Out of all five different types of anime and manga genres, Shonen has been extremely popular among the anime community for the longest time. Naruto, One Piece, Bleach and many more gems boosted Shonen's popularity to incredible levels. However, if you were paying close attention to recent shonen manga and anime, you may have noticed that the tide has turned. Discover more about how the shonen genre is quietly turning into seinen, or being more open to the reality that involves violence, action-packed action, and betrayal.

Already in the 21st century, we are well aware of the tropes that define the Shonen category. This includes the power of friendship, perseverance, ambition, indomitable will and incredible fights. These tropes combined with fantastic stories resulted in the birth of the greatest Shonen animanga series such as One Piece, Naruto, Bleach and many more.

So what did all these great series have in common? They are jovial and haughty at their core.

More importantly, Shonen translates to "young boy". Usually this type of anime and manga is aimed at teenage boys. They have lighthearted themes along with a slight focus on violence and some mature themes. But lately, in the current gen of Shonen manga, the OG tropes of Shonen have slowly started to disappear, and we are treading down the path of seinen. And it may have started with Attack on Titan over a decade ago.