少年shonen
Quick definition:Shonen is manga and anime aimed mainly at teenage boys, usually built around action, adventure, friendship and a determined hero who trains hard to become stronger.
Meaning
Shonen, also spelled shounen, is a demographic category, which means it describes the audience a work is published for rather than its subject. It is aimed at boys of roughly school age, though readers of every age and gender enjoy it. Magazines such as Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan carry many famous examples.
Common ingredients include tournaments, rivalries, special powers and a hero who never gives up. Themes of effort, loyalty and friendship appear again and again, and stories are usually structured so that each challenge is harder than the last. Humour and a touch of romance often sit alongside the fighting.
Not every shonen title is about battles. Sports series, comedies and mystery stories also appear under the label, because the category follows the magazine and its intended readers, not the plot. Fans sometimes use the term loosely for any energetic action series.
Origin:Shonen is a Japanese word written with characters meaning few and year, and it means a boy or young male. As a publishing category it took shape in Japanese magazines aimed at boys in the early twentieth century, and it was later adopted by fans overseas to describe the manga and anime in that tradition.
Example:Naruto is a well-known shonen story: a young ninja who is shunned by his village dreams of becoming its leader and keeps training despite repeated failures. One Piece, about a pirate crew searching for treasure, follows a similar path of friendship, rivals and ever bigger adventures. Did you know?The Japanese magazine Weekly Shonen Jump collects reader surveys on its chapters, and series that rank poorly can be ended early. This pressure is often credited with shaping the fast pace and cliffhangers found in many shonen titles. 