Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Common themes in literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Common themes in literature
An Exploration of Shōjo and Shōnen Manga through Sailor Moon and Black Cat
Genres are one of the first things readers look at to help determine whether or not a book should be read. Although there are many similarities between the genres shounen (manga intended for males) and shoujo (manga intended for females) that make a manga seem like it could be either genre, there are differences that are meant to distinguish between their respective audiences. As a more specific example, the shared themes of fighting, love, and superhuman powers as well as the character in Black Cat and Sailor Moon suggest a similar genre and audience; however, upon closer inspection, subtle differences between the use of these themes and characters in each manga reveal that the intended audiences are the opposite.
Themes are an important part of a genre in manga. For example, a mecha manga would be much less interesting without a technological theme. The same goes for shounen and shoujo manga. Themes such as fighting, love, superhuman powers, etc. are found both in Black Cat and Sailor Moon and work to tell the story. Though these themes are in both manga, how these themes are used is what sets them apart.
Fights the main characters have help keep the stories interesting, and come up many times in both manga. In Sailor Moon, the main character has to continually fight off the forces of evil just like the main character in Black Cat. Both characters even have companions to aid them most of the time. However, the portrayal of conflict in each manga is very different. For example, on page 36 of Sailor Moon (Act 1), Sailor Moon is fighting an energy collecting creatu...
... middle of paper ...
...tended audiences are distinct. The characters and how they are depicted also contribute to the difference in target audience. Black Cat is intended to be for males and Sailor Moon for females. However, this is not to say that they can only be read by their respective audiences. The fact that these manga have so many similarities implies that there is meant to be crossover in terms of types of readers. The next time you dismiss a book because it is a certain genre, just remember that it might have elements you enjoy incorporated into it.
Aaron, good job. I thought that a lot of your discussion was interesting, though I agree with Gen that there were some issues, especially the lack of original research, To which I’d add that you didn’t.
Works Cited
Takeuchi Naoko, Sailor Moon I, Tokyopop: 1998, pp3-119.
Kentaro Yabuki, Black Cat, Shueisha: 2000-2004
In Chapter 2 of Children’s Books in Children’s Hands: A Brief Introduction to their Literature, the authors talk about the 12 main elements of a literary work: genre, plot, setting, characterization, theme, point of view, intersexuality, tone, mood, style, voice, and the stance of the implied reader (Temple, Martinez, and Yokota 24). All of these literary elements capture the reader’s imagination and creates a successful piece of literature. However, the authors stress the importance of genre in Chapter 2, so I will briefly go over the different types of genres there are in literature and how it affects the readers greatly.
...rves the way for the plot, the theme is the central idea around which a literary piece revolves. Without the theme the plot would be meaningless and there would be nothing for the readers to derive from the literary piece. Without the plot, the theme would be meaningless as there would be nowhere to consign the message the writer intends to give the reader. It can be said that the plot and theme are the two most important literary elements of a literary piece and are inter-dependant.
“Earth people will beat out any other intelligent life-form in any and all competitions” is a theme, but “good always beats evil” is one too. “Once upon a time . . . ” stories have themes too, except they are more one-dimensional. For example,... ...
Everyone seems to have their opinion as to what genre makes for the best reading, however, there are certain elements that almost every reader will agree...
Some text may belong in more than one genre. Understanding the genre will help you know what to expect from a text on its genre. When it comes to topics and themes, two different genres can have similar topics and themes.
for dark, mysterious, and bizarre works of fiction. His works sometimes reflected his life experiences and hardships he tried to overcome. Examples of the troubles in his life include alcoholism, having his works rejected over and over, being broke, and losing his family, even his beloved wife to tuberculosis. There is no wonder why his works are so dark and evil, they were taken from his life. A theme is defined as the major or central idea of a work. Poe’s short story, “The Black Cat”, contains six major themes that are discussed in this paper. They include the home, violence, drugs and alcohol, freedom and confinement, justice and judgement, and transformation.
Moeller, R. A. (2011). “Aren't these boy books?”: High school students' readings of gender in graphic novels. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54(7), 476–484.
When you think of comic books, what do you think of? If you were to ask your parents they would probably tell you Superman or Spiderman, maybe even Batman or Wonder Woman. Some might mention something more, something that appears to be a comic book, but once opened is revealed to be a work of literary genius; a comic such as Watchmen, or perhaps even V for Vendetta. An author and artist of renowned recognition and admiration wrote both masterpieces.
Like any other type of movie or show, there are many different type of genres in anime, including comedy, romance, action, and drama. There are also anime targeted to the male audience (shonen), and for the female audience (shoujo). Anime is not bias, they make anime for every single type of person. Every person has their own preference for what they may like, some people may like to watch action, some may like to watch romance, and etc. However even within anime there are unique types of genres limited to only anime. Some Unique types of genres limited to only anime can include “Mecha”, “Mahou Shoujo”, “Slice of life”, “Shounen Ai”, and also “Shoujo Ai”. These genres are unique, Mecha would involve robots, mahou shoujo would include magical girls (Sailor Moon), slice of life tries to captures the everyday life, Shounen Ai and Shoujo Ai are very unique. Shonen Ai, means Boys love, and Shoujo Ai means girls love, this types of genre are very unique as it is not introduced in many other types of shows, these genres freely express homosexual relationships. However that is not the only unique feature that animes have.
The classic comic book is a polar opposite of the complex nature of poetry. The comic book is designed for the younger reader and possesses a simplistic nature that allows the creator to use visual media combined with short written dialog to tell a story. The pictures in a comic book are an integral part of the makeup of a comic book. The pictures allow the creator to portray the protagonist and antagonist in a way that is common to all readers. This however inhibits the use of imagination by the reader. The pictures are all an artist's interpretations of the actions and settings that make up each scene. When a person reads descriptive text with no pictures, it allows the reader to build a mental picture of each scene that is unique to his/her own personality. The comic book does not allow for this expressiveness in its prefabricated structure.
During the late 20th century, Japan experienced the rise of feminist movements who desired to change the feminine historical narrative. How did Japanese women become empowered? The paper will demonstrate that the empowerment of Japanese women shifted the representation of them within the medium of anime films, during the late twentieth century. Specifically, it will analyze the female characters of Ghost in Shell, Princess Mononoke, Naussicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and Patlabor. The reasoning behind these chosen films is that they each have a strong female character that have many differences and similarities, when one compares them to each other. Also, they were made within a ten year lifespan between the mid-eighties to the mid-nineties.
In conclusion, books are merely two sides of the same coin. Although all sharing similar qualities they are unique in their own ways. Considering this there is a perfect example between the two novels, “The Lord of the Rings” and “The House of the Scorpion” owing to the fact that both books although by different means, are greatly influenced by the author’s influences, both main characters are scorned because of being insignificant in size or society, and although by in different forms both main characters have heavy influences in the novel.
“country lovers” the conflict was interracial. Another difference I notices was the type of techniques each author used in the pieces of literature. Lastly both pieces of literature share the same conflict individual versus society. Being a black girl in the times these stories were set in was not accepted and both characters in each story had to deal with society and push through all the bashing. I feel both girls in each story showed great strength and
Required reading material in school often centers on female heroines. In the essay “Why Johnny Won’t Read,” authors Mark Bauerlein and Sandra Stotsky state, “Unfortunately, the textbooks and literature assigned in the elementary grades do not reflect the dispositions of male students…On the other hand, stories about adventurous and brave women abound.” The two authors are stating that there are hardly any male-oriented novels available from a young age, and so there is not much for boys to make self-connections with. The same essay provides several statistics to highlight the idea that girls read more than boys: “Between 1992 and 2002, among high school seniors, girls lost two points in reading scores and boys six points, leaving a 16-point differential in their averages…” Because reading is the sort of test that can be improved only by practice, it is evident that girls read more often than boys. ...
When students learn how to read in elementary school, teachers would teach students how to read comic books and as students we see that the comics would give the animals multiple human traits. Many comic books substitute animals and give them human-like characteristics, such as the ability to talk and walk upright. However, the debate rages on as to what type of animal makes a good character and what type of animal makes a bad character. Comic writers would often use different types of animals that are naturally seen in the real world and they would determine what type of role they would have in the comic book. Also the cartoonist would determine who should prevail, who should not, and their emotions towards one another.