Are they what people truly want these days?
Summary:
- Next-gen anime are the ones that started airing around or after 2015.
- Nowadays, the most popular anime are shounens.
- They’re usually packed with action and adventure, and that’s why they’re so loved.
Next-generation anime is quite a vague topic because people can’t seem to find the middle ground on the definition. Some think that next gen anime are the series that were released after 2010, some suggest that it’s 2016 and some give this name to all the currently ongoing series. With the definition of the term varying a lot from person to person, it’s difficult to say for sure what anime can be called next gen, but for this particular piece of writing let’s say that these are the shows that started airing around or after 2015 and give them bonus points if they’re still ongoing.
Shounens are extremely popular
If we look at the most popular next-gen anime, we do see a lot of shounens, indeed. Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba), Black Clover. We can also add Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) to that list. Although it started airing in 2013, it’s immensely popular and talked about up until this day. And it was ongoing only a couple of months ago.
So if we look at that list, all we see is shounens, shounens and shounens again. Does it mean that the next-gen anime are limited to shounen series only?
No, of course not. There are also other genres, but unfortunately, they’re not as popular as the industry giants. Violet Evergarden or Vinland Saga come to mind, with the latter being a seinen, which is not that far from shounens.
Why is it like that?
The answer is pretty obvious: shounens are what people want. Anime used to be a niche interest, and it was common for teenage boys to like it. Girls weren’t supposed to be interested in violent media, and grown-ups thought that anime were just “dumb cartoons”. Times have changed though, but shounens are still the primary category of manga and anime.
Shounen series are known for having a lot of action and battle sequences. They’re full of adventure and fighting, and we can see the appeal. Endless dialogs and romantic comedies are also great, but no other type of media does shounens like anime does.
Life action projects are also more limited when it comes to the portrayal of blood and gore, and while anime is censored a lot, too, it doesn’t often look so terrible when it’s drawn and animated. That’s why anime might not be your first choice when you want to watch a comedy, but if you’re craving something action focused, anime has got your back.