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Shounen demographic misconception.




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Mr.manguy



Joined: 16 Sep 2011
Posts: 16
PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 8:30 pm Reply with quote
There's a misconception when it comes to shonen anime among fans in the US. People seem to think that because Bleach has blood, swearing, and innuendo, that means its for older teens young adults. This is false. Shonen is basically the young boy demographic, meaning Tween and teen boys ages 10-18. Bleach despite airing on Adult Swim, is actually a tweens show in japan. The thing is, the Japanese are less strict with youth content than America. So what may be G rated content in Japan, is most likely PG here, and whats PG in japan may be PG-13 here. Look at most game adaptations of Shonen anime, they usually get a CERO A or B ratings in Japan, which are the family and tween ratings. And they usually get an E10+ or T in the states. Besides, alot of shonen anime get censorship on japanese TV as well.

Now enjoying something aimed at a younger audience is nothing taboo, look at good kids shows in the states. And there are plenty of shonen that tackle mature themes and/or are more for the older end (like FMA) But that doesn't change the fact you are watching something aimed kids as young as 10. And not all shonen are 300 episode long fighting shows with stalling and filler, ever saw Azumanga Daioh? Also, blood and violence is hardly mature content IMO.
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DJStarstryker



Joined: 16 Jan 2010
Posts: 140
PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 3:54 am Reply with quote
You know what's funny about Japan? Violence is not seen as bad. Panty shots are not bad. Topless girls (as long as they don't show nipples) is not bad. But blood is. Too much blood content can push a video game to the CERO-Z rating. CERO-Z is actually higher than what the ESRB rating of M is. CERO-Z rated games actually aren't sold in most stores. It's more equivalent of the ESRB AO (Adults Only) rating. Some M-rated games in the US are sold as CERO-Z in Japan.

So yeah... the point of this post is that what is acceptable in Japan and what is acceptable in the United States is different.
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