Super Official Anime Discussion Thread

[Super_Boom]

pokoko said:

Shounen can't be a genre because it contains many different genres.

To Love-Ru, Bakuman, Sket Dance, Detective Conan, Love Hina, Dagashi Kashi, The World Only God Knows, Nisekoi, Baby Steps, Hayate the Combat Butler, Sankarea, and Yamada-kun & the Seven Witches are all well-known examples of shounen.  None of these would fall into the same genre as, for example, Naruto.

In Japan, there is one, true definition for "shounen":  it's published in a shounen magazine.  Same for the rest of the categories.  It's as simple as that.  That's why when people say they want more shounen series, other people are like, "but what kind of shounen do you want?"  Detective anime?  Sports anime?  Harem anime?  In that context, it doesn't tell us very much.

I was going to respond to this topic once I got home...but it looks like you said everything I had to say. Well done, sir.

I'm probably guilty of using the wrong labels myself...mostly because of how widespread the genre/demographic confusion is. Really though, it's true that you can find almost anything in shounen magazines. Even in Jump alone (*checks out sig*) we have romance, comedies, SoL, and even a freaking cooking manga getting cover billing. These really aren't the exception at this point.

I'd also add that the reverse side, like when people refer to anything with romance in it as a shoujo, makes me cringe me even more.