[babossagaji]

All I know is Shoujo is targeted towards young girls...shonen is for young boys, and Josei is for women (I think). Manga pros please explain them ALL of the genres to me. I really want to know what Moé or mahō kanojo or magical girlfriend (all one genre) is. How is it different from the other genres? O_o

[disgruntled_ricecooker]

I'm not an expert but I'll explain what I "know."

The manga target audiences are: shounen (young males), shoujo (young females), seinen (mature men), josei (mature women), and kodomo (children). Shounen and shoujo titles may attract teenagers as the stories typically feature a protagonist they can relate to. Seinen and josei titles deal with topics that are more adult oriented while kodomo titles (i.e. Doraemon) are family friendly.

Moe is kind of hard to describe but I would classify it as a cute girl. These girls probably have an ideal trait (i.e. shy personality) that male readers would eat up. A young and attractive appearance is a definite characteristic and they would have to be lovable to the point where they make the readers care for them. A naive perspective would also give off a sense of innocence as well. Chii from Chobits (in my opinion) is an example. I have yet to come across a mahou kanojo (magical girlfriend) title.

Mahou shoujo (magical girl) features a female character who has a magical device/power to better the problems in their environment. Popular examples are Sailor Moon battling evil and Cardcaptor Sakura eliminating the problematic cards. Romance is basically any drama-filled title involving a primary couple going through obstacles.

Mecha usually attracts the male audience and the highlight of this genre are the giant robots. These robots are piloted by individuals with a sense of personal reasons/conflict. Gundam is the prime example that has proven itself with many incarnations over the years. Otakus of this category may purchase kits to build their favorite models at various points of articulation. Science fiction also plays a role as advanced technology and a futuristic setting is a staple.

Fighting titles deal with a character who is battling a force of evil or is simply trying to make themselves the best at something (i.e. Naruto trying to become the Hokage). I'm not sure if this the official name of the genre but a definite feature of it is displaying glorious battle scenes with unique techniques. This genre may have a sense of journey and adventure.

Shounen-ai (boys love) and shoujo-ai (girls love) deal with same sex romances but I consider this to be the fluff as it develops the relationships with no graphic situations. Yaoi and yuri features sex scenes in different mileages in being tasteful. Hentai, I'm not sure if there is manga but it exploits young girls into fantasy situations of rape and pleasure. One thing that comes to mind are the rape tentacles that lustful aliens/monsters use.

Doujinshi are fan made comics that amatuers make out of love for manga, a particular title/character. CLAMP started off as a group doing doujinshi comics. Some works may feature characters in situations not considered cannon in the original work.

[badbadz]

very informative.. thanks for the explanation..

new manga addict here..

[Luly]

actually, the categories are not distinct anymore. especialy the shoujo & shounen mangas. it's hard to determine the categories simply based on the content.

mangas like Angel Sanctuary, which are believed to be shounen, are actually shoujo. a more accurate conclusion can be deducted based on the magazines that they first appeared in.