what does josei mean in anime

by Mr. Theodore Nicolas II 9 min read
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Josei (女性 meaning woman) is a category of manga marketed to women, typically 18-30 years old. (Josei manga series are rarely adapted, so there isn't really a category of josei anime.) It is one of the four main categories of manga/anime along with shounen (for boys), seinen (for men), and shoujo (for girls).

What does josei mean in anime?

The word josei literally means woman or female in Japanese, but when it comes to anime it isn’t talking about the sex of the characters, but rather it is talking about the genre of the story.

What does josei manga stand for?

Josei. (n.) woman. Demographic indicator for anime and manga aimed at women. One of the rarest forms of anime, a significant proportion of josei anime/manga appears to fall under the category of ...

What is the difference between "Shoujo" and "josei"?

The wrinkle eraser that has women going makeup free. , Watched anime since early 80's and researched about it. Simple answer, shoujo is aimed at little girls (well, mostly younger ones up to maybe high school) and josei is aimed at the more adult/mature ones. (mostly high school to adult)

What exactly is josei manga genre?

Josei, also referred to as redisu (ladies) or redikomi (lady comic), is a genre aimed to appeal to older women, often those who are housewives or office ladies (sometimes seen abbreviated as OL).This is the more mature version of shojo manga, girls manga primarily written for girls aged seven to eighteen.Josei manga and anime is meant to appeal to an older age range, from ages eighteen to ...

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What is the most popular Josei anime?

14 Best Josei Anime, Ranked8 Princess Jellyfish.7 Bunny Drop.6 Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu.5 Honey And Clover.4 Yuri!!! On Ice.3 Fruits Basket.2 Nana.1 Chihayafuru.More items...•

What does the josei tag mean?

In Japanese, the word josei means simply "woman", "female", "feminine", "womanhood" and has no manga-related connotations at all. Josei comics can portray realistic romance, as opposed to the mostly idealized romance of shōjo manga, but it does not always have to be.

What is josei vs shoujo?

In a strict sense, josei refers to manga marketed to an audience of adult women, contrasting shōjo manga, which is marketed to an audience of girls and young adult women.

What is josei vs seinen?

As shoujo is the counterpart of shonen, josei is the opposite of seinen. Seinen shows are targeted towards adult female viewers and focus more on romance than anything. They usually have a more realistic feel than shoujo and feature adult woman. There are more erotic, intense, and dark subjects than other genres.

What makes a josei?

Josei (女性 meaning woman) is a category of manga marketed to women, typically 18-30 years old. (Josei manga series are rarely adapted, so there isn't really a category of josei anime.) It is one of the four main categories of manga/anime along with shounen (for boys), seinen (for men), and shoujo (for girls).

Is josei a Japanese name?

The Meaning of Josei The word josei literally means woman or female in Japanese, but when it comes to anime it isn't talking about the sex of the characters, but rather it is talking about the genre of the story.

Is AOT shonen or seinen?

Attack on Titan is serialized in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shounen Magazine. As the magazine's name suggests, it is a shounen magazine. The official way to identify a series is not just through its themes or characteristics, it is mostly classified by the magazine where it is serialized in.

What does josei shounen mean?

Anime and manga of the “josei” (女性) variety are aimed at adult women. Josei series are often slice-of-life or romantic tales featuring adult women, though, in recent years, shonen-like action-adventures have become popular as well.

What are the 5 genres of anime?

The five types are shonen, shojo, seinen, josei, and kodomomuke. Each kind of anime is focused on a specific target population of viewers.

Is Haikyuu a seinen?

These shows are basically the Japanese equivalent of your Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, GI Joe, and He-Man. So, here's why I was disappointed to learn that Haikyuu was a shounen series...

Is Haikyuu shonen or shojo?

Haikyu!!ハイキュー!!English publisherViz MediaImprintJump ComicsMagazineWeekly Shōnen JumpDemographicShōnen51 more rows

What genre is Haikyuu?

ComedyComing-of-age storySports mangaHaikyu!!/Genres

When the Innocence of Youth Fades Away

Around the Eighties, josei was created. The roots of josei are shojo manga from the Fifties and Sixties, in which josei represents a maturer evolution.

Main Focus on Plot and Character Development

Although realistic portrayals of relationships are an important feature of josei, they are not the only thing. Relationships can be formed between two or more characters.

Homosexual Relationships Part of a Broader World

The josei genre has seen a lot of changes in recent years. New elements have been added to keep up with the current fashion and appeal to contemporary audiences.

Conclusion

Rather than mature characters that are exposed to the difficulties and joys of life from a critical perspective, stories that feature people with a solid, relatable back story will make for an excellent read.

Josei is targeted at, and features, adults

Just as shonen anime is for younger boys and shoujo is for younger girls, older woman are the market for josei — meaning you can expect older characters, too! In Princess Jellyfish, for example, the protagonists are college aged or older. In particular, it stars a group of nerdy female NEETs living together in an apartment complex.

Josei has more mature romantic stories

Josei means you can expect love geometry and heartbreak all over the place, as its characters deal with the grown-up side of romance. This shows up especially vividly in Honey and Clover, about art school students and graduates finding work, love, and meaning. But it’s not a set of simple one-to-one matches… meaning drama and emotions to come.

Josei sometimes has mainly (or entirely) male casts

A largely female readership means that josei manga and anime are likely to include a lot of male characters… in some cases exclusively. Whether in the form of adaptations of classic literature or completely new stories, expect guys to feature prominently in some series — like Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju.

What is a josei manga?

In a strict sense, the term " josei manga" refers to a manga serialized in a josei manga magazine. The list below contains past and current Japanese josei manga magazines, grouped according to their publishers. Such magazines can appear on a variety of schedules, including monthly ( You ), bi-monthly ( Melody ), and quarterly.

What are the names of the manga magazines in Josei?

List of josei manga magazines. Yaoi: stories about men in love, either romantic or homoerotic, intended for women. Yuri: stories about women in love, either romantic or homoerotic, intended for either men or women. Bara: stories about men in love, either romantic or homoerotic, intended for men.

When did the Josei manga come out?

Josei manga (then called "ladies' comics" or "lady-comi") began to appear in the 1980s, during a boom period in manga, when the women who grew up reading shōjo manga in the 1950s and '60s wanted to read works aimed at adult women. The first ladies' comics magazine, Be Love, was printed in 1980.

How many ladies comics were there in Japan?

There were only two ladies' comics magazines being published in Japan by the end of 1980; however, there were over fifty by the end of 1989. Early ladies' comics were free of sexual content, and the comics became more and more sexually extreme until the early 1990s.

Is josei manga realistic?

Unlike shōjo manga, which is aimed at young girls, josei manga often portray realistic romance, as opposed to the mostly idealized romance of shōjo manga. They tend to be both more sexually explicit and contain more mature storytelling than shōjo manga, although this is not always the case either.

19. Ristorante Paradiso

Beginning as a plot against a family restaurant, it ends in a series of wonderful experiences at Ristorante Paradiso .

18. Gokusen

This is a familiar story: A teacher who’s new takes on a class full of misfits.

17. ORANGE

Naho Takamiya received a mysterious letter on her first day at high school. It’s by Naho Takamiya, ten years into the future.

16. Omoide Poroporo (Only Yesterday)

Studio Ghibli is well-known for making family-friendly, whimsical films.

13. Michiko to Hatchin

The anime’s unusual plot and unique cast of characters are just part of its charm.

11. Paradise Kiss

Paradise Kiss, a high school anime, is often overlooked for being a shoujo manga .

7. Kuragehime (Princess Jellyfish)

Tsukimi Kurashita lives in a small community with five other otaku women.

9 Michiko To Hatchin

Can an anime about an escaped criminal be cute? Thanks to Michiko to Hatchin, viewers know the answer is a resounding "yes." Directed by Sayo Yamamoto, the visionary behind Lupin the Third, this anime is an unexpectedly heartfelt look at the friendship between an escaped criminal and the young girl whom she kidnaps / rescues from an abusive foster family..

8 Princess Jellyfish

Five socially awkward teenagers grow up to be five socially awkward adults, leaning on the unbreakable bond of their friendship to make it through a world that doesn't appreciate them for who they are.

7 Bunny Drop

At the most basic level, Bunny Drop is an anime about what it's like to raise a child: the funny and uplifting moments as well as the awkward and painful ones. That the girl, Rin, is possibly the illegitimate child of Daikichi's own grandfather is a complicating factor.

6 Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu is a story about friendship that revolves around a subject which most western viewers have never heard of. Rakugo is a traditional form of Japanese storyteller in which a single performer tells and enacts a story while never rising from their seat.

5 Honey And Clover

Living in tight quarters with people much different from oneself might not be a pleasure, but at least it's an experience that fosters personal growth and plenty of comedy.

4 Yuri!!! On Ice

Another stellar josei from Lupin the Third director Sayo Yamamoto, Yuri!!! on Ice is about, of all things, competitive ice skating. Rich and seamless animation extracts the maximum amount of heart and intensity from every moment, and given the characters' passion for their sport, there's no shortage of drama.

3 Fruits Basket

Critical and commercial smash-hit Fruits Basket is about high schooler Tohru Honda and the relationship she develops with the Souma family, who happen to be cursed and transform into creatures from the Chinese zodiac whenever someone of a different gender touches them.

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When The Innocence of Youth Fades Away

  • Around the Eighties, josei was created. The roots of josei are shojo manga from the Fifties and Sixties, in which josei represents a maturer evolution. The need to create josei was probably triggered by the current feminist movement that sought to ensure women had access to birth control. After all, manga is used as a means to “[deconstruct] tradit...
See more on myotakuworld.com

Main Focus on Plot and Character Development

  • Although realistic portrayals of relationships are an important feature of josei, they are not the only thing. Relationships can be formed between two or more characters. This creates a series of events that weave together to tell a complex story where characters experience many kinds of emotion. Emotions are what allow us to become adults. They teach us about life’s hardships an…
See more on myotakuworld.com

Homosexual Relationships Part of A Broader World

  • The josei genre has seen a lot of changes in recent years. New elements have been added to keep up with the current fashion and appeal to contemporary audiences. It is common to see josei works that include subgenres like historical, fantasy, and sci-fi. These josei works are distinguished by their complex plots and well-structured characters. Their lives and actions are li…
See more on myotakuworld.com

Conclusion

  • Rather than mature characters that are exposed to the difficulties and joys of life from a critical perspective, stories that feature people with a solid, relatable back story will make for an excellent read. Josei’s works take us away from the pleasant and perfect world of puberty, adolescence, and adulthood. Regardless of the gender of the protagonists, this is both romantic and utopian. …
See more on myotakuworld.com

Josei Is Targeted At, and Features, Adults.

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Just as shonen anime is for younger boys and shoujo is for younger girls, older woman are the market for josei — meaning you can expect older characters, too! In Princess Jellyfish,for example, the protagonists are college aged or older. In particular, it stars a group of nerdy female NEETs living together in an apartment …
See more on otakuusamagazine.com

Josei Has More Mature Romantic Stories.

  • Josei means you can expect love geometry and heartbreak all over the place, as its characters deal with the grown-up side of romance. This shows up especially vividly in Honey and Clover,about art school students and graduates finding work, love, and meaning. But it’s not a set of simple one-to-one matches… meaning drama and emotions to come. Roommates Yuuta, Tak…
See more on otakuusamagazine.com

Josei Sometimes Has Mainly (or Entirely) Male casts.

  • A largely female readership means that josei manga and anime are likely to include a lot of male characters… in some cases exclusively. Whether in the form of adaptations of classic literature or completely new stories, expect guys to feature prominently in some series — like Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju. The title stars a young man just released from prison, who decides he wants to d…
See more on otakuusamagazine.com