Those that aren’t particularly fond of anime as a whole might dismiss the entire genre as nothing more than a children’s cartoon that lacks any variety. The truth, however, is that anime and manga are some of the most diverse mediums of entertainment in the world, offering dozens of subgenres fit for just about everyone.
Anyone new to anime will come across a mix of Japanese terms that they might not understand at first. Many of these tend to be direct descriptions of a type of anime, and knowing them can help the uninitiated find the kind of anime that they would enjoy watching.
Shonen Anime
Shonen anime and manga refers to stories that centre around children that are younger than the age of 15. These tend to be aimed at the same demographic age, meaning that the stories will revolve around a younger teenager. Such shows that best encompass the shonen category include Naruto, One Piece, Attack on Titan, and Dragon Ball Z.
Shojo Anime
Shojo is the counterpart to shonen in that it’s aimed at the same demographic, but the main protagonist will most often be a younger girl, usually between the ages of 10 and 18. Although shojo will almost always have a young woman as the lead, sometimes it will feature homosexual stories. Sailor Moon and NANA are two of the shows that best describe this subgenre.
Seinen
This type of anime is for younger men between the ages of 15 and 24, where the themes and plotlines tend to be more mature, focusing on violence or storytelling of a psychological nature. Although there are a number of popular seinen comedies that can be found, and these make for some good entertainment while seeking out the best NRL premiership odds. Some of the more well-known anime and manga series that feature in seinen include Gantz, Akira, Hellsing, and Ghost in The Shell.
Josei
Much like shojo, josei is the counterpart to seinen in that it’s aimed at adult women. These series tend to be made up of romantic or slice of life stories that primarily feature young adult women. Action adventure series have gained traction in recent years, however. Whatever the focus of the story is, viewers will find a lot of the focus on interpersonal relationships, and can even sometimes include much darker themes, like cheating and murder. While the general rule for josei is to have females in a lead role, it’s become much more common recently to have male leads, especially those that identify as homosexual. Some examples include Honey and Clover, Loveless, and Paradise Kiss.
Kodomomuke
Almost entirely directed at young children, kodomomuke are usually simple shows that put most of the story focus on teaching core morals and values to younger viewer and readers. They can either be original stories from Japan, or adaptions based on western literature. Doreamon, Hello Kitty, Anpanman, and Girl of the Alps are some of the very best examples of this type of anime.