History SoYouWantTo / WriteAShonenSeries

* [[FauxActionGirl Faux Action Girls]]. Oh, boy. Here's a tip: if you want to establish a female character as a {{Badass}} ActionGirl who can kick ass alongside the guys, ''show'' her doing it and justify the times when she's not as competent as she's said to be. ShowDon'tTell is one of the main problems with [[FauxActionGirl Faux Action Girls]].

* If you want one of your cast to be the most common form of {{Tsundere}}, a girl who's angry on the outside but is sweet on the inside, then please remember the "sweet" part. Otherwise, you'll wind up stuck with DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale--and all the trope's UnfortunateImplications. You should also avoid making this character a FauxActionGirl.

* Gender-flip some traditional shonen character roles. Make TheLancer or TheRival a TallDarkAndBishoujo ActionGirl. Make TheChick a [[{{Keet}} cheerful]] NonActionGuy. Or, like the above suggestion, just make the hero female.

* Gender-flip some traditional roles. Make TheLancer or TheRival a TallDarkAndBishoujo ActionGirl. Make TheChick a [[{{Keet}} cheerful]] NonActionGuy. Or, like the above suggestion, just make the hero female.

...after you read [[SoYouWantTo.WriteAStory So You Want to Write a Story]], of course.

...after you read SoYouWantTo.WriteAStory, of course.

** At some point, consider introducing a BadassNormal {{rival}} who kicks TheHero's superpowered butt ''without'' any powers of his own. Bonus points if your hero later defeats him [[BroughtDownToNormal on his own ground]] or if the rival is amicable enough to [[BoxingLessonsForSuperman coach him in the fine art of muggle fighting]] (or both).

** At some point, consider introducing a BadassNormal {{rival}} who kicks TheHero's superpowered butt ''without'' any powers of his own. Bonus points if your hero later defeats him [[BroughtDownToNormal on his own ground]].

* Make TheHero a boyish girl. Not necessarily TheLadette, but a {{Tomboy}}, a {{Bokukko}}, or an OtakuSurrogate. It's not like it hasn't [[Manga/SoulEater been]] [[Manga/{{Claymore}} done]] [[Manga/TheSlayers before]]. For a CherryTapping, you get an [[MsFanservice endless supply of fanservice]] right there on the front lines.

* Make TheHero a boyish girl. Not TheLadette but a {{Tomboy}}, a {{Bokukko}}, or an OtakuSurrogate. It's not like it hasn't been [[Manga/{{Claymore}} done before]]. For a CherryTapping, you get an [[MsFanservice endless supply of fanservice]] right there on the front lines.

* ''JoJosBizarreAdventure''

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* ''Franchise/FullMetalAlchemist''

* ''FullMetalAlchemist''

* IdiotHero. Not ABSOLUTELY taboo, but this trope has been ''way'' overused. A cool, calm intelligent shonen hero would be an interesting subversion and likely well received by fans.
** Case in point: Ichigo Kurosaki from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. Not always calm, and not incredibly intelligent, but definitely not an idiot.

* If you want one of your cast to be the most common form of {{Tsundere}}, a girl who's angry on the outside but is sweet on the inside, then please remember the "sweet" part. Otherwise, you'll wind up stuck with AbuseIsOkayWhenItIsFemaleOnMale--and all the trope's UnfortunateImplications. You should also avoid making this character a FauxActionGirl.

* Keep in mind that there's a difference between romance and sexuality. The young male readers who might gag over a mushy kissing scene will have no problem with [[{{Fanservice}} panty shots, girls undressing, and general PG-13 nudity]]. Even if your hero might never confess feeling ''anything'' for a girl, you can still have him try sneaking a peek of her naked, so long as he never gets to see anything ''too'' good. You can also have him beaten up by the girl he was drooling over, although [[AbuseIsOkayWhenItIsFemaleOnMale this trope]] has UnfortunateImplications.

** [[{{Bleach}} Case in point.]] Not always calm, and not incredibly intelligent, but definitely not an idiot.

* ''Manga/DragonBall'': Due to its huge popularity, the TropeCodifier for many shonen cliches and a major influence on the genre.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': At least through the end of the Soul Society arc. From then on, YourMileageMayVary.

Ah, ''[[ShonenGenre shonen]]''. 90% of anime exported to America falls under this category. If you want to market your anime/manga/whatever to young guys, read this...

Ah, ''shonen''. 90% of anime exported to America falls under this category. If you want to market your anime/manga/whatever to young guys, read this...

Other tropes to avoid:* ArcFatigue. Shounen is often mocked for having very slow pacing, and with good reason. Going through your plot points too fast is bad, but going through them too slowly is ''deadly''. (Especially if it looks like you're trying to draw out the story for no good reason, which is a good source of {{Narm}}.) Also, decide early on if your series will be episodic, or if it'll focus on {{Story Arc}}s.

* InvincibleHero. A hero who wins most or all of the time gets boring fast. Even more so all his fights follow the same formula of the hero receiving a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown until he's finally able to use his signature technique, which he will always use in the same way with little or no variation. (See One Trick Pony below.) Little kids might not mind as much, but older audiences will get bored quickly.

* FailureHero. If it's bad to have your heroes win too often, it's also bad to have them ''lose'' too often. If they continually suffer TheWorfEffect, then you show will wind up as SnarkBait. And if your characters are established as competent fighters, only to start losing battles they should have won as the story progresses, fans might start complaining about it CharacterDerailment.

* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands. PowerCreepPowerSeep is inevtiable in a shonen plotline. Fans expect and even want the hero to keep getting stronger, and in turn face stronger and stronger enemies, on their way to becoming [[ToBeAMaster the master]]. The trick is to keep your world [[MagicAIsMagicA internally consistent and believable]]. Take a break from the battles to do a little {{Foreshadowing}} or WorldBuilding. It will go a long way towards explaining the latest super power the hero has [[DesperationAttack decided to use]] at the last second to defeat their newest foe. In addition, don't power up your characters too fast. Sure you want to make it clear that they are {{The Chosen One}}s, but if they quickly outpace every other character in the show it will become apparent that you're just [[AssPull making up new abilities and enemies as you go]]. A well placed ChekhovsGun in an early episode that comes back in season four will impress shonen fans, who are all but resigned to writers having no idea what happens next.

* Unrequited love is not a flat out bad idea but if the romance in the story is a case of AllLoveIsUnrequited, this can make the concept feel a bit... [[EnforcedTrope enforced]], to put it mildly. Fans sometimes complain about certain characters (often female) who exist only to be perpetually unrequited love interests. (And if one of your male characters is a CelibateHero or ChasteHero, then you might want at least one female characters who would follow suit; otherwise, chances you'll be accused of a DoubleStandard.) Basically if you don't want to do romance chances are you probably shouldn't do it. Lack of romance certainly hasn't hurt ''Manga/OnePiece''...

AnachronismStew is your friend. Only wusses restrict themselves to a single time period. A REAL MASTER knows that atomic ninja are better than regular ninja, steampunk pirates beat ordinary pirates and EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs. And of course, [[KatanasAreJustBetter the Katana]] is a tasteful adornment to any time period.

* TheBigGuy: This character is [[InformedAbility really strong, tough and powerful]], powerful enough to [[TheWorfEffect lose repeatedly against all the major enemies]] (when that isn't TheLancer's job). Generally physically bigger than the other characters and more heavily muscled, their brute strength often comes in useful even if their fighting record is somewhat less impressive. This character is often a good choice for your TokenMinority or CaptainEthnic. Chad from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' is a textbook example.

* {{Filler}}. Good Lord, Filler. It killed ''Anime/RurouniKenshin'' and gave FanHaters a lot of ammo regarding ''Anime/{{Naruto}}''. Filler in itself isn't terrible -- you're just trying to give yourself a little more time to write the main story. But for crying out loud, at least make it interesting! Delve deep into the backstory of a SatelliteCharacter. Develop a subplot that hasn't gotten a lot of airtime. Stuff like that. If possible, see if the manga-ka has any ideas that they don't have space to put in the manga, a la ''Manga/OnePiece''.

Ah, ''shonen''. 90% of anime exported to America falls under this category. If you want to market your anime to young guys, read this...

Other tropes to avoid:
* ArcFatigue. Shounen is often mocked for having very slow pacing, and with good reason. Going through your plot points too fast is bad, but going through them too slowly is ''deadly''. (Especially if it looks like you're trying to draw out the story for no good reason, which is a good source of {{Narm}}.) Also, decide early on if your series will be episodic, or if it'll focus on {{Story Arc}}s.

* ''{{Dragonball}}''
* ''YuYuHakusho''
* ''HunterXHunter''
* ''RurouniKenshin''
* ''OnePiece''

* ''TengenToppaGurrenLagann''
* ''SoulEater''
* ''{{Claymore}}''

* ''{{Gintama}}''

* The BattleCouple: Your main audience is guys. If there's one way to suck them into the relationship of a pair, it's to have them ''both'' be on the front lines, as equals. Give them powers that complement one another better than [[FiveManBand the rest]], or have it so they can't do as much unless they're together. (The Nirvash from ''Anime/EurekaSeven'', a HumungousMecha which the two main characters could only pilot together, is a good example of how to do it right). TheChick barely getting involved in the fight is overdone; the LadyOfWar who saved {{The Hero}}'s ass ''again'' while working on the bet they made to see who's on top tonight will be a few metric tons more interesting. And of course, you can always make your hero's LoveInterest a full-fledged ActionGirl.

* And if you want one of your cast to be a {{Tsundere}}, a character whom has an angry temper on the outside but is deep down a bit more sweeter then please do not forget the latter. Does who forget the latter and emphasize on the former is a huge cause of AbuseIsOkayWhenItIsFemaleOnMale (though of course try to do a nice balance of the former and latter as well). And of course avoid making such character a FauxActionGirl as much as possible as well.
* Be careful when writing a PatientChildhoodLoveInterest, as there are plenty of fans whom would sympathize with her and is a known case of FanPreferredPairing. If you're determined to include such a character, then make sure to [[JustifiedTrope justify]] the relationship.

* OK, we've all seen the IdiotHero thing five million times exactly. Try to stay away from it. And no, we're not talking about making TheHero a BookDumb character. Make a hero who's genuinely intelligent inside and outside the classroom.

* Make TheHero a boyish girl. Not TheLadette but a {{Tomboy}}, a {{Bokukko}}, or an OtakuSurrogate. It's not like it hasn't been [[{{Claymore}} done before]]. For a CherryTapping, you get an [[MsFanservice endless supply of fanservice]] right there on the front lines.

It's a common trick to give the hero some special power or talent that makes them unique, but heaven help the writer who leans too much on that device. Nobody will respect a hero who doesn't sweat blood to ''earn'' their victory.

Shonen means POWER! STRENGTH! GLORY! Your audience doesn't have any patience for abstraction or allusion. They want the real stuff. The juice. Characters themed after powerful animals, beasts from myth, deadly natural phenomena. Heroes who lay it all on the line for love and justice. Battles where everything is at stake: the character's courage, their soul, the soul of mankind! Even a simple game of Mahjongg or Go can be made epic by [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic likening the participants to gods or demons]].

Anachronism is your friend. Only wusses restrict themselves to a single time period. A REAL MASTER knows that atom ninja are better than regular ninja, steampunk pirates beat ordinary pirates and ''everything is better with dinosaurs''. And of course, the Katana is a tasteful adornment to any time period.

* TheChick: A difficult character to do well, often making her TheScrappy. If she's there for simple eye candy then maybe it's best to let her stay in the background looking pretty, or if you're feeling a little braver she might do well with a wacky personality. Useful skills can help; healing, mechanical know-how and prophecy are popular choices.
* TheBigGuy: This character is [[InformedAbility really strong, tough and powerful]], powerful enough to [[TheWorfEffect lose repeatedly against all the major enemies]] (when that isn't TheLancer's job). Generally physically bigger than the other characters and more heavily muscled, their brute strength often comes in useful even if their fighting record is somewhat less impressive. This character is often a good choice for your TokenMinority or CaptainEthnic.

* And if you want to make a {{Tsundere}} which is known as a character whom has an angry temper on the outside but is deep down a bit more sweeter then please do not forget the latter. Does who forget the latter and emphasize on the former is a huge cause of AbuseIsOkayWhenItIsFemaleOnMale (though of course try to do a nice balance of the former and latter as well). And of course avoid making such character a FauxActionGirl as much as possible as well.

* Unrequited love is not a flat out bad idea but if the romance in the story is a case of AllLoveIsUnrequited, this can make the concept feel a bit... [[EnforcedTrope enforced]], to put it mildly. One fairly known complaint is certain characters (often female) who exist only to be a perpetually unrequited love. (And if you're okay with male characters whom never want to have a love life at all then you might want to be okay with female characters who would follow suit otherwise chances you'll be accused of a DoubleStandard.) Basically if you don't want to do romance chances are you probably shouldn't do it.
* If you must prefer to have your main character (or any of the other characters) to be a CelibateHero or a ChasteHero then you might not want to have any of the other characters holding unrequited feelings for them. Having a character to be a CelibateHero no matter what will often make his/her unrequited love interests either be {{Flanderized}} because of this unrequited love or at least appear to be. (And this will be especially deemed annoying if said unrequited love interest is an otherwise appealing character.) Fans are generally more forgiving towards these characters if they are not used as a reason why one of their favorite characters will never be in a good relationship.

* While it can be an unfortunate reality there is a good chance that you might want to avoid an PatientChildhoodLoveInterest, as there are plenty of fans whom would sympathize with her and is a known case of FanPreferredPairing. And if you feel like you must do this then its for the best to try to make it justified.