In the world of anime there are many genres, so many that I’d bet there is an anime for every single person. But there is one genre that stands out above the rest.

Shonen!

Shonen is a genre of anime that is also a magazine (Shonen Jump!) released every week in Japan with the most popular shonen manga. Shonen is geared towards a young male audience that is filled with action that. This also happens to be the genre most often advertised in mainstream media. Because of this and my husband (who got me to watch all of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z), I’ve watched quite a bit of shonen anime.

Some popular names that come to mind would be Naruto, One Piece and Dragon Ball Z, and newer shows like Demon Slayer, Black Clover, and My Hero Academia. These type of shows can be addicting, but I think there are 4 key elements that most of our favorite shonen have in common that make them unforgettable.

The first element that is in every single shonen anime has thrilling action packed fights. This is true whether it’s a battle for the death or the most intense anime basketball game you’ve ever seen (looking at you Kuroko’s Basketball with all of your powerups). I have yet to see a shonen anime with no types of battles.

Speaking of powerups, this brings us to our element number 2: Leveling/powering up. It wouldn’t be a shonen if there was no way to see how our main characters progressed through the story. The easiest way to see how much stronger our character became is to see them learn a new move they couldn’t do when they were weak. Along with leveling up, the characters usually gain new powerups. Some iconic scenes include Goku going super sayian for the first time, watching Ichigo be able to finally conqueror his Zangetsu, or Luffy gaining his Second Gear. Either way level ups and powerups allow for some iconic scenes and creativity.

The third element is good versus evil. This evil can range from being a singular person to a whole government. There has to be some kind of antagonist against our main character. Great rivalries arise and some of the best villians are made. And while I love watching a well developed villian, there is always a part of me that wants the hero to triumph in the end.

The last most important element that makes a great shonen anime is to have a relatable main character although they seem to live outside the law. This perfectly describes a character like Luffy, (the main character in One Piece) who as a pirate lives outside of the law set by the Navy, and even has come to befriend some Navy officers. Fans love to see Luffy gain friends and protect those friends all while facing the Navy directly. Although the storylines can be predictable, it just works. For any shonen to prosper and gain in popularity, you have to a relatable character, preferably one who the audience can see the character’s development over the series.

Well there you go the 4 key elements to a great shonen anime! Are there any that I missed? Let me know if the comments below! See you tomorrow, peace!