Although shonen manga are focused on a male audience, many women have written authentic works of art within shonen.
In the world of manga, the works are not divided by genre, but by the demographic that the comic is aimed at.. One of the most widespread and well-known types of manga is the shonen, focused on a young male audience, comics like Dragon Ball, One Piece o Naruto belong to this type of sleeves. Many of you already know, but these three examples that I have given (which are part of popular culture) have been written by men, and many might think that shonen, being directed at men, would be written mostly by men. men, nothing is further from reality.
In many surveys nowadays it is stated that there are more female mangakas than male mangakas. In shonen manga there have always been many female mangakas who have created works of incredible quality and here we want to show you some of the best comics written by women.
Fullmetal Alchemist – Hiromi Arakawa
Hiromi Arakawa is possibly one of the best-known women on the shonen scene. From a very young age I wanted to write and draw manga and I didn’t stop until I got it. Unfortunately, cWhen he published his most recognized work, Fullmetal Alchemist, he had to use a male pseudonym (Hiromu Arakawa), so that it would be better received. Luckily, we now know the true identity behind one of the most powerful and exciting stories to come out of a person’s mind.
Little can be said about this manga, since rivers of ink have flowed on the story of Edward and Alphonse Elric. Fullmetal Alchemist is considered one of the best shonen manga in history, the popularity of manga in the world is very high. In 2004, the comic won the Shōgakukan award in the shonen category, one of the most prestigious awards in Japan. The anime of his work is also very popular and has further increased the success of this work.
“When they were just children, the brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric used alchemy to commit a cardinal sin: attempting human transmutation. The terrible price they had to pay for their daring has crippled them for life, but they are not resigned to their fate and are willing to get their bodies back. And for that they need the most special substance in the world: the fifth element, the philosopher’s stone.
The manga is published in Spain by Norma Editorial.
Inu Yasha – Rumiko Takahashi
Rumiko Takahashi is one of the best-known faces in the manga world. nicknamed as “Queen of Manga” this woman has created amazing works like Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Ranma ½ e InuYasha. She was the first woman to surpass the sale of one million sleeves sold and the second woman to win the Grand Prix of the City of Angoulême, the most prestigious award for Franco-Belgian comics.. All of his works have become best sellers, becoming a major presence in the manga industry.
Whether for the manga or the anime, InuYasha is one of the best-known works of Japanese origin in the world, not in vain in 2020 it was estimated that it had sold more than 50 million copies in Japan alone. That this manga has crossed borders and has become a worldwide success is thanks to its unique and engaging story, memorable characters, and themes that we can all identify with as the search for love and friendship.
Kagome is a high school student whose family runs a Shinto shrine. On her fifteenth birthday, she is suddenly attacked by a terrible demon, who sucks her into a well near the shrine, catapulting her several centuries back in time, to the Sengoku era. In an attempt to escape the creature, the girl seeks refuge in a forest, and there she meets an enchanting half-demon with long white hair held captive by a magical seal. Awakened by Kagome to defend her from the monster that threatens her, Inu-yasha recognizes her as the reincarnation of the priestess Kikyô, guardian of the precious Jewel of the Four Souls…”
The manga is published by Planet Comics.
Guardians de la noche/Kimetsu no Yaiba – Koyoharu Gotouge
Koyoharu Gotouge is one of the most influential mangakas in recent years, although it must be made clear that this is not his name, it is an alias. There is hardly any information about the author, since she keeps everything about her private life a secret (there are hardly any photos of her). Due to her alias, there was a lot of speculation about who or who was behind one of the most influential works of recent years, now we know that she is a woman. Times magazine included her in the list of the 100 most influential people of 2021 for her magnum opus, Kimetsu no Yaiba, being the first mangaka person to be part of it.
Demon Slayer or Guardians of the night, was able to dethrone One Piece as the best-selling manga in any of these years, a very difficult task. What began as a comic with little acceptance has become not only a phenomenon in the world of manga and anime, but also in popular culture. Kimetsu no Yaiba has become one of the most recognized manga in the industry, with a unique drawing and with protagonists that dazzle from the first moment.
“Tanjirou Kamado is a cheerful and hard-working boy who lives happily with his family, until one fateful day when a demon named Muzan bursts into his life, killing his parents and cursing his little sister into a demon. After this incident, and in order to avenge his parents and return his sister Nezuko to normal, he decides to become a demon slayer. To do this, he comes to the aid of Sakonji Urokodaki, one of the strongest demon slayers in the world… Between samurai, sharp katanas, demons and other mythological beings from Japanese folklore, this manga is a sure bet for lovers of the genre.”
Norma Editorial is in charge of publishing the manga in Spain.
D. Gray-man – Katsura Hoshino
The work of manga artist Katsura Hoshino has come to be regarded as some of the greatest works of art in the world of manga. There is hardly any information about the author, because she is very shy, in fact, although she debuted at the age of 21, she did not show her face in public until years later. Due to his great work, he has won multiple awards in Japan and even in France, a country where comic culture is deeply rooted and manga has been a true phenomenon for years.
D.Gray-man It is possibly the most recognized work of Katsura Hoshino. The manga has been one of the best sellers in Weekly Shonen Jump and became a mass phenomenon in the United States of America, especially. Although the work had to stop for various health reasons for the author, this has not prevented the manga from continuing to enjoy very good acceptance. The work has also been extended to light novels and has an anime.
D.Gray-man takes place in a world similar to 19th century England. Faced with the threat of the Akuma, demonic weapons created by the Count of the Millennium to plunge the world into the “Three Days of Darkness” (in order to end the world as it is known), the Exorcists arise, capable people to manipulate a mysterious divine substance called Innocence.
The story follows the struggle of the Exorcists to stop the Count and his entourage, the Noah family, human beings with supernatural abilities, inheritors of the prophet’s genes, who claim to be the true messengers of God. Allen Walker, protagonist of the story, could be the key to end this war between good and evil.
Editorial Ivrea is in charge of publishing D. Gray Man in Spain.
Pandora Hearts – Jun Mochizuki
The story of Jun Mochizuki It is the story of many artists. Since she was little, she spent her time drawing and making manga-style cartoons. Although she couldn’t get into art school, that didn’t stop her from continuing with her drawings and in 2004 she managed to debut as a mangaka. It is noteworthy to mention that, in the midst of the digital age, Jun Mochizuki is one of the few mangakas who does not use any computer editing process. All of his work is done with markers and watercolors, applying color to the original drawing.
Maybe Pandora Hearts may not be as well known as the rest of the manga on this list, but we are talking about a work that ended in 2015 and today has more than 5.5 million manga sold. Pandora Hearts is a peculiar manga, since it has influences from classic works like Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and many more. If you like short stories and classic literature, you should give manga a try.
At his coming-of-age ceremony, Oz Vessalius must perform a simple ceremony… that ends horribly wrong. Trapped in the Abyss, the young man manages to escape with the help of a mysterious young woman, but discovers that he is not a normal human being, but seems to be one of Pandora’s keys…
The manga is published in Spain by Norma Editorial.
Unfortunately we have to stop here, as this list could go on much longer. But we hope that the mangas that we have put here manage to show that the presence of women in shonen manga is quite remarkable. And let’s hope that it also serves so that a work is not judged by the gender of the person who wrote it.
