Differences between shoujo and shounen romances

 A lot of people mix up shoujo and shounen romances because most of them believe that if it's a romance then it surely is targeted towards a female demographic. However, many popular romances such as horimiya, blue box, kaguya-sama, oregairu, my dress up darling and such fall under the shounen or seinen demographic. However, my post will solely focus on shoujo and shounen.

To make this a bit easier, the demographic most of the time doesn't matter. Not for romance, not for any genre. It simply depends on what magazine the manga is published in, however shoujo and shounen do have their differences (namely the style of paneling).

For those who don't know I'll simplify the demographics before we begin:

Shoujo- A demographic category targeting young girls from ages 10 to 18.

Shounen- A demographic category targeting young boys from ages 10 to 18.

Now that we got that out of the way, I will begin naming and explaining the differences between shoujo and shounen romances!

1. Shounen

Shounen romances most if not all of the time have a male protagonist. Shounen protagonists are a spectrum, to be hoonest. They are either crazy overpowered or just normal dudes. Usually, the love interest isn't shown right at the start, but a bit later when we get to know the protagonist. Sometimes shounen romances will feature a harem of girls that are all vying for the MC's attention, however the animanga does make it obvious on purpose who the "final' girl will be. A good chunk of the time the animanga does feature fan service whether it's light or heavy. Another characteristic is that there is action in most shounen romances (however, there are exceptions)

Shounen romances focus more on the exterior, how characters interact and help each other and the environment they are found in. (Image down below as an example, the panel doesn't focus on the character's feelings but moreso about the environment they are found it.).

It doesn't really dive much into interior of their feelings. However, as I said there are exceptions to that. In most shounen romances, sometimes the romance itself will not be the main focus point and instead focus on the protagonists daily life! In harem romances, even though it makes the final girl obvious as I mentioned before, still makes an attempt to "tease" the viewers on who it will be by showing the protagonist interact with the different girls and all of them leading to some sort of romantic moment.

A more notable mention is that they are usually straightforward as well. Shounen romances don't make a "misunderstanding" arc last a whole volume or more, the conflicts are most of the time resolved quite fast.

Shounen romances also LOVE playing the whole "will they or won't they" shtick, in cases where there is and where there isn't a harem they always showcase romantic moments and most of the time don't lead anywhere until the very end. (Natsu and Lucy are a notable example)

In summary, they are pretty much easy to consume and features some light hearted comedy. In the cases where there is angst, it usually features conflict between the male character and his own mind where the relationship is complicated by an external force (a terminal illness, end of the world to name a few) 

2. Shoujo

Shoujo romances are pretty much the standard romance everyone thinks about. A pretty girl falls for another pretty guy, a bunch of misunderstanding arcs, unusual paneling, evil second female lead who wants to make the main guy lead fall in love with her and all that.

Just like with shounen, shoujo romances are more than they seem. They are bit the opposite when it comes to the presentation of the story.

A notable difference is that romance most of the time IS the main point of the story, it entirely focuses on the male lead and female lead developing the feelings and the overall time they spend together hence why most of the time a misunderstanding arc will be featured (well, getting to know someone also comes to misunderstandings). The misunderstandings usually feature the second female lead either making a move and the main female lead believing that all her feelings towards the main male lead are "useless" since he "loves" someone already. (Example down below, I'm not sure if this scene is the start or the end of the misunderstading arc kimi no todoke has I haven't watched it in a long time, but this is usually how it starts)

Shoujo romances tend to focus on the internal feelings of the characters. The environment they are found in is of little importance. Every time there is some sort of emotional moment it's characterized with a bunch of sparkles and bubbles, removing the background as the characters solely focus on their own feelings.

It's also a good thing to mention is that shoujo romances focus on the female protagonists life just as their shounen counterpart. Most of the time, shoujo protagonists are the "sensitive" kind and their platonic relationships are also fleshed out throughout the story. It's also a common practice to have one of her friends find love as well (a subplot basically).

Shoujo romances prioritize character growth through romance, where the main leads will try and better themselves as people in order to be a better partner to one another. It emphasizes the psychological connection they have, so even something as simple walking home together is treated as a big deal. In result this leads to the infamous misunderstanding arcs as both leads (or sometimes only one) begins having doubt whether they are truly good enough or not.

Shoujo angst is a little bit different, while shounen uses external forces for its angst shoujo uses internal forces instead. It can be something like an unrequited love or a forbidden romance. They feature the melodrama, the insecurities both leads have.

And that is it! This is a bit longer than my usual posts, and while this isn't as long as I'd hope it to be this is a bit of an experiment to see how well longer blogs do on this site so I can see and adjust my writing to make it suited for the masses.