is yet another Shonen...

A complete cast of female characters, with a comedy-slice of life style in most of its chapters and the main focus of the series is the daily life and interaction between these characters. Maybe lacking of a true "romantic" interaction this seems to be a pretty safe bet to call it a Shoujo right?

Well let me tell you that this, my dear readers, is actually yet another Shonen Manga form the very same author of the previously mentioned "Yotsuba!"

Seinen

A type of manga that consist mainly of dark and gory story, complex or mature that portrait conflicts at levels that couldn't possible be shown on a Shonen Magazine right?

Examples such as :

An amazing Manga btw~

does contain some 18+ scenes

Comes to mind when we talk about Seinen Manga, yet if you think you know well your Manga, let me share some information with you that might change your mind. As we have seen this stories show dark characters, mature content and a great measure of seriousness and drama.

So let me present to you yet another Seinen Manga:

Believe it or not this is a Seinen Manga

K-On! this lovely Anime that has a cast of female high school student as the main protagonist, whose dreams is to form a band and become pros one day and most of the episodes features their daily lives at school and their progress into a famous band. It is a Seinen Manga...despise the fact I knew about the well suggestive interaction between some characters in the Manga, to be completely honest I would have never classify "K-On!" as a Seinen yet that's what it is.

Josei

While the term "Josei" might not be as known as the previous, as Seinen they are the more mature version of Shojo Manga. In this stories the romance portrayed is more realistic and usually show more sexually explicit material then the Shojo conter part. Yet several Josei work deviates from the Shojo formula and might have a Male protagonist or an entire cast of male characters.

Let me present to you one of the most popular Josei work's

No it's not Yaoi.....

Karneval a story that focus on a young boy who has nothing but a mysterious bracelet,must find someone important to him, then he meets Gareki who survives in a rough situation, stealing and pick-pocketing to survive. After they meet they soon became wanted criminals by military security.

I know the image might not look like it, but the story is packed with action and guns...yet what most people notice is the rather suggestive interaction between the male characters.

Josei Manga is often label as Yaoi in the west due to the romantic relations between its characters.

That concludes this informative post and I hope this have enlighten some of you, I have to admit that some of my findings were nothing less than mind blowing and from now on I will make sure to make a proper research before labeling an Anime or Manga.
As always I welcome all of you to share your thought and opinion with us in our comment section down below.