The first impact of manga is different for each reader. There are people who get there through advice from other readers, watching an anime, or just watching a captivating cover in the comic book store or newsstand. And not many pay attention to the manga destination, which in Japan is very diverse and suitable for all tastes.

However, sometimes there are problems identifying a manga, especially in the male sector. For example, this is not a common occurrence The attack on Titan is mistakenly referred to as his or one-punch man who is one of the Shons from some fans. Let's see together what the goals are and how they can be distinguished from each other.

  • The first of the goals in order of age is that Kodomo. Literally “child” it means readings suitable for both boys and girls, usually elementary school age. Of course, they're the simplest and easiest stories, mostly funny and with light elements and non-violent action scenes; sometimes they are also created for anime and video game promotions with a purpose by children, as happened to them many Pokémon spin-offs, Yokai Watch or Splatoon. There aren't many dedicated magazines out there, but the most famous are Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comics, which featured the famous Doraemon for several years.
  • Let's get to the most famous of the destinations, even the most commercial: see shōnen. Literally "boy", it refers to men of a very broad age range, usually from 11-12 years to 20-21 years. Obviously, such a broad age range requires a strong differentiation in the same goal and is the trigger for different questions about the goal of some manga. The magazines for this destination have primarily a "Shonen" in their name, as is the case with Weekly Shonen Jump, Weekly Shonen Magazine, Weekly Shonen Sunday and many others. Of course there are exceptions like Jump SQ and V-Jump. This category includes manga like Dragon Ball, ONE PIECE and Naruto, but also Magi, Beastars and The Attack of the Giants.
  • The female counterpart to the Shonen is lo shōjo, literally "girl". The age range is the same as for the Shonen and the magazines here also offer a large selection of products. While Shojo Panorama is known for classic love stories, it also has action manga-like properties Sailor Moon and the Scarlet Yona, Lady Oscar and Magic Knight Rayearth. Magazines with this aim tend to include words in their names that are reminiscent of the feminine world and friendship, such as Ribon, Margaret and Bessatsu Margaret, Nakayoshi (good friends), Shojo Friend, Princess or Hana to Yume (flowers and dreams).
  • Let's go further into the world of young adults and adults his. It literally means "young man," which makes it clear that the destination is more dedicated to an adult in their twenties, and that actually has many publications dedicated to them. However, there is no shortage of series that are suitable for people of older age. What sets them apart from the Shons, with whom they partially share the goal, is inevitably the use of splatter and sex scenes, but also topics that cannot be said in more commercial Shonen. In fact, there are comic his or his with a certain nature like Yotsuba & and Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou as well as his with a heavy splatter and a sexual component like Berserk is Gantz. They belong to this category One-Punch Man and Tokyo Ghoulas well as the other titles and magazines mentioned above are mainly characterized by the inclusion of the word "Young" in their names. Here, too, there are exceptions such as Morning, Afternoon and Evening by Kodansha or Big Comic by Shogakukan.
  • Finally, the fifth goal is Josei, literally "For Women" and sometimes called Ladies' Comics. Here love is king, between heterosexual and homosexual love, with very explicit scenes. Among the most famous mangas are Klee, Nodame Cantabile, Tokyo Alice, Chihayafuru, happy marriage. The magazines of the industry, like the Shojo, have the names of more feminine subjects, as is the case with the magazines Kiss, Be Love, Dessert, You, Cocohana.

Another major difference between the two adult goals and the other is that Presence of the furigana, small hiragana characters on the kanji that make it easier to read. In fact, it is assumed that a reader of a Seinen or Josei magazine does not need any help with reading after completing their high school cycle and has therefore learned all of the major kanji with the appropriate reading.

Basically, therefore, focusing on the number of splatter or sex scenes is not enough to determine the differences between some goals. how much more the members' magazine.

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Sweety Otaku

One of the best parts of watching anime is how many times a show can surprise you. Sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. But if the Otaku know one thing, it's that anything is possible.

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