Let's create a Shounen

Exactly What It Says on the Tin

Inspired by some other collaborative threads, I came up withe the idea as an aid to our own writings to create a collaborative shounen story. It's up to us (tropers) to create this world, story and characters. The direction, the genre, ect. Whether we build the world up or take it down, play it straight or turn it around.

I just thought this be a fun creative writing experiment?, anyone else interested.

edited 18th Dec '11 10:58:04 AM by BetsyandtheFiveAvengers

Okay.

First. We need the premise. Then our protagonist.

edited 18th Dec '11 10:58:13 AM by BetsyandtheFiveAvengers

Let me throw a few ideas around and see if anyone else is interested in it.

Mecha? Setai? Urban Fantasy? Europeon Fantasy? Arabian Fairy Tales? Mon? Magical Boy? Death Note like Thriller?

Does it have to be an original premise? Because I've always had this idea kicking around my head for a Magic The Gathering series that was similar to Yu Gi Oh. The cards are real spells, and normal people can play without casting them, but there are people with magic in their blood who can actually cast the cards as real spells.

Granted, that'd require a knowledge of Magic, but...

edited 18th Dec '11 10:58:28 AM by BetsyandtheFiveAvengers

Well, maybe not something Death Note like, because I'm thinking of originalizing Kira Is Justice and I don't want to do any projects I'm going to do here, in risk of putting out a lot of my own ideas.

Urban Fantasy sounds good. How about we use Wake Up, Go to School & Save the World?

edited 18th Dec '11 10:58:37 AM by BetsyandtheFiveAvengers

hm... I dunno. If you think we can get enough characters that way. Don't most shonen series tend to have Loads And Loads Of Characters?

Is there a masquerade hiding the fantasy elements from sight or is the fantastic blended into the mundane?

Do you want to do more than one character a piece, then?

It depends entirely on how many people get interested. I see four of us, which is enough for The Hero, The Rival, a Big Bad, and maybe a Love Interest if we decide to go that route.

edited 18th Dec '11 10:58:45 AM by BetsyandtheFiveAvengers

Is it possible to use a Masquerade in an Urban Fantasy? ...Oh, yeah, it is, if the fantasy creatures inhabits some sort of underground area, like in Artemis Fowl.

So, how will the magic cards work? Will it be more like Yu-Gi-Oh, or Cardcaptor Sakura?

—hisses dramatically—

—hovers protectively over own shonen series—

—drops the gauntlet—

—gives the evil eye—

—backs away slowly—

—disappears—

Yes? I was thinking similar to Yu Gi Oh with the whole dueling aspect, but similar to CCS with the whole cards materializing and being, y'know, real magic aspect.

And look at Mahou Sensei Negima for a great example of an Urban Fantasy with a masquerade.

I have a weakness for Shonen, and would love to try my hand at something like this. How are we going to delegate characters, and will this be in any particular format?

Ooh! This got to be real interesting, especially because I'm actually working on a (albeit a bit dark) Shonen Urban Fantasy. Btw, do we really have to use Magic: The Gathering as one of the elements, because I never played any Tabletop Game (it is one, isn't it?).

Anyway, here's an important question: who are the antagonists? What are we going against?

You should make the main character a girl. Because if there is anything shonen hasn't done yet, it's that.

It's more or less a fixed rule that all shonen protagonists should be a male. If not, that's more leaning toward Seinen.

Not true. Azumanga Daioh, for example, is shonen.

As is Claymore.

And Haruhi Suzumiya, but that's on the debatable side, on who is the protagonist.

edited 5th May '11 3:36:44 PM by MrAHR

Having a female lead is pretty par for the course for me, but it's not just my story :P

And no, Mt G isn't a requirement, it was just an idea.

Male leads just seem to be the standard for To Be a Master, which is not shonen as a whole.

edited 5th May '11 3:33:24 PM by animemetalhead

I support a male protagonist. It is one of the defining traits of Shonen as a whole.

-puts thread on watchlist-

Azumanga Daioh isn't action oriented. Really? I thought it was a Seinen.

Shonen is a demographic. Not a genre.

It's still shonen, which kinda ruins your initial point.

edited 5th May '11 3:36:05 PM by MrAHR