Attack on Titan / Shingeki no Kyojin rating

Came up in the YKTTW discussion on splitting a "childrens' work that covers mature subjects" trope off of What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?.

We're trying to figure out if a posted example from Shingeki No Kyojin fits the trope, but shonen manga is kind of a gray area. Viz rates it anywhere from E to T+, but I've looked at both the Japanese and English covers online and can't find an equivalent rating. A little help would be appreciated.

It does run in a shonen monthly magazine but it's also often described as seinen. Also very popular with the ladies, judging by the amount of slash fanworks from its Japanese fandom.

Yeah, this series would count as questionable for kids because of the high (gruesome) death rate. A lot of gorn; however, also no fanservice. Not a single booby shot from the ladies nor shirtless scenes from the guys.

Adding about the gorn - sometimes I think it's there for the gorn fans, but most of the time - I also think it's just realistically showing how violent (and undignified) death can be.

A CP from the trope page since a another troper described it way better than I can.

Well, I'd like to say that it could easily be targeted at the older end of the shounen demographic, although it does use furigana (a reading aid for difficult kanji).

It's probably going to be a little subjective, but my take is that it doesn't fit Mature Childrens Work as described because it's not beyond something that shounen-reading teenagers can't handle. It's targeted at exactly the audience it wants. I don't think it's outside what the audience would be expecting.

What Do You Mean, It's for Kids? with its talk of periphery demographic fits much better.

edited 14th Apr '13 7:22:17 PM by UltimatelySubjective

The series runs in a magazine aimed at teenagers, not children

This magazine in particular.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessatsu_Sh%C5%8Dnen_Magazine

China legal stream site describe SnK as 18+, however the manga distributor in Taiwan list SnK as shounen. For references, Taiwan have strict federal laws that requires works with excessive gorn listed as 18+, or the publisher could be fined. (Deadman Wonderland, Eureka Seven, both shounen series, falls under 18+) So no, it is not beyond what teenagers can handle.

(I know it is weird to use an Asian country, but remember, we once had a show taken off TV because the main heroin injured her hand)

It may be noteworthy that the show airs a Otaku O'Clock. Shounen aimed at younger audiences usually airs earlier.

For instance, Magi: Labyrinth of Magic aired earlier at 5:00PM and would probably be a better example of a kid's show with a couple of darker themes like slavery in it.

I also note that in the magazine it runs in, Shingeki no Kyojin is in the company of things like From the New World and Aku no Hana, both of which are quite dark at times.

edited 14th Apr '13 7:53:08 PM by UltimatelySubjective

I think it has several air-times, but the first (or premiere) is Sundays at 1am or 2am in Japan.

Yeah, I don't think it's being marketed to kids. Heck, Shonen Jump even rejected it cause it wasn't Jump material.

All of the showtimes, except Nico Nico simulcast, are on Otaku O'Clock.

There are factors other than demographic that can influence air-times. Like only really having two cours worth of material, or not wanting to tone down the gore

And that gives me hope that the gore will be less censored later on. So many gore discretion shots in episode 2.

I wouldn't call that censorship, personally. I'd call that subtlety.

I guess I shouldn't complain. Been re-reading and I still cannot read/look properly at certain scenes in a couple of chapters after volume 8. Those, I wouldn't mind being censored (subtly or otherwise).

I don't care less about rating but i love the series, I don't think i care for any ratings for this amazing TV show