Shounen shows filled with boys are not necessarily for boys.
Summary
Shounen shows fans are not who you think they are.
You create a show with a bunch of different cool boys and the girls will be fawning over them.
Does it mean that shounen shows are targeted at girls, though?
If you think about the term, shounen means that the target demographic of manga or anime is young teenage boys. So these shows usually focus on becoming stronger, following your dream, making friends, learning how to find your true self, all the while kicking some ass. Shounen shows usually have a mostly male cast, because statistically, this demographic is not interested in following the stories of non-male characters (or that's what the authors say, at least).
The tables have turned
Yet something has changed, and girls became one of the main driving forces behind the popularity of shounen shows. They are the ones who spend more money on merchandise, they are the ones who serve as free advertisers by creating fan content, they are the ones who form huge crowds at any event at least partially related to the series they follow. The question is, why?
The answer is pretty obvious: the characters in these shows are mostly hot men. And the cast of these hot men is pretty diverse — in ages, sizes, hair colors, powers, character traits, you name it. So it's easy to find a 2D boy to become healthily obsessed with, because shounen authors provide a plethora of properly fleshed out male characters to fawn over.
So inadvertently, shounen authors while trying to cater to a teenage boy audience created stories filled with male eye candies that ended up being interesting to women. The husbando culture that sprouted out of the waifu culture is what makes shounen shows popular not only with their target demographic.
The most influential manga influences in different ways
And here's the question: can you name One Piece an anime for girls? Back then, when Oda was only starting the story of Luffy's adventure, he couldn't even imagine the impact it would have on the whole world, and the sheer length of the story means that the fans of One Piece come from different generations. Forget genders, One Piece is a show created for everyone, it has something that can touch anyone's soul. But its male cast, especially considering Oda's specific art style and how it has changed over the years, is something that makes this manga and anime really popular among female audience. Because it offers a plethora of different male characters to get thirsty for. And sure, they're more than just a fun design, they have a personality behind it! You can be basic and go for Sanji or Zoro, you can be edgy and choose Croc, or even Doflamingo, if you're in a mood to be strangled by something fluffy (kinky!). The options are nearly limitless.
But does the huge amount of hot characters make One Piece an anime targeted at girls? It's been said for years that shounen is no longer an accurate representation of the demographic that these shows are targeted at: it's mostly a guideline for the authors to help them understand what topics to cover and how much blood and nudity is allowed. But it doesn't dictate who's allowed to enjoy these works, no matter what's the reason.
Can You Say That One Piece Is Targeted At Girls?
Shounen shows filled with boys are not necessarily for boys.
Summary
Shounen shows fans are not who you think they are.
You create a show with a bunch of different cool boys and the girls will be fawning over them.
Does it mean that shounen shows are targeted at girls, though?
If you think about the term, shounen means that the target demographic of manga or anime is young teenage boys. So these shows usually focus on becoming stronger, following your dream, making friends, learning how to find your true self, all the while kicking some ass. Shounen shows usually have a mostly male cast, because statistically, this demographic is not interested in following the stories of non-male characters (or that's what the authors say, at least).
The tables have turned
Yet something has changed, and girls became one of the main driving forces behind the popularity of shounen shows. They are the ones who spend more money on merchandise, they are the ones who serve as free advertisers by creating fan content, they are the ones who form huge crowds at any event at least partially related to the series they follow. The question is, why?
The answer is pretty obvious: the characters in these shows are mostly hot men. And the cast of these hot men is pretty diverse — in ages, sizes, hair colors, powers, character traits, you name it. So it's easy to find a 2D boy to become healthily obsessed with, because shounen authors provide a plethora of properly fleshed out male characters to fawn over.
So inadvertently, shounen authors while trying to cater to a teenage boy audience created stories filled with male eye candies that ended up being interesting to women. The husbando culture that sprouted out of the waifu culture is what makes shounen shows popular not only with their target demographic.
The most influential manga influences in different ways
And here's the question: can you name One Piece an anime for girls? Back then, when Oda was only starting the story of Luffy's adventure, he couldn't even imagine the impact it would have on the whole world, and the sheer length of the story means that the fans of One Piece come from different generations. Forget genders, One Piece is a show created for everyone, it has something that can touch anyone's soul. But its male cast, especially considering Oda's specific art style and how it has changed over the years, is something that makes this manga and anime really popular among female audience. Because it offers a plethora of different male characters to get thirsty for. And sure, they're more than just a fun design, they have a personality behind it! You can be basic and go for Sanji or Zoro, you can be edgy and choose Croc, or even Doflamingo, if you're in a mood to be strangled by something fluffy (kinky!). The options are nearly limitless.
But does the huge amount of hot characters make One Piece an anime targeted at girls? It's been said for years that shounen is no longer an accurate representation of the demographic that these shows are targeted at: it's mostly a guideline for the authors to help them understand what topics to cover and how much blood and nudity is allowed. But it doesn't dictate who's allowed to enjoy these works, no matter what's the reason.
