Some parts might be slightly repetitive heh, because they were written in separate chunks over a long period of time. And I can't be bothered to go back and edit everything heh.
Update: Lel just realised this was the 2500th post. Fitting that a nice number post is also one that I spent super long I guess? Heh.
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In the recent years, anime, manga and to a lesser extent light novels have been quite a big part of my life. Whether it's Japanese, Korean or Chinese origins, I've come to enjoy this sort of content.
I can't exactly pinpoint why I tend to prefer this to other forms of content such as live action drama. I think a big part of it is the fantasy world setting. Live action has much more limitations to this. For example, how do you portray a world full of people with superhuman powers? It would look so CGI heavy that it doesn't make sense anymore. Also things like jumping great heights or really fast speeds feel weird in live action (I imagine those chinese martial art shows), whereas in these medium they can be pushed far while still looking good. Then again, perhaps it's just because I've never had a good reason to start watching live action, unlike the case of anime / manga where I slowly got into it.
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So how did I get into it? I'll try to recount it as accurately as I can, with the help of some of my old blog posts.
I did watch things like english dubbed Digimon and early episodes of One Piece when i was much younger, but I didn't even associate those shows with anime it was just another cartoon to me. So that wasn't it. I did associate Dragon Ball Z, Naruto and Bleach with anime (they were the big ones in lower secondary), but till today I actually still don't know much about Naruto and Bleach, while for DBZ I did watch a little on TV but it was so padded with so much filler that my impression of anime was 'Goku charges spirit bomb for a ridiculous number of episodes and meanwhile nothing else really happens'. Aside from those, there were the more romance/drama animes which I found weird, like why are there so many cartoon girls with rainbow coloured hair.
The main interest came about when I was in secondary 4. I used to randomly flip channels at my grandma's house when I was there for dinner, and animax definitely seemed alot more interesting than random dramas and national geographic. That's when I got introduced to Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood in secondary 4. That was an amazing place to start and be introduced to the world of anime, till today I still consider FMAB one of the greatest stories ever told. Search 'fmab' on this blog to see my old posts on it lel. Up till that point I didn't particularly have a great impression of anime. FMAB gave me a strong positive impression of what such medium can do.
After that, it's not like I got into anime and manga immediately. It just became a medium I wasn't biased against and if I heard of something online / from friends that I thought was interesting I would check out. I was introduced to the manga Liar Game around the same time, a tournament where players participate in various games where they are encouraged to cheat and betray each other. Although it was a disappointment towards the end, it was great up till then and gave me a positive impression as likely the first manga I ever read.
This ramped up more when I was in SCS as a trainer. There, I also had quite a lot of free time and no access to my laptop in the army. I actually still read more hardcopy books during this time, but with the extra time I also read manga, read light novels and watched anime on my phone. I came across a highly rated manga Monster, which I remember my friends telling me before it was great so I checked it out. Good stuff. Then there was as huge amount of hype around the first season of Sword Art Online and I thought the premise was great, so I would watch it. It was simultaneously great and disastrous heh. I also read the fate/zero light novel given I know about the fate series and fate/zero was highly rated, that too was good stuff.
I would say the point where my interest in anime / manga superseded other mediums would be near the end of my time in army. My brother was watching the One Piece anime when it was at a pretty epic part of the story. I stood behind him and watched a bit here and there, I thought it was kinda interesting. Then I had my wisdom tooth plucked out and had to lie on my bed for two days, I wasn't even supposed to sit up straight, so that limits much of what I can do. So I binge watched the epic arc which was 400+ episodes into One Piece. Finished the arc, continued watching until I caught up with it, then realised that the manga was ahead. Switched to the manga and have not stopped since.
One Piece to me at that point was a really cool story but still not at epic levels yet. I guess I considered it like a guilty pleasure. It definitely exceeded my expectations, given what I thought of One Piece as a silly adventure cartoon when I was young. I also continued watching interesting anime as they came out.
Then sometime in university, the One Piece manga started getting REALLY good. And that's probably when I went, oh my goodness this is great, and I started to look out for what else is considered great in the genre out there. From there I picked up plenty of manga. Nobeleese, Tower of God, My Hero Academia, DICE. One Punch Man anime got famous even outside anime circles so there was that too.
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What I Watch
Most of the content I consume would fall under the genre of 'shonen'. The stereotypical story in the shonen genre goes like this. A young protagonist who starts of weak has big dreams / is thrust into a situation that forces him to grow. He then sets out of a journey to become the strongest ever. Along the way, he meets enemies. He fights them, taking some losses along the way but eventually manages to beat them. He moves on in the journey, meets someone even stronger, and the process repeats until he finally climbs to the pinnacle and is the strongest ever.
This formula in and of itself is pretty boring, especially when almost every shonen story does the same thing. Shonen was originally meant to be a genre that appeals to young males, and was thus written that way, with lots of focus on badass fights and all. Over time though the genre evolved, especially off the fact that many of these shonen stories last for decades and so the young boys who started reading them grew up and the stories that they read from young matured together with them as well. Newer Shonens also no longer assume their audience are young boys and are willing to incorporate more mature / darker themes, aren't just kiddy simplistic story loops but feature grander storylines, and also where the enemy isn't simply ultimately defeated by the power of friendship. Today, shonen is the largest genre in the industry by far and the stories have come a long way.
I follow many stories and of course among them all, there are obviously some that I prefer more to others. There are those that I get excited when a new chapter / episode is released, and can't wait to find out what happens next. Then there are some that I really don't care much and I just read it because I already have read it. If the author suddenly stopped writing, I wouldn't really care.
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Ingredients for the Greatest Shonens
So, what separates the really good ones from the others?
1) Amazing World Building
This is probably the main reason why I like shonen. Almost all of these stories, even the ones I think are bad, have cool fantasy worlds. Immersing myself in these worlds is always fun and as I read these stories, I often wonder what it would be like to live in this world, what kind of character would I be and what kind of power will I have etc.
Every author can create their own fantasy world with its own rules and special powers. Many (though not all) shonen stories have characters each having one special power each, which makes every battle fresh as different special powers clash. There's also the bigger picture of how the world is set up. Who are the factions in power, what are their objectives, and how all the pieces come together during the protagonist's story.
Some stories do these things way better than others. A less interesting story for example might not have a clear thread running through the entire story. It feels more episodic, with each encounter being isolated, and once each challenge is overcome then most of it is past and we move on to the next thing, introducing a new villain and so on. Great stories have a clear big picture in mind and there is constant progress being made towards that goal. Different elements of the world do not simply get introduced when needed, but can be in place for a long time before they become key plot points in the story, hence making it feel more like the world is alive and functioning rather than plot points that are introduced to move the story forward.
2) Great Characters and Character Development
Every author can create their own fantasy world with its own rules and special powers. Many (though not all) shonen stories have characters each having one special power each, which makes every battle fresh as different special powers clash. There's also the bigger picture of how the world is set up. Who are the factions in power, what are their objectives, and how all the pieces come together during the protagonist's story.
Some stories do these things way better than others. A less interesting story for example might not have a clear thread running through the entire story. It feels more episodic, with each encounter being isolated, and once each challenge is overcome then most of it is past and we move on to the next thing, introducing a new villain and so on. Great stories have a clear big picture in mind and there is constant progress being made towards that goal. Different elements of the world do not simply get introduced when needed, but can be in place for a long time before they become key plot points in the story, hence making it feel more like the world is alive and functioning rather than plot points that are introduced to move the story forward.
2) Great Characters and Character Development
Shonen or not, great characters make or break a story. One trap some shonen stories fall into is having a generic good protagonist who can do no wrong, fighting their way through forces of evil who are evil just because. Great characters however are complex yet consistent. Complex because they are three dimensional characters with proper motivations, beliefs and attitudes. Consistent not in the sense that they do not change over the story, but if there is change it's clear what inspires that change rather than a character seemingly becoming someone else.
One way I like to tell whether a story has great characters is to look at the villains. Do they have plain stock villains who are simply bent on killing and destruction? Or are they more nuanced characters? Is there even a clear line between who's a villain and who's not?
With regards to character development, a key part of shonen stories is that characters grow stronger and become more powerful over time. That's great and all, most certainly an essential part of the story. However, what separates a great shonen from a less interesting one is how this power up is done. Arbitrary numerical power ups are pretty boring. Basically going from being able to shoot 1 fireball to 3 to 5, or explosions becoming bigger and bigger, or punches hitting harder and harder. These alone are pretty lame power ups to be honest. Another common pitfall is the main protagonist just somehow being so lucky and getting one boost of power after another fall onto their laps. A good story will show how fighting experience comes in, how characters grow from their battles not just in raw power but in battle sense.
As shonen is often a journey towards a final end goal, what I am also more interested in is their character growth through the journey and the experiences they go through. How do their beliefs, attitudes, and motivations shift along the journey, what shapes them, how do they develop as people in the story? A weaker story would lack these and the story can get stale pretty quickly.
Another interesting thing to look at is their cast of supporting characters. The protagonist often has the most effort put into it of course, though some of them are still bland despite that. Supporting characters are more easily left out in the story. Great shonens know how to develop the supporting cast as well and make them important and relevant throughout the story.
One way I like to tell whether a story has great characters is to look at the villains. Do they have plain stock villains who are simply bent on killing and destruction? Or are they more nuanced characters? Is there even a clear line between who's a villain and who's not?
With regards to character development, a key part of shonen stories is that characters grow stronger and become more powerful over time. That's great and all, most certainly an essential part of the story. However, what separates a great shonen from a less interesting one is how this power up is done. Arbitrary numerical power ups are pretty boring. Basically going from being able to shoot 1 fireball to 3 to 5, or explosions becoming bigger and bigger, or punches hitting harder and harder. These alone are pretty lame power ups to be honest. Another common pitfall is the main protagonist just somehow being so lucky and getting one boost of power after another fall onto their laps. A good story will show how fighting experience comes in, how characters grow from their battles not just in raw power but in battle sense.
As shonen is often a journey towards a final end goal, what I am also more interested in is their character growth through the journey and the experiences they go through. How do their beliefs, attitudes, and motivations shift along the journey, what shapes them, how do they develop as people in the story? A weaker story would lack these and the story can get stale pretty quickly.
Another interesting thing to look at is their cast of supporting characters. The protagonist often has the most effort put into it of course, though some of them are still bland despite that. Supporting characters are more easily left out in the story. Great shonens know how to develop the supporting cast as well and make them important and relevant throughout the story.
3) Masterful Story Telling
Shonen stories can last for a long time, quite a number of them are around for more than a decade. This also means that there's plenty of ways the story can become less interesting over time and fall by the wayside. This is especially the case if stories simply keep repeating their formulas or utilise over used tropes. Good stories manage to keep things interesting across many arcs and sagas. Great stories keep building on them and each one becomes better than the previous. It relates closely to world building as well I guess, great stories seed plot points for later arcs much earlier so it flows much more naturally.
One issue I've also often noticed is how authors handle the protagonist. In a bid to keep things interesting and attempt to have tension in the story, authors sometimes have the protagonists put in very bad spots and make you wonder how they are going to get out of it. Here's the thing though, we all know that the protagonist isn't going to die. So while it can be interesting if done well, sometimes there's just no real tension.
This leads to two possible outcomes. One is that the tension feels manufactured. We know the protagonist is fine and will overcome it, so we don't get too concerned. The other occurs when the author puts the protagonist in such deep shit to really try to drill in some tension, and as a result the author ends up writing themselves into a corner. When the protagonist manages to come out fine in the end, it feels like a complete ass pull. The proper term is Deus Ex Machina, but let's stick to ass pull because the way some of these situations are resolved doesn't deserve a fancy latin phrase.
Great stories find a way to keep things interesting, even though we know the protagonist will be fine.
4) Great Use of Comedy
I find myself drawn to stories that weave comedy in perfectly while driving a larger plot. I'm not really someone who watches pure comedy shows, but I really appreciate it when lighthearted moments are peppered into the plot.
Then again even though I say I'm not someone who watches comedy shows I do love One Punch Man which is basically a parody of the genre so actually I'm not too sure what my view on comedy is myself heh. I'll say this one is subjective, but I definitely appreciate it when even as I'm drawn into a story's plot, I can find myself chuckling or even laughing out loud at certain moments.
5) Badass Fights
Of course at the end of the day, shonen was birthed for badass fights heh. You have a fantasy world, characters with super powers, potential to build up certain important fights, of course things can get very interesting. Fights that are purely based off brute force can get rather boring, so it's interesting to see how tactics, teamplay, and creative use of powers can come in a battle. Of course it needs to all look fancy at the end of the day too heh.
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With that, here's a quick review of some anime and manga I think are worth mentioning! There are a couple of others I follow that are not listed here, but they're the ones not really worth talking about.
The Top Five
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood [Recommended: Anime]
9.2 on MyAnimeList, ranked #1 for the past decade.
4.9 on Crunchyroll
9.1 on IMDB
100% positive on Rotten Tomatoes
What else can I say. I've fanboyed plenty about this show for the last decade myself.
FMAB hits all 5 ingredients brilliantly. What stands out for me is the use of equivalent exchange consistently as a plot device throughout the entire series, and also that it has one of the most satisfying endings I've seen.
FMAB is pretty interesting as a shonen. That's what it is classified as, but it's very different from the others. Edward Elric doesn't start off weak and grow stronger over time. What each character can or cannot do is clearly defined by the world they live in - the law of equivalent exchange. There's no story loop, no sprawling grand adventure to embark on. Just a concise story with a clear end goal.
Another advantage is that unlike many other Shonen out there which goes on for hundreds of episodes and thus can be intimidating to get into, FMAB is 64 episodes. That's not short, but that certainly doesn't feel like it will take forever.
I would highly recommend FMAB for anyone who likes action/thrillers. It is a little aged being over ten years old (animation has improved tremendously in those years), but it still is simply one of the best out there.
It can get pretty gory at times and the story gets really dark. Then again if you get past the infamous episode 4... you'll do fine. My goodness. I do get why they chose to do it, it's an important episode for character development, but that episode scars you.
4.9 on Crunchyroll
9.1 on IMDB
100% positive on Rotten Tomatoes
What else can I say. I've fanboyed plenty about this show for the last decade myself.
FMAB hits all 5 ingredients brilliantly. What stands out for me is the use of equivalent exchange consistently as a plot device throughout the entire series, and also that it has one of the most satisfying endings I've seen.
FMAB is pretty interesting as a shonen. That's what it is classified as, but it's very different from the others. Edward Elric doesn't start off weak and grow stronger over time. What each character can or cannot do is clearly defined by the world they live in - the law of equivalent exchange. There's no story loop, no sprawling grand adventure to embark on. Just a concise story with a clear end goal.
Another advantage is that unlike many other Shonen out there which goes on for hundreds of episodes and thus can be intimidating to get into, FMAB is 64 episodes. That's not short, but that certainly doesn't feel like it will take forever.
I would highly recommend FMAB for anyone who likes action/thrillers. It is a little aged being over ten years old (animation has improved tremendously in those years), but it still is simply one of the best out there.
It can get pretty gory at times and the story gets really dark. Then again if you get past the infamous episode 4... you'll do fine. My goodness. I do get why they chose to do it, it's an important episode for character development, but that episode scars you.
One Punch Man [Recommended: Anime Season 1]
This show is hilarious.
The series is a parody of Shonen. It basically takes the common Shonen tropes and turn them on their head. Instead of starting off weak and getting strong over time to achieve the final goal, the protagonist is an uninspiring looking character who is the strongest of all. So strong, that he is completely and utterly bored because he can't experience a real fight as he beats everyone in one punch.
How did he get so strong? Did he fall into a vat of chemicals and mutated? No. Did he undergo some cosmic radiation and received unworldly power? No. Was he blessed by a goddess that made him this strong? No. Well here's the secret. He went through some really grueling training to get here.
I would say that having watched shonens and knowing what they typically are like enhances your enjoyment of this, but some of the tropes they make fun of aren't unique only to shonen but to many other films as well. Like villians that talk too much, cool hero designs etc.
I recommend season 1 anime because it's easy for anyone to get into, I know people who don't even watch anime and watched season 1 and loved it. The animation is also incredible.
Season 2 animation quality noticeably drops and also the plot starts to become less focused on comedy. It's still a very interesting story that I enjoy very much, but I would say it's different from what made it famous.
Mob Psycho 100 [Recommended: Anime]
This is the show that inspired me to restart writing this post the second time.
http://ipokeyouwithapencilthatissharp.blogspot.com/2018/12/omigosh-mob-psycho-100-season-2-is-out.html
http://ipokeyouwithapencilthatissharp.blogspot.com/2019/04/satisfaction-99.html
Mob Psycho 100 is a show that I never would have thought I would watch if not for OPM and the generally rave reviews. I'm not a fan of scary stuff, so a story about monsters, ghosts and psychics doesn't particularly sound like it's something up my alley. Well, it's actually not a scary show so that's not an issue.
Mob Psycho 100 is by the same artist behind OPM. The main similarity between the two is that they both have an extremely overpowered protagonist. However, while OPM utilises that to parody the genre, Mob Psycho 100 goes in a different direction and is an exploration of how power is not the most important thing in life.
Mob Psycho 100 has excellent action sequences (S2E10 has what I consider the best choreographed fight I've ever seen in any medium), and the comedy is hilarious. That being said, the story isn't just actually about fighting baddies or just trying to be funny like OPM (though it does do both of those amazingly well), it's actually a great story about the maturing of the middle school protagonist as he comes to terms with his emotions and his power.
Season 1 was more comedy and season 2 was more action. I personally prefer season 2 as it has some amazing sequences, but it wouldn't be the same without the set up from season 1.
Also, Reigen is the absolute best thing in this show heh.
http://ipokeyouwithapencilthatissharp.blogspot.com/2018/12/omigosh-mob-psycho-100-season-2-is-out.html
http://ipokeyouwithapencilthatissharp.blogspot.com/2019/04/satisfaction-99.html
Mob Psycho 100 is a show that I never would have thought I would watch if not for OPM and the generally rave reviews. I'm not a fan of scary stuff, so a story about monsters, ghosts and psychics doesn't particularly sound like it's something up my alley. Well, it's actually not a scary show so that's not an issue.
Mob Psycho 100 is by the same artist behind OPM. The main similarity between the two is that they both have an extremely overpowered protagonist. However, while OPM utilises that to parody the genre, Mob Psycho 100 goes in a different direction and is an exploration of how power is not the most important thing in life.
Mob Psycho 100 has excellent action sequences (S2E10 has what I consider the best choreographed fight I've ever seen in any medium), and the comedy is hilarious. That being said, the story isn't just actually about fighting baddies or just trying to be funny like OPM (though it does do both of those amazingly well), it's actually a great story about the maturing of the middle school protagonist as he comes to terms with his emotions and his power.
Season 1 was more comedy and season 2 was more action. I personally prefer season 2 as it has some amazing sequences, but it wouldn't be the same without the set up from season 1.
Also, Reigen is the absolute best thing in this show heh.
One Piece [Recommended: Manga]
This and MHA below are the two that made me start writing this post and also to come back to it again this final time.
I talked about the 5 things that separate good stories from others. Without a doubt, One Piece is king when it comes to world building. It has been more than 20 years in the making, held top manga sales position for 11 consecutive years so far, and continues to grow. Right now, I have no doubt that when one piece ends it will be hailed as an epic and will be a story that people will remember decades perhaps centuries in the future.
More than a decade ago, I wouldn't have said much about One Piece. It did do the 5 ingredients well, but not amazingly well. It was definitely fun to watch, but it may also have come across as one of the stories that fall into the loop trap, where the protagonist meets a villian, gets stronger, defeats them, move on to the next and so on.
One Piece introduces a huge cast of characters, and despite the number, they are all memorable characters due to the unique designs and showcase opportunities. Little reveals are also gradually peppered across the story, as you come to understand more about the world, how it operates, the mysteries it contains, who the key players are and so on.
Then as One Piece ends the first half and enters into the second half, all the seeds begin to payoff. Essentially, One Piece spent ten years setting things up. Characters from the past come back into the plot. Mysteries deepen or become clearer. The key players that are so much talked about begin to move.
Today, One Piece is now at what is considered end game. Not that it's going to end anytime soon, but it's at the stage where the big storylines and big players no longer feel like some distant part of the story but events are quickly unfolding. Even the most recent chapter finally reveled some things that have been talked about since the very beginning of the story in 1997. Every single chapter is just so hype.
The world of One Piece is what I consider one of the greatest worlds ever built. That is why I believe it will go down in history as one of the most influential epics. The big stories like Dragon Ball and Naruto are already held in high regard, but they do not come close to the kind of cultural impact One Piece has. The day it finally ends will be an interesting one, I think the internet will explode.
I talked about the 5 things that separate good stories from others. Without a doubt, One Piece is king when it comes to world building. It has been more than 20 years in the making, held top manga sales position for 11 consecutive years so far, and continues to grow. Right now, I have no doubt that when one piece ends it will be hailed as an epic and will be a story that people will remember decades perhaps centuries in the future.
More than a decade ago, I wouldn't have said much about One Piece. It did do the 5 ingredients well, but not amazingly well. It was definitely fun to watch, but it may also have come across as one of the stories that fall into the loop trap, where the protagonist meets a villian, gets stronger, defeats them, move on to the next and so on.
One Piece introduces a huge cast of characters, and despite the number, they are all memorable characters due to the unique designs and showcase opportunities. Little reveals are also gradually peppered across the story, as you come to understand more about the world, how it operates, the mysteries it contains, who the key players are and so on.
Then as One Piece ends the first half and enters into the second half, all the seeds begin to payoff. Essentially, One Piece spent ten years setting things up. Characters from the past come back into the plot. Mysteries deepen or become clearer. The key players that are so much talked about begin to move.
Today, One Piece is now at what is considered end game. Not that it's going to end anytime soon, but it's at the stage where the big storylines and big players no longer feel like some distant part of the story but events are quickly unfolding. Even the most recent chapter finally reveled some things that have been talked about since the very beginning of the story in 1997. Every single chapter is just so hype.
The world of One Piece is what I consider one of the greatest worlds ever built. That is why I believe it will go down in history as one of the most influential epics. The big stories like Dragon Ball and Naruto are already held in high regard, but they do not come close to the kind of cultural impact One Piece has. The day it finally ends will be an interesting one, I think the internet will explode.
My Hero Academia [Recommended: Anime / Manga]
Dragon ball, which was published from the 1980s to 1990s, is credited as the story that gave birth to the shonen genre. It is the quintessential shonen, and though I don't fancy it much, I would say that's mainly because so many after it have been influenced by what it created and improved on it. It is the grandfather of all shonen.
After that from the 1990s to this decade, there have been 3 mangas, all shonens, that have been typically regarded as the big 3. They are One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach. In 2016, the story of both Bleach and Naruto finally ended. To many, it feels like an end of an era, although the king of the 3 One Piece is still going strong.
Interestingly enough although there were plenty of manga that arose in the early 2000s none had quite the lasting power or popularity as the 3. I mean there's Fullmetal Alchemist, which was wildly popular but that only ran for less than a decade. Nothing came close to touching the big 3.
In the recent years there has been a resurgence of high quality shonen manga. And with the end of Naruto and Bleach, the questions naturally rose. Which are the next big 3?
Many people will have opinions. Of them, 3 names seem to stand out the loudest. There's Attack on Titan and The Promised Neverland, both stories I've heard a lot about but I've not touched as I know they have horror elements heh. And then there's My Hero Academia.
MHA is the other story that inspired me to write all these. Shonen has evolved a lot over the years, and MHA seems to be a clear example of that. The premise of MHA sounds like it might be easy going. It's about a bunch of students enrolled into a hero academy, training to become heroes in society. It is however much more than that.
In terms of world building, MHA doesn't focus on building a vast expansive world like One Piece does, or even a country level view like FMAB. Instead, MHA focuses much more on society and the people that make it what it is. MHA dares to comment on society, and even though we don't live in a society of heroes and villains like them, we can certainly draw parallels from their experiences.
What I think is the strongest suit of MHA however, is the characters. The protagonist Deku isn't even the character that stands out the strongest for me, I think MHA has done an excellent job with many of its supporting cast. All might initially comes across as a generic super powerful superhero mentor, but over time you come to appreciate his view on what it means to be the symbol of peace, and also see his flaws and brokenness beneath the external appearances he puts up. Stain was a well written villain, someone who stuck to his own philosophy and shaped the events of the story even beyond his defeat. Bakugou is another interesting character who starts off seemingly like the generic rival to Deku, but as you come to understand him more you learn he is more than just that. And so many more characters get developed as the story moves along. Todoroki. Endeavour. Eraserhead. All brilliant characters, it's hard to pick a favourite.
And of course, the league of villains. I don't want to say too much as it's spoiler territory, but let's just say that I find MHA's approach to the main antagonists of the series very refreshing indeed. The league of villains are written less like a group of antagonists, but instead almost like a secondary group of protagonists. You journey with them just like you would with the heroes, through their ups and downs. I would say that the story of MHA is just as much the story of the bad guys as it is the story of the good guys.
After that from the 1990s to this decade, there have been 3 mangas, all shonens, that have been typically regarded as the big 3. They are One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach. In 2016, the story of both Bleach and Naruto finally ended. To many, it feels like an end of an era, although the king of the 3 One Piece is still going strong.
Interestingly enough although there were plenty of manga that arose in the early 2000s none had quite the lasting power or popularity as the 3. I mean there's Fullmetal Alchemist, which was wildly popular but that only ran for less than a decade. Nothing came close to touching the big 3.
In the recent years there has been a resurgence of high quality shonen manga. And with the end of Naruto and Bleach, the questions naturally rose. Which are the next big 3?
Many people will have opinions. Of them, 3 names seem to stand out the loudest. There's Attack on Titan and The Promised Neverland, both stories I've heard a lot about but I've not touched as I know they have horror elements heh. And then there's My Hero Academia.
MHA is the other story that inspired me to write all these. Shonen has evolved a lot over the years, and MHA seems to be a clear example of that. The premise of MHA sounds like it might be easy going. It's about a bunch of students enrolled into a hero academy, training to become heroes in society. It is however much more than that.
In terms of world building, MHA doesn't focus on building a vast expansive world like One Piece does, or even a country level view like FMAB. Instead, MHA focuses much more on society and the people that make it what it is. MHA dares to comment on society, and even though we don't live in a society of heroes and villains like them, we can certainly draw parallels from their experiences.
What I think is the strongest suit of MHA however, is the characters. The protagonist Deku isn't even the character that stands out the strongest for me, I think MHA has done an excellent job with many of its supporting cast. All might initially comes across as a generic super powerful superhero mentor, but over time you come to appreciate his view on what it means to be the symbol of peace, and also see his flaws and brokenness beneath the external appearances he puts up. Stain was a well written villain, someone who stuck to his own philosophy and shaped the events of the story even beyond his defeat. Bakugou is another interesting character who starts off seemingly like the generic rival to Deku, but as you come to understand him more you learn he is more than just that. And so many more characters get developed as the story moves along. Todoroki. Endeavour. Eraserhead. All brilliant characters, it's hard to pick a favourite.
And of course, the league of villains. I don't want to say too much as it's spoiler territory, but let's just say that I find MHA's approach to the main antagonists of the series very refreshing indeed. The league of villains are written less like a group of antagonists, but instead almost like a secondary group of protagonists. You journey with them just like you would with the heroes, through their ups and downs. I would say that the story of MHA is just as much the story of the bad guys as it is the story of the good guys.
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Honourable Mentions
Fate Series [Recommended: Anime]
The Fate series is a large collection of anime, manga, movies, novels and games. There are a large number of entries to this series spanning multiple different genres and only the most hardcore fans probably know them all. I'm currently following Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front Babylonia which is airing now, which is in turn based on one of the top grossing mobile games Fate/Grand Order.
While spanning across different genres (some are more artsy, some are more cutesy), with different casts of characters, what unites the series is the concept of masters summoning powerful servants to fight on their behalf. These servants are typically based off real people from the past, or on mythology. So servants can include people like King Arthur, Hercules, Medusa and so on. Of course, they take plenty of liberties with history to make the show interesting. Other than that, individual stories in the series are self-contained and can be enjoyed without watching the rest.
The 3 most notable anime from the series would most likely be the original Fate/Stay Night, the prequel Fate/Zero, and the 'remake' Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works. The original is pretty dated by now, but F/Z and F/SN:UBW are generally still held in high regard. In fact when F/SN:UBW was released in 2014. it set a new bar for animation quality for a TV series.
That said, I think while it's a nice solid story for fans of the series, it's nothing particularly mindblowing. I would compare it to the MCU. People will watch it because it's Fate. It will have a certain quality you can expect from it. Yes they will have budget. But it's also just going to be pretty much what you expect it to be. Yes they all have different twists to them, especially as the newer ones try to deviate from the battle royale formula to keep things fresh, but it will be the same old story of masters and servants battling it out, in intense high budget fight sequences.
Sword Art Online [Recommended: Anime]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASYpncRQTl8&feature=youtu.be&t=60
1:00 to 1:10 sums up exactly how I feel about Sword Art Online heh. Add excellent premise to it too.
Sword Art Online when it was first about to be released received a lot of media attention. It had an interesting premise of real people being stuck in a game and having to beat it to get out. It was a potential glimpse into the future of VR gaming, it introduced a game world that many RPG players would dream of. The art was great, the soundtrack was great, there was so much going for it.
And... the plot sucked. It also tends to get uh...pretty weird. The characters too were one-dimensional, and the protagonist was just basically a generic self-insert powerful badass character who can do no wrong.
To the writer's credit (SAO is originally a light novel), he has improved much over the years and regrets his earlier writings. SAO anime is now into its 4th season (which I am following) and there is a noticeable improvement in the storytelling and characterisation. Still, I think it falls behind other top animes, the protagonist still has the same flaws, and it still gets weird at times.
But hey, it's another big budget production with great animation quality and soundtracks so sure why not. SAO is like a guilty pleasure honestly.
1:00 to 1:10 sums up exactly how I feel about Sword Art Online heh. Add excellent premise to it too.
Sword Art Online when it was first about to be released received a lot of media attention. It had an interesting premise of real people being stuck in a game and having to beat it to get out. It was a potential glimpse into the future of VR gaming, it introduced a game world that many RPG players would dream of. The art was great, the soundtrack was great, there was so much going for it.
And... the plot sucked. It also tends to get uh...pretty weird. The characters too were one-dimensional, and the protagonist was just basically a generic self-insert powerful badass character who can do no wrong.
To the writer's credit (SAO is originally a light novel), he has improved much over the years and regrets his earlier writings. SAO anime is now into its 4th season (which I am following) and there is a noticeable improvement in the storytelling and characterisation. Still, I think it falls behind other top animes, the protagonist still has the same flaws, and it still gets weird at times.
But hey, it's another big budget production with great animation quality and soundtracks so sure why not. SAO is like a guilty pleasure honestly.
Tower of God [Webtoon]
Noblesse [Webtoon]
DICE: The Cube That Changes Everything [Webtoon]
Liar Game [Manga]
Ah, we finally enter the territory of Korean webtoons or manhwas. Tower of God and Noblesse are two of the biggest names in Korean Webtoons, both having been around for some time and having a rather significant following. The success of Korean webtoons have spawned a ton more webtoons in recent years, with stuff like Solo Leveling being incredibly popular at the moment. Webtoons also have a big advantage over manga, and that is that they are coloured heh. Makes reading so much easier.
Liar Game isn't a webtoon nor a shonen, but I'm including it here as well. Why? Because this category isn't about webtoons or shonens. It's about stories that started off so well, and then just...fell off.
Noblesse has to be the biggest offender. I remember discovering it while in Maastricht. Soaked that thing up. It was amazing, it was hilarious. Then it fell into the worst trap, it basically just repeated the same story cycle over, and over, and over. It got so incredibly boring. When it finally ended, I thought it was way overdue.
Tower of God on the other hand, had the protagonist just keep powering up. Like all the stars align and he somehow just keeps getting more and more things. He's the perfect example of a protagonist that just keeps getting power boosts. And it just makes the whole thing feel cheap.
Dice is not as popular as the other two but it's on par in my opinion. It too started off really promising, and I remember there was an arc where things really hit a climax and it was great. Since then it has been pretty boring though. I can't pinpoint exactly what the issue is, probably has to do with the lack of tension. The protagonist isn't overpowered in this one, the antagonist is. The antagonist is like a godlike figure able to do anything. So the story just gets tossed around according to the antagonist whims and it feels random after awhile I suppose.
Liar Game was great, but I think at some point the artist either wrote himself into a corner, or he ran out of material to use, or he just got tired of his own story. So the last bits were quite rubbish and the story concluded quite suddenly. It's a pity, because I really like the story at its best.
Liar Game was great, but I think at some point the artist either wrote himself into a corner, or he ran out of material to use, or he just got tired of his own story. So the last bits were quite rubbish and the story concluded quite suddenly. It's a pity, because I really like the story at its best.
Monster [Recommended: Manga]
Man I read this one so long ago I don't remember too much about it. Not a Shonen either, but I thought I should just briefly mention it since I spoke about it in the post above. Monster is a psychological thriller about a doctor who saved someone who went on to become a serial killer. The doctor feeling responsible for saving him, decided to pursue him and in the course of that unravel the truth behind this serial killer. It's bloody, it's gory, it's dark, it's definitely not for everyone, but hey I enjoyed it mostly for the story.
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Well and that's it! There are plenty more I can review of course, like Death Note I didn't talk about Death Note which is such a classic but ah I thought it was just alright. Well, these are the ones that I felt that I should talk about so they're there! For anyone interested in getting into shonen anime and manga, I think my top 5 are definitely the way to go!
FINALLY DONE WITH THIS POST my goodness.
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Well and that's it! There are plenty more I can review of course, like Death Note I didn't talk about Death Note which is such a classic but ah I thought it was just alright. Well, these are the ones that I felt that I should talk about so they're there! For anyone interested in getting into shonen anime and manga, I think my top 5 are definitely the way to go!
FINALLY DONE WITH THIS POST my goodness.
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