»

[Hylas]

Why is this anime being labeled as "shounen"? Why is it for boys? I haven't watched it, but from the plot outline I don't find anything in it that could explain it. Why wouldn't a girl like it? I liked many anime labeled as shounen tho, so I don't mind watching it also if it's not "for girls"

[merylsilverburg]

I haven't seen nor heard of this series either, but checking it out a bit, it seems like it's shounen, IMO, since:

- the main character is a male
- the mangaka is male
- it's main elements are almost sports-like and romance (if any) is a secondary element
- a major focus is on the main character Azuma Kazuma's (lol) skill which are his special hands, which ties in with the competition/winning/sports tone of the series

Why I think it's for boys: again, since the main character is a young male, it helps younger boys have someone to relate to, along with the mostly sports-like competitiveness theme of the story.

As for the why girls wouldn't like it: no one said girls wouldn't like it. In fact, with the mostly male characters in there (from what I've seen) girls might actually be interested because of that, hehe. Kinda like Tennis no Oujisama (Prince of Tennis) where the fanbase is mostly females due to the different variety of males in there.

This series may fool people into thinking it is a shoujo for the sake that the story is based on baking...but there are a lot of stories out there that involve cooking as a sport (since the Japanese really love food and competition) which applies to either genres, but you mostly have to see the tone of the series to get a feel whether it's for girls or boys.

I do find the plot and the title of the series hilarious though (Yakitate "Japan" ohohohohoho! ) so I might check it out in the future...would be good for a laugh.

[Uchiha Sasuke]

Fantastic Series!!! I suggest everyone check it out. Its quite unique with its parodies and such. I dunno very well done!

~Will

[kupoartist]

Like all things pushed into neat little categories, the Shonen / Shojo divide is always broken by some people. The titles don't reflect the entire make-up of the audience, just who they generally target. I think anime in recent years has been trying ever more to female viewers to Shonen shows (and vice versa, but to a lesser extent) with secondary elements. After all, the more viewers you have, the better and if you can sell even more merch via new and previously unavailable avenues (a larger market for plush dolls, or male character statues) that's great.

Gundam is a good example: they took what had been viewed as a macho anime and attempted to grab female viewers by upping the bishonen factor to 205% for series like Wing and Seed. Extra points gained for Shonen-Ai hints. (browse for 5 seconds at Gundam Wing fanfiction. Once you realise that 1x2x3 isn't an easy mathematical problem, you'll understand what I mean ) They also reformed the female characters to concentrate on making more femanine characters (those characters that aren't just plain useless in UC Gundam, are a bit too butch for most of the female audience). Unfortuantly, someone equates feminitity with utter-uselessness, so they kind of shoot themselves in the foot by making the girl characters useless damsels most of the time.

I made a bit of a goofy mistake a while back by identifying Prince of Tennis as a Shojo series, because I was aware exclusively of its female following rather than its actual content. Same principles at work here: a show aimed at guys, hooks girls in with pretty-boys.

I have to say though, a Girl who likes Shonen is generally accepted rather more than a Guy who likes Shojo This just reflects the way society works as a whole. Girls liking Guy things is fine, but Guys liking Girl things is malignant and wrong. Perhaps not quite to the same extent as normal social movements, but only because 9/10 people have no idea what the difference is between Shojo and Shonen. In fact, I think we'll find that our Western defintion is different in itself to the Japanese.

Originally Posted by merylsilverburg

- the main character is a male
- the mangaka is male
- it's main elements are almost sports-like and romance (if any) is a secondary element
- a major focus is on the main character Azuma Kazuma's (lol) skill which are his special hands, which ties in with the competition/winning/sports tone of the series

These are usually good indicators. A pretty good one to consider is if there is a Manga version, what publications was it serialised in? You wouldn't expect to see shonen in Hana to Yume, or shojo in Shonen Jump...

edit: and Yakitate Japan! was serialised in "Shonen Sunday".

[TtTackler]

Either gender can enjoy this series. I stopped watching it after about 40 episodes, but it is REALLY funny. I would really suggest watching if you can.

[Hylas]

Thanks kupo and meryl for the accurate reply, and to the others, too. I am now curious and I will give this series a try!

But meryl, is cooking a sport in Japan? For real?!

[kupoartist]

Originally Posted by Hylas

But meryl, is cooking a sport in Japan? For real?!

I don't think she meant it like that, but rather that it is perhaps closer to a sport than anywhere else because the Japanese take it that much more seriously. I'm reminded of the warrior chefs in One-Piece for some reason

[merylsilverburg]

Originally Posted by kupoartist

I have to say though, a Girl who likes Shonen is generally accepted rather more than a Guy who likes Shojo This just reflects the way society works as a whole. Girls liking Guy things is fine, but Guys liking Girl things is malignant and wrong. Perhaps not quite to the same extent as normal social movements, but only because 9/10 people have no idea what the difference is between Shojo and Shonen. In fact, I think we'll find that our Western defintion is different in itself to the Japanese.

Sadly, the factors you mentioned are mostly by Western-standards. In Asian countries (but I think particularly Japan) it's acceptable for guys to like shoujo series or to like "cute" things; I mean, guys over there in Japan even hang cutsie cellphone charms off their phones...so I'm thinking liking a certain shoujo wouldn't be a huge issue, especially with the popular male and female fanbase for series like Fruits Basket and Honey and Clover.

I think the acceptance of males getting in touch with their feminine side is fine because that was the way their cultures was historically. Just look at the operas/theaters performances where men had to play female and male parts since women weren't allowed to perform in such things (and this applies to Asia in general, I think, since the Taiwanese also had this same rule back then). I don't remember where I read this from, but apparently there is also a saying/belief in Japan where they say males are lovelier than females and/or can be the "perfect" female. I don't know why there is such a saying, but I think it's because they believe the males possess the perfect elements that females only partially possess (kinda like the whole Adam and Eve story where woman was created by Adam's rib...thus, females are partially perfect while males are completely flawless). Of course, this could really be a silly saying in a male-dominant country, but who really knows unless you're a natural-born Japanese, eh?

Originally Posted by Hylas

But meryl, is cooking a sport in Japan? For real?!

I didn't mean it that way but, like kupo said, that cooking/food is taken very seriously in Japan so they devise clever/strange competition or "sports-like" shows based on the idea of cooking. While kupo has an example of this with the warrior chefs in the One Piece anime, I've seen a couple of live-action shows on Japanese channels...one is on the NHK network called Dotch? Cooking Showdown (Which? Cooking Showdown) where tasters gather together and form 2 teams based on which of the two dishes featured on the show they prefer. After finding out the special/fresh/rare ingredients going into these dishes, they recast their vote for the final win. The winning team gets to eat the dish while the losers don't get any. There are other battle shows and many, many cooking shows in Japan, so this explains my sports-like reference to Yakitate Japan!. Oh, I forgot, there is also the famous "Iron Chef" series (not the stupid "Iron Chef America" version) on the Food Network.

[Hylas]

Oh, I see, sorry for the dumb question

[Zebraman]

Watched 10 episodes, it is a funny anime. I recommend it for now, but I don't know if it becomes boring. It's nearly 70 episodes I think.