So, are you a parent who is a little lost when it comes to finding age appropriate manga or anime content for your child? Finding age appropriate anime or manga doesn’t have to be so difficult!
Forming your own decision
It goes without saying that what one might deem “appropriate” reading material for their child is all relative, so it’s important to think about what kinds of topics and subjects you wouldn’t want your child to engage with at their current age. With that being said, it’s always important to stay informed and research the things that you don’t know. The problem, of course, is where exactly to do that and how you can make doing that easier for yourself? In order to learn more about any particular series, we recommend trying to read through the information on a book’s shop page, like Amazon or Barnes & Noble first. The book should have a targeted age range written either at. However, if that’s still not giving you enough information, our top favorite places to look into a certain series are databases like My Anime List (manga and anime), Baka-Updates (manga) and Ani-list (manga and anime). All you need to do is search for the title you’re looking for and try to see if you can find the series in question.
Baka-updates is my favorite since there’s always a lot of detailed information about the genre, categories, publishing year, and similar recommendations. They even have a section for reviews at the bottom. Anilist also has a helpful tagging system and recommendations section.
You can also try and see if the manga you’re looking for has a Goodreads listing, because if it’s in bookstores near you, chances are it most definitely has a Goodreads page. The genre specifics may not be as detailed as the anime-oriented sites, but you’ll find many more in-depth reviews and recommendations through Goodreads.
Put it to the test
You might not do this with every book, but if you find yourself having the time and don’t mind reading comics on your own, consider putting some manga to the test and try reading them yourself! You can always go to your local library and ask your librarian to request or find the books you’re looking for and skim through them. Many libraries also have online reading passes/accounts, such as Hoopla or Comics Plus.
Understanding anime/manga genres
As a parent, it’s very important that you can understand the different genres that are used by Japanese publishers. The magazines/publishers that produce manga belong to a specialized genre, and they will only publish a series that belongs to that demographic they are targeting. Once you know them, you can better determine whether or not a series will be a good fit for your child.
Shounen and Shoujo
Unlike the western children’s publishing industry, the Japanese publishing industry doesn’t really differentiate between age groups (like early readers, middle grade, and YA) when it comes to kids/teen manga. Comics for very young children (what we might refer to as “first readers” “early readers” or “middle grade”) are called Kodomo Muke, Children’s manga, but there aren’t very many translated into English.
A majority of kids/teen manga you will find is either referred as “shōnen” (少年) young boys, or shōjo (少女) young girls under the age of fifteen. Although the content and subject matter isn’t particularly strict, the stereotype is that shonen series are often associated with adventure, action, and friendship, while shoujo series tend to be dramatic tales of romance and friendship. However, there are a lot of shonen series that may have overlapping themes, and both shonen and shoujo can and should be read by any child–after all, the genres are just differentiations to help the publishers better market their books.
It’s important to note that the romances in shonen and shoujo are not explicit, but depending on the series, there may be innuendos or content that may raise some brows if compared to Western Middle-Grade publishing standards. So for that matter, it’s important to make your own assessment when it comes to any given series you present to your child!
Seinen and Josei
Seinen mangas are targeted at an older teen/young adult demographic, so the content is more mature. Sometimes a seinen approaches more complex topics such as careers, crime, or psychological horror. Sometimes they approach more violent topics (like war and murder) or show more interactions when it comes to romance or relationships.
Josei is the same as seinen, an older teen-young adult demographic aimed at women. Josei can approach romance in more mature aspect that is not approached in shoujo, and can sometimes feature subjects such work, daily life, marriage, and there’s even some josei about animals.
These genre’s are usually marketed towards teenagers usually older than 15 depending on the content and subject matter.
Harem
Harem series are usually a seinen or josei romance series (most often in the seinen genre) that usually involve a character stuck in between the attention of multiple romantic interests. Generally these series are rated around 14+, but depending on the series, they may have some sexually suggestive elements that may not be suitable for young readers or viewers.
Genre’s to avoid: Ecchi, hentai, Lolicon/Shotacon
These genres are considered very sexually suggestive and explicit. They are not safe for kids to read.
In Conclusion,
When it comes to manga, there’s so much out there, considering they are an entire medium of comics from Japan. There are mangas for all ages and with all kinds of interests. It’s important to make sure to read up on a series before you buy it, and there’s nothing wrong with trying to do a little detective work before putting it in your child’s hands. At the same time, don’t forget that the fact that your child is reading is also a very exciting thing, and in time, your child will foster a lifelong love of reading!
