Aya Murazaki is a twenty-five-year-old engineer that has been leading a rather boring life.  Most of her time was spent working inside a factory for electronic goods, and whatever free time she has was spent for rest.  There were no fireworks, no milestones, no time for family and friends.  Youth is evading her quickly.

A certain beauty queen once said that she would want to go back to the past, not to change anything, but to experience it twice.

In Aya's case, if indeed she's given that opportunity, will she keep it the way it has been and end up the same, or will she change and re-write her story?

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. 👍😆

(Cover by Darkstar Dust)

This is a story I worked on ages ago that has been refined and edited by adding foreshadowing to events while also simplifying the power system better than before. This story can be considered a prequel to An Adventure Beyond Greatness as it takes place years prior to the events of that story.

Short Synopsis:
After retiring from the battlefield, my life became empty and lifeless. The regrets of my past haunt me in my sleep. Then a change occurred, a King from another world summoned me to fight for his kingdom, but I died even before I could give him my answer. Now, after a fake God allowed me to reincarnate (albeit imperfectly) with my memories intact, into a world filled with magic and swords.

Long Synopsis:
This is about a flawed protagonist who only knew to rely on others and not socialise who gets a second chance to change himself in order to live the life he aimed for in his past life. The narrator isn’t exactly trustworthy since it is purely in his bias perspective while other perspectives given by others fill in the blanks that he either leaves out or twists to suit the situation.

The story itself can be considered a parody of Isekai’s classic tropes which are given a sense of reality as time goes by. As there exists no ‘Demon Lord’, there is also no black and white, only characters opinions and counter-opinions throughout the story.

What is the Urban legend?

It is a genre of folklore comprising stories circulated as true, especially as having happened to a friend or family member, often with horrifying or humorous elements. These legends can be entertainment, but often concern mysterious peril or troubling events, such as disappearances and strange objects. They may also be moralistic confirmation of prejudices or ways to make sense of societal anxieties.

The Urban legend being spread through the world are as numerous as the stars. They can also be described as a type of desire. For example, a paranormal story, These urban legends involve some sort of creature or object that is paranormal. These stories usually revolve around someone seeing or encountering something of a supernatural caliber.

Urban legends are often spread on social media. A myth can also be linked to viral content on the internet. People tend to share articles that make them feel strongly about whatever the topic of the legend is. People prefer to pass along versions that produced the highest level of disgust. Urban legends can also be referred to as myths or rumors due to their unreliability and lack of credibility.

The teller of an urban legend may claim it happened to a friend (or to a friend of a friend), which serves to personalize, authenticate and enhance the power of the narrative and distances the teller. Many urban legends depict horrific crimes, contaminated foods, or other situations that would potentially affect many people. Anyone believing such stories might feel compelled to warn loved ones. On occasion, news organizations, school officials, and even police departments have issued warnings concerning the latest threat.

Some peoples do believe that they're real, while some peoples don't. But, even some of the peoples that don't believe that the urban legends are real, yet they still think, 'It will be interesting if they're real.'

I am one of the people that used to believe that urban legends aren't real. I am a man of science, although I also am a fan of various fictional works myself.

Why am I say used to? Do you know the "Curse of the red room"?

Let's rewind for a few moments, shall we?

Here's the story,

---

There was a man who was addicted to the Internet. A week ago, he heard about an urban legend about the red room from one of his friends at work. Today, the man looked up to the Internet to see if he could find anything more about it.

"I never thought that a widespread disease could happen in this modern society. I thought human technology in the health department already growing rapidly. But, apparently, it's not enough."

All of sudden, a small window with a red background popped up. Written in the black was the massage,

[Do you like-?]

The man closed the popped up window but it popped up again. He tried numerous times to close it but it just keeps reappearing. He felt pissed off and went to restart the computer. But, before he did he noticed that the message on it was changed. Now, it read as,

[Do you like the red room?]

"What does it mean?" He frowned and his hand reached to the mouse to close it again. But, as his hands reached, he heard a voice...

A childlike voice that whispered on his ears, "Do you like the red room?"

Just then, the screen turned black, and then a list of names appears in red. Among the list of names, he saw the name of his friends... the friends that told him about the red room. Seconds passed and he became aware of somethings.

'Weren't they died a few days ago?'

All of sudden, his vision went black and he lost consciousness...

Days later, there was news about a certain man that died when he was on quarantine. The news said based on the record from the CCTV that the man committed suicide, painting the whole of his room red with his own blood.

Yes, that man was me.

No, I did not commit suicide.

How can I be so sure about that?

Well, as I regained my consciousness, I saw a person. He... was me, my body. I don't know how, but I just know it. I saw my body cut its own vein, and with its dripping blood he literally slowly painted the whole room using its own blood. I wonder why its blood did not run out, but he managed to paint the room crimson red. I watched him from the third perspective, I know that's me but it's not me.

I- I can't go that extreme...

Anyway, I'm dead...

And I wonder what's next, heaven? hell? reincarnation?

---

That's my story, and that was the experience that makes me believe that urban legends are real.

And here I am in front of my PC monitor, with my 'body' laid down behind me. I stared on the screen, where another small window popped up. In it was written,

[Have you ever felt that this world is fair?]

[YES] / [NO]

What do you think? I was dead because of a weird popped up message. Is it fair?

I choose no as my answer. If you're wondering why did I even bother to choose, it's because I can't do anything else, my whole being felt as if I was rooted in place and I can only choose in silence.

Another one popped up,

[What do you think of this world? Is it interesting?]

[YES] / [NO]

Well, no. Some aspect of it was indeed amazing and there are so many things that I've yet to experience. But, overall no, it's not interesting.

[Do you want another chance in life?]

[YES] / [NO]

Yes, I want another shot in life! I'm not satisfied with this kind of ending. I mean, I know that every living being will eventually die. But, I don't want this as the end of me.

[What kind of life that you want to experience?]

This time, it was a pop up without any option to choose. Am I supposed to answer it directly?

"I... I want an exciting life, a life full of wonders. A life which I can be safe together with the people I care about, and a life full of freedom."

[Are you willing to work hard for it?]

[YES] / [NO]

Yes, I am more than willing to whip myself really hard for it to happen.

[Put your hand on the screen and say your name]

I followed the instruction, I raised my right hand and put it on the screen surface. I sighed and closed my eyes, and carefully mumbled under my breath.

"Agon Kongo."

Just then, lights came out from the screen and overwhelm me. I was sucked inside the screen and again, I lost my consciousness.

[Goodbye]

[...]

-ERROR-

[Collision data...]

-ERROR-

[Fusing...]

A man died, and he fused with the soul of someone with the same name as his.

With the combination, born something new. No, nothing magical happened such as he instantly becomes the strongest being.

With his both ruthless and merciful traits, he's one unique person in his own way.

Let's see his journey through the sea of the stars.

---

The cover is not mine

"The world isn't a fun place. Don't let the crappy movies and comic books about superheroes saving the day fool you. The world we live in isn't anywhere near as cool or happy as the ones we read about inside the pages of Fantastic Four, or the one we see in the confines of our favorite TV Shows. The world sucks, and we've single handedly manufactured so many ways to distract ourselves from that fact that the ones who put more effort into these distractions are the highest praised and most celebrated people on the planet. Artists? What does that even mean anymore? It's just some pithy catch all  for 'person who doesn't want a real job, and wants to play around with writing useless fluff all day' and-"
 "Will you shut the fuck up already?" Hi I'm the actual main character of this little short story, pardon my language but you have to admit. That jackass wasted a whole paragraph with that bullshit. Oh, where's my manners, there's more story to get to:
 "WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP"The hero bellow- just kidding. I said. 
Like I said in the last paragraph, this guy is nothing but some sad dropout who's angry at everything trying to explain to me in his infinite wisdom why art doesn't mean anything. I apologize again, you're probably extremely confused. "Why did this story start with a paragraph long intro that turned out to be a pointless diatribe?" "Who's this guy who keeps stopping the story and speaking directly to me, doesn't he know he's a character in a story?" Answers to those questions are A: our wonderful author is stalling for time, and B: I'm not entirely of sound mind, that's what my therapist, most of my childhood friends and my big brother have told me at least. However before we continue I'm going to use the next paragraph to tell you a bit about who I am. 
 My name is Felix Lombardi. My parents were Italian immigrants who ran a bread shop. Two years ago they were murdered in cold blood by the mob. After that my brother Lou mysteriously came into half a million dollars, which he turned into a small fortune with pretty sound investments and now he's helping pay my way through college. Happy ending, happy story, my life is great, except it would be if this motherfucking social reject wasn't wasting my time at this gas station telling me how unfair the world is. Speaking of that I still need to respond to him.
 "The world isn't fair, but that doesn't make it a bad place. You're just mad because life hasn't given you everything you wanted. Try working for a change" I said in a subdued cool manner, much like a teacher in a school full of slow children would if one kid in the class began eating paint. 
 "That's easy for you to say, you're probably some spoiled brat coasting through life on daddy's paycheck." Said the moron, completely oblivious to the fact that I was tacitly ignoring him and going about my business.
 I told him to back off, and I went over to the cashier and paid for the cigarettes and M&Ms I was buying. Took an exit, sat in my car and- You know what? This is getting boring and procedural. So I'm in my car, and I call my brother. He's a nice guy, used to be a cop for a while, then he got really rich and he's actually flipped his allegiances and turned into a bit of a crime boss. He's a smart guy though, so he makes sure not to actively butt heads with any of the other families around, but this isn't a Mafioso story, no no no, I apologize, this isn't that exciting of a tale. This is a story about me, my thoughts, and how I relay them to you. 
"Sup little bro"
"Hey Lou, did you get my text?"
"I was busy, couldn't respond, still kinda busy. Something about needing money for that comic convention?" Lou said. He sounded like he was doing something physically taxing.
"You at the Gym?"
"Nope, I'm at work"
"Why do you sound out of breath"
"Information gathering is very tiresome" 
Oh he's beating up a dude for an interrogation.
"Oh you're beating up a dude for an interrogation"
"What have I told you about talking about the job over the phone" 
"Mi Scuso fratello Louis" (I'm sorry brother Louis) 
"That's Don Lombardi to you buster"
"Fat chance wise guy, so when can you send the money for the tickets?"
"I'll see what I can do. Now if you'll excuse me I have work to do" 
 My apartment is in the upper east side of Manhattan New York. It's one of those places that looks like it was ripped straight out of a trendy sitcom that features a bunch of close knit friends getting into wacky hijinks. Fortunately for me though, I hate people, and Louie gives me enough of an Allowance to be able to survive alone and pay rent while being able to go to school. I go to a private Art School, I study Animation and I minor in sequential art, my hobbies include playing video games, posting my thoughts on the internet, watching anime, and reading Japanese firearm magazines. My favorite movie is Kill Bill Vol 1 (whoever tells you Vol 2 is better doesn't understand film making and should kill themselves), and the kind of girl I'm looking for is one who'll bully me and make me feel really crappy about myse- wait, sorry got lost in the sauce for a moment, I thought I was filling out a dating profile. 
 Living by myself affords me the unparalleled privilege of being able to walk around my apartment in minimal clothing, and since I don't like people, it's very uncommon for me to have anybody over. The only people who come over are my 63 year old Landlady Ms Fujinami, and her granddaughter Ami who's about my age. I know what you're thinking 'Oh, here comes the part where Felix talks about how much he likes Ami, since she's the first female character of appropriate age to be mentioned, of course she's the love interest'. Sorry to disappoint you fair reader, but it's not that kind of story. You see, we're not leaving my head. This is between you and me, I don't need any bullshit like an "emotional arc" or "narrative depth" in my fucking story, I'm doing good being the person I've been all my life. 
 So I'm lazing about my apartment like the sterling example of a productive citizen that I am when I get a phone call from Don Lombardi.
 "Felix you there?"
 "I wouldn't have picked up if I wasn't. What is it?"
 "Funny. I wonder how many jokes you'll be making when you're forced to shack up with a bunch of hideous college students in a prison dorm"
 "Wake up, eat, listen to Lou threaten me with student housing, go to class, come home, repeat"
 "I'm a man of habit what can I say"
 "To what do I owe this call, did you send the ticket money?" 
 "I need you to make some friends Felix"
 "I need you to stop caring."
 "You're always couped up in the apartment, the only time you see sunlight is when you go out to buy Cigarettes, or when you have class, you don't even talk to Ami anymore, weren't you two friends?" I hate it when he gets like this. I don't know why he cares about my social life. He doesn't listen to me tell him how to do… whatever it is he does.

 "if you're worried about my skin don't bother, that sicilian melanin is doing me just fine" I said, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror, puckering. Who said nerds can't be sexy.
 "Calm down Ricky Martin, this is about more than sunlight. It's about your life. Mama would cry if she saw what you are on some days" Lou said, in his bro voice. 
 "Papa would cry if you knew what you did for a living" I retorted
"Would he cry or would he just break off into sicilian" Lou responded, letting out a chortle. 
"PUTO RAGGAZINO" we both shouted, memories of pa and ma rushing, and bringing a silence for a good moment.
 "How would I even go about making friends?" I asked, half jokingly. 
 "Glad you asked. That's why I bought you 3 day tickets to that comic book convention." Lou boasted triumphantly.
 "How do you know I won't just go there without talking to anybody?" I shot back with a sneer. 
 "You know, when you're in my line of business, you learn to have contingency plans. This is the part of the movie where the villain tells the hero 'I'm glad you asked'".
 Just at that moment, I heard three knocks at my door.
 "That should be my contingency plans"
 I  peek through my door lens just to see who's there. 
 Ami, motherfucking Fujinami.
 "The convention is this weekend right?" Lou continued. "Have fun lil bro" 
 I hate my brother. I hate this. I hate you. 

**End of Act 1**

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