How often do you see a situation where a shonen protagonist has a crush on a girl, or a girl has a crush on him. They begin as friends, go through some battle shenanigans and grow closer. Then they finally realize their feelings for each other, time for a kiss… but it never happens. Why is that? Why do shonen anime and manga seem to have a problem with romance?
One of the reasons for that may be the genre itself. Battles in shonen are usually the main focus of the plot. If you open a shonen manga, there's a 90% chance that you’ll see some kind of fight. One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer — all these big titles have fights that sometimes last for more than 20 chapters. There’s simply no room for a proper romantic subplot. And even if an author tries to add it, he has to settle for some superficial interactions because there is always a new battle to draw.
Another factor in this problem, which many fans would argue is the main one, is authors’ plain inability to write romance. Most shonen titles become popular because of their fights, imaginative worlds and characters. Battle mangakas excel at writing these aspects of the story. Romance, however, is different. It’s difficult to pinpoint why a person who writes good battles can’t write a good romance. Maybe it’s a lack of experience, maybe it’s a matter of focus. But a popular shonen title with a properly developed romantic subplot is yet to come.
Last, but not least, is the question of female character writing. Traditional romance requires two parties, and shonen mangakas are notoriously bad at developing both of them equally. Boys usually get all the attention, while girls have to content with glimpses of character development. So when mangakas finally decide to push a romantic subplot, they struggle with writing the girl’s side. And in a title where battles are the main focus, it is easier to postpone any romantic interaction or go for a standard trope reaction.
So are shonen anime and manga doomed to always have bad romance in them? The answer will depend on mangakas’ desire to develop and change. The genre has been growing in the past decade or so. Big titles start to develop their females character more. Look at Nobara from Jujutsu Kaisen or Makima from Chainsaw Man. But in order to have a strong love story, it is going to take more than that. Time will tell.
No love for our battlefield heroes.
How often do you see a situation where a shonen protagonist has a crush on a girl, or a girl has a crush on him. They begin as friends, go through some battle shenanigans and grow closer. Then they finally realize their feelings for each other, time for a kiss… but it never happens. Why is that? Why do shonen anime and manga seem to have a problem with romance?
One of the reasons for that may be the genre itself. Battles in shonen are usually the main focus of the plot. If you open a shonen manga, there's a 90% chance that you’ll see some kind of fight. One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer — all these big titles have fights that sometimes last for more than 20 chapters. There’s simply no room for a proper romantic subplot. And even if an author tries to add it, he has to settle for some superficial interactions because there is always a new battle to draw.
Another factor in this problem, which many fans would argue is the main one, is authors’ plain inability to write romance. Most shonen titles become popular because of their fights, imaginative worlds and characters. Battle mangakas excel at writing these aspects of the story. Romance, however, is different. It’s difficult to pinpoint why a person who writes good battles can’t write a good romance. Maybe it’s a lack of experience, maybe it’s a matter of focus. But a popular shonen title with a properly developed romantic subplot is yet to come.
Last, but not least, is the question of female character writing. Traditional romance requires two parties, and shonen mangakas are notoriously bad at developing both of them equally. Boys usually get all the attention, while girls have to content with glimpses of character development. So when mangakas finally decide to push a romantic subplot, they struggle with writing the girl’s side. And in a title where battles are the main focus, it is easier to postpone any romantic interaction or go for a standard trope reaction.
So are shonen anime and manga doomed to always have bad romance in them? The answer will depend on mangakas’ desire to develop and change. The genre has been growing in the past decade or so. Big titles start to develop their females character more. Look at Nobara from Jujutsu Kaisen or Makima from Chainsaw Man. But in order to have a strong love story, it is going to take more than that. Time will tell.
