Comparison Between Shoujo Manga and Shounen Manga

¶ … Manga

A Comparison of Shoujo and Shounen Manga

Manga and anime have become popular, not just in their original country of Japan, but around the world. This type of animation carries on the tradition of ancient Japanese drawing techniques that have been observed since antiquity. Within the form of manga are types that have specific meaning to the people who are watching the resulting art. These types, shoujo and shounen, have differing characteristics that are both gender specific and demonstrate different techniques. This essay seeks to inform the reader regarding specific differences in the forms, as well as what their distinct features and characteristics are.

The two animation art forms in Japanese culture are manga and anime. Manga is a form of drawing that is descended from some of the traditional wood block art that has been popular in that country for centuries. Anime is the Japanese word for animation and it is a more recent adaptation specifically for film use. Manga is seen more as the comic book form because of its artistic heritage. Although the two forms differ in usage, they have basically the same visual elements that distinguish them from Western animation.

The two types of manga mentioned, shoujo and shounen, are distinguished by the age and gender group that they are associated with. Shoujo manga is meant to appeal to teenage women from the ages of ten to 18. The term shoujo literally means "little female." On the other hand, shounen manga is targeted at boys aged ten and up. The literal meaning for that term is "few year." The different types of animation have specific features that endear them to the specific group at which they are targeted.

Shoujo manga is not all that different from other types of manga when it comes to the actual drawings, but the subject matter is very different. As in most cultures, the girls of Japan are seen to be more interested in more emotional and relational subject matter. For this reason, starting in 1903, Japanese artists began to develop magazines that specifically dealt with subjects that appealed to a young female audience. Unfortunately for the female fans of the form, publishers of animated magazines did not originally see this as a profitable venture. So, there were not very many shoujo manga magazines for young girls to buy. This changed after the Second World War. Spurred by new economic growth, Japanese consumers, especially women and girls, realized a freedom they had not previously enjoyed. Because of this fact, the producers of shoujo manga realized that they had a new, powerful demographic that they could market products to. The number of manga magazines and comic books that had shoujo subject matter increased dramatically from the 1950's on. The form became almost as big a seller as the shounen books and magazines that were targeted at boys.

As mentioned, shounen manga is a form that is targeted at boys and young men. The subject matter of this type of manga is sometimes drastically different from that of shoujo manga, but some will still deal cursorily with relational and emotional topics. The difference is that the relationships and emotions are more often based around the camaraderie found in battle sequences or athletic playing fields. The form is also less flowery than shoujo manga which means that the drawings themselves are less complex. The producers of this type of animation have found that boys are more interested in the story than they are the artistry, and the girls see the artistry as a large part of the story. Psychologically this can be seen in the greater complexity of communication that girls demonstrate over boys. Women see subtle cues in the drawing, as they do with all nonverbal communication, that men are less adapted to noticing. Thus, the animation targeted at the boys is less complex, but the stories offer more action than that designed for young women.