Ask John: What Are the Definitive Seinen Titles?

Question:
I was wondering what are the pillars of the seinen genre and the ones that push the envelope of seinen as a whole?

Answer:
I have to explain at the outset that I’ll irresponsibly address this question. While my knowledge of anime is quite extensive, I’m not an expert on manga. I don’t believe I’m qualified to answer this question in terms of seinen manga titles, but addressing it strictly with anime would ignore consequential titles like Lone Wolf & Cub & 20th Century Boys that are significant but don’t have anime adaptations. So I’ll have to liberally draw from both manga and anime, concentrating on anime. Furthermore, due to my limited knowledge, I’ll have to make an arbitrary distinction between “pillars,” of the best known and most representative examples, and titles of historical significance that may not be quite as well known. Finally, “Ask John” articles are always my own opinion, but in this case I want to emphasize that I’m speaking from a limited personal awareness. Rather than present an unassailable answer, I hope that my response encourages debate and response.

By definition, seinin stories are ones targeted primarily at young adult men. They’re frequently thought of as grim, violent, sexually charged, political, and counter-culture, but that impression accounts for only a part of what seinen stories offer. Adorably cute stories that seem like they’re intended for young girls but are actually intended for adult men, including Magical Nyan Nyan Taruto, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, Potemayo, and the current Anymal Tantei Kiruminzoo are also seinen stories. Finally, tranquil and domestic series including Yokohama Shopping Log, Binchoutan, March Comes In Like a Lion, Mushishi, and What’s Michael? are also seinen titles. Conversely, ultra violence does not automatically classify a series as seinen. Titles including Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures, Fist of the North Star, and Space Adventure Cobra that Americans frequently think of as titles for adults are actually Shonen Jump titles written for Japanese children.

At least for me, some of the titles that immediately spring to mind as definitive examples of the seinen genre include Takao Saito’s long running suspense/action story Golgo 13, Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima’s samurai action series Lone Wolf & Cub, Katsuhiro Otomo and Masamune Shirow’s cyberpunk epics Akira and Ghost in the Shell, Kosuke Fujishima’s romance tale Ah! My Goddess, Tetsu Kariya & Akira Hanasaki long-running cooking drama Oishinbo, and Juzo Yamasaki & Kenichi Kitami’s fishing manga Tsuribaka Nisshi.

The qualification of titles that have pushed the envelope immediately suggests a preoccupation with the stereotypical image of the seinen genre. What titles, like Berserk, Elfen Lied, Gantz, and Shigurui, have pushed further into previously unexplored layers of graphic violence, gore, and sexuality. It can’t be denied that these titles have expanded the frontiers of content depicted in seinen stories, especially in the realm of seinen anime. But to avoid being too narrow minded, I’ll cite titles like Taruto and Bottle Fairy that have introduced moé into the seinen lexicon, and Rozen Maiden, which helped launch the gothic lolita sub-genre of manga and anime. To be honest, I’d like to cite more examples, but I think I’ve reached the extent of my knowledge.

Update, November 3, 2009: I’ve removed reference to Kazushi Hagiwara’s Bastard!! and Rumiko Takahashi’s Maison Ikkoku as evidently neither are formally classified as seinen manga.