When you think of Shonen anime, the first thing that comes to mind is battle Shonen. Stuff like One Piece, Demon Slayer, and Hunter x Hunter. They feature complex power systems and hype fights with tons of explosions and beautiful animation. Boys love cool battles, which is why battle focused anime like the already mentioned shows are the most popular anime.
However, by only focusing on battle anime, you ignore a whole side of Shonen anime. There’s comedy oriented anime like Dr. Slump, romance and romcoms like The Dangers In My Heart, and more dramatic anime set outside of battling like A Silent Voice. I’d like to go through these anime and what makes them so good, and why a person who only likes battle Shonen should check out Shonen’s other side of the coin.
The Wacky World of Gag Anime
Boys love to laugh. That’s why even more serious Shonen anime like Jujutsu Kaisen have the occasional joke. And that’s also why pure comedy anime exist. They’re known as gag anime, where logic takes a backseat to whatever makes the audience laugh. One of the best to ever do it comes from a source you might not expect.
Before Dragon Ball, the author Akira Toriyama’s first big work was a gag manga by the name of Doctor Slump. It centers around a robot girl by the name of Arale and her wacky adventures in a world where talking animals and objects exist. There’s very few arcs in the anime. Instead, it’s episodic in nature. The world might crack in half in one episode before resetting to normal in the next. One episode might feature references to Star Wars, while another pokes fun at aspects of Japanese culture. After the heart pounding, dramatic moments in shows like Demon Slayer, having a show that’s lighter in tone can provide a much needed injection of whimsy and joy into their lives.
An Introduction To Romance
There’s a stereotype that women are more interested in romance and love than men. The experiences of the first kiss, asking someone out, and struggling with their budding romance. But men have those feelings too, and they’re just as interested in a couple holding hands and figuring out these new emotions.
One of the best Shonen romances is The Dangers In My Heart. The main character Kyoutarou acts like an edgelord, but in reality he’s socially insecure and uses that edginess to hide his true feelings. When he gets closer to his crush Anna Yamada, he gains confidence and experiences what a romantic connection feels like. That’s why this anime appeals to teenage boys. They relate to what Kyoutarou is going through. The anime also showcases the difference between what pure romance and physical attraction looks like. They’re allowed to be vulnerable with each other and support each other in tough times. Boys eat that stuff up just as much as girls.
Drama That Teenagers Can Connect To
Young boys are interested in seeing characters struggle with their emotions, just like adults. That’s why we have Luffy dealing with the death of people close to him, or why Endeavor has to face his years of family abuse. And that’s also why anime that center around these emotional journeys exist, independent of multi episode fights and crazy power ups.
There’s no better place to start than A Silent Voice. The story centers around Shouya Ichida and how bullying his deaf classmate Shouko Nishimiya in elementary school led to trauma for both him and her. It’s a story of redemption and acceptance. Shouko learns to grow out of her shell, while Shouya forgives himself for what he did. It’s a story that kids can relate to, both from the perspective of the bullied and the bully. In Your Lie In April, teenagers can relate to Kousei Arima’s depression caused by the trauma from his mother’s death. She forced him to play the piano in genuine child abuse. As he learns to genuinely enjoy playing the piano again thanks to the support of Kaori Miyazono, it teaches the teenage readers that embracing what makes you happy is one of the greatest joys in life.
