Summary
Anime has gone from being the most cult of cult interests to something much broader and more widespread. From its aesthetics to its storylines, there’s a whole host of media that either reference anime or take on its style. They may even know their shojo series from their josei shows, isekai from their harem. Yet the most familiar anime genre is likelyshonen.
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The name meant they were initially aimed towards young boys, but the genre’s approach to action, dramatic twists, and getting stronger ended up appealing to all audiences.Naruto,Bleach, andOne Pieceare all shonen, as areSpy X Family,Dr. Stone,Chainsaw Man, and more. But they wouldn’t be here today without these classic manga.
10Astro Boy
Like nearly everything manga and anime-related, it all goes back to Osamu Tezuka and his work. The man’s whole oeuvre has influenced multiple genres to one degree or another, be they serious medical stories likeBlack Jackor the historical epicPhoenix. Then he all but invented the shonen genre with his sci-fi adventure seriesTetsuwan Atom (“Mighty Atom”), better known asAstro Boy.
Its story about a robot boy protecting humans and robots alike with his mechanical defenses is basically the root of all modern shonen, be itDragon BallorOne Piece. It inspired readers with Astro proving his humanity as well as his strength and has received multiple anime adaptations since the 1960s. It’s even had mature spin-offs aimed at older readers like Naoki Urasawa’s crime drama mangaPluto.
9Lupin The Third
Monkey Punch’s comedy adventure seriesLupin the Thirdis anotherold-school influence. It followed the titular lead, the grandson of famous French thief Arsene Lupin, on his globetrotting attempts to live up to the family name with his partner-in-crime Jigen, samurai aide Goemon Ishikawa XIII, and occasional girlfriend/eternal rival Fujiko. All with the driven but incompetent Inspector Zenigata on his heels.
They may be criminals, but they come off as lovable rogues, righting wrongs in their attempts to steal treasures. Fans may be familiar withThe Castle of Cagliostrobeing Hayao Miyazaki’s first feature-length flick. Though they may be less aware of the gang inspiringOne Piece’s Strawhat Pirates, the leads inCowboy Bebop, and the main party inFinal Fantasy 9.
8Dororo
Monkey Punch’s Goemon is a fun take on samurai, as he avoids unnecessary bloodshed by stripping his opponents with his sword swipes. But other series don’t shy away from putting the blade to flesh. Demons get slayed inDemon Slayer, Hollows get the edge inBleach, and dismemberment is the name of the game inBlade of the Immortal. Mature samurai stories are as old as the hills in Japan, but in comic form, fans would have to go back to Tezuka again withDororo.
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In it, the titular thief accompanies Hyakkimaru, a samurai who was born without limbs and features and thus uses prosthetics to fight. He has to kill 100 demons to be free from their curse, regaining his body parts with each kill. Dororo aids him in his quest while helping him retain his humanity. It’s a story that’s aged well too, as it got readapted into an anime in 2019.
7Ashita no Joe
Dispensing justice with a sword, fist, demon powers, or quick wits can be a little fantastical for some. They may prefer something more grounded, like the sports drama seen in famous series likeHajime No Ippo,Slam Dunk, andCaptain Tsubasaamong others. Nearly all of them were inspired by Asao Takamori’s 1968 mangaAshita No Joe.
It was about how juvenile delinquent Joe Yabuki became a professional bantamweight boxer. With no supernatural spooks or metaphysical hijinks, the manga used the sport itself to tell its story, from the risks boxers take just to reach the ring to the joy victory can bring. Aside from inspiringIppo,Megalo Box, andother boxing stories, Studio Pierrot had the manga in mind when they animatedNaruto, seeing parallels between Joe and the ninja.
6Devilman
Not every shonen story is all fun and frolics.Death Note,Tokyo Ghoul, andNeon Genesis Evangelionall dove into darkness where the only happy ending is that some people may have survived its horror. Part of their outlook came from readingDevilman, Go Nagai’s mix of dark fantasy, shonen superheroics, and nihilistic horror.
With the help of his old friend Ryo, Akira takes in the power of the demon Amon to eliminate the other demons that are hiding in society. Aside from its morally gray hero and extreme violence, its story was famous for its grim, apocalyptic ending, one which would eventually lead to its spin-offViolence Jack, which closed off more happily but kept the heavy violence and extreme content.
5Akira
Katsuhiro Otomo’sAkiraneeds no introduction. Its animated movie adaptation is arguably why video stores, streaming services, and people in general even differentiate “anime” from “cartoons.” It’s been referenced in media East and West for the past 30+ years, which wasn’t bad for a movie that was trying to cram 8+ years of a then-unfinished manga into two and a half hours.
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Completed two years after the film, the original seinen manga delved deeper into the government conspiracies and revolutionary politics that Kaneda and his biker gang got caught up in. It gotNarutocreator Masashi Kishimoto andGrand Teacher Onizukacreator Tōru Fujisawa into manga, inspired the post-apocalyptic setting forFist of the North Star, and led to other legendary cyberpunk manga likeGhost in the ShellandBattle Angel Alita.
4Urusei Yatsura
Most shonen tales have some fisticuffs in them to one degree or another. But it doesn’t mean they have to be serious fights to the death. They could be gag wrestling matches that see an otherwise average schlub win the affection of the sexiest woman in the galaxy. Unfortunately forUrusei Yatsura’s Ataru, he doesn’t want the alien princess Lum. He wants his childhood friend Shinobu. Thus,the modern harem genrewas born.
Ataru would try to shrug off Lum’s insistent flirting and win Shinobu’s heart, before meeting more people who either try to get his attention or take Lum or Shinobu away from him. It would be the first of Rumiko Takahashi’s big hits, leading toRanma 1/2andInuyasha.The genre would become a manga/anime staple throughTenchi Muyo,Love Hina, and its reverse harem shojo equivalentOuran High School Host Club.
3Fist Of The North Star
AsUrusei Yatsurashows, shonen still has a place for love and the drama that comes from it. Though it can be expressed in very different ways. For example, Tetsuo Hara and Buronson’sFist of the North Starexpresses romantic, platonic, and familial love alongside all the complications that come from them. Like what happens when two people fall in love with the same person, or when a friend sacrifices themselves for another.
The series is more famous for its stoic lead, beefy muscles, and bloody battles, inspiring memes (even back in its 1980s heyday), and parodies likeBobobo-bo Bo-bobo. Yet its emotional storytelling and “manly tears” were enough to influence Kentarō Miura into writingBerserk, and forVinland Saga’s Makoto Yukimura to draw manga at all. That’s without getting into its influence on games likeDouble Dragon,Mortal Kombat, and theYakuza/Like A Dragonseries.
2Dragon Ball
WhileFist of the North Starhas left an impact, it is admittedly a dent compared to the one Akira Toriyama’sDragon Ballleft. He was already famous at the time for his action comedy seriesDr. Slump. Yet there was something about Son Goku’s adventures with Bulma in search of the wish-granting Dragon Balls that made him known worldwide.
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It could’ve been his charming art style and storytelling, which blended serious muscle drama and slapstick comedy almost seamlessly. Or it might have been the characters themselves, as Goku was as endearing as he is powerful, even beforehis hair-based upgradesinZ, GT,andSuper. Most likely, it was all this and more, as its DNA can be seen inOne Piece,Naruto,My Hero Academia,Bleach, and nearly every otherShonen Jumpseries after it.
1Berserk
LikeAkira, Kentaro Miura’sBerserkwas a seinen manga meant for older readers, so kids weren’t going to catch it inShonen Jump. They would’ve had to pick upYoung Animalmagazine, convince the store clerk they were old enough to buy it, and then discover Guts’ journey of revenge againsthis erstwhile frenemy Griffithwas too much for them to take.
It’s a very dark fantasy tale, with content to make readers today blanche at the sight of it. But likeFist of the North Star, they’re there to make its more tender moments sweeter. There are few works like it, butBleach, Fullmetal Alchemist,Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, Black Clover, Blue Exorcist, and more have tried to capture some of its essence for younger audiences.
