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INTEREST: Best and Worst Manga of 2018 Results - Comic-Con International

Jose Cruz wrote:

I guess it is mainly the western habit of associating the age of the characters (or their apparent age in the case of Land of the Lustrous) to the age of the intended audience. This western habit is particularly problematic when one looks at manga since its very common in adult manga to feature children and teenager protagonists. Yuru Camp is obviously a seinen manga made for men who are interested in camping but since it's characters are teenager girls they think the audience for it are teenager girls. Apparently even after one and a half decade of moe shows many western anime fans still haven't understood that currently slice of life anime shows featuring teenager girls as main characters are more often than not aimed at an adult male audience. .

I don't see how this is a problem really, or more like I don't feel like that is a problem. I don't think this mindset is going to change anytime soon just because a half a decade now we have been slice of life anime starring people in their adolescent stages appearing on television, because even though we are familiar with those shows and their attended target demography, the wider population is not aware. Plus is this really a tendency for people to have this mindset in the Western hemisphere, or are you just talking the U.S?

tasogarenootome wrote:

Yuru Camp runs in a seinen magazine, but is pretty much harmless in terms of objectionable content, unless you’re afraid it might entice someone to go camping. Plus, younger kids tend to like reading about characters a little older than themselves, so I think it would be good for a middle schooler who likes the outdoors.

That is so true, and I see this tendency with kids who like to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe despite ratings saying otherwise. I also agree Laid Back Camp would be an excellent manga to share with children who are attending middle school. If I had a c child or children I would not mind sharing this manga with them.

Sheriru wrote:

Land of the Lustrous for "Kids/Teens"? Kids and Teens??? Are we talking about the same Story?

I'm more interested in Detective Conan being lumped in under 'adult series', but stuff like My Hero Academia is for kids. They're both for kids.

Jonny Mendes wrote:

Kakegurui, Detective Conan, Silver Spoon that are for Shonen (kids/teens) are "Series for Grown-Ups" in the US? Land of the Lustrous, Delicious in Dungeon, Laid-Back Camp, Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction that are for Seinen (young adults) are "Series for Kids/Teens" in the US? Maybe there some mess up when writing the article and there will be a correction from ANN. If not, who chose this manga demographics in the US? Are they reading the stories?

Just here to clarify that the groupings are based on the PowerPoint from the panel and not an error/mistake in the article.

Kakegurui is for "Grown Ups" and The Promised Neverland (or Welcome to the Ballroom) is for kids? The categories are a mess.

Here in the forums we are prohibited from posting lists without explanation of why the items are on the list.

If I didn't already understand why, these lists would explain that rule, especially the "worst" list.

See, manga are labeled these simply for the kind of magazine they are serialized in. Happy Sugar Life is Shounen because it is being serialized in Square Enix's Shounen manga magazine Gangan Joker. In other words, Happy Sugar Life is a “Boys” manga because it's serialized in a “Boys” magazine.

I think it's a general tendency in the entire western hemisphere. Although I am not sure if it is as strong outside of the US as it is inside the US. That is because in the US they often categorize seinen manga as "teen books" usually because they feature teen main characters (for example, Wandering Son a very sophisticated manga about a transgender people).

I think it is a problem to categorize works of fiction incorrectly because manga titles aimed at demography X should be categorized for demography X because that group of people is the one that is going to enjoy it the most. I don't have any problem if people of all demographics are consuming some work of fiction but I think that might happen more frequently if it's core demographics are first correctly targeted. So I think that categorizing adult manga as teen material is not going to help it's sales in the long run.

I don't think I would have enjoyed anything like that before I became an adult, things featuring more aggression and drama would suit my teenager self much better. Besides I couldn't consume fiction featuring female main characters when I was a teenager (I was quite close minded back then). Also if you look at the teenagers at MAL they often are the ones who complain about slice of life killing anime. My Hero Academia is more suited for teens.