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soul-dwelling · 2 years

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Do you ever feel like shonen manga just doesnt appeal to you anymore? To me, it seems I have finally outgrown it mostly, even the ones I still like for nostalgia I take in more unique directions in my own stories

I've been trying to get more into certain Shonen Jump chapters each week--and some are a hard sit.

For ones I really like that didn't last as long as I would like, and that did something to modify the genre / demographics (Magu-chan is cute; Candy Flurry was fun, had a girl lead, was dessert-based powers, even if the plot wasn't anything groundbreaking), there are ones that drag.

(And, spoilers as of today, Tuesday, November 22, 2022, for My Hero Academia's chapter coming out on Sunday, because GOOD GOD, THAT CHAPTER SUCKS, WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT? Like, sorry, but this manga, its plot, and its "surprises" are such bullshit and exhausting. I'm not even complaining about the mutant plot: I can point out so much that doesn't work, but I can appreciate the intention--but I am also a cishet white man who is so not being critical enough of this manga and its mutant plot given my privilege. Honestly, MHA at least tried to discuss disabilities and has at least acknowledged them [even as I think there are still flaws in the marketing--given what is coming up in the anime, I am curious whether the marketing is going to stick with pre-war Aizawa, Mirko, etc, or actually show them with their disabilities in future marketing / merchandise]. But I can't look at the mutant plot with regard to prejudice and bigotry and not find that plot lacking and flawed--and while I think it is fixable, I don't think I'm the person, in my position, to yet suggest enough fixes. God, this manga needs a hiatus and another review by editors. Sometimes, when we are in a world of fascists, we want to see a fascist lose, not constantly doing "BWA HA HA, you did not anticipate I would do this next!" If I wanted poorly thought out JoJo villain shit, I'd...not want that, because it's poorly thought out JoJo villain shit.)

Some of this I'm sure is with age--not because age brings wisdom, knowledge, or taste (it doesn't, not necessarily), but because you get exhausted seeing the same thing over and over again without something more surprising and creative. (Not to ignore the value of nostalgia letting you enjoy things over and over again to calm yourself--we'll get to that in a moment).

But then again, there are current manga for younger readers that I still get joy from reading, even at my age: Blue Box is engaging; Akane-banashi is educational; I'm not excited for the Undead Unluck anime due to the studio behind it, but I love how this supposed final arc to the manga is paying off so much setup; PPPPPP has surprising art.

Spy x Family...Maybe I'm being hipster about this, but as much as I enjoyed the manga, there does feel like a point where it got less enjoyable (Twilight's back story being introduced so abruptly after that weird choice to have Anya get in trouble due to a new character). The current manga has some surprises (Damian's mother, the current plot). But the anime? This is my fault: if I came in the anime first, it looks great; if I come into the manga first, it doesn't capture the energy and movement as I imagined it would--so, again, my fault. I've fallen off of some episodes. I mean, Nightfall is coming, and she's a lot of fun, and the story arc there has so many gags and so many moments of excellent animation...but if the animation isn't pretty enough (more on that below), why do I want to sit through the same story again?

There are definitely long-running manga that I'm more excited to see payoff and how they end (One Piece [more on that in another reply], Blue Exorcist...just being done with MHA because, again, good God, that twist and this chapter are fucking enraging and are going to piss me off all week...), but at least I'm still interested in how they end (minus MHA...seriously, that twist is pissing me off--I just want that manga to end, right now). And there are some that are shorter manga but now starting to wrap up (Servamp), and given the twists in them (you know, _good_ twists, not whatever the hell MHA just did), I'm excited to see how they wrap up.

But sometimes you want something for a slightly older audience, or something that is more challenging plotwise and characterization-wise. Bungo Stray Dogs is about the only seinen I can stomach reading right now--because it's the closest to shonen that I can think of (motley crew, broad personalities, fighting, high emotional stakes, dynamic character interactions, an entire world and history to explore not just in the main manga but in the anime, in light novels, in films).

I have more to say about nostalgia another time. But notice that nostalgia kick coming in again in anime and manga production since about 2018 up to today.

Sorry to be petty, given my lack of knowledge of series lore, but from what I've tried to watch of it, who was asking for a more faithful Urusei Yatsura anime except people who are nostalgic? It seems more, "People know Inuyasha and Ranma, let's do this now," and I try to watch and think, "No."

Why are people still invested in a Soul Eater reboot--when we know how Chapter 113 and the prequel twist crap are going to turn out when adapted?

"But I want to see pretty animation!" So do I--in a good story. If the only excuse is "to make it more pretty," I'm not here for it. That's like doing a remaster of a video game without fixing the gameplay problems.

That's not to say the role of nostalgia in driving more animation and more manga is all bad, though. I'm happy for people getting more Fruits Basket content--because the entire manga never got adapted, so, yes, go off, make that series again. I'm happy for people who like Trigun and Blood Blockade Battlefront getting new anime: I enjoyed both series, I want a more faithful Trigun anime...even as I am not into the new visual choice (the new Vash design looks so much better in 2D than 3D).

So, it's not that nostalgia is bad--it can be good to give people the story _again_ when they are older and can appreciate it in new ways. I do think there are audiences that get more out of Fruits Basket now than when they saw the first anime.

(And as I suggested above: nostalgia can calm us down--rewatching and re-engaging with something familiar makes it predictable, so you're not panicking over plot twists that seem chaotic and poorly thought, maybe because you aren't giving the story time to let those details unfold and show there was logic to the writing...or maybe because it is chaotic and poorly thought.)

But for every Fruits Basket, there is yet another Dragon Ball that, sure, fine, but I'm not sure is going to give you something new characterization-wise when it's still about power-ups, new designs, and new characters, rather than digging more into the ramifications of what Goku has done (I think Super did a great job actually reflecting on what Goku and others got wrong in the past--and need to stop doing).

So, to actually answer/respond to your question/comments:

It's not that shonen doesn't appeal to me anymore--but as a trend right now, it seems like the same as in any year: good stuff cancelled way too soon, some new exciting stuff that replenishes my enjoyment, and some stuff that really needs to end already.

I don't think I've outgrown it. Shonen keeps being though of as for young boys, when we have seen enough in readership that it is for more than just young people and more than just any one gender.

And yes, I definitely get more enjoyment writing fanfic ideas from these manga, or imagining how you could revise the stories (because, again, MHA needs a rewrite), or to fill in back stories (Mephisto in Blue Exorcist could get three or more other manga series, given how long he has been around).

#spoiler #spoilers #mha spoiler #mha spoilers #long post

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