Shounen is a demographic aimed at teens and young adults to sell Manga. 'Stuff that boys like'.
If so, what is the 'Shounen Formula' Anitubers be raging about whenever series along the lines of Demon Slayer or Black Clover is released? And what makes this formula appealing as a story?
Dragon Ball Z might have set the stage for kids everywhere to learn of love and friendship through two dudes punching the life out of each other, but it was Black Clover who 'defined' what the modern interpretation of the Shounen Formula actually is.
To be more specific, let's analyse some major components in how that Anime works. Starting off with the 'Hero' being in a state where he isn't content with his life and desires for improvement.
Like the Hero's Journey, this is the first trope used to quickly give the main character a goal or purpose in the overall plot. Though in series like Fullmetal Alchemist they don't explicitly say what it is they are specifically looking for, there is normally a broad or innocent goal they strive for with every fibre of their being from childhood to adolescence.
Attack on Titan made it 'killing all titans' and Hunter X Hunter made it 'looking for father figure'. Though some might interpret their differences as one being more 'good' and the other being 'bad', what is truly contrasting is how relevant they are to the overarching narrative established in the story. It doesn't matter how good or bad their ambitions are for them since purpose itself isn't a story.
Some say Hunter X Hunter is 'deconstructive' without even knowing how or why it's considered to be just that. After all, to deconstruct a story's plot device, you must know how it works before you attempt to do it. The only thing that Anime did was introduce a character named Gon Freecs who only wanted three things in live: To make good friends, go on an adventure, and find his father.
He achieves both of the first two goals he set off his journey towards in the first Arc itself, the third goal only becoming relevant near the end of the Anime's last Arc. So rather than 'searching for what he set off his journey for', the story becomes more about him protecting these bonds as the unfeeling world. Other characters becoming more apparent due to him having a 'stagnant character arc'.
Now, defending friendship itself has never been Shounen's unique aspect, as even My Little Pony got that covered. What was really considered a 'deconstruction' was how, while other stories would connect 'defending friendship' to the central narrative. It had always taken a back seat compared to other characters and their struggles.
Attack on Titan and Black Clover, on the other hand, made their character's goals and the overarching narrative have relevance. Eren from Attack on Titan finds his original goal changing throughout the story as the stakes in the narrative become higher while the 'Wizard King' in Asta strives for in Black Clover will always have relevance when there are threats to the kingdom.
Whether your character achieves their goal or not doesn't matter though as much as the next trope:
Power Levels and Escalating Stakes.
Although this can be likened to how people play an RPG to level up and grind, it is actually the exact opposite in practice. The reason most protagonists start off as 'normal' is to give more familiarity.
No one can empathise with a human tank that can take hits like a boss but a normal person who can get heavily injured a punch that broke the wall behind him is the kind of person I can get behind.
If he has superpowers, then all you have to do is focus on his more 'mundane and normal' aspects that have nothing to do with his abilities. This acts as setting the 'floor' of your Power Systems.
Then escalate the conflicts from then on until he becomes a god... Not! Well, you can if you want to write a 'Immortal Hero' genre Eastern Fantasy, but there is more to power scaling than just that.
For example: Why do 'power levels' even exist?
My opinion is that they are supposed to represents the 'ranks' we see in real life. Those we see as far more superior than us due to high IQ or physical ability and are reluctant to get in conflicts with.
In a more down to Earth version of the Shounen Formula on display: This would be making the main character a victim of bullying and the bullies as the antagonists that need to be overcome by the end.
To put it into the perspective I brought up: The protagonist would first have his motivation written as something he needs but is not so specific as the narrative that ends the story, like making a friend.
I know this seems complicated, but hear me out a bit. A Shounen protagonist never has the exact same desire as what the overall narrative is about as that would make it more unrealistic. After all, if he just didn't want to be bullied, there are too many people he can ask unless you make the world have exaggeratedly bad teachers, parents, or both.
Now let's bring up the 'power levels and escalating stakes' back into the discussion for this example.
For this kind of story, the power levels would be basically the rules that govern who is strong in reality like physical condition, martial arts, strategic actions, and improvised or self-defence weapons on hand. The escalating stakes would be what problem you want to start with and what you want to end with. You can either start with normal life problems and end with the bullies being beaten or start with the bullies and end with some 'gang'.
It depends on how much contrivances you can add before the reader finds the plot a little too absurd.
I read a Manwha called 'Outcast' before that embodies these two points perfectly and ended just the way you'd expect. It was a satisfying story because there was a clear character progression.
Now that we have covered Motivations, Power Levels, and Escalating Stakes... Let's talk about the elephant in the room, the actual main character of a normal Shounen and how the template operates.
The Shounen Formula is now similar to the Superhero genre in a way, depicting someone ordinary doing the extraordinary. However, the in the Shounen Formula is less about using power responsibly and normally more towards how their use of their particular power affects the world around them. Rather than conforming to the rules of the world, Shounen protagonists break the mould to go beyond themselves for their desire.
Take Deku from My Hero Academia as an example of this. If you were to follow the standard Superhero Formula, Deku gaining superpowers would be turned into a responsibility he has to handle for the rest of his life rather than an opportunity to achieve his childhood dreams. The emphasis would be put more into his decisions using that power rather than his own motivation.
This isn't because the Superhero Formula doesn't know what it's doing. Instead, it is out of clear understanding of what their audiences want in their characters. Westerners like reading a story about choice and being down to Earth enough to think about compromise while Easterners like the feeling of watching the main character achieve his dream.
Rather than a different in morals, it is the difference in perspective and emphasis that draws a line between the Superhero Formula and the Shounen Formula. Even though their are predecessors established tropes like 'Superhero Costumes' and backseat revenge motives coming from slaughtered family members, the only two things you actually need are the two point I talked of.
Other than those points, you could say that the Shounen Formula now has established archetypes for how their main characters are written. These ARE NOT mandatory as they are still tropes:
Calm Type- Their initial first impression is always as simple as 'calm and kind' like Rimuru from Slime Reincarnation or literally any generic Isekai protagonist that exists. They usually either personify normality or are actually Jesus.
These type of protagonists are the go-to for regular Authors as people like a level-headed protagonist who can make decisive decisions like a leader-like figure should be able to do.
Insecure Type- The type like Deku and kid Naruto who have major baggage in their hearts but can only live on until they overcome them either by moving past their insecurities or discarding those worries entirely. This is the type most high schoolers can relate to as teenagers are always unsure of something and weigh themselves down.
Forthright Type- This is usually the character referred to as a 'knucklehead' because of how often he would literally use his head to talk sense into idiots who are haunt by a 'ghost' (a lie the antagonist believes that's not entirely true).
This type of character normally sees straight through all the facades people up in their lives and do whatever they see fit in response. They don't even try talking things out normally as their actions become a direct response to the entire world.
Unlike the previous two examples, these characters rarely change like Luffy from One Piece and Tanjirou from Demon Slayer. Though being forthright doesn't equal being stupid, it is easier for them to be manipulated due to putting their hearts on their sleeves. Though this is balanced out with the amount of people who find this refreshing.
Underdog Type- Apparently 'Loser who doesn't give up' directly translates to 'stud' in Japanese considering how unnaturally toned these guys are for their age. Just look at Deku from HeroAca plus Gon and Kullua from Hunter X Hunter...
This kind of character is the most 'suitable' for the Shounen Formula as all characters that abide by this formula start off weaker or at the same level as every normal strong person in their vicinity.
When I say normal though, I mean NORMAL as the Shounen Formula loves using 'normals' as foil to show just how badass these monstrously strong guys are (it's called 'jobbing' when you introduce someone whose entire purpose in the story is just to lose to another character and make him or them look better. A 'jobber' like Buggy from One Piece if you will). Though this isn't why underdogs are popular to 'normal' people weaker than others.
I've written in a previous blog on the benefits of this trope in depth on another Analysis so I'll skip the small details and just get to talking about why the Shounen Formula loves this kind of character.
After all: Their motivation for improvement becomes clearer if nobody likes him, you can start off at the bottom of your 'Power Scale', and escalate stakes as you like without breaking tension. A weaker person goes through more tribulations to become strong, which is why series with physically weaker characters tend to drag on forever until they reach the apex of their power.
Take from this advice what you will. I accept any blog requests as long as their writing based. 👍😆