Well I don’t watch shonen so it’s hard for me to judge. But how do you know shounen shows intentionally follow The Hero’s Journey pattern or just happen to share some aspects? The one message that shounen likes to send is “work hard and be rewarded” (Japan is influenced by Confucian culture which values meritocracy). And due to the long running nature of anime shows, there must be multiple arcs, multiple challenges for the MC to overcome, and the MC will get stronger as a result of their hard work. This creates a “journey”, but not necessarily The Hero’s Journey™.
I have almost exclusively read shounen manga in the past. Chances are, if it was shounen and released between 2008 and 2015, I’ve read it.
It’s formulaic to the point where other satire anime will call out tropes associated with the genre, like Gintama.
Shounen manga starts with a great man that is at first under-estimated, but then is shown to have an exceptional talent or gains an exceptional power. A call to adventure is provided, usually when this talent or power is established. The hero will then meet a roadblock where they cannot pass, and they must train to gain more power. Usually multiple times. And the end is hastily and shittily concluded when the author is given very short notice to end the manga.
Well I don’t watch shonen so it’s hard for me to judge. But how do you know shounen shows intentionally follow The Hero’s Journey pattern or just happen to share some aspects? The one message that shounen likes to send is “work hard and be rewarded” (Japan is influenced by Confucian culture which values meritocracy). And due to the long running nature of anime shows, there must be multiple arcs, multiple challenges for the MC to overcome, and the MC will get stronger as a result of their hard work. This creates a “journey”, but not necessarily The Hero’s Journey™.
I have almost exclusively read shounen manga in the past. Chances are, if it was shounen and released between 2008 and 2015, I’ve read it.
It’s formulaic to the point where other satire anime will call out tropes associated with the genre, like Gintama.
Shounen manga starts with a great man that is at first under-estimated, but then is shown to have an exceptional talent or gains an exceptional power. A call to adventure is provided, usually when this talent or power is established. The hero will then meet a roadblock where they cannot pass, and they must train to gain more power. Usually multiple times. And the end is hastily and shittily concluded when the author is given very short notice to end the manga.