While touching on the topic in the past, I recently realised that I have not provided an overview of the main demographics that surround the marketing of manga. Therefore, I thought it might be worth discussing these major demographics as well as who they consist of and how Japanese publishers pursue these markets.
It is worth noting that the majority of manga released in Japan are released through manga magazines and are later collected into compiled editions called tankoban. While these magazines may have themes related to the types of stories they tell, they generally target a specific demographic characterised by their age and gender.
It is likely that if you have even a passing knowledge of manga, you’ve likely heard the term “Shonen”. Shonen refers to a demographic made up of teen males although many manga series produced for this market have also proven popular with girls and adult men. It is undoubtedly the most popular demographic of manga with many of the best-selling manga and manga magazines being produced for shonen readers. Many of these manga are adapted into anime series and can cover a wide variety of genres although combat/adventure, sports, and comedy series tend to be the most popular.
“Shojo” refers to manga aimed at teen girls and, while theoretically covering a wide variety of genres, tend to focus on female leads and romance. As with any media produced primarily for females, there is a lot of stigma towards people outside of the demographic reading shojo titles. I think this is a shame as this ignores many of the incredibly talented individuals who write for this demographic such as the Year 24 Group, Clamp and more. While some shojo series see anime adaptations, they are just as likely to be adapted into live-action films and TV series.
Moving on, the next demographic I would like to discuss would be “Seinen”. Seinen manga targets adult males and can include more violence and sexuality than in shonen titles although many don’t. Just like shonen, seinen covers a wide variety of genres and styles and, in fact, one of my favourite manga series of all time, Girl Friends, features more of the style and themes of shojo manga despite being published in a seinen magazine. Seinen series featuring fantasy or sci-fi elements are often adapted into anime series while others are more likely to be adapted into live-action media.
Manga that are aimed primarily at adult women are called “Josei“. Amongst the manga demographics covered in this overview, josei is easily the least popular which I’ve always found deplorable as some of my favourite manga of all time are josei titles. Josei titles continue the shojo trend of following female characters although josei manga, as far as I’m concerned, seem more likely to show the negative side to romantic relationships such as self-image, indulgence and abuse. That is not to say that all josei titles are dark, in fact many aren’t, but that is one of the aspects that draws me to reading josei series. Josei manga are very rarely adapted to anime and are usually produced as a live-action TV series or film.
Finally, I would like to mention the demographic which is often forgotten about here in the West, “Kodomo“. Targeted at children too young for shonen or shojo, these manga are often comedic although some focus a little more on combat such as Pokémon. Easily the most popular kodomo title is Doraemon, a series about a robotic cat who is sent back in time to help a boy called Nobita. Many kodomo manga are adapted into anime although I think it’s fair to say that the reverse happens just as often.
Let me know your thoughts on this overview, which manga demographics you’re familiar with, which ones you would like to read more of and any additional information you have on the topic.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs!