There are tons of shonen manga out there which have sold millions of copies. They have gained a lot of fan following. Shonen manga are the most popular type of manga. They are aimed at young boys who fall within the 12-18 age-group.
Over the years, we have seen many famous manga and they are easily among the best pieces of fiction to ever be written. Some of the most famous shonen manga include One Piece, Naruto, My Hero Academia, Bleach. These are among the most popular shows out there. Shonen manga usually follows a certain style of writing and so a lot of manga have certain things in common. In this post, we will be discussing five things that happen too often in shonen and five which don't.
10 Too Often: Tragic Flashbacks
Every shonen series is filled with tragic flashbacks. It doesn't matter what the story is of any shonen manga, it will definitely have tragic flashbacks. This is one of the most popular shonen tropes around.
Every main character has some sort of sad past that molds them into their current shape. This happens in almost every shonen manga. In some manga, it is taken too far and it ends up becoming too cringe-worthy. It comes down to how a writer handles the character.
9 Not Often: Deaths
A lot of people tend to ignore the impact that a character's death can have on the story. A look at the death of Jiraiya and the impact it had on Naruto's character development is enough to understand this. Jiraiya's death is among the most iconic moments in the series.
Another example would be that of Ace or Whitebeard from One Piece. The death of these two made Marineford one of the best arcs. Other shonen manga definitely need to pick up this specific trope and use it more often.
8 Too Often: Simple-Minded Protagonist
Naruto, One Piece, Dragon Ball, Black Clover, etcetera. have very simple-minded protagonists. Naruto is a fool, who couldn't catch a cold. Goku is the kind of person who'd thank you for burning down his house as it provided him warmth. Asta is an overrated alarm clock and with each passing episode, his screams continue to grow more powerful.
Obviously, these are exaggerations whilst describing the characters. However, it is true that most of the characters in shonen are simple-minded and they follow a common pattern. We mean no disrespect to any character, but it is a common thing in almost every shonen manga.
7 Not Often: Gore
Most of the shonen barely have any gore. Many series finish without even having fights that have blood, guts, and deaths. It is very rare for any series to have too much violence.
Of course, there are some exceptions, but the overall percentage is too low to be taken into consideration. This might not be necessarily required to make the manga better, but it does add realism to a series.
6 Too Often: Friendship
If there is one thing that can beat a God then it is friendship. If there is one thing that can beat the strongest anime character, it is the power of friendship. The focus of many shonen manga lies on friendships between different characters. Some of them take them too far and end up becoming meme-worthy - for example, Fairy Tail.
No one hates the idea of friendship and it isn't a problem until it is used to give power to a character at a crucial time. Friendships are better used as a way of developing a character instead of using it to give a character some extraordinary power.
5 Not Often: Realism
This is one of the most important aspects, and not just in manga, but in any type of fictional work. Sadly, it is rarely used in shonen manga. Shonen manga are supposed to be creative, but when one can clearly see that they lack realism. Some times it can be seen in a relationship or during a fight.
Usually, during a fight when the main character is losing, he/she pops up with a brand new power-up that was impossible to get until five minutes ago. Realism helps the fans to bond better with the characters from any series. Realism should definitely be used more in the shonen genre.
4 Too Often: Power Up Out Of Nowhere
This particular shonen trope is used way too much. One particular example that would perfectly describe the annoyance it causes is Jotaro vs DIO. DIO had everything in his control, even time.
All he needed to do was beat Jotaro and end the Joestar bloodline. However, Jotaro used the "So, it is the same type of stand as Star Platinum", and DIO immediately realized what was gonna happen to him. DIO was beaten to a pulp by Jotaro's Star Platinum. Stardust Crusaders was great, but the way it was ended was very disappointing.
3 Not Often: Parents Alive
Shonen manga characters and Bruce Wayne have one thing in common and that is lack of parents. You can see it in every type of manga. The main character's parents are usually dead or they abandoned their child for some reason.
This is used as an emotional device to make the fans realize what it really means to have parents and also, to make the fans understand that the main character has it rough. It is very rare that a shonen manga is without a main character's parents being dead.
2 Too Often: Romance
In most shonen manga, romance is a very key trope. It can be used in several ways. Again, the best way would be to use it to would be to give a character some development.
But mostly, it gives a false idea about romance so many people begin to carry unreal expectations in real life. Also, it is very common to see one-sided love in shonen manga.
1 Not Often: Supporting Characters
Many shonen manga are famous for world-building. It goes to show how talented the creator of the manga is and it truly takes some next-level creativity to think of some of the things we see. Building a big world means having plenty of characters. One Piece is the only shonen series in which the side characters are brilliantly written and not forgotten.
Some famous manga forget about some of the characters that they created, the best example being Akira Toriyama. So, there is no consistency in the way that supporting characters in shonen manga are handled. With all said and done, all shonen manga are great and they are the result of a mangaka's hard work. It is just down to the personal preference of a person.