Essay about Shojo Manga

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Watson 1

Dominique Watson
Shojo and Shonen

Manga and anime while have different plots, and characters also have different categories. There are many, but we’ll just concentrate on five people usually go for. Alright, let’s begin with shojo. Shojo can be classified as a girly type of manga. This type of anime or manga has a plot, characters, or style of manga those suites girls more, though boys are welcome to read. The cover usually is light and cherry and has either a beautiful boy or girl on it. A girl is usually the main character of the story. A lot of shojo concentrates on romance, fashion, and fluff, but not all have that same vibe. “Shojo manga translates as “comics for girls” – but it’s much more than that. Shojo manga stories can be sweet and romantic or dark and dramatic”.(Aoki, Introduction to Shojo Manga). Fluff is a term to describe overall cuteness and sappy moments. A prime example of a shojo with fluff is of course Fruits Basket. In this anime/manga the girl is the main character and extremely cute. There is also a good bit of romance and emotional moments between the characters. Tohru; the main character and our heroine, is warm, cute and loving. Her personality along with the more than cute cast sets the tone for a shojo worthy manga. These details always stand out whenever reading a shojo manga. Most movies, games, ad anime always have a male as the hero. But, luckily this type of manga gives girls a heroine to look up to and appreciate. Watson 2 Our next one is pretty much the opposite of shojo. This type of manga is called shonen. Shonen is a manga where the hero or main character is almost always a male. In this manga the vibe is more action. The main focus isn’t romance and the emotional moments are not the focus of the anime. “Manga and anime aimed primarily at pre-teen and teenaged boys. Tends to be focused more on "action" than relationships, with romance generally either perfunctory or Played for Laughs.”(TV ropes,Shonen) The overall look of the manga itself is usually more hectic and busy. If it’s a real shonen manga it has lots of movement, action, and fighting. In a shonen manga even something as trivial as playing a card game can become an intense battle. A good example of a shonen manga is Naruto, a very popular manga/anime right now. The main character is actually called Naruto. He’s sweet, energetic, comedic and strong. The whole plot is based on how he has a nine-tailed beast looked inside and people that are after it to control the ninja world. In this story lives are lost and battles are fought to the extreme. The overall setting is a very different vibe from a shojo manga. After you determine whether it’s a shojo or a shonen you have the other categories that come in to make a manga. In the previous paragraphs action, fighting, and romance were already mentioned. A manga or anime can be classified as either a shojo or shonen, and then the other categories that it’s based on. For example, Fruits Basket is a romance shojo with fantasy, angst, comedy, and tragedy. While Naruto is an anime/manga that is a action shonen with fighting, tragedy, comedy. Those categories are almost always in a anime/manga because those are things that are normal in the human world. A artist tries to get there character as realistic as possible. So, as humans we fight, feel sadness
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