Getting Started with Manga
and Anime Genres
In both anime and manga covers a broad range of genres from
romance, to mystery, to sci-fi. Many believe that there is always
at least one manga that would appeal to each person since the
themes presented and the general outlines of the stories vary so
greatly.
Firstly, it is important to note the first major classification
among anime and manga, which is the division that deals with the
target audience. These divisions can sometimes be considered genres
in and of themselves, and although the target audience does not
necessarily give a general outline of the genres that are present
in a manga, it can often times be a good indicator of what themes
that can be expected.
The first target audience is known as
kodomo (children's) manga or anime. As the name suggests, this
genre is targeted towards young children, generally those who are
between ages six and eleven. These anime and manga have
child-friendly themes and often stress family values. An example of
a well-known kodomo manga is
Doraemon, written by
Fujiko Fujio. To
learn more, read our
Kodomo Genre article.
The next two target audiences are known as
shoujo 少女 (or shojo) and
shounen 少年 (or shonen), girl's and boy's manga respectively.
Each of these genre are targeted to the younger ages within the
given gender. Shojo is aimed towards girls around ages eight to
eighteen, while shonen is aimed towards boys in the same age range.
Shojo often include a romance involving the main character, who is
usually a teenage girl.
Shonen most often contain the genres of action, adventure, and
comedy. A popular shojo manga/anime is Natsuki Takaya's
Fruits Basket and a popular
shonen title is
Dragonball by
Akira Toriyama. To learn more about
Shoujo click here.
To learn more about Shounen,
click here.
The final two groups are the more adult versions of the
aforementioned groupings:
Josei, appealing to women aged eighteen to thirty and
seinen, appealing to men of the same age range. Josei manga and
anime tend to contain themes of romance or of entering the work
force or the position of a housewife.
Click here to learn more about Josei.
Seinen, similar shonen, often contains action and adventure
stories, though comedy is not common, since this genre is more
serious in nature. Seinen may also contain more explicit sexual
content than shonen manga.
Kimi wa
Petto - usually translated as Tramps like Us by
Yayoi
Ogawa, is an example of a josei manga and
Berserk by
Kentaro Miura is a
well-known seinen manga.
Click here to learn more about Seinen.
The following is a list of various anime within their own genre. We
have listed
34 genres, and
137+ anime and manga in all.
Image |
Title / Examples |
|
Absurdist
Focuses on characters where they find no purpose in life while
entangled in meaningless events, usually containing black comedy /
satire.
- Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei – Kouji
Kumeta
- Furi Kuri (FLCL) – Youji Enokido, and Kazuya
Tsurumaki
- Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro Chan – Masaki
Okayu
- Humanity has Declined – Romeo
Tanaka
|
|
Action
- Attack on Titan – Hajime Isayama
- Fullmetal Alchemist – Arakawa Hiromu
- Inuyasha – Rumiko Takahashi
- Naruto – Kishimoto Masashi
|
|
Adventure
- Gensomaden Saiyuki – Kazuya Minekura
- Dragonball – Akira Toriyama
- One Piece – Eiichiro Oda
- Yu Yu Hakusho – Togashi Yoshihiro
|
|
Chanbara
Also known as Sword Wielding or the Samurai genre
- Ninja Scroll – Yoshiaki Kawajiri
- Samurai Champloo – Manglobe
- Rurouni Kenshin – Watsuki Nobuhiro
- Basilisk – Masaki Segawa
|
|
Comedy
- Beelzebub – Ryūhei Tamura
- SKET Dance – Kenta Shinohara
- Shinyiaku Ika Musume – Masahiro Anbe
- Fairy Tail – Hiro Mashima
|
|
Drama
- Clannad – Key
- Aishiteruze Baby – Maki Youko
- Doubt!! – Izumi Kaneyoshi
- Eden no Hana – Suetsugu Yoshi
|
|
Ecchi
Mature subject matter, usually involving female anatomy and should
only be viewed when old enough
- FREEZING – Lim Dall-young
- Elfen Lied – Okamoto Lynn
- Futari Ecchi – Katsu Aki
- Sora no Otoshimono – Suu Minazuki
|
|
Fantasy
- Sword Art Online – Reki Kawahara
- Ah! My Goddess – Fujishima Kosuke
- Merupuri – Hino Matsuri
- Please Save my Earth – Hiwatari Saki
|
|
Gender
Bender
When characters reverse their gender role such as a tomboy
- Girl Got Game (Power!) – Seino
Shizuru
- Uwasa no Midori-Kun – Gou
Ikeyamada
- Hanazakari no Kimitachi E – Nakajo
Hisaya
- Never Give Up – Mutou Hiromu
|
|
Hentai
Very explicit and only meant for adults
- Yosuga no Sora – Takashi
Mikaze
- Daijoubu – Shiwasu no Okina
- Insai Zukan – Fukada Takushi
- Patriot – Juubaori Mashumaro
|
|
Historical
- Emma – Mori Kaoru
- Black Butler – Yana Toboso
- Condor Hero – Louis Cha
- Folktales from Japan – TV
Tokyo
|
|
Horror
- Hellsing – Kouta Hirano
- Battle Royale – Takami
Koushun
- Goth – Ooiwa Kenji
- Pet Shop of Horrors – Akino
Matsuri
|
|
Harem / Reverse
Harem
Reverse harems are popularly thought as many males attracted to the
female,while harems are the opposite.
- Nisekoi - Naoshi Komi
- High School DxD – Ichiei
Ishibumi
- Infinite Stratos - Izuru
Yumizuru
- Brothers Conflict – Takeshi
Mizuno
|
|
Incest Family
relations usually involving siblings, yes this is a fairly common
anime genre these days and is why we mentioned it.
- Kiss X Sis - Bow Ditama
- Yosuga no Sora - Takashi
Mikaze
- Onii-chan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara
ne!! - Kouichi Kusano
- Angel Sanctuary - Kaori Yuki
|
|
Isekai
Also known as Another world or Alternate world which involves
characters going into an alternate reality and vice-versa.
Typically this involves huge technological differences such as
modern vs medieval fantasy.
- Sword Art Online - Reki Kawahara
- Konosuba - Natsume Akatsuki
- No Game No Life - Yū Kamiya
- Re:Zero - Tappei Nagatsuki
|
|
Lolicon /
Rorikon
Usually involves sexual relations with young, under-aged girls
- Lotte no Omocha! – Yui Haga
- Kodomo no Jikan – Watashiya Kaworu
- Tokyo Akazukin – Tamaoki Benkyo
- Yurihime – Mikuni Hazime
|
|
Mahou
Shoujo Female characters whom have
magical powers
- Puella Magi Madoka Magica – Gen Urobuchi
- Cardcaptor Sakura – CLAMP
- Magic Knight Rayearth – CLAMP
- Sailor Moon – Naoko Takeuchi
|
|
Martial
Arts
This category can bleed into the chanbara genre
- Ranma ½ – Rumiko Takahashi
- Saint Seiya – Kuramada Masami
- Souten no Ken – Tetsuo Hara
- Jyuushin Enbu: Hero Tales – Huang Jin Zhou
|
|
Mecha
Involving and often centralized around large machines such as
Gundams
- Macross Frontier – Ukyou Kodachi
- Astro Boy – Tezuka Osamu
- Gundam Wing – Koichi Tokita
- Neon Genesis Evangelion – Sadamoto Yoshiyuki
|
|
Mystery
- Detective Academy Q – Seimaru Amagi
- Banana Fish – Yoshida Akimi
- Eden of the East – Kenji Kamiyama
- Detective Conan – Aoyama Gosho
|
|
Psychological
- Anne Freaks – Kotegawa Yua
- Battle Royale – Takami Koushun
- Death Note – Obata Takeshi, Ohba Tsugumi, and Asami
Yuuko
- MONSTER – Naoki Urasawa
|
|
Romance
- Kare Kano – Masami Tsuda
- Absolute Boyfriend - Yuu Watase
- Hot Gimmick – Miki Aihara
- Fruits Basket – Natsuki Takaya
|
|
School
Life
The premise of the story revolves around the school life of the
characters
- Baka to Test – Kenji Inoue
- Aishiteruze Baby – Maki Youko
- Alice 19th – Yuu Watase
- Ouran Koukou Host Club – Hatori Bisco
|
|
Slice of
Life
Generally there is no real story, rather each episode is often
divided into satire / commentary segments about school life. Most
Slice of Life contain comedy.
- Toradora – Yuyuko Takemiya
- Nichijou – Keiichi Arawi
- K-On! – Kakifly
- Azumanga Daioh – Kiyohiko Azuma
|
|
SCI-FI /
Cyberpunk
Stories in Cyberpunk generally revolve in a dystopian society,
typically set in the near-distant future with a grim view on what
society and the government has become.
- Appleseed – Shirow Masamune
- Battle Angel Alita – Kishiro Yukito
- Ghost in the Shell – Shirow Masamune
- Akira – Katsuhiro Otomo
|
|
Shotacon /
Shotakon
Involves sexual relations with young, under-aged males
- Boku no Pico – Katsuyoshi Yatabe
- Kawaii Gatte – Hoshino Lily
- Loveless – Yun Kouga
- Shounen Maid Kuro-kun – Takayama Katsuhiko and Yatabe
Katsuyoshi
|
|
Shoujo-Ai
Shoujo “Love” which involves two females in love within the scope
of shoujo
- Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~ – Akahori Satoru
- Pieta - Haruno Nanae
- Strawberry Panic! – Takumi Namuchi
- Hoshikawa Ginza Yonchoume – Kurogane Ken
|
|
Shounen-Ai
Shounen “Love” which involves two males in love within the scope of
shounen
- Ai no Kusabi – Chitose Piyoko
- Gravitation – Murakami Maki
- FAKE – Matoh Sanami
- Thief and Detective – Itsuki Kaname
|
|
Smut
Sexually graphic and romantic, less graphic than hentai
- Tramps like us – Ogawa Yayoi
- Akuma na Eros – Shinjo Mayu
- Haou Airen – Shinjo Mayu
- Sensual Phrase – Shinjo Mayu
|
|
Sports
- Hajime no Ippo – Morikawa Jyoji
- Prince of Tennis – Konomi Takeshi
- Rough – Adachi Mitsuru
- Slam Dunk – Inoue Takehiko
- Kuroko no Basuke - Tadatoshi Fujimaki
|
|
Supernatural
- Ayashi no Ceres- Yuu Watase
- Psychometrer Eiji – Ando Yuma
- Natsume’s Book of Friends – Yuki Midorikawa
- xxxHolic – Nanase Ohkawa and Michiko Yokote
Note: xxx in Japanese means blank, so xxxHolic would be
____Holic or blankHolic
|
|
Yaoi
Involves homosexual male relationships, can often times portray
graphic sexual scenes
- 17 Guyz – Nitta Youka
- Gakuen Heaven – Higuri You
- Yes Master – Riko Nekota
- Okane Ga Nai – Hitoyo Shinozaki
|
|
Yuri
Involves homosexual female relationships, can often times portray
graphic sexual scenes
- Hands Off My Girl! – Minami Q-ta
- Moonlight Flowers – Tsukumo Mutsumi
- Yurihime – Mikuni Hazime
- Citrus - Saburouta
|