Is Pokemon Kodomo, or Shonen?

[Somari]

Which is it?

By definition, it does seem Kodomo, but it also seems Shonen.

 

[Ho-oh]

Which is it?

By definition, it does seem Kodomo, but it also seems Shonen.

No, I thought Pokémon was the other way around - Shonen, but leaning on the kodomo and general audience side too.

 

[Rocker32703]

Just looked up the definitions myself, I would say Pokemon is more Shonen then Kodomo... Although it is a bit of both.

To put it simply for those who don't know the terms:

Kodomo: For littler kids, to put it simply.

Shonen: General Japanese term referring to youth, often teenagers.

I think those are the terms, correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Dewgong Reign]

It's a kodomo.

At least, by American standards. If I walked up to a random dude on the street and asked him about Pokemon, he'd probably call it "gay."

Then again, these ARE the Southern mesabillies.

 

[Somari]

It's a kodomo.

At least, by American standards. If I walked up to a random dude on the street and asked him about Pokemon, he'd probably call it "gay."

If they're an adult, then I get understand a negative or neutral reaction. But, with a teenager..

Then again, teenagers tend to anything related to Nintendo such things where I am too.

 

[Quest]

"Shonen" literally means "young boy" so if Pokemon were Shonen, it would be an anime geared towards boys. Originally this may has been so, considering the attitude and design of Kanto, but it has evolved to include "Shojo" (young girl) anime elements as well.

Most of us know kodomo is a general term for "child" in Japanese. That said, I choose kodomo. Maybe leaning towards Shonen still, but mostly kodomo.

 

[Jamesredsilver]

Pokèmon is definately based around children of all ages. Way back toward the start it may have been a bit boy-sided since you could only be a boy in the gameboy games and there was no active regular female character on the show(Misty hardly did anything compared to May or Dawn), but there's not a trace of Shounen-exclusivity anymore.

 

[Somari]

I meant everything, not just the anime. The anime can be Kodomo, and other media be different. There was a shojo manga, does that mean Pokemon is shojo?

 

[Nekusagi]

Ono manga and Special are shounen, MPJ is kodomo/shoujo, the Himeno comics are probably kodomo, and the anime is kodomo.

 

[Takoto]

Shonen: General Japanese term referring to youth, often teenagers.

No.
Shonen: General Japanese term referring to male youth, often teenager boys.

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Kodomo - A manga or animé for children.
Shojo - A manga or animé for teenage girls.
Shonen - A manga or animé for teenage boys.
Seinen - A manga or animé for older men.
Josei - A manga or animé for older women.

I know a lot about these things, and in all honest, Pokémon is mostly Kodomo. Not Shonen. Not Shojo. It could be considered a little Shonen, but hardly any. Shonen is stuff like Bleach, an animé with a fare bit of action, violence, blood... Pokémon isn't violent or bloody at all, and it's certainly not an animé most teenage boys would watch.

 

[Somari]

One manga and Special are shounen, MPJ is kodomo/shoujo, the Himeno comics are probably kodomo, and the anime is kodomo.

..
What about the games? What would they be?

 

[Kori Gotcha]

I'd say Shonen because the games appeal to a broader range than just kodomo, plus if we recall the old pokedex's and how brutal the entries were (descriptions of pokemon feeding on other pokemon and the like), I'd say it would go there. Granted, the game has softened up a bit in that area, but I think there is still enough broad appeal for it to be considered shonen.

 

[lucylucylucy]

pokemon is both because kodomo means kids and shounen means something which is marketed to kids

 

[Gokuman345]

pokemon is both because kodomo means kids and shounen means something which is marketed to kids

No. Shonen is primarily for teen boys.
Only Kodomo is for kids. That’s all. Pokémon is considered a kodomo.

 

[Gokuman345]

I'd say Shonen because the games appeal to a broader range than just kodomo, plus if we recall the old pokedex's and how brutal the entries were (descriptions of pokemon feeding on other pokemon and the like), I'd say it would go there. Granted, the game has softened up a bit in that area, but I think there is still enough broad appeal for it to be considered shonen.

Are you dumb? Shonen is for teenage boys. What makes a Shonen is what magazine it’s published in.

 

[Gokuman345]

No.
Shonen: General Japanese term referring to male youth, often teenager boys.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kodomo - A manga or animé for children.
Shojo - A manga or animé for teenage girls.
Shonen - A manga or animé for teenage boys.
Seinen - A manga or animé for older men.
Josei - A manga or animé for older women.

I know a lot about these things, and in all honest, Pokémon is mostly Kodomo. Not Shonen. Not Shojo. It could be considered a little Shonen, but hardly any. Shonen is stuff like Bleach, an animé with a fare bit of action, violence, blood... Pokémon isn't violent or bloody at all, and it's certainly not an animé most teenage boys would watch.

Thank you. Someone gets it.

 

[Nerd Violence]

Corocoro, which serializes the Pokémon Adventures manga, is held as being geared towards young boys; younger than shōnen, but definitely male audiences. Taking this with the fact that the anime series has featured around an oblivious young boy for years with largely token female representation (and very little of the themes we would associate with shōjo), and I have to admit that I can't bring myself to consider the anime/manga series as being made with general child audiences in mind.

I'd argue that it's something like "pre-shōnen." It's geared towards little boys and has many of the characteristics of shōnen series (albeit watered down to be more palatable to a young audience) including spectacle violence.

The games have been more of a general audiences thing since Crystal, however. Although I'm not entirely sure these genres are applicable to video games.

 

[KaylaBaraonda]

Most of the games: Kodomo
Pokémon fifth generation games: Shonen\Seinen
Anime: Kodomo
Origins and Generations: Seinen
PokéSpe: Shonen
Electric Tale of Pikachu: Kodomo
Zensho: Kodomo
Magical Pokémon Journey: Shojo
Diamond and Pearl Adventure: Kodomo\Shonen

Pokémon Horizon: Kodomo\Shonen
Pokémon Pocket Monsters: Kodomo\Shonen
Be the Best: Pokémon BW: Kodomo\Shonen
Jo's Big Adventure: Kodomo\Shonen
How I became a Pokémon Card: Kodomo
Mezase! Card Master: Kodomo\Shonen
Pokémon 4Koma: Kodomo\Shonen
Pokémon newspaper comics: Kodomo\Shonen
Aim to be the Battle King: Kodomo\Shonen
Try Adventure: Kodomo\Shonen
ReBURST: Seinen
Quiz Puzzle Land: Kodomo
Legend of the Dragon King: Kodomo\Shonen
Pokémon on Ice (or what the stage play is called): Kodomo
Detective Pikachu movie: Shonen\Seinen

 

[prog rocker]

Why is Origins seinen?

 

[KaylaBaraonda]

Why is Origins seinen?

Origins and Generations are geared to long-time fans of the series while the ashnime is geared to new time fans