Shōnen manga (少年漫画), also romanized as shonen or shounen, are Japanese comics marketed towards young teen males between the ages of 12 and 18. The age group varies with individual readers and different magazines. The kanji character 少年 (shōnen) literally means "boy" or "youth", and the character 漫画 (manga) means "comic"; thus, the complete phrase means "young person's comic", or simply "boys' comic", with the female equivalent being shōjo manga. Shōnen manga is one of the most popular and best-selling forms of manga.
