History SoYouWantTo / WriteAShonenSeries

* Gender-flip some traditional shonen character roles. Make TheLancer or TheRival an {{Aloof Dark Haired|Girl}} ActionGirl. Make TheChick a [[{{Keet}} cheerful]] NonActionGuy. Or just go with the above suggestion and make the hero female.

To quote ''Magazine/ShonenJump'': '''[[{{Determinator}} Hard work]]''', '''[[TrueCompanions friendship]]''', '''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome victory]]'''! A shonen hero is someone who never, ever gives up. The deceitful and treacherous might appear to have the upper hand at first, but their downfall is as certain as the rising sun... unless they too learn the error of their ways and [[CharacterMagneticTeam embrace shonen ways themselves]].

%%* ''Manga/SaintSeiya''

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* DemotedToExtra[=/=]OutOfFocus. Beware these tropes, especially if your story has LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters. Granted, if you have a large cast, you can't give every character a major role in every episode. However, fans of a particular character won't be happy if they think their favorite is getting slighted, especially if he or she was introduced as a major player in the story. Of course, one way to avoid these tropes is to keep your cast fairly small. This may lead to...

* ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar''

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

* ''Manga/HunterXHunter''

* ''Manga/SoulEater''
* ''Manga/{{Claymore}}''
** Note: This edges into Seinen territory. NOT for the young and the squeamish!

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''

Everything must be HUGE, EPIC and UNPRECEDENTED. The laws of physics are a low priority here. When in doubt, take a real world landmark or natural feature, make it ten times larger [[InstantAwesomeJustAddNinja and fill it with ninja]].

* ''FistOfTheNorthStar''
* ''Manga/Kinnikuman''

* ''SaintSeiya''

To quote ShonenJump: '''[[{{Determinator}} Hard work]]''', '''[[TrueCompanions friendship]]''', '''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome victory]]'''! A shonen hero is someone who never, ever gives up. The deceitful and treacherous might appear to have the upper hand at first, but their downfall is as certain as the rising sun... unless they too learn the error of their ways and [[CharacterMagneticTeam embrace shonen ways themselves]].

* AssPull and TheUntwist: If you want to have a good WhamEpisode, make sure you used {{Foreshadowing}} beforehand. Otherwise, audiences will feel cheated. However, do it in light proportions, as too much foreshadowing may make the planned twist TOO obvious. In other words, avoid what ''Naruto'' did in the WarArc.

* AssPull and TheUntwist: If you want to have a good WhamEpisode, make sure you used {{Foreshadowing}} beforehand. Otherwise, audiences will feel cheated. However, do it in light proportions, as too much foreshadowing may make the planned twist TOO obvious. In other words, avoid what Naruto did in the WarArc.

* AssPull and TheUntwist: If you want to have a good WhamEpisode, make sure you used [[Foreshadowing]] beforehand. Otherwise, audiences will feel cheated. However, do it in light proportions, as too much foreshadowing may make the planned twist TOO obvious. In other words, avoid what Naruto did in the WarArc.

* AssPull and TheUntwist: If you want to have a good WhamEpisode, make sure you used [[Foreshadoring]] beforehand. Otherwise, audiences will feel cheated. However, do it in light proportions, as too much foreshadowing may make the planned twist TOO obvious. In other words, avoid what Naruto did in the WarArc.

* AssPull and CaptainObviousReveal: If you want to have a good WhamEpisode, make sure you used [[Foreshadoring]] beforehand. Otherwise, audiences will feel cheated. However, do it in light proportions, as too much foreshadowing may make the planned twist TOO obvious. In other words, avoid what Naruto did in the WarArc.

* AssPull and CaptainObviousReveal: If you want to have a good WhamEpisode, make sure you used [[Foreshadoring]] beforehand. Otherwise, audiences will feel cheated. However, do it in light proportions, as too much foreshadowing may make the planned twist TOO obvious. In other words, avoid what Manga/Naruto did in the WarArc.

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

* And not all {{Fanservice}} must be female, either. A few [[{{Bishonen}} pretty boys]] can help get you some [[EstrogenBrigade rabid fans from the other side of the chromosome pool]]. Just be careful with ''how'' pretty you make those boys, otherwise you can wind up with some [[ViewerGenderConfusion very confused fans]]. And don't be afraid if the male fanservice can venture into HoYay, heck feel free to play around with if you like (even do a good-natured gag or few about it). But if your worried that the HoYay might be too much of a Turn off to male viewers, some well-used LesYay can help even things out. It might come off as EveryoneIsBi but hey a little equal opportunity fanservice never hurt anyone huh?
* However on the concept of HoYay and LesYay you might want to be careful about how their "official love life" will go. If their {{Canon}} romantic status is either a case of StrangledByTheRedString or a overly Designated Unrequited love, then this might be a good case of FanPreferredPairing.

* 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, or else she'll just become TheScrappy.

* Gender-flip some traditional shonen character roles. Make TheLancer or TheRival a {{Aloof Dark Haired|Girl}} ActionGirl. Make TheChick a [[{{Keet}} cheerful]] NonActionGuy. Or just go with the above suggestion and make the hero female.

* TheHero: Wants ToBeAMaster. Usually BookDumb. The hero gets all the NextTierPowerUp items, and is generally the only one able to defeat the BigBad. He'll (it's usually a "he") win his battles by lots of HeroicResolve, because he's such a {{Determinator}} like that.

* TheHero: Wants ToBeAMaster. Usually BookDumb. The hero gets all the ShonenUpgrade items, and is generally the only one able to defeat the BigBad. He'll (it's usually a "he") win his battles by lots of HeroicResolve, because he's such a {{Determinator}} like that.

* Instead of TheChick, why not give the role of the hero's [[LoveInterests Love Interest]] to, say, TheLancer? It could make for some interesting relationship development, especially if TheLancer also doubles as TheRival.

* Instead of TheChick, why not give the role of the hero's [[LoveInterests Love Interest]] to, say, TheLancer? It could make for some interesting relationship development, especially if TheLancer also doubles as TheRival.

* Instead of TheChick, why not give the role of the hero's [[LoveInterests Love Interest]] to, say, TheLancer? It could make for some interesting relationship development, especially if TheLancer also doubles as TheRival.

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

* ''Franchise/FullmetalAlchemist''

* [[FauxActionGirl Faux Action Girls]]. Oh, boy. Here's a tip: if you want to establish a female character as a competent 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. ShowDontTell is one of the main problems with [[FauxActionGirl Faux Action Girls]].