The Shonen genre is absolutely one of the biggest genres in the anime platform, if not the biggest. Many of the anime heavy hitters of this and previous era were of the Shonen genre. One doesn’t even have to be a staunch anime fan to recognize big players such as One Piece and Dragon Ball.
But as it is determined by this life, there’s no such thing as the perfect thing. Anime naturally follows this principle; there’s no such genre as the perfect genre and by extent, there’s no anime fully deserving of the title of perfection-- save for One Piece and Hunter X Hunter (alright let’s cut the chase, at the end of the day, it’s all subjective). Now that you know that the Shonen genre is nowhere near perfect, here are a few tweaks that could possibly push it a bit closer to said perfection.
10 Should adopt - Shojo: More Female Action
The Weekly Shonen magazine’s main demographic is undoubtedly boys in their teenage years. Or at least, that’s what you would assume from the name (Shonen= young male). But as it turns out, everybody loves and enjoys shonen, regardless of sex.
The Shonen genre is infested with young boys going around defeating evil. Now if we could get a few young girls going around defeating evil, that would be great for everyone.
9 Should Avoid - Shojo: One-Dimensional Females
Unlike the Shonen genre that is very self-aware of its diverse audiences; the Shojo genre is still going strong with its constant supplying of its alleged female fantasy. And it’s cool; nobody is complaining-- about anything other than the stereotypical Shojo protagonist’s sort-of flawed character-build.
We definitely don’t want that in the Shonen genre. In fact, the Shojo genre can take some of the Shonen genre’s lovely ladies, such as Fairy Tail’s Erza.
8 Should adopt - Slice-Of-Life: Laying Back
If you are a devoted Shonen fan, then you are hyperaware of the extremity of the typical Shonen’s plotline. There’s hardly any breaks and relaxing time; and when there is, it’s filler! Nobody watches filler!
A grand example of this is how One Piece handles its arcs. Once the arc is on the go, then nobody gets to rest till it’s over. The tension will just keep rising until either we or the makers have had enough.
7 Should Avoid- Slice-Of-Life: Uneventfulness
While a little bit of relaxation might be applicable; too much of it will ruin the pacing. Here’s how the typical Slice-Of-Anime manages it’s pacing: relax, chill, have a generally good time, and then a plot twist-- just kidding it’s even MORE laid back time.
But then again, nobody is complaining. The entire premise of the Slice-Of-Life genre is to take these usually boring activities and turn them into something amusing to watch. Which, as sad as it is, won’t work for Shonen.
6 Should adopt - Harem: More Screen Time For the Support Cast
The harem genre is one of these genres that you either absolutely love or you hate-- there’s no middle ground. But one thing that the harem genre is particularly good at, is how diverse and dynamic the supporting cast can oftentimes be.
It’s always rather amusing seeing how every character can be interesting-- every character save for the main character. We, as Shonen fans, would love to see more screen time for our favorite support characters.
5 Should Avoid - Harem: Harem Protagonists
Remember that thing about how harem protagonists can sometimes be uninteresting? Well, it happens more than we would like to see. Don’t get me wrong; there are some really cool harem main characters out there, like Keima Katsuragi from The World Only God Knows.
But we, humans, just love looking at the negative side of just about everything, don’t we? Point is, while this ‘dull protagonist’ trope can somehow work for harem genre; it will never work for Shonen.
4 Should adopt- Psychological: Unpredictable Plots
Have you watched a psychological anime? If yes, then you know what I’m talking about. The plot is just too slimy and we usually get hit with more plot twists than we could ever handle.
Shonen is the exact opposite of that. The conventional Shonen plot is as predictable as any plot could get. Boosting the default number of plot twists is a way to starting a better Shonen plot tomorrow.
3 Should Avoid- Psychological: Emotional Strain
It’s true that the plotline of psychological anime is unpredictable and all, but let’s talk about the aftermath now. After somehow bulldozering that many plot twists; your brain is now strained, even if the anime’s ending was a happy one- the damage is already done.
People usually watch Shonen for the quality good time they can be provided with. Now, if that 'good time' turned into something a bit more extreme, like temporary emotional stress, then the fandom wouldn't be as outgoing as it is.
2 Should adopt - Isekai: Relatable Protagonists
It’s only been a few years since the explosion of the Isekai genre, and we’ve already prepared it a set of tropes-- talk about a picky fandom.
Isekai protagonists are usually these normal teenagers -gamers and anime lovers, or both at times- who get transported to another world. Before their transportation, they were just normal people whom you could relate to.
1 Should Avoid - Isekai: Overpowered Protagonists
As relatable as they were, every ounce of relatability that you once had for them will get utterly wiped once they acquire their ultimate godlike strength. It’s not a gradual rise in strength, it’s a real 1-100 in 6 seconds situation.
Every unfortunate enemy who stumbles across our protagonist is destined to be defeated. For a genre that is mainly revolving around overpowered protagonists, it might not seem that bad. But if this concept was exported to the Shonen genre, it will surely ruin it.