Do you like to read manga? Manga, literally means “whimsical drawings’, is popularly known as Japanese comic. It is a part of Japanese culture that already became popular in all over the world. Just like movies, manga also have certain reader’s segmentation. The three main reader’s segmentation are kodomo manga, shoujo manga, and shonen manga.
Kodomo manga is a variety of manga that is directed towards children (both boys and girls). Since it is made especially for children, the story of the manga usually contents educational and moralistic element, for example how to behave good in your life environment. Some kodomo manga even contain school subject such as mathematics and physics, but they are told in the form of comic so children can be easier to understand that subject. Unlike comics for older people, kodomo manga’s story are generally stands alone and not appear in the form of continued serial, in order to appeal more to children. Doraemon and Kobo-chan are two of the most well-known examples for kodomo manga.
The second segmentation is shoujo manga. Shoujo manga is destined for female (girl) readers, approximately between age 10 to 19. Shoujo in Japanese literally means “little female”. Even though shoujo manga covers many genre (from mystery to sport, from sci-fi to historical drama, etc.), usually it has a strong focus on relationship between boys and girls and it often exposing romantic emotions. In drawing techniques, characters in shojo manga usually have big eyes. The drawing line is so smooth, and when a character is in a happy condition, flowers usually will appear behind them. Some examples for shoujo manga are : Sailor Moon, D.N. Angel, Fushigi Yuugi, Cardcaptor Sakura, Itazura Na Kiss, Neon Genesis Evangelion.
The last segmentation that will be described here is shonen manga. Shonen manga refers to male (boys) audience in the same age range with shoujo manga. It literally means “young person’s comics”. Why it is called ‘young person’, not ‘young male’ just like shoujo did? Maybe it’s because shonen can also be read and liked by girls, unlike shoujo which actually can be read by boys but they tend to dislike the story because it’s too romantic. Shonen manga is usually content high-tension action and comedy. Competition, sport, and fight are most common elements in shonen manga. In drawing techniques, the drawing line is rougher/stronger than in shoujo manga, and it also less flowery than shoujo. Female characters in shonen manga sometimes portrayed sexier than in shoujo manga, like wearing ultra-mini skirt to school, etc. Examples for shonen manga includes : Detective Conan, Fullmetal Alchemist, Inuyasha, One Piece, Bleach, Yakitate!Japan, Death Note.
So now you already know what is kodomo manga, shoujo manga, and shonen manga. Which one do you prefer?
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