>>Kodomo manga (子供向け漫画 Kodomo-muke manga) and kodomo anime (子供向けアニメ Kodomo-muke anime) are Japanese terms respectfully referring to manga and anime directed towards children under 10 years of age. These series are usually moralistic, often educating children about staying in the right path in life. Each chapter is usually a self-contained story. Notable examples include Doraemon, Pokémon and Hello Kitty.
>Shōnen, shonen, or shounen manga (少年漫画 shōnen manga) is manga aimed at a teen male target-demographic readership. The age group varies with individual readers and different magazines, but it is primarily intended for boys between the ages of 12 to 18. The kanji characters (少年) literally mean "boy" (or "youth"), and the characters (漫画) means "comic". Thus, the complete phrase means "young person's comic", or simply "boys' comic"; its female equivalent is shōjo manga.
>Shōnen manga is typically characterized by high-action, often humorous plots featuring male protagonists. Commonly-found themes in shōnen manga include martial arts, robots, science fiction, sports, horror or mythological creatures. The camaraderie between boys or men on sports teams, fighting squads, and the like are often emphasized. Protagonists of such manga often feature an ongoing desire to better themselves, and often face challenges to their abilities, skills and maturity, where self-perfection, austere self-discipline, sacrifice in the cause of duty and honorable service to society, community, family and friends are stressed.
>None of these listed characteristics are a requirement, as seen in shōnen manga like Yotsuba&!, which features a female lead and almost no fan service or action; what defines whether or not a series is shōnen is the official classification of the magazine it is serialized in.
