Shonen is a Manga Demographic term that sometimes gets mistaken for a Genre term in the west. What people typically mean when they mistakenly use Shonen as a genre term is Battle Shonen. But even what that means can be itself a bit arguable and I suspect another case where that’s not what they call these kinds of Manga in Japan.
I tend to refer to Battle Shonen as a genre I’m not very into with Dragonball Z being the only Battle Shonen Anime I’ve watched to any significant degree. The shows I’m intending to tell people I haven’t watched when I say that are Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, One Punch Man, My Hero Academia, Black Clover, Demon Slayer and JJK. Interestingly I know that at least one of those isn’t even technically Shonen but Seinen.
Most of the Shonen Manga based Anime I’ve completed are shows I didn’t even originally think were Shonen but rather Seinen. Death Note and Future Diary are in particular the shows that forced me to rethink what I assumed Shonen meant when I learned their Manga were officially Shonen. I was associating the term Shonen exclusively with kids shows, that’s not why I’m not into Battle Shonen, I absolutely love watching some kids' shows like Classic Mahou Shoujo and Pokémon. If there is a show other than DBZ I’ve watched that can be considered a Battle Shonen it’s probably one of these “I can’t believe it’s not Seinen” shows.
And there are a few Shonen with enough female perspective Melodrama to make some at first think they're Shoujo like Karin aka Chibi Vampire and Shattered Angels.
Pokémon not being considered Battle Shonen isn’t because of the Shonen part, it may not be a Manga original franchise but it has Manga and they are Shonen and there is no dispute the target age demographics of the Pokémon Games and Anime originally was principally Shonen. It’s not a Battle Shonen because even though Battles are a part of Pokémon's appeal it’s not the structural foundation the same way it is in a Battle Shonen.
The other important Shonen I’m into is Detective Conan and the kinda same universe series Magic Kaito. In order to call them Battle Shonen you’d have to get pretty abstract about what it means to battle someone.
Maybe some of you think Detective Conan should be part of the could pass for Seinen category, and I’m not saying it can’t pass for Seinen. But I do not see it as difficult to pass for a kids show. For all the desire some have to deny that it’s a kids show it really doesn't do much more murder and violence than Batman The Animated Series did.
There is also Full Metal Alchemist.
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