Manga and anime aimed mainly at young teenage boys, traditionally between the ages of 12 and 18 years. They tend to be Fighting Series focused more on action than relationships, with romance generally either perfunctory or Played for Laughs. Some battles can be sublimated into a form such as a sports competition or even a Tabletop Game.
While there was a time where protagonists could be adult men the target audience would look up to, it's more common for the title character, and most of the cast, to be predominantly teenage or young adult male, equally capable of action and Ham. Lots and lots of ham. Mainly to make the character relatable to the targeted readers.
Note that while the term "Shōnen" tends to be used to refer to a few standard genres, it isnt technically a genre as 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 other audiences as well. The Distaff Counterpart to Shonen is called Shoujo.
There is no definite marker for a series being or not being Shōnen. Though the magazine it runs in is a good indicator, many Shōnen magazines aim for the huge Seinen Periphery Demographic that also purchases them. Some of this is a natural result of the franchise Growing the Beard together with the audience: many series that are popular with the Seinen demographic (and marketed towards such in omnibus tankoubon volumes) have run in Shōnen magazines when they were serialized. Some long running series will "graduate" to a magazine for an older demographic to follow its aging audience. While the same can't usually be said of series with a strong Shoujo and Josei periphery, some authors throw a bone their way by writing exclusive installments for magazines of those demographics.
Themes are not a definite indicator either: while most Shōnen works (particularly the action fighter types) tend to fall in the idealist side on the scale of idealism vs. cynicism, there are also plenty of works with Darker and Edgier elements and outright Deconstructions that can easily be mistaken for a Seinen series and evoke a What Do You Mean, It's for Kids? reaction (Death Note, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Hunter × Hunter are some of the notable examples). That being said, light and fluffy/dark and moody romance, serious female-led dramas, and cute art styles aren't limited to Shoujo manga either, as stories like Teasing Master Takagi-san, Azumanga Daioh, and Act-age can attest.
Due to Values Dissonance, some Shōnen series are primarily marketed towards adult fans in the West; as such, most of [adult swim]'s anime lineup consisted of Shōnen. One of the most illustrative examples of this is Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, a highly idealistic Hot-Blooded, bright and cartoonish Super Robot series that aired as the equivalent of a Saturday Morning Cartoon in Japan but debuted on Adult Swim, uncensored, in the US.
Shōnen series were the first to be brought over en masse to the Western world, and as such, makes up much of the popular American perception of anime.
This is because it is, perhaps, the genre most similar to heavily actionized, Rated M for Manly Western Animation shows of The '80s, also largely geared towards teenage males with swaths of Multiple Demographic Appeal. (Pure Shōjo bounces between the realms of cutesy and too melodramatically scandalous for most Media Watchdogs, so it does not get shown in the West as much.)
See also: So you want to Write a Shonen Series
If you want to see the Chinese grandfather of most shōnen, see Wuxia.
- CoroCoro Comic
- GanGan
- Shonen Jump
- Jump GIGA
- Jump SQ
- Shonen Jump+
- Shōnen Magazine
- Shonen Sirius
- Shonen Sunday
General Examples
- Many series with Humongous Mecha.
- Sometimes, adaptations of stories with Multiple Demographic Appeal will create two versions of the story, one Shōnen and one Shoujo. For example, The Vision of Escaflowne had a Shōnen-version manga produced of its story, while Magic Knight Rayearth's OAVs have a similar bent as compared to the original series.
- All the titles featured in the Weekly Shōnen Jump (or simply Jump) magazine, which should be obvious. Shonen Jump series are often considered to be their own subcategory of the shonen demographic and have a kind of legacy with each other, enough that a crossover video game is a common thing to see every few years.
- While more niche in the west, Fist of the North Star is a very important and influential title to Shonen Manga, and is considered to be the work to start the "Golden Age" of Shōnen Jump, with all other subsequent Fighting Series building on what it established.
- The Dragon Ball series is by far the quintessential Shōnen, and due to its age, length and influence provides examples of most of the classic tropes. Not to mention the fact that its popularity has more or less inspired most of the current Shonen Manga of this day and age.
- Of all the ongoing Shōnen series, One Piece is the most popular. It has drawn a great deal of inspiration from Dragon Ball, but developed a very unique and compelling flavor of its own.
- Naruto, another series inspired by Dragon Ball, was the most popular manga in America for a long time.
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, released in 1987, is one of Shōnen Jump's longest running Shōnen series, having reached over 100 volumes in Japan. With its 7th part, "Steel Ball Run", it has switched magazines to Ultra Jump and thus officially "graduated" to Seinen. It drew much inspiration from Fist of the North Star.
Other Examples in Shonen Jump
- Act-age
- Agravity Boys
- Angel Densetsu
- Assassination Classroom
- Astra Lost in Space
- Ayakashi Triangle
- Bakuman。
- Barefoot Gen: Sometimes mistaken for seinen due to its harrowing depiction of the nuclear attack on Hiroshima, but it originally ran in Shonen Jump, of all magazines.
- Baoh
- Beelzebub
- Beet the Vandel Buster: Notably put on permanent hiatus due to one of its creators being ill and the other moving onto a different production
- Binbō-gami ga!
- Black Cat
- Black Clover
- Bleach: The third of the "Big Three" in the Noughties and early 10's in the West.
- Blood Blockade Battlefront
- Blue Lock
- Blue Exorcist
- Boarding School Juliet
- Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo: A humorous and surreal parody of shonen.
- Boys over Flowers: Season 2: Although its predecessor was a shoujo manga, this series runs in Shonen Jump+.
- Butsu Zone
- Captain Tsubasa: Up until the Road to 2002 saga, that is; then it moves into seinen territory. Makes sense, the readers are mostly adult males (and some adult females) who grew reading it in ''Shonen Jump'.
- Cat's Eye
- Claymore: Although it's sometimes thought to be Seinen because of its dark themes as well as bearing a superficial resemblance to Berserk.
- Chainsaw Man
- Cross Ange: Plenty of anime fans mistake it for being a Seinen, but it's actually a shonen. This is mostly due to Cross Ange having some graphic violence, rampant nudity and acts of sexual violence. Therefore this is one of the shonen's that is for older audiences.
- Cyber Blue
- Cyborg Kuro-chan
- DARLING in the FRANXX: The manga adaptation drawn by Yabuki Kentarou is published online in Shonen Jump +.
- Death Note: Although even plenty of anime fans still mistake it for Seinen, mostly because Light is an adult for most of the series and there's the What Do You Mean, It's for Kids? factor. Played with in the Bakuman。 series (by the same creators), in which several characters support Seinen-type stories running in Shōnen magazines.
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
- D.Gray-Man, even when its Estrogen Brigade says otherwise.
- The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
- Dr. Ramune: Mysterious Disease Specialist
- Doctor Slump
- Dr. Stone: Replaces hot-blooded battles with hot-blooded SCIENCE.
- Dokonjou Gaeru
- Double Arts
- Dragon Ball
- Dragon Ball, especially its second part Dragon Ball Z, is a major contributor to many tropes to shonen in general.
- Dragon Ball Super
- Elegant Yokai Apartment Life
- Embalming
- Eyeshield 21
- Fist of the North Star, although Yuria Gaiden and Juuza Gaiden (the most recent ones) are Seinen. Again, a major contributor to, if not the original fighting shonen.
- Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin
- Gintama: Although a shonen series, Gintama is known for often taking potshots towards shonen tropes.
- Haikyuu!!
- Hell Warden Higuma
- Hikaru no Go: Go game oriented
- Hinomaru Zumou
- Hunter × Hunter
- Iron Knight
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Parts 1-6. It moved to Seinen magazine Ultra Jump starting with Part 7, Steel Ball Run.
- Jujutsu Kaisen
- Jungle King Tar-Chan
- Kimagure Orange Road
- Kinnikuman: Wrestling oriented, but also a major contributor to shonen tropes. Its sequel, Kinnikuman Nisei is Seinen.
- Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen Mae Hashutsujo: The longest manga series to ever reach its conclusion, after 200 volumes and 40 years of uninterrupted publication.
- Kono Oto Tomare! Sounds of Life
- Kurenai Sanshiro
- Kurogane (2011)
- Kuroko's Basketball
- Listen to me, girls. I am your father!
- Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro
- Mazinger Z: Its first run, anyway. In 1974, it was moved to Kodansha's TV magazine.
- Medaka Box
- Mission: Yozakura Family
- Mitama Security: Spirit Busters
- Moriking
- Muhyo and Roji: contains Seinen elements
- Mx0
- My Hero Academia
- Naruto: One of the Big Three, it used to be the most popular manga in America.
- Nisekoi, in spite of being a romantic comedy.
- Noah's Notes
- One Piece, although it attracts nearly every demographic, from kids to teens and adults. Currently Japan's most popular ongoing manga and a member of the Big Three.
- Phantom Seer
- The Promised Neverland: A very rare example of a (non-romcom) shounen with a female protagonist. Also pretty horrific.
- Psyren
- Read or Die: Rehabilitation: Often confused as Seinen due to it being more risque than Read or Die and Read or Dream, both genuine Seinen.
- Reborn! (2004)
- Red Sprite
- Ring ni Kakero: Starts as Shonen, the sequel switches to Seinen.
- Rokudenashi Blues
- Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective
- Rookies
- Rosario + Vampire: Contains Seinen elements
- Rurouni Kenshin
- RWBY: The Official Manga
- Saint Seiya: Trope Codifier for Cast Full of Pretty Boys in the genre, and the Genre Popularizer for the Shonen Estrogen Brigade. Also, the term "Yaoi" was coined by the series' fandom to refer to the Male/Male Slash Fic generated by said fandom.
- Sakigake!! Otokojuku
- Samon the Summoner
- Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru
- Samurai Usagi
- Seraph of the End
- Shaman King
- Sket Dance
- Slam Dunk
- Space Adventure Cobra, but only in its original run in Shonen Jump. Every story afterward is Seinen.
- Takama-ga-hara
- Time Paradox Ghostwriter
- Tokyo Shinobi Squad
- To Love-Ru: Surprising, its much Hotter and Sexier Sequel Series To Love-ru: Darkness is still a shonen series, albeit in magazine that skews toward the older edge of the demographic.
- Toriko: Starting in 2008, it is sometimes considered Bleach's replacement among the Big Three after the later's anime ended.
- Undead Unluck
- World's End Harem: Mistaken as Seinen due being drawn by a hentai mangaka, containing frontal nudity and basic premise being a man being requested to become a breeding stallion due to men going extinct.
- Yu-Gi-Oh!
- Yu-Gi-Oh! (first anime series)
- Yu-Gi-Oh! (Duel Monsters): Trope Codifier for card game themed anime
- Yu-Gi-Oh!: Capsule Monsters
- Yu-Gi-Oh! R
- Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
- Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
- Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL
- Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
- Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
- Yu Yu Hakusho: Another paradigm of Shōnen.
Non-Shōnen Jump Examples
- +Anima
- Ace Attorney
- Active Raid
- A.I. Love You
- Air Gear: Roller blade oriente
- Akame ga Kill!
- Akarui Sekai Keikaku
- Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor
- AKB49 Renai Kinshi Jourei
- Akumetsu
- Alice in Borderland
- The Ambition of Oda Nobuna
- The Ancient Magus' Bride: Often mistaken as Shōjo due the protagonist, Chise, being female and the story's focus on her growing relationship with Elias, the titular magus. However, it runs in a shonen magazine.
- 'Angelic Layer'': The first shonen series by CLAMP, a mangaka team well known for their work in Shoujo.
- Aphorism
- Apocalypse Alice
- Apocalypse Zero
- Arachnid
- AR∀GO: City of London Police's Special Crimes Investigator
- Arata: The Legend
- Area no Kishi
- ARIA: Although it contains elements commonly found in Shōjo, Seinen, and Josei manga, it was serialized in a shonen magazine and it tends to be labelled as such.
- As the Gods Will
- Asura
- Attack on Titan
- Azumanga Daioh, which, along with the whole genre it codified, is often mistaken for seinen or Shoujo.
- B't X
- Baby Steps
- Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts: Oddly, its manga adaptation is Darker and Edgier than its light novel counterpart.
- Bakugan
- Batman - the 1960s licensed series.
- Beastars, a rather dark and pessimistic story set in a World of Funny Animals
- BECK
- Big Order
- Black Butler, even though it resembles a mix of Seinen and Shojo much more than actual Shōnen.
- Blast of Tempest
- Blazing Transfer Student
- Blood+
- Break Shot
- Cahe Detective Club
- Campus Special Investigator Hikaruon
- The Case Study of Vanitas
- Cat Paradise
- Cells at Work!
- A Certain Magical Index
- Change 123
- Choubu No Shinobi
- Chūka Ichiban!
- City Hunter
- City Hunter Rebirth
- Code:Breaker
- Most Code Geass manga
- Code Geass: Nightmare of Nunnally
- Code Geass: Tales of an Alternate Shogunate
- Code Geass: Suzaku of the Counterattack
- Code Geass: Renya of the Dark
- Crimsons The Scarlet Navigators of the Ocean
- Croisée In a Foreign Labyrinth
- Cromartie High School
- Crows
- DEAD Tube: Mistaken as Seinen due the copious amount of blood, sex, murder and nudity; it runs on Champion RED so it is expected from them.
- Deadman Wonderland: Often mistaken as Seinen due to its violent content and basically having a similar story to Elfen Lied
- Devilman: Yes, that Devilman. Despite all the blood, violence, gorn, and nudity, it ran in Weekly Shonen Champion in 1972.
- Detective Conan
- D-Live!!
- Digimon: Mon Trope Codifier along with Pokémon. Like Pokemon, however, it's actually closer to kodomomuke, with the exception of the Darker and Edgier Digimon Tamers, which is solidly Shonen.
- DinoZaurs
- EDENS ZERO
- Eromanga Sensei
- Et Cetera
- Eureka Seven: The anime can go into many genres, but both the manga adaptations were published in Shōnen magazines.
- Father and Son
- Fairy Tail
- Fire Force
- Flame of Recca
- The Flowers of Evil
- Flunk Punk Rumble
- Fly Me to the Moon
- Franken Fran
- Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
- Fukashigi Philia
- Full Contact
- Fullmetal Alchemist: Alchemy themed, as well as a major contributor to anime tropes.
- Full Metal Panic!
- Future Diary: Often mistaken as Seinen due to its violent and horrific content, and its spinoff series Future Diary: Paradox, is genuine Seinen.
- Gabriel DropOut
- Gamble Fish
- Gamers!
- Get Backers
- Getter Robo
- Ghost Sweeper Mikami
- Ghost Talkers Daydream
- Girls Bravo
- Great Teacher Onizuka
- Green Worldz
- Gunslinger Girl: Often mistaken as Seinen due to themes of child abuse and terrorism and bearing a superficial resemblance to Black Lagoon.
- Guyver
- Hajime no Ippo
- Hanako and the Terror of Allegory
- Hanasaku Iroha
- Haruhi Suzumiya
- Hayate the Combat Butler
- Heaven's Lost Property
- Hekikai No Aion
- Heroman
- The Hero Who Returned Remains The Strongest In The Modern World
- Hetalia: Axis Powers: Originally, the published manga ran on the Gentosha Comics's Seinen magazine Comic Birz until it was relaunched on Shueisha's Shonen Jump Super in 2014.
- High School D×D
- Highschool of the Dead: Yes, THAT Highschool of the Dead. For all the violence and gorn (and Fanservice), it was published as a Shonen series instead of Seinen.
- Horimiya: Despite looking like a shoujo series, it is serialized in Monthly G Fantasy, a shonen magazine.
- How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?
- Hyakuen
- Hyouka
- Inazuma Eleven: Soccer themed
- In/Spectre
- Joshiraku
- Kagetora
- Kaiten Mutenmaru: Published as a shonen webcomic in Manga Goccha.
- Kamichu!
- Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens
- Kanokon
- Karakuridouji Ultimo
- Karakurizoushi Ayatsuri Sakon
- Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl
- Katteni Kaizo
- Kekkaishi
- Kengan Ashura
- Kerberos Panzer Cop
- Kiba
- Kimiiro Focus
- Kitsune No Akuma To Kuroi Madousho
- Komi Can't Communicate
- Kongoh Bancho
- Kotaro Makaritoru
- Kunisaki Izumo no Jijou
- Kurogane Communication
- The Law of Ueki
- Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato
- The Legend of the Legendary Heroes
- Live on Cardliver Kakeru
- Log Horizon
- Lost+Brain: Sometimes mistaken for Seinen for just about as much as Death Note.
- Love Hina
- Lucky Star
- The Mage Will Master Magic Efficiently in His Second Life
- Magic User's Club
- Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
- Magimoji Rurumo
- Magu-chan: God of Destruction
- Mahoraba
- Major
- Maken-ki!
- Mazinger Z
- Maoyu
- Marry Grave
- Medabots
- Megalomania
- Metroid: Samus and Joey
- Mitsudomoe
- Mobile Fighter G Gundam
- Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun: Often mistaken for shoujo due to its romantic themes and being an Affectionate Parody of shoujo manga and how it's made, but it is currently serialized in a shonen magazine. However, it has enough Multiple Demographic Appeal to be reprinted in Shoujo anthologies.
- The Morose Mononokean
- Muv-Luv Unlimited
- My Celestial Family
- My-HiME has been mistaken with both Seinen and Shojo.
- The works of Nayoshi Urakawa:
- Negima! Magister Negi Magi
- Neko-de Gomen!
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Often mistaken as pure Seinen, but most of its manga adaptions as well as the anime are either Shōnen or Shōjo. The manga adaptation eventually switched its run to Young Ace, a seinen magazine, while Rebuild of Evangelion was primarily marketed towards adults from the get-go due to the original show's reputation (if still unclear whether the movies are shonen as well or actual seinen).
- Nichijou
- Oku-sama wa Mahou Shoujo: Bewitched Agnes (a.k.a. My Wife is a Magical Girl: Bewitched Agnes)
- Onihei Hankachou
- Osomatsu-kun
- Osomatsu-san: The anime fit under this, but the 2016 manga is being printed in a Josei magazine.
- Outlanders
- PandoraHearts: Like many series published in GFantasy, it has a Multiple Demographic Appeal and blends shounen and shoujo tropes with more mature storytelling.
- Pani Poni Dash!
- Patlabor
- Phi Brain: Puzzle of God
- Plunderer
- Pokémon, which, along with Dragon Ball Z, helped to popularize the genre in the West. Thought its technically not a shounen franchise. While most of the series is halfway between this and kodomomuke (with the Kalos seasons most closely resembling other shonen anime in terms of characters and plot), Origins and the Mega Evolution Special episodes are solidly shounen (in terms of characters and plot).
- Popcorn Avatar
- Princess Tutu: The manga, ironically, according to
That Other Wiki.
- Psychic Squad
- The Quintessential Quintuplets
- Rave Master
- Red Eyes
- The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World
- The Rise of the Unemployed Wise Man
- Rising × Rydeen
- Ronin Warriors: The manga adaption was aimed at a younger male audience with heavy depictions of violence and gore.
- Saijou no Meii
- Every work by Rumiko Takahashi except for Maison Ikkoku:
- Ranma ½
- Inuyasha
- Mermaid Saga: Mistaken as Seinen due to its violent content
- Urusei Yatsura
- RIN-NE
- Satou Kashi no Dangan wa Uchinukenai
- Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei: Yet another series often mistaken for Seinen due to its extremely Black Comedy, Fanservice, and Take No Prisoners-style satire of...pretty much everything including Moe.
- School Rumble
- Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove it
- Sengoku Strays
- Sengoku Youko
- Senryu Girl
- Seton Academy: Join the Pack!
- The Seven Deadly Sins
- Sgt. Frog
- Shakugan no Shana: The earlier half.
- Shibatora: Deals explicitly with some dark and mature content, but is serialized in a shonen magazine.
- Shindere Shoujo to Kodoku na Shinigami
- Shitsurakuen
- Shoukoku no Altair
- Shuukan Shounen Hachi
- Siscon Ani To Brocon Imouto Ga Shoujiki Ni Nattara
- Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle
- Smile Down the Runway
- So, I Can't Play H!
- Someday's Dreamers
- Sou Bou Tei Must Be Destroyed
- Soul Eater
- Spider-Man (Manga) — Japanese versions of the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name. Both versions were serialized in shonen magazines.
- Spiral
- Splatoon
- Spriggan
- Star Driver
- Steam Detectives
- Stop!! Hibari-kun!
- Strawberry Marshmallow
- Sumire 16-sai!!
- Super Doctor K
- Super Dreadnought Girl 4946
- Slayers
- Tamamo-chans a Fox!
- Tamayura
- Teasing Master Takagi-san: Adorable Puppy Love "rivalry" gives this one a strong Periphery Demographic, though.
- Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
- That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
- There, Beyond the Beyond
- Tiger Mask
- Tiger Mask W
- Trigun was shonen until it switched publishers and became Seinen.
- Toradora!: Despite being a romantic comedy, the manga was serialized in a shonen magazine.
- To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts
- Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun
- The prose parts of the Touhou Project series:
- Touhou Sangetsusei blurs the line between this and Shoujo.
- Touhou Bougetsushou (all three parts)
- Wild and Horned Hermit
- Forbidden Scrollery
- Curiosities of Lotus Asia: Technically a set of short stories rather than a manga, but was published in Shonen manga magazines.
- Touhou Suichouka ~ Lotus Eater-tachi no Suisei
- Both manga/anime adaptations of Touken Ranbu, Touken Ranbu - Hanamaru and Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu
- Triage X
- Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-: Yes, despite the genre of the various series it's a crossover from it runs in Shōnen magazine.
- Ultimate Mop Daisuke DX: An Affectionate Parody of Shōnen tropes.
- Undertaker Riddle
- UQ Holder!
- Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!
- Watashi No Messiah Sama
- Welcome to the Ballroom
- Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun
- Welcome to the N.H.K.
- The World God Only Knows
- Venus Versus Virus
- Violence Jack: It ran in Weekly Shonen Champion in 1973. The later half of the manga moved to a Seinen magazine.
- Viper's Creed
- Yakitate!! Japan
- Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches
- Yandere Kanojo
- Yotsuba&!
- You and Me
- Yowamushi Pedal
- Yugami-kun ni wa Tomodachi ga Inai
- Zatch Bell!
- Zipman!!
Commonly Mistaken for Shonen:
- Aldnoah.Zero: All the manga adaptations are seinen, despite being a mecha series with teenage protagonists.
- Bokurano: Seems to be a normal shonen Humongous Mecha series, but is actually a seinen deconstruction of those.
- Den-noh Coil sometimes gets mistaken for shonen because of its emphasis on high-tech action scenes, but the manga adaptation ran in a shoujo magazine.
- Digimon: As with Pokémon, is often believed to be shonen, but most of the franchise is kodomomuke. Digimon Tamers and Digimon Adventure tri. are shonen, however.
- Fate/stay night adaptions are occasionally mistaken as shonen due to heavy emphasis on fighting and a protagonist heavily remeniscent of stereotypical shonen heroes (albeit a heavy deconstruction of such characters), though the series is adapted from a +18 H-Game. Notably, the manga adaptations did run in shonen magazines.
- Hypnosis Mic: Aimed at a general female audience despite the heavy emphasis on gangs. Two of its 3 manga adaptations run in shonen magazines despite this.
- My Love Story!!: Often mistaken for being a shoujo-themed shonen a la Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun due to its humor and Gonk male protagonist, but it was serialized in a shoujo magazine.
- One-Punch Man: A Superhero parody that Deconstructions many Shonen tropes. The manga remake actually runs in Young Jump Web Comics, a seinen magazine. It does run in the English-language Shonen Jump despite this.
- Place to Place: A comedic yonkoma, that's seinen.
- Pokémon: As detailed above, most of the franchise—the anime included— is actually kodomomuke. Some of the manga series are shonen, however, with Pokémon RéBURST being the most prominent example.
- Pretty Cure: Sharing of well-known Fighting Series animators and the abundance of surprisingly violent Magical Girl Warrior stories aside, it's a shoujo franchise, and all of its adaptations run in Nakayoshi. It does also aim for the seinen crowd, however.
- Sabagebu!: Its Bloody Hilarious humor and stylized Moe aesthetic point to being a shonen Bishoujo Series, but it ran in the shoujo Nakayoshi.
- Servamp: Runs in the Josei magazine Comic Gene but is often mistaken for both Shonen and Shoujo due to its Cast Full of Pretty Boys and Fighting Series roots.
- Tiger & Bunny: A superhero action manga, that's seinen and runs in Newtype Ace.
- Tokyo Ghoul: Seinen, but easily confused with similiarly violent shonen series like Attack on Titan and others.