I'm a Shonen type of girl!
Now, I love absolutely love anime! One of the things I love about anime is that there is literally a genre - a world - for everyone! Don't get me wrong, there are other categories of anime that I love out there. For instance, I love Thriller/Psychological like Mirai Nikki, Erased, Death Note, and Another. I also love comedy and parody anime like Gintama. It doesn't have to be purely Shonen per say. I'll even disclose my favorite top anime of all time since we are on the subject, so you can have an example of my exquisite taste.
Number one for me is One Piece. I also have the following listed as my favorites: DBZ, Naruto, Gintama, Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, Claymore, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Fullmetal Alchemist, HunterxHunter and Jujutsu Kaisen. I do have a good bit of honorable mentions like Zatch Bell, Black Clover, Promised Neverland, Magi. Mirai Nikki, and My Hero Academia. In addition, there's a story behind why the anime listed above are my favorites.
Unfortunately, I have to dive into a later post to come.
Now, let's get into the good stuff!
Character Diversity & Plot
This will be my first point and I'm going to start with Naruto as an example. In Naruto, we have this young kid that's orphaned from the start and hated by the village because of the Nine Tails. It's a interesting plot right off the bat! Not only do we get to see how Naruto Uzumaki overcomes this and the trials he has to face as he grows up, but there are so many other characters like him - all with their own or similar struggle.
He seeks his own path separated from Kurama and loses his best friend along the way, but his ultimate goal is to achieve peace and be acknowledged enough to become Hokage. I love how we get to see almost all of the characters and learn their stories and how doesn't just solely focus on Naruto. Admittingly, some characters should have gotten more shine and attention (like Sakura and Tenten), but for Naruto to have as many characters in the show. Kishimoto did a pretty good job with this, nevertheless.
Action/Adventure
It is just something about seeing a character gradually gain power as they try to get stronger and Naruto isn't the only Shonen to do this, but it is a common theme and it gets me every time; it's something I never get tired of seeing. We see this in Kuroko No Basuke as well. Compared to his other teammates, Kuroko is considered the weakest of the Generation of Miracles, but he doesn't just accept that. Kuroko uses his disadvantage as an advantage and with practice and time, he becomes a force to be reckoned with.
As we watch the anime, it's almost like we experience this journey with them and we experience it for ourselves. It is full of action and leaves you wanting more. I probably blitzed through all of the seasons in no time. There's just so many good Shonen anime out there that follows the same theme.
Fights
One Piece has some of the best fights. Now keep in mind I'm not saying that it is the only anime that has some of the best fights, but there is a reason why I'm wanting to highlight One Piece in this particular section. The reasons are simple: Luffy doesn't win every single battle, it's not predictable, and the women aren't damsels in distress. I remember in the Alabasta arc of how it literally took Luffy three times to beat Crocodile and how Luffy never was able to beat Magellan. Luffy also didn't win against Lucci at first either.
Of course, we always know that our main character is going to win in some sort of fashion, but it's an entirely different feeling when you don't know how; it's just not predictable and to me that's what makes an awesome fight scene even better when it doesn't follow cookie cutter standards. Especially, when they are destroyed and/or face a major consequence in the process. Most times, the main character will win the first time or they will have a very strong and unreasonable sense of friendship.
In One Piece, that's not the case.
Lastly, the women are actually written decently here! They not only have great backstories like everyone else, but they don't need to be saved every five seconds of the show. Nami, Boa Hancock, Robin, and many others are very well much able to hold their own. They are not portrayed as love sick women that are completely helpless and there's nothing I love more than a strong female lead.
Besides a great plot and animation, of course.
Conclusion
I could go on and on, but I'll stop here. For now, if you take nothing else from what I wrote, the reason why I love Shonen so much is because of the character diversity/plot, adventure and the fight scenes. Shonen seems to excel at these points incredibly well. If there's someone else out there that loves Shonen as much as I do, they may have different reasons why they enjoy it and that is completely fine. I just wanted to share why it calls out to me!
