Private Entry
January 6th, 2019
Rambling: "Gansta." and The Actual Value of Age Demographics
So, a friend of mine brought up a point that I pretty much don't agree with whatsoever, and I figured it'd be an interesting discussion point.
My stance, is that demographics, I.E Seinen and Shounen, absolutely do not matter.
His stance is that they do matter, and its interesting to see how they change their writing to target their demographics.
So, lets make things clear real quick, and accept that there are a few exceptions that actually do appeal to adults rather than everyone; Ghost in the Shell, Mushishi, Akira, these things specifically appeal to adults more so than children, however once someone is 16 they can appreciate these shows pretty much as equals to someone who's 25.
So, let me begin by comparing it to a more western standard; Rated R movies. Rated R movies appeal more to 15 year olds than they do their intended demographic. They are not designed for adults per-say, they're just required to give it a mature rating because of the gore and other bullshit they needlessly shove into their story.
Lets bring it back to anime; Tokyo Ghoul. Tokyo Ghoul pretty much can be described via the paragraph above. There is not a single theme in the show in which requires you to really think. The issue is that it has gore, which apparently appeals to mature audiences, but we all know that the actual demographic for Tokyo Ghoul is 15 year olds.
Black Bullet is a Seinen. Its mature theme is that the cute loli girls die sometimes. Other than that, you have Kirito making a harem of lolis to fight crime. 15 year olds cant deal with harems dying, that's too fucked up for shounen.
I'ma stop rambling off specific examples, and specifically counter his point - "its interesting to consume media, with the intended audience in mind"
No, no its not. Its infuriating. I'm currently watching Gangsta, and every time I think about how its intended for adults, it pisses me off to the point of writing this whole thing. Its a fucking shounen that has gang related content. There is not a single theme in the show that teenagers wouldn't understand.
In Gangsta, there are people known as "Tags" who wear dog tags and have super powers. Every woman is grossly "ideally" proportionate, and every man is jacked as fuck; and they just fuck, constantly. When they're not fucking, they're killing someone for interrupting their fucking.
Only an adult could appreciate those themes. /s
So finally, my solution to this, is for there to be two demographics; children, and everyone else.
Once you turn 25, you don't just instantly stop watching HeroAca. HeroAca is technically made for 13 year olds but everyone fucking loves it.
Conversely, a 13 year old wont be disgusted by the gore in Tokyo Ghoul, they'll eat that shit up.
However, nobody reading this is watching Space Bug; because its made for children. Teenagers and above don't watch Teletubbies anymore. That is the only time when age is a factor for consuming media, excluding the very small amount of exceptions.
Thinking about it more, I feel the most common difference is that Seinen have adult main characters, and Shounen have teenager characters. They both act the same, but they look different.
Age demographics are very rarely a valuable thing to look at when choosing what to watch. Hunter x Hunter for example has been on the front page of Shounen Jump several times over, and its one of its biggest properties. That shit is darker, and more philosophical than the vast majority of Seinen shows.
Promised Neverland is one of the biggest new titles in Shouen Jump, and its about an orphanage who raises kids to be eaten by monsters.
Shounen encapsulates a huge demographic, and simply labeling something as "Shounen" does very little to actually explain who the show is for. Demographics are a valuable thing for a publisher, but they are not a valuable thing for the anime or manga fan, and its honestly a waste of time thinking about such things. Watch the first episode, rather, watch the first 5 minutes of a show and you'll have a pretty good idea of the demographic the show is aiming at. Two shounen titles can be targeting entirely different demographics.
My stance, is that demographics, I.E Seinen and Shounen, absolutely do not matter.
His stance is that they do matter, and its interesting to see how they change their writing to target their demographics.
So, lets make things clear real quick, and accept that there are a few exceptions that actually do appeal to adults rather than everyone; Ghost in the Shell, Mushishi, Akira, these things specifically appeal to adults more so than children, however once someone is 16 they can appreciate these shows pretty much as equals to someone who's 25.
So, let me begin by comparing it to a more western standard; Rated R movies. Rated R movies appeal more to 15 year olds than they do their intended demographic. They are not designed for adults per-say, they're just required to give it a mature rating because of the gore and other bullshit they needlessly shove into their story.
Lets bring it back to anime; Tokyo Ghoul. Tokyo Ghoul pretty much can be described via the paragraph above. There is not a single theme in the show in which requires you to really think. The issue is that it has gore, which apparently appeals to mature audiences, but we all know that the actual demographic for Tokyo Ghoul is 15 year olds.
Black Bullet is a Seinen. Its mature theme is that the cute loli girls die sometimes. Other than that, you have Kirito making a harem of lolis to fight crime. 15 year olds cant deal with harems dying, that's too fucked up for shounen.
I'ma stop rambling off specific examples, and specifically counter his point - "its interesting to consume media, with the intended audience in mind"
No, no its not. Its infuriating. I'm currently watching Gangsta, and every time I think about how its intended for adults, it pisses me off to the point of writing this whole thing. Its a fucking shounen that has gang related content. There is not a single theme in the show that teenagers wouldn't understand.
In Gangsta, there are people known as "Tags" who wear dog tags and have super powers. Every woman is grossly "ideally" proportionate, and every man is jacked as fuck; and they just fuck, constantly. When they're not fucking, they're killing someone for interrupting their fucking.
Only an adult could appreciate those themes. /s
So finally, my solution to this, is for there to be two demographics; children, and everyone else.
Once you turn 25, you don't just instantly stop watching HeroAca. HeroAca is technically made for 13 year olds but everyone fucking loves it.
Conversely, a 13 year old wont be disgusted by the gore in Tokyo Ghoul, they'll eat that shit up.
However, nobody reading this is watching Space Bug; because its made for children. Teenagers and above don't watch Teletubbies anymore. That is the only time when age is a factor for consuming media, excluding the very small amount of exceptions.
Thinking about it more, I feel the most common difference is that Seinen have adult main characters, and Shounen have teenager characters. They both act the same, but they look different.
Age demographics are very rarely a valuable thing to look at when choosing what to watch. Hunter x Hunter for example has been on the front page of Shounen Jump several times over, and its one of its biggest properties. That shit is darker, and more philosophical than the vast majority of Seinen shows.
Promised Neverland is one of the biggest new titles in Shouen Jump, and its about an orphanage who raises kids to be eaten by monsters.
Shounen encapsulates a huge demographic, and simply labeling something as "Shounen" does very little to actually explain who the show is for. Demographics are a valuable thing for a publisher, but they are not a valuable thing for the anime or manga fan, and its honestly a waste of time thinking about such things. Watch the first episode, rather, watch the first 5 minutes of a show and you'll have a pretty good idea of the demographic the show is aiming at. Two shounen titles can be targeting entirely different demographics.
Posted by Nhizzy | Jan 6, 2019 4:54 PM | 0 comments