Break Week I can't believe Luffy is actually the oldest
- Thread starter Tai long
- Start date
Well, it’s good that he's the oldest among the most popular shonen characters.
Still, I don't understand the Japanese mindset why should every shonen MC character should be around the age between 14-16, thinks like a grown up and has the powers of a god. Magically defeats an opponent who's 50 years in age difference. It's bullshit, I don't find it interesting nor appealing, at least the age between 20-24 is acceptable for a MC.
Still, I don't understand the Japanese mindset why should every shonen MC character should be around the age between 14-16, thinks like a grown up and has the powers of a god. Magically defeats an opponent who's 50 years in age difference. It's bullshit, I don't find it interesting nor appealing, at least the age between 20-24 is acceptable for a MC.
Well I think manga just like other forms of art is meant to send a certain message that is expected to be understood among it’s target audience and since Shonen is intended to be read by children up until 18 years old, then the mc should be anything between min 5/6-17/18 max for them to relate to whatever message is being delivered
Was Batman 16 years old when he first appeared in 1939? No! If Batman debuted young then no boys would’ve related to him, and no adults would’ve wanted him. But the creators knew what they were doing, and we got the Bat that the whole world loves today.
Shueisha follows dumb rules, there’s no denying it. Kids relate to older people, and they especially relate to superheroes fighting crime (the most obvious theme). You don’t get to see kids saying, “I want to be like that other kid in the other class”, what you hear is “I want to be like Spiderman shooting webs and saving people”.
I don't think you understand the basics of how comics started off nor even work, it's Japan's dumb rules that make no sense. A main character is more relatable if he's older and has experience and someone you can can relate to.
Shueisha follows dumb rules, there’s no denying it. Kids relate to older people, and they especially relate to superheroes fighting crime (the most obvious theme). You don’t get to see kids saying, “I want to be like that other kid in the other class”, what you hear is “I want to be like Spiderman shooting webs and saving people”.
I don't think you understand the basics of how comics started off nor even work, it's Japan's dumb rules that make no sense. A main character is more relatable if he's older and has experience and someone you can can relate to.
Kid's fave hero is Spiderman anyway. You can go look this up, statistically Spiderman is most popular among kids/teens. Batman is more varied.
If you want optimized interest from youth, you make your heroes relatively young. Now, One Piece has an older fanbase due to how long ago it started, it wouldn't hurt if Luffy aged a bit.
If you want optimized interest from youth, you make your heroes relatively young. Now, One Piece has an older fanbase due to how long ago it started, it wouldn't hurt if Luffy aged a bit.
Comic book heroes vary in age but most are in their 30's and yeah I know about Spiderman, but it's also the influence from Marvel's films (marketing) with Spiderman that he's so popular in recent years. Batman and Superman are the most wide known characters.
I don't agree that you need to make your heroes young in order to reach out to kids. First off it comes the character design, his super powers and his personality and this is what touches the audiences.
I don't agree that you need to make your heroes young in order to reach out to kids. First off it comes the character design, his super powers and his personality and this is what touches the audiences.
That's cause Spiderman is easier to market for kids, and has a higher chance of success with kids. It's not like they didn't make infinite batman or superman films, they just couldn't find the same success as Spider Man. Heck even other MCU heroes made by the same people don't quite live up to Spiderman.
Comics in general don't have much of a lineup of teens, majority of the prominent kid heroes are underlings to the cool boss adults. Peter Parker is the rare case who dominates his own verse, and kids flock to him.
Comics in general don't have much of a lineup of teens, majority of the prominent kid heroes are underlings to the cool boss adults. Peter Parker is the rare case who dominates his own verse, and kids flock to him.