Manga and anime aimed primarily at pre-teen and teenaged boys. Tends to be focused more on "action" than relationships, with romance generally either [[TokenRomance perfunctory]] or played for comedy. Fighting or combat -- even if it is sublimated into a form such as a sports competition -- is a common element. The title character, and most of the cast, is predominantly male.

{{Shonen}} series were the first to be brought over ''en masse'' to the Western world, and makes up much of the popular American preception of anime. However, it should be noted most anime ''is'' aimed at younger kids simply because they possess the most free time for TV, and nearly all popular western animation is either geared towards males or has MultipleDemographicAppeal. Pure {{shoujo}} bounces between the realms of cutesy and melodramatically scandalous for most MediaWatchdogs, so it does not get shown in the West as much.

Note that while {{Shonen}} tends to include a few standard genres, it literally refers to the target demographic (and in Japan, generally refers strictly to manga, rather than anime). Its older counterpart is {{Seinen}}, although both are enjoyed by [[PeripheryDemographic certain audiences]].

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!!General Examples

* Almost anything with HumongousMecha.
* Sometimes, adaptations of stories with MultipleDemographicAppeal will create two versions of the story, one {{shonen}} and one {{shojo}}.
** The [[CutAndPasteTranslation attempted localization]] of ''CardCaptorSakura'' in the U.S. could be ''very'' generously described as [[AdaptationDecay an attempt]] to create a shonen version of the series (i.e., increase appeal in the proven male market), despite the show being entrenched like a rock in {{shojo}} tropes.
** This practice also occurs in Japan. ''VisionOfEscaflowne'' had a shonen-version manga produced of its story, while ''MagicKnightRayearth'''s {{OAV}}s have a similar bent as compared to the original series.
* Nearly all the titles featured in ''Shonen Jump!'' magazine have a kind of legacy with each other, enough that a {{crossover}} video game was highly received.
** The ''{{Dragonball}}'' series is by far the most famous example, and due to its age, length and influence provides examples of most of the classic tropes.
** ''JojosBizarreAdventure'', released in 1987, is one of Shonen Jump's longest running shonen series, having reached over ''90'' volumes in Japan. It was only very recently that it got an official English release, and even then it jumped the gun a little, starting with the more-famous Series 3. With its 7th part, Steel Ball Run, it has switched magazines and became {{Seinen}}

!!Other Examples in Shonen Jump
* ''AngelDensetsu''
* ''{{Bakuman}}''
* ''{{Bleach}}''
* ''{{Claymore}}''
* ''DeathNote'' - although you'd be forgiven for mistaking it for seinen
* ''[[DGrayMan D.Gray-Man]]''
* ''EyeShield21''
* ''FistOfTheNorthStar''
* ''HikaruNoGo''
* ''HunterXHunter''
* ''KatekyoHitmanReborn'' though its audience appears to consist mostly of PeripheryDemographic
* ''KimagureOrangeRoad''
* ''{{Naruto}}''
* ''OnePiece''
* ''RurouniKenshin''
* ''SaintSeiya''
* ''ShamanKing''
* ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}!''
* ''YuYuHakusho''


!!Non-''Shonen Jump'' Examples

* ''AirGear''
* ''AngelicLayer'' (by {{CLAMP}}, a mangaka team well known for their work in {{shojo}})
* ''AzumangaDaioh''
* ''BtX''
* ''{{Digimon}}''
* ''{{Eiken}}''
* ''FairyTail''
* ''FullmetalAlchemist''
* ''GambleFish''
* ''GetBackers''
* ''GetterRobo''
* ''GreatTeacherOnizuka''
* ''{{Guyver}}''
* ''IchigoMashimaro''
* ''{{Kekkaishi}}''... supposedly.
* ''KarakuridoujiUltimo''
* ''LoveHina''
* ''MahouSenseiNegima''
* ''{{Mai-HiME}}'' and ''{{Mai-Otome}}''
* ''MazingerZ''
* ''MiraiNikki''
* ''{{Pokemon}}''
* ''RoninWarriors''
* ''SakigakeCromartieKoukou''
* ''SayonaraZetsubouSensei''
* ''SchoolRumble''
* ''SoulEater''
* ''TheSlayers''
* ''TengenToppaGurrenLagann''
** Although ''[[HighSchoolAU Gakuen-hen]]'' is technically {{seinen}}, as it runs in Comp Ace.
* ''{{Trigun}}'' - until it switched publisher and became {{seinen}}
* ''TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' - Yes, despite the genre of the various series it's a crossover from it runs in Shonen magazine.
* ''[=~Yotsuba&!~=]''
* ''YakitateJapan''
* ''NininGaShinobuden'' parodies this in the first half of episode eleven, when Sasuke attempts to take over the show.
* Every work by RumikoTakahashi [[{{Seinen}} except for]] ''MaisonIkkoku'' -- ''RanmaOneHalf'', ''InuYasha'', ''MermaidSaga'', and ''UruseiYatsura'' just to cover the LongRunners.

!! Series sometimes mistaken for shounen

* ''DennoCoil''. Yes, it has cyberspace, humongous mecha and lots of butt-kicking, but it's very much a ''{{shojo}}'' series.

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