Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the
Study
Manga is hard
to classify if its shounen or shojo. Classifying a manga as shojo or shounen is
more complicated than it first appears. In the interest of making it easy to
identify or navigate, is having a natural inclination of splitting up the teen
demographic releases into two sections. Manga publishers in the U.S. use the
Japanese terms in part of flavor, but also because there are some nuances held
within the terms that may not otherwise come across.
Thalia Sutton wrote an article entitled
"Difficulties when classifying a manga as 'For Girls' or 'For Boys': A
Browser's Guide", from the site www.graphic-novels-manga.suvudu.com. In
this article, she discusses how these genres are also used as age markers and
have some characteristics that play of a girl and boy stereotypes. It states
also for example, shojo (girls) focuses on romance and life issues growing up
as a girl.
Thalia Sutton writes that, "This is a potential misnomer: 'made for girls' and 'made for boys' are not simple as 'boys will like trucks' and 'girls will like dolls" (http://graphic-novels-manga.suvudu.com/2012/04/difficulties-when-classifying-a-manga-as-for-girls-or-for-boys-a-browsers-guide.html).
Shounen are classified for boys while shojo are classified for girls. Regardless of the subject, the main theme in shounen is competetive fighting, how the heroes become men by protecting women, family, country, or the earth from the enemies. While shojo is simply love, the important is how they find love through a process of overcoming obstacles.
Jessica Chobot wrote about this particular concern in her article, "Shojo showdown", from the site www.ign.com. She explains the dynamics about how people decide what are made for boys and what are made for girls. She also explains how producing material mainly targeted to males and females is a common practice in the industry.
Jessica Chobot writes that, "Quite a few readers felt it necessary to voice their displeasure over the fact that I reffered to Love Hina as a shojo manga, their argument on which, I must admit, has some remit was that Love Hina is considered shounen" (http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/12/13/shojo-showdown). Shojo is marketed to female audiences between the ages of 10 and 18, while shounen is marketed to a male audiences.
Both mangas are classified by art style. In classifying a manga as shojo or shounen by art style, is to observe how the art styles differ between both genres. Shojo art tends to be more whispy and elegant and has lighter less defined lines. While shounen art tends to be bolder with defined lines and isn’t quite elegant as the shojo has.
Lianne wrote an article entitled "Boys' comics vs Girl's comics in Japan", from the site www.sleepisfortheweak.org. In this article, she discusses that both art also differs like shounen art styles are usually solid and very black-and-white and follow a very easy-to-follow panel layout, but shojo is often more artistic and less exact and has variety within its panel layouts.
Lianne writes that, "In Japan, where manga are a staple part of society and children to teenagers to mothers to office workers may all be repeat readers, things work differently'"(http://www.sleepisfortheweak.org/articles/shounenvsshoujo.html). Shounen are usually characterized by multitudes of action scenes, cool male lead characters, big robots, big swords, and a few unreasonably pretty girls with big boobs thrown in for good measure. While the shojo are characterized by girls being more prevalent and is more cute and big glassy eyes are the order of the day. Shounen is sometimes easier to tell apart because of the art will be blocky with hair that defines physics but this isn’t always true.
The researcher observes that some girls prefer stories with male leads while some guys prefer stories with female leads. Therefore, to have background knowledge in manga and that some girls would prefer shounen over certain genres while some guys would prefer shojo.
However, there are also certain genres of manga and that some guys and some girls would choose vice versa’s genre. This will add to the reader’s comprehension on why both genders prefer each other’s genre when it comes to manga. On why these both genders find it great in knowing each other’s genre’s limitations and strengths over other certain genre of manga.
This paper focuses on why
some boys prefer shojo while some girls prefer shounen.
B. Statement of the Problem
This
study aims to answer this question:
1. Why
some boys prefer shojo while some girls prefer shounen?
C. Significance of the Study
Manga readers. This
research paper would be able to help manga readers or manga fans in giving more
emphasis of a certain genre like what is this study focused on. That shojo and
shounen are different in art style, story, and its character leads.
Otakus. Otakus
would benefit from this study because they would be able to make use of the
information imparted in this research in classifying a manga if its shojo or
shounen when they read and know about how a certain genre is different with
others.
Manga Artists. Knowledge
of this study would help manga artists in understanding their reader’s
observation. It is believed that certain mangas are classified in art styles, making
art styles define what absolute genre it would be. Like shojo and shounen,
shojo will be fulled with light strokes of lines while the other will be having
bold ones. Thus, mangas today are identified by its appearance, its art to be
classified if its shojo or shounen. That readers won’t be confused whether to
classify that manga if its shounen or not.
Future Researchers. This
study is benefitted for future researchers to make similar studies especially
with this certain kind of topic yet is a need for manga readers or otakus in
the local setting in order to be classified in a certain genre of manga. Thus
researchers believed that if future studies would be made, this paper will
reserved as a source of valuable data, that there might be improvement in
classifying a manga if its shounen or shojo and why some girls prefer shounen
while some guys prefer shojo when it comes to manga.
D. Scope and Delimitation
This study focuses on why some boys prefer shojo while some girls prefer
shounen. Due to time constraints, this study will no longer discuss other genres
or certain sub genres of manga such as yaoi, yuri, and doujinshis and many
more. This is also to give emphasis to the manga as the main source of
classifying shojo and shounen for male and female audiences. Moreover, the
researchers believe that mangas have been the main focus of the publishers and
readers over the years. Therefore, this study would be relevant still because
anime and mangas like shojo and shounen are both continuing trends when it
comes to fans. Aside from time constraint, the researchers also consider the
dearth of resources as one of the primary elements of limitation in this study.
E. Materials and Methods
Information gathered to this study was mostly found from online sources
such as articles, yet there were no other various reference materials such as
books and journal articles found at libraries. In addition, in joining a
website have conducted surveys in preferring each other’s genre to strengthen
each sides findings of this study. In analyzing data, gathering together information
from online sources and observations is that should be arranged in appropriate
ways and organize them afterwards.
F. Definition of Terms
Manga. These
are comics created in Japan or by Japanese creators in the Japanese language
and conforming to a style developed in the late 19th century.
Mangaka. Is the
Japanese word for a comic artist or a cartoonist yet they are called as manga
artists.
Anime. These
are Japanese animated productions usually featuring hand drawn or computer
animation.
Genre. Is the
term used in identifying what kind of story is the manga or anime will be
having.
Doujinshi. Produced parodies of include characters from popular manga and
anime series by small
publishers outside of the
mainstream commercial market.
Yaoi. Boys love in which both
genders are in a relationship with each other and are targeted mostly for girls.
Yuri. Girls
love in which both genders are in a relationship with each other and are
targeted mostly for boys.
