Description
This article is from the Manga
Glossary, by Steve Pearl starbuck@cybercomm.net with numerous
contributions by others.
42 Manga: shounen ^[$B>/G/^[(B
Boy, or youth. The first mangas to achieve mass circulation, and to be
printed in "phonebook" format, were aimed at the shounen audience. Today,
shounen-manga still have the largest market share, and most shounen
magazines are weekly "phonebooks". However, quite a few adults and teenage
girls are loyal shounen-manga readers.
Some significant shounen mangas and their specialties are Shounen Jump
(aimed at everyone), Shounen Sunday (inner-city dwellers), Shounen
Magazine (sports-oriented, also the longest running manga magazine
currently in print), Shounen Champion (catering to macho types), and
Shounen Captain (for otakus). Of these, Shounen Jump is the biggest
seller. It is a weekly of about 450 pages' length, read by nearly 7
million people each week, making it the most popular manga magazine in
Japan. Up-to-date Japanese issues of Shounen Jump can be even be found in
Chinatowns all over the world. Shounen Jump's success is due to a winning
formula of combining action, drama, and sensationalism in addictive,
drawn-out sagas. All its mangas contain three essential elements:
"doryoku, yuujou, shouri" ^[$BEXNO^[(B,^[$BM'>p^[(B,^[$B>!Mx^[(B (effort,
friendship, triumph). While competitors have tried to emulate the formula
(with limited success), it also has its down side. Shonen Jump mangas are
infamous for dragging on well past their use-by date, and draining the
hardiest manga-kas of their creativity and artistic freedom. However,
Shounen Jump has retained its leading position for years, and will
probably stay at the top for years to come.
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art, manga, anime, japanese art, japanese comics, japan, glossary
