I'm asking this because it seems as though most shonen manga use a lot of cliches and recycle characters and stories. I was wondering if there's any shonen that don't fit into the typical formula? Do you guys know of any? I wouldn't be too surprised if there isn't, but I would just like to know. Thanks!
Any Unique Shonen Manga?
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Only that come off the top of my head are the ones that are comedic, but of course they still use cliches but for comedic effect.
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Eyeshield 21 maybe? It doesn't break the shonen mold entirely, but I think it's unique enough to mention.
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There aren't many outside of the "innovative" titles, most of which come from the 1980's.
Anime is the place to go for unique stuff, and visual novels are on the whole very unique as well.
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Not to many, although I think Hitman Reborn is for the most part original. Or Bobobo, but other than that, probably none.
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Unique and Shonen in the same sentence…
Does not compute.
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Anime is the place to go for unique stuff,
If by "unique" you mean NONSTOP MOE EXPRESS, WHOO WHOO
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Wow. Is the whole shonen genre really THAT generic? I had no idea. O_O
@Malintex Terek: The only unique anime I can think of are GeGeGe no Kitaro, Akira, and every Miyazaki film. I'm sure there's others but I can't think of any. What would you recommend? And what are these visual novels you mention? I'm curious!
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I thought Death Note was a bit different than typical Shonen manga, if you havent read it.
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Not to many, although I think Hitman Reborn is for the most part original. Or Bobobo, but other than that, probably none.
EXACTLY what popped up in my mind.
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Wow. Is the whole shonen genre really THAT generic? I had no idea. O_O
Typically, things are placed in a genre for a reason, y'know. Similar underlying traits and morals enforced and the like.
If it were Opposite Day today, I would gladly direct you to Bleach.
Oh, and here I was thinking that Death Note was somehow a seinen, goes to show, I know diddly-shit about genres, eh?
Yeah, disregard this post, XD.
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@Cap'n:
If by "unique" you mean NONSTOP MOE EXPRESS, WHOO WHOO
QFT. No, thanks.
As much as Reborn is fun, it's far from be original i think. The mafia scenario isn't too common, but the execution is cliche: the typical random gags series that later becomes the fighting sequence of every shonen out there.
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Depends on what you define as "shounen cliches".
because I can see many differences in each of the 5 series I keep up with at the moment, and they are all shounen.
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**Belmonde le Visiteur
i would say currently, this would be the most original…new series from shounen jump, 3 chaps are out...its about "torture"...ya...**
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@Cap'n:
If by "unique" you mean NONSTOP MOE EXPRESS, WHOO WHOO
I will agree that there's a lot of silly moe/fetish/jailbat fanservice in modern anime, but honestly if it's balanced out by a lot of awesome it really doesn't matter. Personally, I hate fanservice outside of "fanservice-centric" shows but I've gotten used to it in the stuff I've been watching.
In retrospect, I shouldn't have said "unique", but rather original. Unique anything is pretty hard to come by. =/
@Malintex Terek: The only unique anime I can think of are GeGeGe no Kitaro, Akira, and every Miyazaki film. I'm sure there's others but I can't think of any. What would you recommend? And what are these visual novels you mention? I'm curious!
For visual novels, Ever17 - the out of infinity - BUY IT NOW, IT IS THE BEST JAPANESE MEDIA I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED IN MY WHOLE LIFE (seriously). Bricks will be shat, I guarantee it.
Fate/stay night is original, as is Tsukihime, Kanon when it came out fell along the same lines, Planetarian explores old themes but otherwise it's a pretty unique game, Narcissu is good as well even though it borrows some 'stock' elements from driving fiction. And…that's really all I've played. ^^;
For [recent] anime, look to the movies. Like, The girl who lept through time. There are some good anime based off of 'original' manga as well - Mahjong Legend Akagi, Shin Angyo Onshi…eh.
It's pretty tough to come up with a show that's totally original. Especially a recent one. :|
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Quick, someone help me find a story for kids that doesn't teach kids the same lessons and archetypes that every single story for kids does!
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Quick, someone help me find a story for kids that doesn't teach kids the same lessons and archetypes that every single story for kids does!
You don't need to be sarcastic. ;_;
Perhaps shonen was a bad genre to choose from. Is there any mainstream anime or manga in general that stand out? There just has to be! I love unique animation like The Point, Yellow Submarine, Triplets of Bellville, Allegro non Tropo, Heavy Metal and Waking Life just to name a few examples.
Is there anything equivalent to those movies I mentioned that was made in Japan?
Is there any popular underground manga that you guys know of? I would really like to know!
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You don't need to be sarcastic. ;_;
Perhaps shonen was a bad genre to choose from. Is there any mainstream anime or manga in general that stand out? There just has to be! I love unique animation like The Point, Yellow Submarine, Triplets of Bellville, Allegro non Tropo, Heavy Metal and Waking Life just to name a few examples.
Is there anything equivalent to those movies I mentioned that was made in Japan?
Is there any popular underground manga that you guys know of? I would really like to know!
That's like the Manga version of HP, except that less chessy: http://www.onemanga.com/Dragon_Quest_Dai_no_Daiboken/
Yeah, there's like almost nothing original, so if you want to read something bizarre based off a RPG, then that would entertain you, and so far, it's kinda better than DB In my oppinnion.
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There is a great wealth of creative comics in Japan, but asking for shonen manga that is different is like asking for Hollywood action blockbusters that are intellectual. Of course, nothing is entirely unique, everything follows guideposts of other works, but I think you'll agree that each genre in an entertainment medium has its own level of restriction on what is successful and thus what is allowed. Some areas of expression are simply more varied than others, by their nature, and the lower the age (or mentality) of the common denominator, the easier it is to satisfy consumers by relying on the most common archetypes and threads - chances are, they haven't been around the block long enough to get tired of reading/seeing the same thing.
If you really do just want to know an honest-to-goodness "shonen" manga that doesn't play by the rules of its genre, then I wish you good luck. But if you're only looking for manga in general that is different, I can throw you dozens of suggestions.
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@stephen: Please do share your suggestions! I guess I'll have to settle with manga in general as I had no idea that the shonen genre would be seriously lacking in creativity. Good point with Hollywood action movies.
I've seen a lot of unique American and European comics, cartoons and animated movies. I really want to know what Japan has to offer outside of all the mainstream manga and anime.
A little brother of mine says that there's nothing unique or interesting that comes from Japan. I want to prove him wrong!
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Manga in a certain genre are going to seem similar because you're, you know, labeling them as a genre.
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@Cyringohn:
Manga in a certain genre are going to seem similar because you're, you know, labeling them as a genre.
I already said that.
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@Cyringohn and SANCTUM: I know guys. Shonen was a bad genre to choose. You don't consider shonen a genre? I always thought it was. Do you two have any anime or manga that you would like to recommend? :)
@Malintex Terek: I'll check out the visual novels and anime you have suggested. Thank you!
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Okay, now we're talking! As far as animated films/shows go, Studio 4C is easily the premiere source for interesting material. They've done several big projects in the last few years, including the films Mind Game (easily my most favorite anime movie) and Tekkon Kinkreet (which is airing in certain N.American theaters now), and the series Kemonozume. Mind Game in particular features a collage of various experimental animation types in a very schizophrenic way that is fascinating. Mushishi is another recent hit(?) that is rather unconventional but very high in quality. Someone mentioned The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo) which is also very good, although not particularly unique in any way.
For manga, there are tons.
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One of my favorite authors is Taiyo Matsumoto, who drew the original manga of Tekkon Kinkreet (aka Black & White or Amer Beton), as well as the movie-inspiring Ping Pong and Blue Spring, and other works like Number Five and Hanaotoko.
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Check out Viz's version of Drifting Classroom, if you haven't. Kazuo Umezu is definitely another auteur, a total nutjob who was active from the '60s to the '80s and produced several classics, of which Drifting Classroom is the best known, the story of an elementary school that somehow gets teleported to a post-apocalyptic world, causing a Lord-of-the-Flies-esque survival scenario.
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Anything by Iou Kuroda. His title Sexy Voice and Robo is available from Viz in one volume. Definitely a critical favorite with a great voice for dialogue and character. His art is more similar to Paul Pope than any particular manga artist, very organic and loose and wild. Titles: Nasu (source for the animated film), Japan Tengu Party Illustrated, various one-shots.
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If you like sci-fi, there's no one who has his own unmistakable style quite like Tsutomu Nihei (Blame, Biomega, Abara). Introspective and quiet, noir-ish atmosphere combined with mindboggling architecture and intercut with extreme action sequences. Stories tend to be inscrutable and difficult.
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Hideki Arai is probably one of the most powerful authors working today. I can't really do his work justice with a simple description, but if you can handle a manga with truly extreme and brilliant messages, check out The World Is Mine or Kiichi.
I'll stop here because this is taking really long, but I'll throw out some more titles to keep an eye out for: Nijigahara Holograph, Witches, Jacaranda (this won an award at Angouleme this year), Ryuguden, The Town of Evening Calm the Country of Cherry Blossoms, Coo's World… and on and on.
Most of the titles I just listed can be found either at http://www.mangascreener.com or at http://kotonoha.monkey-pirate.com. Happy hunting!
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Welcome to the NHK is a pretty unique manga and anime, though the manga is much better, if we're just talking anime/manga in general.
And Paprika is a feast for the eyes, though it's probably the weakest story-wise of all Satoshi Kon's films. (Anything by him is gold)
Going back to shonen though, if you don't follow Eyeshield 21 already, I'd recommend it highly if you're looking for shonen that's got some original aspects to it.
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@stephen: You're awesome! This is the sort of information that I was looking for! Thank you! I will look for all of these and bookmark the links you provided.
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@gogoedward: I'm familiar with Eyeshield 21 though I have never read it. I'm weary of its football theme. But I'll give it a chance! Thanks for the suggestions!
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Anime is the place to go for unique stuff
I truly struggle to find unique anime. Not that I would even search that actively but the last good one was like Kemonozume. While unique manga, on the other hand, frequently comes to me without even asking and begs me to read. So I just struggle to keep with all the unique manga out there. There are just too many good ones. I haven't even yet read Nijigahara Holograph which is supposedly this once in a decade masterpiece or something.
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I thought Death Note was a bit different than typical Shonen manga, if you havent read it.
Death Note is seinen, not shonen.
Meh I thought that Law of Ueki and Konjiki no Gash Bell were pretty unique.
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Death Note was published in Shonen Jump.
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Wait, isn't Jojo shonen?
And Ueki too.. both are definitely worth reading too.
But just for the record Leaf Cable, don't try to look for just shonen. Sure, they're awesome [I'm with ya], but there are other stuff that are unique enough too. A reason one watches anime is to get away from reality, and that fits right in.
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I don't think it's really "shonen," but Gon is awesome.
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Again, it all depends on what you define as shounen cliches.
I mean Hajime no ippo, Hunter x Hunter, and D.Grayman are all shounen yet completely different imo in style and presentation.
So again I ask, what you dislike in shounen?
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a) Shonen isn't a genre it's a demographic that changes with time.
This was considered shonen when it was released. As mentioned before Jojo, Hokuto no Ken, and Kinnukuman were all considered shonen in their day but are now aimed at older audience.b) There are plenty of unique shonen, the problem is that they're not popular with foreigners. In other words, they haven't been translated, so unless you can speak Japanese you can't really read them.
c) There are plenty of non-moe anime currently, in fact I'd say the saturation is equally balanced between moe and non-moe.
To answer the question: Apocalpse Zero/Kakugo no Susume if you exclude the story, as the premise and the fights can only be descibed as "unique"
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Try Ginga Nagareboshi Gin. It's slightly older than Dragon Ball, so you may feel it "fresh" due to the lack of any Toriyama influence, but perhaps weird because it's characters are mainly dogs.
http://www.gingasite.net/ground.html
Like someone said, I doubt it would be still a Shonen nowdays.
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the 2 that stand out to me are
Bastard!!
and
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
Bastard!! because its off the wall quite hilarious the main character is a prick and wants to rule the world.
Jojo because it started 25 years ago and it just feels different
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Have any of you seen Robot Carnival? If you haven't, you should! Now that was unique and interesting!
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i don't think there is any shonen manga thats unique in character structure, but good shonen manga should be able to ride past the archetypes through developed personalities/quirks through characters and a generally good stories (ie: One Piece)
Have any of you seen Robot Carnival? If you haven't, you should! Now that was unique and interesting!
oh my god robot carnival was awesome
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oh my god robot carnival was awesome
20 years later, "A Tale of Two Robots" is still the best thing to have ever come out of Japan
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Well being a fan of Shonen Jump in general, I think there might be few to recommend in terms of something new & fresh. Most of Shonen Jump titles use a formulaic plot device. That being said here's what I would recommend, Eyeshield 21, HunterxHunter, Hoshin Engi, & Ichigo 100%. I can probably think of more, but there's so many.
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One of the most unique shonen manga out there right now I'd have to say is Claymore
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I'd go for Hitman Reborn if you want something a bit different from rubber pirates, demon possessed ninjas, and clueless orange haired death gods.
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Yeah, Hitman's pretty unique. You got baby hitmen with magical pistols and Bazooka's that make you age 10 years. And magical oven mittens that turn into battle guantlets. Oh, and it deals primarily with the mafia. The most unique shonen I've seen in a long time.
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Meh I thought that Law of Ueki and Konjiki no Gash Bell were pretty unique.
Ueki? Gash Bell? I like them both, but they both follow the same "tournament" style formula.
Unique shounen? Hmm…thats a tough one.
It's like trying to find intelligence in Paris Hilton.
Gintama is pretty unique. So is Yakitate!! Japan.
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Yeah, Hitman's pretty unique. You got baby hitmen with magical pistols and Bazooka's that make you age 10 years. And magical oven mittens that turn into battle guantlets. Oh, and it deals primarily with the mafia. The most unique shonen I've seen in a long time.
Not to mention a female assasin who's speciliaty is killing people with cakes and pastries.