In this installment of “Lost in Translation” I want to talk about genres in anime and manga and some of the tropes that are associated with them. Anime and Manga encompass a wide range of genres such as action/adventure, fantasy, science fiction, romance, slice-of-life, and comedy as well as various subgenres. You might hear shōnen, seinen, or shōjo being thrown around as a genre, but those aren’t as much genres as they are target demographics. Shōnen translates to “few years” and is usually used to refer to boys under the age of 15, seinen translates to “youth” and manga in this category is typically targeted to young adult men, and shōjo translates to “young girl.” So these “genres” are actually targeted demographics. Sometimes, manga that fall into these groups have similar tropes to others in the same group kind of like books that fall into the same genres.
Shōnen manga –or manga advertised towards younger men/boys– is usually of the action/adventure or fantasy genre. Notable series in this category include Naruto, Dragon Ball, One Piece, Hunter x Hunter, and many more. These manga paved the way and set the standard for modern shōnen. Traditional shōnen manga and anime usually have a male MC (main character) with a mysterious past and unknown or strong powers. These characters go on an adventure to become something greater with nothing but their strong moral compass to guide them. All the MCs from these series are lovable idiots with overwhelming strength that march to the beat of their own drum. Usually, these MCs are accompanied by a dark and brooding male side character and a tsundere female side character. Modern shōnen still seems to follow most of the tropes of the classics, while improving on things like the story’s pacing and the quality of the supporting characters. Strong contenders for some of the best new shōnen series are Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, and Black Clover.
Shōnen being a demographic and not a genre makes it encompass many other types of series as well (i.e. rom-coms and slice-of-life series.) Likewise, shōjo manga (advertised to young girls) isn’t just all romance and slice-of-life, there are a lot of action/adventure series in this category like the iconic pretty guardian: Sailor Moon. These series are considerably less violent and usually try to come to a peaceful resolution rather than the slug fests you experience in shōnen or seinen, and exploration of social norms and interpersonal relationships is more the focus in shōjo rather than the action. Typical side characters in this genre are the overly loyal best friend and the eye-candy heartthrob bad boy. Notable Shōjo series are Cardcaptor Sakura, Fruits Basket, Happy Marriage, and Nichijou.
Lastly, seinen manga deals with more mature and adult themes like depression, self-worth, and social injustice. Usually, these themes are accompanied by a lot of violence and gore, as well as some sexual content, and (in my opinion) some pretty epic black and white 2-page art spreads. Seinen MCs often align as morally gray and are more complex than their shōnen counterparts. MCs of this genre are forced to make difficult decisions that alter their way of life (usually for the better), and the road to their ideal self is not easy. Side characters of this genre usually must sacrifice something or are put in harm’s way for the main character. Love interests in this genre usually push the main character to be the best version of themselves and play hard to get. Notable Seinen manga are series like Tokyo Ghoul, Berserk, Vinland Saga, and Vagabond. Seinen are typically slower-paced than shōnen with more emotional deconstruction that usually leads to healing some of the MC’s trauma.
The last group I want to cover in this post is isekai. Isekai is different from the previous categories because isekai is not named after its target audience, but instead after the story’s premise. The word isekai translates to “different world” or “other world” and all isekai series revolve around the MC being dragged into an unfamiliar fantasy world and usually being trapped there (otherwise known as “portal fantasy” and similar to something like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis). Tropes of this genre dictate that the MC was unpopular, bullied, or an outcast in their previous life and are forced into positions of power, or leadership in the new world. Most main characters in isekai experience an awakening of magic or special powers when transported to the other world and are forced to learn how to use them. Notable Isekai series are Overlord, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Jobless Reincarnation, Sword Art Online, and The Devil is a Part-Timer.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
To recap: 3 categories of manga we covered are shōnen, seinen, or shōjo each named after their target demographic: shōnen for the boys, seinen for the young adults, and shōjo for the girls. While these series are written to target certain age groups and genders, the appeal of these series surpasses that. Not all manga belonging to these categories are subject to the traditional tropes or pitfalls of other series in the same group. As someone who identifies as an adult man, I personally enjoy and have plenty of recommendations for all of these categories (some of my slice-of-life/romance recommendations are here in a previous post).
The other term we covered is called isekai which is a subgenre of fantasy where the main character is sucked into another world or parallel universe. While this might seem like a niche subgenre I purposefully covered isekai in this post because of the sheer amount of series that have been written involving this premise. If you have any questions or want recommendations in any of these genres come find me in the library and I’ll be happy to discuss it with you. Until then, Happy Reading!
– Dillon Willhelm, Librarian I in the Digital and Emerging Technologies department, and Russell’s own Anime and Manga connoisseur.
This post is dedicated to the memory of Akira Toriyama.
The Library Vault 
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