Some observations about shounen manga
Feb. 27th, 2006 11:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordustFrom another Anime News Network review of Hikaru no Go:
The great thing about shounen manga these days is that it can be written about pretty much anything without ever breaking from its quirky, inimitable style. You know what I'm talking about. All the one-on-one showdowns, and overwrought speeches on power and skill levels. The funky special techniques. How all the world's problems will inevitably be solved by engaging in some epic duel with the local ideologue. This all used to be pretty well limited to titles centered on martial arts or other similar forms of violence, back in the day. All at once, however, the entire industry seemingly picked up a volume of Dragonball or Hokuto no Ken and decided it would all work just as well without the punching.
They're right, of course. The appeal lies in the means, rather than the end. Diversity is inherently interesting.
And so, there are now shounen action series being written about everything. Somewhere in the depths of a Tokyo manga café there even exists one such series about... baking bread. I don’t remember the name, or how I came across it. None of that is important. What is important is the idea behind such an odd creation--the notion that one could take this premise, and, with enough belief in the process, find a way to leave the reader breathless. Who will win? Can our hero pull through? Watch the bread rise! On the surface, nothing could be more stupid. And yet, it is charming. All because of the unmistakably Japanese thought process that might lead a character to shout, in amazement, "I HAVE NEVER SEEN A YEAST SUCH AS THIS!"
That is shounen manga.
The great thing about shounen manga these days is that it can be written about pretty much anything without ever breaking from its quirky, inimitable style. You know what I'm talking about. All the one-on-one showdowns, and overwrought speeches on power and skill levels. The funky special techniques. How all the world's problems will inevitably be solved by engaging in some epic duel with the local ideologue. This all used to be pretty well limited to titles centered on martial arts or other similar forms of violence, back in the day. All at once, however, the entire industry seemingly picked up a volume of Dragonball or Hokuto no Ken and decided it would all work just as well without the punching.
They're right, of course. The appeal lies in the means, rather than the end. Diversity is inherently interesting.
And so, there are now shounen action series being written about everything. Somewhere in the depths of a Tokyo manga café there even exists one such series about... baking bread. I don’t remember the name, or how I came across it. None of that is important. What is important is the idea behind such an odd creation--the notion that one could take this premise, and, with enough belief in the process, find a way to leave the reader breathless. Who will win? Can our hero pull through? Watch the bread rise! On the surface, nothing could be more stupid. And yet, it is charming. All because of the unmistakably Japanese thought process that might lead a character to shout, in amazement, "I HAVE NEVER SEEN A YEAST SUCH AS THIS!"
That is shounen manga.
