| I need to get this off my chest….something I been concerned and struggling lately about my preferences in media. We know certain anime are categorized into demographics such as Shonen, Seinen, Shojo and Josei. Shonen, which is targeted towards young boys, are the mainstream in anime with lots of adaptations and popularity. Also Seinen, targeted towards men, gets the same treatment as well. While Shojo and Josei, targeted towards young girls and women, are less mainstream. Myself, I like and enjoy to watch all 4 demographics, popular or not, depending on my taste of the show. Yet lately, whenever I watch or read a popular Shonen or Seinen anime or manga, in the back of my mind, I have this slight guilt that I should spend time reading a Shojo or a josei manga. The reason I feel this way is because due to social media blogs posts discussing about giving attention to Shojo and Josei, (or suggest to read a certain anime that is considered “top tier”) I just don’t know what should like anymore. I apologize if this comes out too personal or controversial, but I just would like to know about your own view on this. So, are you strict with anime demographics or not? Do you feel somewhat pressured by social media? |
| I don't care about the demographics tag, I look at it but that tells me too little. What I do want is to watch good anime and read good manga, sure I read shoujo from time to time but only because it's good, why would I read trash shoujo just because it's shoujo? |
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FuunsaikiStar said: I need to get this off my chest….something I been concerned and struggling lately about my preferences in media. We know certain anime are categorized into demographics such as Shonen, Seinen, Shojo and Josei. Shonen, which is targeted towards young boys, are the mainstream in anime with lots of adaptations and popularity. Also Seinen, targeted towards men, gets the same treatment as well. While Shojo and Josei, targeted towards young girls and women, are less mainstream. Myself, I like and enjoy to watch all 4 demographics, popular or not, depending on my taste of the show. Yet lately, whenever I watch or read a popular Shonen or Seinen anime or manga, in the back of my mind, I have this slight guilt that I should spend time reading a Shojo or a josei manga. The reason I feel this way is because due to social media blogs posts discussing about giving attention to Shojo and Josei, (or suggest to read a certain anime that is considered “top tier”) I just don’t know what should like anymore. I apologize if this comes out too personal or controversial, but I just would like to know about your own view on this. So, are you strict with anime demographics or not? Do you feel somewhat pressured by social media? Just ignore demographic tags and start watching and reading shit released based simply on your interest of it's written Synopsis. That is what I do. As an example... "Sukeban Deka" is based off a Shoujo manga. Likely it has more violence, nudity, and profanity in it than over 90% of all modern Seinen adoptations released after 2020. Didn't even realize it was a Shoujo Anime at the time when I originally bought it. I wasn't even using MAL back then either... |
ColourWheelYesterday, 12:26 AM
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| I believe that anything deserves a try, so if I see a shoujo or josei anime getting praised a lot I'd want to check it out. With that said, shounen are more likely to get good adaptations than the other demographics (more popularity = let's make a good adaptation instead of an half-assed job made just to promote the source material) so they aren't inherently less worthy (a good adaptation of a decent manga is obviously better than a mediocre adaptation of another equally decent manga). |
| To be fair, the demographic tag only tells you what magazine is the source material published in, even though it can often indicate what to expect from the story, there are many exceptions, because manga magazines want to have a diverse lineup with their series, so they can attract readers with many different tastes. Just because an individual is a young man in his teens doesn't mean he's going to have the same taste as another individual who falls into that same demographic. This is why, to me, demographic tags don't matter as much as genre and theme tags on MAL, and most importantly, synopsis. |
BOŽE ČUVAJ HRVATSKU |
| I occasionally watch shoujosei themed anime, but they aren't my preference, feeling guilty about that would be silly. Besides, there are a few shoujosei themed shounen and seinen anime, such as Romantic Killer and Yakuza Fiance. |
No, this isn't my signature. |
| I feel pressured by the fanart I found on internet (specifically on Pixiv) and I find it of my liking. P0rn Fanart, of course. It has worked well for rewatching shows like Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters or the original Dragon Ball anime trilogy and the series I'm going to start very soon (the new Pretty Cure Season) will be watched precisely because I find the trasformation of the main cure (Blonde, Blue Eyes) sexually arousing for me. I was literally browing through Pixiv for blondes, I stumbled upon her in lingerie and my reaction was "OMFG this lady is hot as hell". And that's it. |
| I'm not "strict", but demographics definitely influence my interest. Shounen and Seinen are my go-to since I belong to their target audience, but I'm not dead set on avoiding Shoujo and Josei either. I have only watched one Shoujo anime till date though, and only read one Josei manga. :P Maybe I'll watch/read more of them in the future. |
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FuunsaikiStar said: I need to get this off my chest….something I been concerned and struggling lately about my preferences in media. We know certain anime are categorized into demographics such as Shonen, Seinen, Shojo and Josei. Shonen, which is targeted towards young boys, are the mainstream in anime with lots of adaptations and popularity. Also Seinen, targeted towards men, gets the same treatment as well. While Shojo and Josei, targeted towards young girls and women, are less mainstream. Myself, I like and enjoy to watch all 4 demographics, popular or not, depending on my taste of the show. Yet lately, whenever I watch or read a popular Shonen or Seinen anime or manga, in the back of my mind, I have this slight guilt that I should spend time reading a Shojo or a josei manga. The reason I feel this way is because due to social media blogs posts discussing about giving attention to Shojo and Josei, (or suggest to read a certain anime that is considered “top tier”) I just don’t know what should like anymore. I apologize if this comes out too personal or controversial, but I just would like to know about your own view on this. So, are you strict with anime demographics or not? Do you feel somewhat pressured by social media? To answer your OG question, fuck no xD Demographics are there to gage what the majority of a demographic is typically interested in, it doesn't mean that you can't like things from multiple demographics or even not like things targeted to your own demographics, personal taste is so much more complicated than that As for shoujo/josei not getting as much attention in anime, they tend to get more J-Drama adaptations as live-action seems to be more popular with a female audience Now onto how demographics reflect on my own personal taste Always been a tomboy, always prefered things that were targeted to boys over girls with few exeptions, always been a battle shounen junkie, along with always having a deep interest in human psychology (though this is more relavent to all demographics), even the type of humor i found funnier in shows with a male target audience than female most of the time. Adrenalin filled battles and competitions, monsters, intriguing mysteries in and out of the human mind, and last but not least, butt and poop jokes, pair any of these things with a good story and likeable characters and chances are you've got me hooked, from popular classics like Dragon Ball and One Piece, to niche sports anime like Whistle and Let's & Go, the modern masterpieces that are Attack On Titan and Demon Slayer, the most riveting of seinen in Oshi no Ko and The Apothecary Diaries, and the raunchy comedy of Ranma 1/2 and Gintama, not to forget my alltime favorites Digimon and Detective Conan, and there's so much more, you can see why shounen/seinen tend to be more appealing to my taste With shoujo, my childhood favorites were almost all mahou shoujo (aka battle shoujo), things like Pretty Cure, Cardcaptor Sakura, basically anything where a central theme was kicking bad guy butt, as for newer shoujo, i tend to much prefere unconvetional titles like Banana Fish over the classic romcoms and dramas, and with the more classic shoujo themes, i tend to like the ones which have a deeper focus on the characters relations outside of romance and their phyche, my favorites being Fruits Basket and Orange, i do also have a soft spot for 70s/80s historical shoujo as i grew up with lots of reruns of them, think Versailles no Bara, Lady Georgie, and even newer anime that were inspired by those like Ashita no Nadja And i have yet to find a josei i enjoy that doesn't star a cute fluffy animal Moral of the story, no need to feel pressured to read more of a demographic just because you are part of said demographic, but at the same time don't completely avoid a demographic just because it doesn't fit your personal taste as you never know what gems might be hiding in it :) |
DigiCatYesterday, 3:37 AM
| "Are you strict with demographics?" I mean, demographics are important, just to know what to expect from the product, thus I like when the shows are rightfully tagged. But also I watch titles from any of those (well, maybe I am not paying that much attention to kodomo). So yeah, anime should be cataloged properly, but also one shouldn't limit their choices based on their belonging to certain group. |
| Shoujo and Josei don't really interest me. Maybe I'll try a few sometime. I watch Shonen and Seinen anime and read manga. |
| i just don't watch Shoujo when i see the tag i know what the show entails. |
| I watch whatever I want and feel like. There's stuff in all demographics that I enjoy so I just do my omnivore thing and check everything, demographics are only guidelines. I personally don't feel pressured by other especially fuckers on social media to not see shit I wanna. But I understand peer pressure, especially if one is of a younger age |
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| I think you are overthinking OP. I admit, when i was younger i felt some "pressure" to watch some shows (alot didnt even end up watching), but at the time the community was by far more elitist then its now, the fact it was very small, there were 2 kinds of people on very specific places, the very nice open person wants to introduce you to the world and the other who is a elitist almost the negative "weaboo" stereotype, that if you didnt watch the X show or if you liked only shounen for example you were a fake fan. Still in the end i watched what i liked. But social media and Anime social media was diferent, now there is by far more people and alot of takes. Just watch what you like OP, i had favorite demographics and genres, but if a show interested me (character design, story) i would watch it, no matter the demographics. For example, not a Shoujo person, but i watched Sailor Moon which i liked and like. Just "disconnect" a little of social media and enjoy what you enjoy. After all, arent we watching Anime because we enjoy? |
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| I watch all 4, but I kind of have the opposite concern: I feel like I should be watching more shounen, but I've been losing interest lately... I don't feel "pressure" to watch shounen (not really on social media), but I worry that I'd be depriving myself of a huge chunk of the medium if I give up on shounen. But in the end, I know it's a lot of worrying over nothing. The target demographic is only one out of many other things into consideration when I'm deciding what to watch. And I'm not going to force myself to watch something for reasons other than enjoyment, I refuse to put myself through such boredom and misery. |
| I disliked and dropped every non-Shounen/Seinen story that I ever picked. So I stick with Shounen and Seinen. |
| Not really, I just think you should enjoy the type of anime that you enjoy. It really is just that simple. |
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FuunsaikiStar said: The reason I feel this way is because due to social media blogs posts discussing about giving attention to Shojo and Josei, (or suggest to read a certain anime that is considered “top tier”) I just don’t know what should like anymore. What they really mean is giving attention to romance. Such discussions never center around anything I'd want to watch such as X, They Were 11, Sukeban Deka, Pygmalio, Goldfish Warning, Polar Bear Cafe, Vampire Miyu, Minky Momo, or Unico. I guess unicorns aren't girly enough for today's generation. @Fario-P I think you'd like this discussion. |
LucifrostYesterday, 7:51 PM
| その目だれの目？ |
| As I got older the more I started preferring shounen/seinen to shoujo. I never had interest in josei. I like checking the authors sex to confirm if a demographic for media is not provided. It is how I tried non non biyori when I heard the mangaka is a guy. Fanservice is a good litmus test too. |
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| No, if anything I think anime/manga fans care too much about "demographics". I honestly think the industry would be better off, if we had less "demographic" focused writing coming out of mangaka. I watch everything, and I don't really care what demographic it is. |
| I do hope we had more better entries for shoujo and josei that's one of the reasons as a noobie i started MyAnimeList because i was looking at Wolf Girl & Black Prince to search for more at that time and though we get a couple of goodies here and there i'm stuck with seinen and shounen battle and political series LOL. |
Reply to SolivagantSeeker
Not strict per se but I just can't watch a shoujo and josei without having urge to vomit everything about it irks me be it the character designs,characters personality,nauseating romance etc and those twitter radfems cant gaslight me into thinking they are essential to read/watch or smthn so no I am not pressured by social media I fw what I fw
| @SolivagantSeeker Is this even English? Tbh, I just think you're too stupid to watch Shoujo/Josei. |
Reply to Lucifrost
FuunsaikiStar said:
The reason I feel this way is because due to social media blogs posts discussing about giving attention to Shojo and Josei, (or suggest to read a certain anime that is considered “top tier”) I just don’t know what should like anymore.
The reason I feel this way is because due to social media blogs posts discussing about giving attention to Shojo and Josei, (or suggest to read a certain anime that is considered “top tier”) I just don’t know what should like anymore.
What they really mean is giving attention to romance. Such discussions never center around anything I'd want to watch such as X, They Were 11, Sukeban Deka, Pygmalio, Goldfish Warning, Polar Bear Cafe, Vampire Miyu, Minky Momo, or Unico. I guess unicorns aren't girly enough for today's generation.
@Fario-P
I think you'd like this discussion.
| @Lucifrost I do know some people who vent frustrations about how non-romance Shoujo is overlooked. I agree. I do like romance. I mean, that much is obvious. However, I can't just watch or read romance series. I need a good mix of genres. |
| Personally, I don't have that issue. When it comes to anime, my preference seems to be Shoujo ➡️ Shounen ➡️ Seinen ➡️ Josei. Though the amount of adaptations play a role. Josei has the least amount of anime adaptations. However, when going to manga, the preference seems to be: Shoujo ➡️ Josei ➡️ Seinen ➡️ Shounen. I naturally prefer Shoujo and Josei. I don't feel guilty when I watch a Seinen or Shounen. I simply just enjoy those series. Why feel guilty about something I enjoy? |
| Don't feel guilty because of it. You can read and watch whatever attracts you and makes you enjoy the story. Demographics only represent what the publishers think certain audiences like. For instance, young boys like fighting, so the Shounen tag features a lot of fighting; young girls like romance and handsome men, so the Shoujo tag features romances. It's like a package that the vendor thinks will appeal to certain audiences. But it's alright to ignore it and watch whatever you like, as well as not force yourself to watch something you are not fond of. For me as a female audience, I'm not interested in most Shoujo and Josei works, but from time to time there're a few works from these tags I find interesting and am willing to watch. What's more, as a yuri fan, I feel that sometimes even the demographics as set by publishers are not so accurate, as I have come across some publishers and editors who tagged yuri works as for male audiences (or Shounen), while in reality there're a lot more girls who watch and read yuri than they expect. For example, the author Inori, who is the writer of the light novels Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijou., has to fix the problem with the editors putting one of her works as for male audiences and claiming that female readers are not the main audiences. Therefore, I never care about the so-called demographics and simply watch what I like. Last thing, you can always promote more Shoujo and Josei works and bring more attention to them. |
| I don't worry too much about it. I do trend towards watching shows made for males, but there are just more of those in general. Shoujo and josei manga don't get adapted as often, and the ones that do are usually ones the producers expected to be more popular with a TV audience so they're not always the ones that had the biggest fans as manga. I don't think you need to pressure yourself into checking out the few shoujo and josei anime that manage to get made. It's worth looking into manga if you actually want those stories. |
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| People will always recommend what they think is a hidden gem, because people already gravitate towards popular known things. I don't feel guilty, but I try to balance exploitation and exploration. (Exploitation = things you naturally gravitate to, sure to be comfy or rewarding, Exploration = things you want to try out). PS: Each magazine has its own demographics trends and experimentations too, be love and Polaris, or gangan, jump, shounen and sunday, or margaret and nakayoshi. And that is before accounting for authors that hit better the wrong demographics, like Chihayafuru, that hit shoujo market as a Josei, or Kimetsu that got younger kids than expected. |
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Reply to Jentheworld
Don't feel guilty because of it. You can read and watch whatever attracts you and makes you enjoy the story. Demographics only represent what the publishers think certain audiences like. For instance, young boys like fighting, so the Shounen tag features a lot of fighting; young girls like romance and handsome men, so the Shoujo tag features romances. It's like a package that the vendor thinks will appeal to certain audiences. But it's alright to ignore it and watch whatever you like, as well as not force yourself to watch something you are not fond of. For me as a female audience, I'm not interested in most Shoujo and Josei works, but from time to time there're a few works from these tags I find interesting and am willing to watch.
What's more, as a yuri fan, I feel that sometimes even the demographics as set by publishers are not so accurate, as I have come across some publishers and editors who tagged yuri works as for male audiences (or Shounen), while in reality there're a lot more girls who watch and read yuri than they expect. For example, the author Inori, who is the writer of the light novels Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijou., has to fix the problem with the editors putting one of her works as for male audiences and claiming that female readers are not the main audiences. Therefore, I never care about the so-called demographics and simply watch what I like.
Last thing, you can always promote more Shoujo and Josei works and bring more attention to them.
What's more, as a yuri fan, I feel that sometimes even the demographics as set by publishers are not so accurate, as I have come across some publishers and editors who tagged yuri works as for male audiences (or Shounen), while in reality there're a lot more girls who watch and read yuri than they expect. For example, the author Inori, who is the writer of the light novels Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijou., has to fix the problem with the editors putting one of her works as for male audiences and claiming that female readers are not the main audiences. Therefore, I never care about the so-called demographics and simply watch what I like.
Last thing, you can always promote more Shoujo and Josei works and bring more attention to them.
| @Jentheworld As a Yuri fan, I'd think you'd like Shoujo and Josei. Yuri originated in Shoujo and there are some Shoujo Yuri anime. The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy At All is a Shoujo Yuri that's getting adapted. Maria Watches Over Us, Dear Brother, Revolutionary Girl Utena, and Kase-san and Morning Glories. Plus, there's Shoujo and Josei Yuri manga such as: Moonlight Flowers, Pieta, Love Vibes, She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat, Pink Candy Kiss, Love Vibes, Sword of Paros, etc. |
| It all comes to preference, the demographics are basically labels so that you know what kind of genre you're getting into. You should watch/read something based on your interest. I've been a huge fan of Shounen for quite some time when I was younger-- Now, I find myself graviating towards Seinen/Josei though it doesn't stop me from watching Shounen though, just not frequent as before. |
Feel free to drop by, okay? |
| What gets me to watch is the story, not the demographic specifically and I can find the stories of Shoujo or Jousei just as interesting as shounen or seinen. Though I am a guy, so of course I'm going to watch more stuff that aimed at me, and anime for the ladies are rarer. |
| "The name's Gambit. Remember it." -Gambit "X-Men '97"  |
| I don't see why you or anyone else - and truthfully can't relate to a mentality in which you or anyone else would feel pressured to either watch or not watch series of a certain demographic. But then, I don't operate any social media accounts and don't really play the social pressure game so it's something I find rather alien even outside this limited sphere of anime series demographic labels. If I were going by demographic corresponding to the actual biological reality of who I am and having to live by then, well then I would squarely fall into the Seinen category, as a late teens to 40+ adult male. But I don't watch or seek out (nor avoid) Seinen anymore than Shounen, Shoujo, Josei, or even Kodomo. I just defer to the synopsis and the synopsis alone, always. |
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