@@zenon026 maybe, maybe not. should it though? Miura's work might never be made justice in anime form imo, it's way more picturesque than most animes are today, them being more fluid in animation. That's why i think 1997 captured the feeling of berserk better than the other adaptations
@@DuckLordz I agree. While the 90s anime felt lacking in animation, it's still great and feels like Berserk. But nowadays, most anime are focused on flashy animation, and if it doesn't have that, people will bash the show. And honestly, I think a Berserk anime simply couldn't have the same kind of animation that Demon Slayer, AOT, or modern day One Piece have because of how detailed it is.
guts, thorfinn, and musashi are some of the best representations of masculinity in all of media and a true rarity of positive male figures being the head of a story instead of a side like uncle iroh
@@ulyssesdiaz7651 haven't watched the other two, but in case of berserk, it was totally intentional to make him a struggler. An angry struggler that would overcome all of the obstacles. Isn't this what masculinity was all about? Maybe Miura didn't intend to make him a "positive masculine role model" but he sure did
@@muneebhaider104 Yup there's also many shonens that is great. But since Shonens had many tittle.. for me that hit the mark so far is AOT, Hokuto No Ken and Jojo (tho if i'm not mistaket from part 7 to 9 is change to Seinen)
@@highstudentproduction8195 Great, I hold AOT in very high regard as you can judge from my pfp, next to BB even. Never seen Hokuto no Ken will give it a try. My personal favorite is FMAB, Death Note. My favorite seinen is Berserk, followed closely by Vinland. Though I still consider them behind the best of the best shonens I told before. But all of them are great, and anyone can prefer one over the other.
@@muneebhaider104 well the thing about Seinen anime is not the hype like most shonen had. But Seinen series give you more massage, moral and how we can change as a better person. Tbh even AOT not reach the point of Berserk and Vinland Saga. But yeah AOT is one of the series that always keep the story hype, heck even first of season 3 is hype even tho is conflict between human. As for Hokuto No Ken, well is a really manly shonen. Where the story base on idea "fight for love in manly way". Oh also if you like Seinen too try to watch series Called MONSTER. It had an amazing story, like Death Note. But that anime is not for everyone.
@@highstudentproduction8195 I respect your opinion. But I do think AOT conveys a lot of themes and morals even though not as apparent as Berserk or Vinland. But that is what I think I find more interesting, for the majority it will be easier to just get the moral, but finding it from within the story (the way AOT conveys it) is more rewarding One more thing is that AOT's later seasons add depth to the previous ones and doES it in ways that often look seemingly impossible but also make so much sense. Regardless each genre has its strengths.I do make their themes apparent and convey the message more clearly whereas AOT tries to make it sort of ambiguous which can be problematic sometimes. All hail Vinland and Berserk
I'm so happy with the anime adaption of Vinland Saga. Mappa is treating it with a lot of care and it has such an amazing soundtrack that compliments everything perfectly.
I'm really scared of Mappa failing on action animations though. Wit did an amazing job for Vinland season 1, as they did with Shingeki no Kyojin's first 3 seasons. Mappa, on the other hand, disappointed immensely on Shingeki no Kyojin's actio sequences compared to Wit's work. Until now though, Mappa has done a great job with Vinland Season 2, thankfully. Fingers crossed...
@@ekimolaos If I read correctly in the past the same people that worked on Season 1 of Vinland Saga are working on Season 2. They just working at a different studio same team. Hopefully that’s true and why the season is doing well.
@@antoniomills8690 Exactly, Mappa actually purchased WIT studio, WiT was going bankrupt... That's why the intro is exactly the same just the name of the jackets has been changed
Shonen Protagonists - They survive because they are the main characters. Seinen Protagonists - They are the main characters because they survive. -Someone From the Internet
I don't know about anyone else but I see Shonen and Seinen different based on themes. Shonen are mostly coming of age and large journey stories. Seinen, are human emotions. For example, I see the "Big 3" of Seinen like this. Berserk - The story of hope. Vinland Saga - A lesson in compasion. Vagabond - The definition of Human Strength.
Berserk, Vagabond and Vinland Saga rise above the rest because they feel almost life-changing. Each of them has the power to deeply wound you, and the wisdom and love to then heal those wounds. I'll remember Bleach forever as my first dip into anime, but it doesn't leave a mark on my soul like these 3. We feel like a better human beings after reading them.
Crazy how we are probably never going to see the ending of Berserk and Vagabond, but we all still appreciate their greatness without devaluing their value because of this.
We could get the ending of Berserk with Miura's close friend apparently having the rest of the storyboard that Miura wanted to write out. Seems like Berserk is currently in limbo but hopefully we get a conclusion to Guts' story.
@@blackairforce13 trying to plan out the next few parts of the story without Miura probably takes longer as well, which might be another big reason for the long wait.
My biggest fear is Vagabond finally getting animated but by the wrong studio. It has some of the most breathtaking visuals I’ve ever seen, it absolutely has to be done right
Good thing Inoue is very picky with anime adaptations. There has probably been propositions but he turned them down. Vagabond wouldn't work very well in anime form.
Yeah and with both Berserk and Kingdom getting royally screwed in the animation department, I'd be cautious too. Vinland Saga is the only one to luck out.
That's the thing, Vagabond suffers from the same thing as Berserk, a realistic, hyper-detailed artstyle. More realistic than berserk tbh. Realistic artstyles simply don't fit anime well because of the limitations of the medium. That's why Berserk got the CGI treatment. Drawing these manga was already hard enough, but with one anime episode usually consisting of at least a couple dozen THOUSAND frames, making a realistic anime that isn't a cgi shitfest is off the table. That is unless we get something ridiculous like a half-yearly or even yearly episode release schedule, which would be completely financially unsustainable for any studio that tries it.
I honestly believe vagabond cannot be adapted into anime. It is simply too breathtaking with its artistic style and it being in book form allows you to interpret the way a character is speaking or feeling. And no company can adapt it without their own interpretation
What's interesting about Shonen, Seinen, Shojo, Joesei is that they're demographics and not a genre. For example, Skip and Loafer is a seinen, and it is a slice-of-life rom-com. The 100 Girlfriends who really, really, really, really, really, really love you is a shonen
Unfortunately I gave up on this battle and just accepted it, there are a certain number of authors who use similar visual languages, but even among them there is no rule, but demography turned this genre with rules that don't talk.
Great video as always! I think what also makes BVV standout is they not only show violence but they also show the conquences and how it effects those impacted by it and those who caused the violence are changed after seeing the hurt and destruction caused by their hands.
The day I finished reading Big 3 Seinen (Berserk, Vagabond and Vinland Saga) was the day I changed my perspective of seeing things in the world despite its harsh reality and gave up being some edgy kid. Berserk taught me that "No matter how much you run far away, demons will chase you no matter what you do. Just face them with all your might." Vagabond taught me, "it's good to have your own ego but you should focus on manifesting it's feelings to strength rather than hatred and become a better person than yesterday." Vinland Saga taught me and we all know what it is, "I have no Enemies..." The thing that's so common and relatable in Big 3 Seinen is all of its protagonists had an edgy phase of life where they always seem to be acting edgy until they had a turning point in life and became a strong but kind person despite the things world throws at them. That's what makes the Big 3 Seinen a timeless masterpiece.
the main conflict between the big 3 for me is thorfinn's no enemies versus guts' many edit: to be fair, all of guts' enemies are demons which don't exist in thorfinn's world, and if they did i'm sure he wouldn't be so happy.
Inoue also has another spokon he is (or was?) working on, which is Real. That manga too has suffered some hiatus but got a new chapter not so long ago, so Vagabond is clearly being left behind. If you've read/seen interviews with him, Inoue basically says that Vagabond had to be the complete opposite of Slam Dunk: a pretty dark but philosophycal story. But at some point he got really frustrated and the series now to him looks more like an obstacle, something that takes him to a really dark place that he does not want to go in yet. There have also been many times (especially with the latest volumes) where he almost couldn't make it to the deadline, so he even had to change his artstyle to something more "sketchy" with faster brush strokes and not so detailed backgrounds.
5:45 Anime and manga first became popular in Latin Europe in the mid 80’. They weren’t popular in the English speaking countries before the early 2000’ That’s why the Dragonball manga was already all rage among French kids (France is still the second biggest manga market in the world after Japan), a decade before DBZ got aired in the USA
The first part of this isn’t accurate. Anime/Manga has a very intimate relationship with America, specifically, since Osamu Tezuka and his Astro Boy in the 60s which only survived because an American company supported it.
Yes but no. Here in Latin America, we have known Manga/Anime since the late 60s with Speed Racer, Astro Boy and Mazinger Z. The cultural impact of shows like Dragon Ball, Heidi, Sailor Moon, Saint Seiya and Gundam is ever present and the market of manga and anime here has been growing with dubs, translations, merch and so on. (Also the english speaking countries point, idk but Digimon and Pokemon were pretty massive before the 2000s and one of the reasons the Pokemon Movie could ever be made and brought worldwide)
@@Vin.1904 These are Top 10 Best-Selling Seinen Manga of all time (Currently): 1. Golgo 13 (300 million copies) < Publishing > 2. Crayon Shin-Chan (148 million copies) < Publishing > 3. Oishinbo (135 million copies) < On Hiatus > 4. Kingdom (100 million copies) < Publishing > 5. Vagabond (82 million copies) < On Hiatus > 6. Berserk (60 million copies) < Publishing > 7. Initial D (56 million copies) < Completed > 8. Bad Boys (55 million copies) < Completed > 9. Kosaku Shima (47 million copies) < Publishing > 10. Tokyo Ghoul (47 million copies) < Completed >
BVV kinda makes me think of for honor, just in how they compliment each other. Guts lives in a world of knights, musashi in a world of samurai, and Vinland saga in a world of vikings. idk if they could've lived around the same time, but I like to think they did
They were pretty close but not quite. Obviously guts isn't in the real world but medieval times started around the time viking era ended and samurais started showing up a couple hundreds years after vikings ended. Keep in mind that thorfinn and musashi were actually real people so their distance i time is pretty easily confirmed.
Sales leads to length, because people don't want to give up on their haymaker. Length leads to popularity, because the series is constantly relevant via always having something new, as well as having a longer period of prime time for drawing in new fans. Popularity leads to sales, because the more people are into the series the more people who are willing to spend money on it. You're right--it does snowball.
This was genuinely well done, and I found this video due to me consuming a LARGE amount of VS content, but this was honestly enlightening because, in my feeds, I see a lot of overlap between these 'big 3' Thank you for making this video essay, and I didn't even have to do 1.5 speed, I enjoyed every true second of this
Shonen - an adventure to the world, finding a lifelong purpose by doing what you love and doing what you do best, sometimes with faithful allies and the satisfaction of doing so in the end. Facing constant external conflicts just to reach your end goal. Seinen - a solitary instrospection, of finding oneself again, this time with wisdom and experience. A deep commitment to something so basic, that only the someone who share the same experience would understand.
I really like this. While I haven’t read any of the Shonen Big 3, I will say that the Seinen all share themes of introspective growth: a challenging of one’s way of living. They all have been molded by the harsh reality that surrounds that, and it’s overcoming that evil with personal growth that unites the three of them together.
When I got to know these three I was absolutely in love with them, I read all of them and, main books of miyamoto musashi, dokkodo and book of five rings too. And to say why these three are the elite ones, is because we relate to them internally, specially men. The characters go through some tough shit getting to know themselves more and more each day, learning everything they can to survive and do what must be done, three of them have different journeys, but their drive for them is what is similar between them.
Totally agree with you ......kingdom is phenomenal but it's a different kind of experience all together ....but vagabond and vinland saga hit different chords ....(haven't yet read bersek).....but kingdom is also most underrated manga and anime .....best part so far for me was coalition arc of kingdom anime , it was best war theme in any moving media so far for me ....
6 months have passed since this video was uploaded and today Vinland Saga is one of the most talked about anime and manga, signifying why it was one of the big 3.
Man, I really love Kingdom, and it’s a lot larger and brought me so much more than Vinland Saga and Vagabond did, and it’s still being made actively. But Berserk was the only one that made me read the entire Conviction Arc in an all-nighter. In the end though I’d say Kingdom is my favorite. It starts off rough and snow but becomes back after back amazing arcs, and there’s isn’t any powers or magical beasts, it’s just a war story about a commoner slave boy surpassing his limits and trying his best to become a great general of the heavens. The focus on the other side characters is amazing as well and the writing is phenomenal. There are few moments where you go, “what does that mean?” Like some seem to do with Berserk’s writing. The authors afterword in every volume is also very very interesting to read, it’s like a live checkup on the author.
Kingdom problem is that noone in the damn manga thinks about the thousand f people being killed, the only goal is eternal glory... it becomes dull after a while
@@enricostradiottoable Idk man, Kanki has always been an issue on the protagonist's mind everytime he's involved because of his treatment of civillians and POW's.
I enjoyed kingdom but it got extremely dull for me around 500 chapters in. It’s great but it sticks to what it knows best and just isn’t as jarring as the other because of it.
Kingdom is amazing. I’ve yet to see a weekly series consistently keep the pace, flow, and adrenaline of the story the way Kingdom does. That said, Shin is very much, as of now, a typical Shonen protagonist in a Seinen world. The level of mental anguish and dilemma Shin faces in reaction to his world isn’t yet comparable to Guts, Thorfinn, and Musashi. You were on point with your statement about violence.
I agree in general, but bro, during the koku you campaign when Shin is just gazing towards the horizon after realizing kankis brutal methods actually made a huge numbers of his army survive. The obvious feelings of contradicted feelings the author tries to express is fantastic. But yeah its one of few, were berserk and vagabond does that occasionally.
I'm glad Shin is capabale of an evokative response like that. Compared to a character like Goku or Luffy who just don't have the depth. Unfortunately that was a rare exception and he mostly fits the shounen archetype. I read Kingdom for every character but Shin haha.
After reading the big 3 (or 4 imo, and since ive read kingdom) I can barely find manga that entertains me. Not only do I love those stories, characters etc but I'm also a history nerd which is just a plus for me with these, but it makes it so much harder to find a manga that doesn't feel like I'll pick up, read 10 chapters and forget about.
I have found with that problem personally I just get into a genre I couldn’t enjoy in another medium. And found that my favourite shonen is now slam dunk and am really excited to read shoujo as well
mugen i quite like into which direction you are going with this channel i know it is gonna be hard because of what people expect from you but it will be worth it and i cannot wait to see your future topics
Im so happy I grew up with the big 3 shounen and seinen with the both of them having protagonists that had so much good character like kindness, empathy, healthy masculinity and overall goodness that helped me grow to be who I am today
In my personal opinion the connection that makes them well connect in the big 4 is in the case Vinland saga is that there is no need for war In vagabond it that you don’t have to fight In berserk it’s that sometimes you do have to fight and for kingdom it’s that war is inevitable. like a progression of sorts that works towards there own view points of war be that a external, internal, solitary, or the renouncing of it entirely
Sei mirrors Canute and Griffith very well IMHO Building their own utopia on the shoulders of the death of people that believe in their cause through waging wars somewhat unbothered by this death toll. Just like Guts got to a point where he (and for very good reasons) saw fault with this path in Griffith, it feels like Thorfinn is somewhat aware of this philosophy of Canute will ultimately fail in creating this goal they both have. In Kingdom it is a bigger stretch, but we do see Shin reflecting on and acknowledging the brutality and killing that is being done to achieve this goal while Sei, who is physically distant from the battles and only hear reports of it where lives lost are more numbers than people to him haven't grown that same emotional attachment to this factor although he appeared to be far more considering of this in the early days. Thorfinn, Guts, Shin all has experience from the battlefield and seen firsthand what war is like. They can appreciate the emotional cost of lives lost here as these are not just numbers to them. If anything, Vagabond is the one that stands out in this discussion. It is a masterpiece in itself and certainly deserve to be considered among the giants of seinen, but for different reasons. Who is even supposed to be this Canute/Griffith/Sei in this story? I genuinely don't know. I would highly recommend picking up Kingdom and give it a try to anyone who want to exclude it from the giants in seinen even before reading it.
This was a great watch. Kingdom was my favorite manga for awhile and I was in Japan when I saw the poster announce for the movie. I’ve been reading Vinland Saga for years and watched Thorfinn age alongside me. Vagabond has some of the best art style and message ive ever seen. Unfortunately I’ve never read Berserk but I’ve watched all the movies and anime. Loved this video from start to finish. Subscribed!
Great video! Agree with the overall sentiment man, I’ve always been more drawn to the sienen as well myself the stories always feel less like I’m wasting my time for putting in the effort to read or watch them and I usually learn something I didn’t know before or see a new perspective it’s enlightening!
Fantastic video Mugen! I had this on a tab on one of my browsers for about a year and just got to it. You have the knowledge, research, editing, storytelling, and more! Keep at it! :)
Also the difference between Shonen and Seinen is the demographic target audience. Shonen is typically made for young boys all the way up to 18 in Japan with Seinen being basically 18+. There is a line though Shonen today get very close to it in the terms of Violence, but Seinen are typically more mature than Shonen and more graphic. but again, Shonen and Seinen are not genre, they are demographs the story targets. it's the same for Shojo and Jousei.
I would like to bring up regarding the big three. Specifically Naruto, Bleach, One Piece. They are also highly contributed with absolutely catapulting Shonen jump to the massive magazine it is today. While it wasn't necessarily small prior to these 3, it was these 3 that almost by themselves brought Shonen jump weekly magazine to be as big as it is. Thus, sort of keeping them at minimum one step ahead of any other big three Shonen contender. Great video, very good quality and well done research
@@dominicyelin aot is a shounen but feels more seinin because of the mature concepts and all round good writing/plot/worldbuilding. I'd also argue that the new big 3 is demon slayer mha and black clover. This is becuase aot manga started in 2000s and anime in 2013 so its sort of in a between stage, while mha, black clover and demon slayer have all been releasing and been popular around the same time.
Dude I love your vids idk why they’re just very nice. I’ve been thinking of getting into Vinland Saga since I like berserk, but now I know that I have to read it!
In my opinion, I would classify Jojo's as the fourth in the big 4(at least from SBR onwards). It's the longest running out of the ones mentioned in the video and also probably the most popular in the west
This video is just excellent, showing why we enjoy these series so much. I can tell the upgrade in quality and look forward to more videos like this. Also haha 3:5124:38 I agree
The big three seinen series, Berserk, Vagabond, and Vinland Saga, are exceptional works of manga that showcase the true potential of the genre. From their stunning art styles to their captivating narratives and well-developed characters, these series have cemented themselves as must-reads for fans of the seinen genre.
Since I first saw Vinland saga it jump started my goal to become a better man take away thorfinns revenge for his dad and all you have is a violent young man who wants to find peace and become true man and warrior and no longer participate in self destruction this is something all men can connect to no matter where we are in the world
man the berserk anime had me so confused i hated the anime and i thought my friends were tweaking so i picked up the manga and dude that was it for me. i remember after work going to go buy the manga of berserk and i’ve been in love with it and the seinen style
if Fire Punch was released earlier by a decade it could have been worthy of being in the big 3, or Painkiller if it wasn't korean... or The Breaker if people were to give it a chance, it's so hard to depict surreal like moments you can relate to even if they were so unbelievable, fictional, fabricated... great video man! Edit is after the 20 minute mark, I understand you haven't read or watched or inquired about Kingdom and the history it is based on, but the show depicts loss heavily when Xin/Shin's mentor fell in battle in front of his student, pridefully embracing a loss to a greater warrior, or when Shin's adoptive brother Piao who he grew up with for half of his life perished, it's not all about loss but loss happens, I love Chinese ancient history depicting well recorded events so I may be biased but the only reason I disagree with Kingdom being in the top 4 is purely because of how children soldiers would enter a battlefield and leave without a casualty, the plot armor is way too evident in comparison to other Seinens where you have seen dire consequences to a poorly made decision. Not in kingdom
Chainsaw man very well could be one of the big three, or even a big fourth, if part two turns out really good, and if we get more parts after it. It definitely has potential to rival the likes of Vagabond and Berserk if given time. It'll probably never beat Berserk, Vagabond, or Vinland Saga, but it could stand on equal footing with them eventually.
@@deerecoyote2040 no. Hell no. it’s too generic and has a goofy side to it which the 3 lack (giving into fan service etc…) AOT, Tokyo ghoul, monster, 21st century boys and +, have much more significance in greatness than fucking chainsaw man
@@kau4u Have you read it past the first half of the anime? It goes absolutely crazy right after the chapter where the anime ends. It ends up being a fantastic series in the end. Also, AOT is generic, and I'm a big fan of AOT. If you think it's generic, read it. Also, it doesn't really have a goofy side either, little gags here and there, bit aside from that it stays pretty grounded.
What nonsense,there are barely any child soldiers in Kingdom. I can only think of 7 out of hundreds of characters that can even be considered a child soldier. Kingdom unlike the senien 3 is actually consistent I it's quality,and it doesn't fall off after it's peak arc. There is a reason why it outsells the other 3.
it's simple they change your life mostly positively and allow you to think and be free for yourself they give you philosophies to adjust your life to and more importantly they tell you the reality of our accursed world and how we can still be happy
Kingdom is like the puzzle piece that looks like it should fit when you see it but when you actually try and use it, it just doesn't quite fit right. Sure, you could force it, but it doesn't really belong there. It's very apparent that the anime adaptation has very easily gotten away with being practically a shonen by just censoring the gore. Which imo it really feels like when reading, there are very few moments that hit emotionally compared to BVV. The only big emotion I felt was hype (best hype/celebration panels in manga btw don't @ me), which to me is the main driving force of many if not all shonens (or at least big 3 and their sucessors).
The difference between the top 3 shounen and seinen is also that: The shounen are pretty broad trying to fulfill many themes and plotpoints, becoming a bit of an all-rounder. You have multiple things, multiple themes being explored. The are just not explored deeply due to the amount of those points. The seinen try to do one thing very well. An older audience does not want to see many things done just ok. That's too superficial and lacks meaning. They want to see 1 thing done very well. Due to this focus, that theme that each seinen tackles gets very deep. Vinland saga for example pretty much tackles one theme only and thrives in it. The damage hatred causes and how much harder showing compassion is in a world that revolves around said hatred. A lot of manga readers are men and these 3 MCs are very relatable. Their respective manga does not revolve around what is happening. The plot is just a vehicle to get the characters going. The goal of the story is not to show how these characters defeat the big bad or save the princess which is in another castle. The goal of the story is about each man overcoming the biggest enemy. Themselves. In what scenario that happens, barely matters. Ichigo needs to save his friends, luffy needs to save that island from the big bad, Naruto needs to burden the responsibilities of being respected and looked up to. Without those things, their manga becomes useless. Those guys doing those things is the point of the entire story. Look at thorfinn. Does he need to fight askeladd? Does he need to father a child? Does he need to find Vinland? He does not. The story could go on without those things. The point of the story is his flaw and failure as a human being how that gets going is irrelevant as long as it works. Same thing for Guts. Does he need to fight Griefin? Save Casca? No, not really. The point of the story is once again him. How a mind can find piece among a hellscape.
While I agree with Berserk, Vagabond, Vineland kinda hard not to have Kingdom in there if I went by my personal favorite officially it would be Kingdom, Berserk, and anything by Urasawa
I recently finished watching vinland saga S2, I am currently reading Berserk, and because of this video I will most likely read vagabond after. No show made me emotional like vinland saga S2 did to me. From him changing for the better to the reunion with his mother. I never thought a piece of fiction could make me to strive to be better, but vinland saga did have that impact on me, which I find crazy. I also never thought I could get emotional from reading something (as I am 19 currently), but Berserk definitely made me tear up a few times. I am on chapter 162 as of now. My close ones already consider me very kind, but I realised I can do a lot better and improve myself more, mostly because of Vinland Saga. Thank you for this video! Even though I am a bit late, I am still grateful for this video. ❤
Get ready as Berserk continues and for Vagabond definitely read his first series slam dunk :) changes how you feel about things people can be passionate about
berserk, vagabond, and vinland saga have the same thing that makes the shonen big three the big three and that is major well written mc focus. Everything done and mentioned at some point holds some importance to the mc that is shown or atleast has something to do with them. in other series, like monster, there are parts where it focuses on Johan and others that has nothing to do with the mc nor is it important to them. It is there to add to the story, but simultaneously stops them from being included in this. when people normally think of the big three, it's the face of the mc, which is why more mc focused and well written series are more likely to be mentioned. when these series are mentioned nobody thinks of usopp, sakura, and rukia or kojiro, puck, and anne, they think of the mc and this is the reason why it wouldn't work with jjba which has multiple mc's but is just as good or 20cb which has books that kenji isn't even in, or monster where there are plotlines that dont include dr tenma or affect him at all. they are all just as good, but when people think of the big three, they think of the mc's so more mc focus is better. It doesn't make as much sense to say the big three mc's:tenma, kenji, and alucard or for shonen one of the joestars, itadori, and denji (Denji could be in the future but time for development is also a factor) it also helps when they are capable of affecting the readers life in a way, and each one in either big three does that well. One piece does this with freedom, friends, and dreams. Naruto with never giving up, working hard, and helping those in need. Bleach with helping friends whenever they need it and standing up to injustice. The shonen big three does it more overtly and simplistically, while the seinen big three has much more complex life lessons that aren't outright said like in one piece naruto and bleach which are too long for me to explain and this comments already getting lengthy so I'll leave it to the eyes of the beholder. edit: they also need to be similar in message, lesson, art, or mood. you wouldn't mention berserk and spy family as members in a group together
When I was in middle school after school my buddy that had lived in Japan would bring in his English manga of ghost in the shell and the Japanese berserk. I remember seeing them all for the first time and just being so drawn to it. The art was unlike anything I had seen before. In that same period of time this kid would bring in laser discs every other week or month with a new anime OVA. The teacher would let us chill after school and watch it in the tech classroom. Thinking back it wasn't the most responsible thing given all the adult themes in most of them. But being exposed to it such a foreign and niche thing back then and wanting more was a blessing and a curse. Its's amazing we can just flip on the PC or phone and watch or read some of my favorite things in seconds now. BTW, Dead Leaves, check it out if you haven't. Awesome vid!
I just finished season 2 of Vinland Saga. It comes at a special time in my life and it helped me process some things. I've learned that a man must afford to choose non violence. A lot of the small violences of the modern world come from the fact men are trying to manifest their balls but have no place to do such a thing. Living together in such apparent comfort comes at a price : not processing our innate violence, and letting it squeeze its way in the darkest corners of our lives. Non-violence from a place of cowardness and weakness is a pale imitation. One must allow himself to dive into uncertainty and take many "punches" to have the opportunity to teach himself how god fashioned him. It also requires a lot of self-soul hugs, places of sweetness to happen. Then, when one had the courage to face all that sucks for real, when there is enough place for regrets, when it's been too late for enough things to make the magic happen, a void of the ego may happen. In fact it might happen many times in a cicular fashion in life, and such times are like dry deaths. Some great treasures may emerge from the ashes. Violence/Non-violence from a place of faith, love, choice AND non-choice is one of them.
4 minutes and I already know he didn't look that hard becuase before that there where the three major greek god zues,hades, and posideon and even after that there was the big 3 in rome called First Triumvirate which was Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Marcus Licinius Crassus. Am sure there more but big 3 of something has been around for a while.
Vagabond is not in a downward spiral, the spiral stopped, because the author was aware that his art was being affected, and he wanted it to be perfect.
Well dragon ball was apart of its own big 3 of wsj with First of the North Star and Slam Dunk, once all three finished a new era started to begin. It makes more sense to identify dragon ball as one of the godfather of shonen
I'm honest, Vinland saga is arguibly greater than Vagabond and Berserk, I hope it now reaches the sales it deserves from an art and meaning standpoint btw Monster is incredibly good too
I like how they adapt Beserk in CGI so we suffer like Guts does
One day we will get a good adaptation and hopefully vagabond too
this floored me
@@zenon026 maybe, maybe not. should it though? Miura's work might never be made justice in anime form imo, it's way more picturesque than most animes are today, them being more fluid in animation. That's why i think 1997 captured the feeling of berserk better than the other adaptations
Underrated comment lmfao
@@DuckLordz I agree. While the 90s anime felt lacking in animation, it's still great and feels like Berserk. But nowadays, most anime are focused on flashy animation, and if it doesn't have that, people will bash the show. And honestly, I think a Berserk anime simply couldn't have the same kind of animation that Demon Slayer, AOT, or modern day One Piece have because of how detailed it is.
guts, thorfinn, and musashi are some of the best representations of masculinity in all of media and a true rarity of positive male figures being the head of a story instead of a side like uncle iroh
What's your definition of media?
But that wasn’t the point of any of them tho 😂
@@ulyssesdiaz7651 haven't watched the other two, but in case of berserk, it was totally intentional to make him a struggler. An angry struggler that would overcome all of the obstacles. Isn't this what masculinity was all about? Maybe Miura didn't intend to make him a "positive masculine role model" but he sure did
@@rus-hg5if
Guts isn’t just a struggler.
He’s emotionally intelligent and quite sweet towards the ones he cares for.
Same goes for Thorfinn.
@@ulyssesdiaz7651 how can you read any Vinland saga and say that
Shonen- the power of friendship
Seinen- struggling through suffering
No offense to seinen but many shonens are great as well.
@@muneebhaider104 Yup there's also many shonens that is great. But since Shonens had many tittle.. for me that hit the mark so far is AOT, Hokuto No Ken and Jojo (tho if i'm not mistaket from part 7 to 9 is change to Seinen)
@@highstudentproduction8195 Great, I hold AOT in very high regard as you can judge from my pfp, next to BB even. Never seen Hokuto no Ken will give it a try. My personal favorite is FMAB, Death Note. My favorite seinen is Berserk, followed closely by Vinland. Though I still consider them behind the best of the best shonens I told before. But all of them are great, and anyone can prefer one over the other.
@@muneebhaider104 well the thing about Seinen anime is not the hype like most shonen had. But Seinen series give you more massage, moral and how we can change as a better person. Tbh even AOT not reach the point of Berserk and Vinland Saga. But yeah AOT is one of the series that always keep the story hype, heck even first of season 3 is hype even tho is conflict between human. As for Hokuto No Ken, well is a really manly shonen. Where the story base on idea "fight for love in manly way". Oh also if you like Seinen too try to watch series Called MONSTER. It had an amazing story, like Death Note. But that anime is not for everyone.
@@highstudentproduction8195 I respect your opinion. But I do think AOT conveys a lot of themes and morals even though not as apparent as Berserk or Vinland. But that is what I think I find more interesting, for the majority it will be easier to just get the moral, but finding it from within the story (the way AOT conveys it) is more rewarding
One more thing is that AOT's later seasons add depth to the previous ones and doES it in ways that often look seemingly impossible but also make so much sense. Regardless each genre has its strengths.I do make their themes apparent and convey the message more clearly whereas AOT tries to make it sort of ambiguous which can be problematic sometimes. All hail Vinland and Berserk
I'm so happy with the anime adaption of Vinland Saga. Mappa is treating it with a lot of care and it has such an amazing soundtrack that compliments everything perfectly.
If only we could get a adaptation of berserk by mappa 😔
@@tristanhauser5766 tbh it could happen within the next 10 years
I'm really scared of Mappa failing on action animations though. Wit did an amazing job for Vinland season 1, as they did with Shingeki no Kyojin's first 3 seasons. Mappa, on the other hand, disappointed immensely on Shingeki no Kyojin's actio sequences compared to Wit's work. Until now though, Mappa has done a great job with Vinland Season 2, thankfully. Fingers crossed...
@@ekimolaos If I read correctly in the past the same people that worked on Season 1 of Vinland Saga are working on Season 2. They just working at a different studio same team. Hopefully that’s true and why the season is doing well.
@@antoniomills8690 Exactly, Mappa actually purchased WIT studio, WiT was going bankrupt... That's why the intro is exactly the same just the name of the jackets has been changed
"Farnese is the best waifu of the Big Three"
Me knowing it's actually Thorkell
Ok maybe :3
I love thorkell no cap
Thorkell is the best, everytime he’s on screen or on a page it’s just amazing haha.
Thorkell and his senpai
War
Name a best couple
Otsu is best waifu.
Shonen Protagonists - They survive because they are the main characters.
Seinen Protagonists - They are the main characters because they survive.
-Someone From the Internet
I don't know about anyone else but I see Shonen and Seinen different based on themes. Shonen are mostly coming of age and large journey stories. Seinen, are human emotions. For example, I see the "Big 3" of Seinen like this.
Berserk - The story of hope.
Vinland Saga - A lesson in compasion.
Vagabond - The definition of Human Strength.
That’s a good observation wish I thought of that
@@mugenbop you're video was amazing! It inspired me to share my view here a little, glad I could!
Fr me berserk is human perserverance in pain
@@abu7993 thats good too
But what about AoT ?
Berserk, Vagabond and Vinland Saga rise above the rest because they feel almost life-changing.
Each of them has the power to deeply wound you, and the wisdom and love to then heal those wounds.
I'll remember Bleach forever as my first dip into anime, but it doesn't leave a mark on my soul like these 3.
We feel like a better human beings after reading them.
So true man, your comment should be higher
Only mangas that changed me as a person
Truth to be told for me Vinland saga hat potenzial but it became boring really fast and i Abbadond it after 30 chapters
@@defalt8624 aot solos
@@janbasta3178 aot >>>
Crazy how we are probably never going to see the ending of Berserk and Vagabond, but we all still appreciate their greatness without devaluing their value because of this.
We could get the ending of Berserk with Miura's close friend apparently having the rest of the storyboard that Miura wanted to write out. Seems like Berserk is currently in limbo but hopefully we get a conclusion to Guts' story.
@@unknown_individual7050 I hope so, but then again, the last chapter came out months ago...
@@OsunaS trying to replicate miura's amazing art takes time
@@blackairforce13 trying to plan out the next few parts of the story without Miura probably takes longer as well, which might be another big reason for the long wait.
@@OsunaS Be ready for the 28th april
My biggest fear is Vagabond finally getting animated but by the wrong studio. It has some of the most breathtaking visuals I’ve ever seen, it absolutely has to be done right
Good thing Inoue is very picky with anime adaptations. There has probably been propositions but he turned them down. Vagabond wouldn't work very well in anime form.
Yeah and with both Berserk and Kingdom getting royally screwed in the animation department, I'd be cautious too. Vinland Saga is the only one to luck out.
That's the thing, Vagabond suffers from the same thing as Berserk, a realistic, hyper-detailed artstyle. More realistic than berserk tbh.
Realistic artstyles simply don't fit anime well because of the limitations of the medium. That's why Berserk got the CGI treatment. Drawing these manga was already hard enough, but with one anime episode usually consisting of at least a couple dozen THOUSAND frames, making a realistic anime that isn't a cgi shitfest is off the table.
That is unless we get something ridiculous like a half-yearly or even yearly episode release schedule, which would be completely financially unsustainable for any studio that tries it.
I honestly believe vagabond cannot be adapted into anime. It is simply too breathtaking with its artistic style and it being in book form allows you to interpret the way a character is speaking or feeling. And no company can adapt it without their own interpretation
I love video essays because no matter what it's about, it'll somehow find a way to tie back to WWII
It’s where it all begins baby ;)
u mean that one war where both sides were in bed with each other, so much so that they needed false flags to get everyone involved
Dude! You taking your time to make these videos was a power move. The production quality of this video has gotta be your best to date
Thanks took some headaches but really enjoyed making it :)
@@mugenbop also, i know you’ve dome some non-manga mediums. I’d love to hear your take on The 5 Rings by Miyamoto Musashi
Agreed this video slaps
@@pyroboy417 i agree, great suggestion.
What's interesting about Shonen, Seinen, Shojo, Joesei is that they're demographics and not a genre. For example, Skip and Loafer is a seinen, and it is a slice-of-life rom-com. The 100 Girlfriends who really, really, really, really, really, really love you is a shonen
Finally someone who knows what he is talking about
Unfortunately I gave up on this battle and just accepted it, there are a certain number of authors who use similar visual languages, but even among them there is no rule, but demography turned this genre with rules that don't talk.
Ah yes, like a true Chad, my favorite Senin are:
Skip and Loafer
Monster
Vinland Saga
Berserk
Vagabond
You can't tell me I'm wrong 🗿
Great video as always! I think what also makes BVV standout is they not only show violence but they also show the conquences and how it effects those impacted by it and those who caused the violence are changed after seeing the hurt and destruction caused by their hands.
100% agree :)
The day I finished reading Big 3 Seinen (Berserk, Vagabond and Vinland Saga) was the day I changed my perspective of seeing things in the world despite its harsh reality and gave up being some edgy kid.
Berserk taught me that "No matter how much you run far away, demons will chase you no matter what you do. Just face them with all your might."
Vagabond taught me, "it's good to have your own ego but you should focus on manifesting it's feelings to strength rather than hatred and become a better person than yesterday."
Vinland Saga taught me and we all know what it is, "I have no Enemies..."
The thing that's so common and relatable in Big 3 Seinen is all of its protagonists had an edgy phase of life where they always seem to be acting edgy until they had a turning point in life and became a strong but kind person despite the things world throws at them. That's what makes the Big 3 Seinen a timeless masterpiece.
the main conflict between the big 3 for me is thorfinn's no enemies versus guts' many
edit: to be fair, all of guts' enemies are demons which don't exist in thorfinn's world, and if they did i'm sure he wouldn't be so happy.
Have you watched naoki urusawa's monster?
@@sageof6pandas233 yeah I've read the full manga
Inoue also has another spokon he is (or was?) working on, which is Real. That manga too has suffered some hiatus but got a new chapter not so long ago, so Vagabond is clearly being left behind. If you've read/seen interviews with him, Inoue basically says that Vagabond had to be the complete opposite of Slam Dunk: a pretty dark but philosophycal story. But at some point he got really frustrated and the series now to him looks more like an obstacle, something that takes him to a really dark place that he does not want to go in yet. There have also been many times (especially with the latest volumes) where he almost couldn't make it to the deadline, so he even had to change his artstyle to something more "sketchy" with faster brush strokes and not so detailed backgrounds.
why i like slam dunk better
@@giulyanoviniciussanssilva2947 based
@@rezon5752 Based and cringe are words that need too be eradicated
@@blakan1478 Oh no, Blakan said that these words should be eradicated, everyone from this day on will not use them!
@@blakan1478 cringe
5:45 Anime and manga first became popular in Latin Europe in the mid 80’. They weren’t popular in the English speaking countries before the early 2000’
That’s why the Dragonball manga was already all rage among French kids (France is still the second biggest manga market in the world after Japan), a decade before DBZ got aired in the USA
Oh cool didn’t know that :)
The first part of this isn’t accurate. Anime/Manga has a very intimate relationship with America, specifically, since Osamu Tezuka and his Astro Boy in the 60s which only survived because an American company supported it.
Yes but no. Here in Latin America, we have known Manga/Anime since the late 60s with Speed Racer, Astro Boy and Mazinger Z.
The cultural impact of shows like Dragon Ball, Heidi, Sailor Moon, Saint Seiya and Gundam is ever present and the market of manga and anime here has been growing with dubs, translations, merch and so on.
(Also the english speaking countries point, idk but Digimon and Pokemon were pretty massive before the 2000s and one of the reasons the Pokemon Movie could ever be made and brought worldwide)
Kingdom does feel more like a shonen but it's just sooo good it definitely deserves a larger fanbase..
I can’t wait to read it 👏🏼
@@mugenboptry it, it very popular in japan because its the no1 seinen manga in terms of sale for the manga released after the year 2000
@@Vin.1904
These are Top 10 Best-Selling Seinen Manga of all time (Currently):
1. Golgo 13 (300 million copies)
< Publishing >
2. Crayon Shin-Chan (148 million copies)
< Publishing >
3. Oishinbo (135 million copies)
< On Hiatus >
4. Kingdom (100 million copies)
< Publishing >
5. Vagabond (82 million copies)
< On Hiatus >
6. Berserk (60 million copies)
< Publishing >
7. Initial D (56 million copies)
< Completed >
8. Bad Boys (55 million copies)
< Completed >
9. Kosaku Shima (47 million copies)
< Publishing >
10. Tokyo Ghoul (47 million copies)
< Completed >
BVV kinda makes me think of for honor, just in how they compliment each other. Guts lives in a world of knights, musashi in a world of samurai, and Vinland saga in a world of vikings. idk if they could've lived around the same time, but I like to think they did
They were pretty close but not quite. Obviously guts isn't in the real world but medieval times started around the time viking era ended and samurais started showing up a couple hundreds years after vikings ended. Keep in mind that thorfinn and musashi were actually real people so their distance i time is pretty easily confirmed.
Sales leads to length, because people don't want to give up on their haymaker. Length leads to popularity, because the series is constantly relevant via always having something new, as well as having a longer period of prime time for drawing in new fans. Popularity leads to sales, because the more people are into the series the more people who are willing to spend money on it. You're right--it does snowball.
Thanks king :)
Yes😊😊😊😊
This was genuinely well done, and I found this video due to me consuming a LARGE amount of VS content, but this was honestly enlightening because, in my feeds, I see a lot of overlap between these 'big 3'
Thank you for making this video essay, and I didn't even have to do 1.5 speed, I enjoyed every true second of this
Shonen - an adventure to the world, finding a lifelong purpose by doing what you love and doing what you do best, sometimes with faithful allies and the satisfaction of doing so in the end. Facing constant external conflicts just to reach your end goal.
Seinen - a solitary instrospection, of finding oneself again, this time with wisdom and experience. A deep commitment to something so basic, that only the someone who share the same experience would understand.
I really like this. While I haven’t read any of the Shonen Big 3, I will say that the Seinen all share themes of introspective growth: a challenging of one’s way of living. They all have been molded by the harsh reality that surrounds that, and it’s overcoming that evil with personal growth that unites the three of them together.
they are both great genres, dont compare goats.
@@brolylssj95 seinen is by it's nature more mature.
When I got to know these three I was absolutely in love with them, I read all of them and, main books of miyamoto musashi, dokkodo and book of five rings too. And to say why these three are the elite ones, is because we relate to them internally, specially men. The characters go through some tough shit getting to know themselves more and more each day, learning everything they can to survive and do what must be done, three of them have different journeys, but their drive for them is what is similar between them.
I pray 1 day Kingdom, berserk and vagabond etc get vinland level anime treatment :(
oh lord... a well structured, engaging video that's not just a rant or a tiktok in disguise? I-IMPOSSIBLE
Kingdom is phenomenal but it definitely feels different than the other three. It has more shounen to it imo.
Totally agree with you ......kingdom is phenomenal but it's a different kind of experience all together ....but vagabond and vinland saga hit different chords ....(haven't yet read bersek).....but kingdom is also most underrated manga and anime .....best part so far for me was coalition arc of kingdom anime , it was best war theme in any moving media so far for me ....
6 months have passed since this video was uploaded and today Vinland Saga is one of the most talked about anime and manga, signifying why it was one of the big 3.
Man, I really love Kingdom, and it’s a lot larger and brought me so much more than Vinland Saga and Vagabond did, and it’s still being made actively. But Berserk was the only one that made me read the entire Conviction Arc in an all-nighter. In the end though I’d say Kingdom is my favorite. It starts off rough and snow but becomes back after back amazing arcs, and there’s isn’t any powers or magical beasts, it’s just a war story about a commoner slave boy surpassing his limits and trying his best to become a great general of the heavens. The focus on the other side characters is amazing as well and the writing is phenomenal. There are few moments where you go, “what does that mean?” Like some seem to do with Berserk’s writing. The authors afterword in every volume is also very very interesting to read, it’s like a live checkup on the author.
shin is trash. Thats why kingdom will never achieve greatness like vagabond or berserk. I wish it would,but compare shin with guts or musashi.... no
Kingdom > Vagabond
Kingdom problem is that noone in the damn manga thinks about the thousand f people being killed, the only goal is eternal glory... it becomes dull after a while
@@enricostradiottoable Idk man, Kanki has always been an issue on the protagonist's mind everytime he's involved because of his treatment of civillians and POW's.
I enjoyed kingdom but it got extremely dull for me around 500 chapters in. It’s great but it sticks to what it knows best and just isn’t as jarring as the other because of it.
True character driven stories really recieve well with mature audiences.
the idea of berserk will never die *tear streaming down face* but kentaro has... and we will carry on his legacy.
Kingdom is amazing. I’ve yet to see a weekly series consistently keep the pace, flow, and adrenaline of the story the way Kingdom does. That said, Shin is very much, as of now, a typical Shonen protagonist in a Seinen world. The level of mental anguish and dilemma Shin faces in reaction to his world isn’t yet comparable to Guts, Thorfinn, and Musashi. You were on point with your statement about violence.
I agree in general, but bro, during the koku you campaign when Shin is just gazing towards the horizon after realizing kankis brutal methods actually made a huge numbers of his army survive. The obvious feelings of contradicted feelings the author tries to express is fantastic. But yeah its one of few, were berserk and vagabond does that occasionally.
I'm glad Shin is capabale of an evokative response like that. Compared to a character like Goku or Luffy who just don't have the depth.
Unfortunately that was a rare exception and he mostly fits the shounen archetype. I read Kingdom for every character but Shin haha.
A med a Japanese and a Scandinavian walked into a bar
I hope I’m not 50 by the time we get a new vagabond anime
Dad, grandpa is watching that weird cartoon again!
Shhhh, don't let him hear you calling it "cartoon".
@@GrimFaceHunter frfr it’s anime anime 😂😂😂
It’s been said he’s back to working on it, just doesn’t know how to finish it
After reading the big 3 (or 4 imo, and since ive read kingdom) I can barely find manga that entertains me. Not only do I love those stories, characters etc but I'm also a history nerd which is just a plus for me with these, but it makes it so much harder to find a manga that doesn't feel like I'll pick up, read 10 chapters and forget about.
I have found with that problem personally I just get into a genre I couldn’t enjoy in another medium. And found that my favourite shonen is now slam dunk and am really excited to read shoujo as well
Yukimura also wrote Planetes wich got it's own anime adaptation too, and is probably always mentioned in must see lists.
“4 looks better than 3”. But 3 is a magic number!
No you goose that’s 7 :3
Vinland saga is such a masterpiece
mugen i quite like into which direction you are going with this channel
i know it is gonna be hard because of what people expect from you
but it will be worth it and i cannot wait to see your future topics
Great take on pinpointing a good reason WHY kingdom might not be considered big 3 material
I mean just a casual game theory y’know?
Im so happy I grew up with the big 3 shounen and seinen with the both of them having protagonists that had so much good character like kindness, empathy, healthy masculinity and overall goodness that helped me grow to be who I am today
Holy damn, this video was sooo good. Well illustrated points, interesting and well paced. Just professional imo
Cheers, I do very much be trying ✌🏻
In my personal opinion the connection that makes them well connect in the big 4 is in the case Vinland saga is that there is no need for war In vagabond it that you don’t have to fight In berserk it’s that sometimes you do have to fight and for kingdom it’s that war is inevitable. like a progression of sorts that works towards there own view points of war be that a external, internal, solitary, or the renouncing of it entirely
Sei mirrors Canute and Griffith very well IMHO
Building their own utopia on the shoulders of the death of people that believe in their cause through waging wars somewhat unbothered by this death toll.
Just like Guts got to a point where he (and for very good reasons) saw fault with this path in Griffith, it feels like Thorfinn is somewhat aware of this philosophy of Canute will ultimately fail in creating this goal they both have.
In Kingdom it is a bigger stretch, but we do see Shin reflecting on and acknowledging the brutality and killing that is being done to achieve this goal while Sei, who is physically distant from the battles and only hear reports of it where lives lost are more numbers than people to him haven't grown that same emotional attachment to this factor although he appeared to be far more considering of this in the early days.
Thorfinn, Guts, Shin all has experience from the battlefield and seen firsthand what war is like. They can appreciate the emotional cost of lives lost here as these are not just numbers to them.
If anything, Vagabond is the one that stands out in this discussion. It is a masterpiece in itself and certainly deserve to be considered among the giants of seinen, but for different reasons. Who is even supposed to be this Canute/Griffith/Sei in this story? I genuinely don't know.
I would highly recommend picking up Kingdom and give it a try to anyone who want to exclude it from the giants in seinen even before reading it.
This was a great watch. Kingdom was my favorite manga for awhile and I was in Japan when I saw the poster announce for the movie. I’ve been reading Vinland Saga for years and watched Thorfinn age alongside me. Vagabond has some of the best art style and message ive ever seen. Unfortunately I’ve never read Berserk but I’ve watched all the movies and anime. Loved this video from start to finish. Subscribed!
I envy you because you have not read Berserk yet. Do it, you'll not regret it !!
Vinland saga is amazing
And berserk is the GOAT
great video man, i love your references and the delivery! (and who needs an outro when you have the greatest waifu take in all the lands lol )
Great video! Agree with the overall sentiment man, I’ve always been more drawn to the sienen as well myself the stories always feel less like I’m wasting my time for putting in the effort to read or watch them and I usually learn something I didn’t know before or see a new perspective it’s enlightening!
Fantastic video Mugen! I had this on a tab on one of my browsers for about a year and just got to it.
You have the knowledge, research, editing, storytelling, and more! Keep at it! :)
Also the difference between Shonen and Seinen is the demographic target audience. Shonen is typically made for young boys all the way up to 18 in Japan with Seinen being basically 18+. There is a line though Shonen today get very close to it in the terms of Violence, but Seinen are typically more mature than Shonen and more graphic. but again, Shonen and Seinen are not genre, they are demographs the story targets. it's the same for Shojo and Jousei.
Listening to you while I'm working my own manga for japanese publishing really lift me up
Thanks so nice! Panels look great btw :)
Wildly underrated video. You can feel the effort in your editing. Keep up the good work
I would like to bring up regarding the big three. Specifically Naruto, Bleach, One Piece. They are also highly contributed with absolutely catapulting Shonen jump to the massive magazine it is today. While it wasn't necessarily small prior to these 3, it was these 3 that almost by themselves brought Shonen jump weekly magazine to be as big as it is. Thus, sort of keeping them at minimum one step ahead of any other big three Shonen contender.
Great video, very good quality and well done research
Demon slayer, aot and mha seem like the new generation but I'd argue aot is definitely seinen. So maybe jujitsu kaisen.
@@dominicyelin aot is a shounen but feels more seinin because of the mature concepts and all round good writing/plot/worldbuilding. I'd also argue that the new big 3 is demon slayer mha and black clover. This is becuase aot manga started in 2000s and anime in 2013 so its sort of in a between stage, while mha, black clover and demon slayer have all been releasing and been popular around the same time.
@@dominicyelin nah ds is mid as fuk the reak new gen big three are JJK, AOT, CSM (after it gets fully animated as the s1 was just the buildup)
ワンピースとかナルトが出る以前から少年ジャンプはかなり人気のある雑誌でした、ドラゴンボール、スラムダンク、幽遊白書、北斗の拳、ジョジョetc←本当にジャンプの人気を不動にしたのはこれらの作品です。ワンピース、ナルトはこれらの作品の後にジャンプに登場した
For me it's the art. Absolutely beautiful
Dude I love your vids idk why they’re just very nice. I’ve been thinking of getting into Vinland Saga since I like berserk, but now I know that I have to read it!
Go for it, I think it very much a story worth reading :) and thanks heaps
In my opinion, I would classify Jojo's as the fourth in the big 4(at least from SBR onwards). It's the longest running out of the ones mentioned in the video and also probably the most popular in the west
This video is just excellent, showing why we enjoy these series so much. I can tell the upgrade in quality and look forward to more videos like this.
Also haha 3:51 24:38 I agree
Amazing video Mugen! Thank you for featuring my cover too
Thank you too was great :)
The big three seinen series, Berserk, Vagabond, and Vinland Saga, are exceptional works of manga that showcase the true potential of the genre. From their stunning art styles to their captivating narratives and well-developed characters, these series have cemented themselves as must-reads for fans of the seinen genre.
9:39 are we not gonna talk about the FFVIII triple triad theme when he discusses the big three? Brilliant. Love it.
I second this. Classic
imagine mappa animating all of the big three💀💀💀💀
Since I first saw Vinland saga it jump started my goal to become a better man take away thorfinns revenge for his dad and all you have is a violent young man who wants to find peace and become true man and warrior and no longer participate in self destruction this is something all men can connect to no matter where we are in the world
Same
Viking seeking revenge? Hild would disagree hehe
jokes aside, great video man.
man the berserk anime had me so confused i hated the anime and i thought my friends were tweaking so i picked up the manga and dude that was it for me. i remember after work going to go buy the manga of berserk and i’ve been in love with it and the seinen style
Bro your storytelling is quite good I didn't even realise there were timestamps.
Great video bro, love the video essay feel to this video and the editing and overall production was very well done!
Thanks took awhile but glad you appreciate it :)
This video deserves more love than it got. High quality
if Fire Punch was released earlier by a decade it could have been worthy of being in the big 3, or Painkiller if it wasn't korean... or The Breaker if people were to give it a chance, it's so hard to depict surreal like moments you can relate to even if they were so unbelievable, fictional, fabricated... great video man!
Edit is after the 20 minute mark, I understand you haven't read or watched or inquired about Kingdom and the history it is based on, but the show depicts loss heavily when Xin/Shin's mentor fell in battle in front of his student, pridefully embracing a loss to a greater warrior, or when Shin's adoptive brother Piao who he grew up with for half of his life perished, it's not all about loss but loss happens, I love Chinese ancient history depicting well recorded events so I may be biased but the only reason I disagree with Kingdom being in the top 4 is purely because of how children soldiers would enter a battlefield and leave without a casualty, the plot armor is way too evident in comparison to other Seinens where you have seen dire consequences to a poorly made decision. Not in kingdom
Fire Punch is too experimental, that Homunculus didn't earn a spot there proves my point..in a roundabout way
Chainsaw man very well could be one of the big three, or even a big fourth, if part two turns out really good, and if we get more parts after it. It definitely has potential to rival the likes of Vagabond and Berserk if given time. It'll probably never beat Berserk, Vagabond, or Vinland Saga, but it could stand on equal footing with them eventually.
@@deerecoyote2040 no. Hell no. it’s too generic and has a goofy side to it which the 3 lack (giving into fan service etc…) AOT, Tokyo ghoul, monster, 21st century boys and +, have much more significance in greatness than fucking chainsaw man
@@kau4u Have you read it past the first half of the anime? It goes absolutely crazy right after the chapter where the anime ends. It ends up being a fantastic series in the end. Also, AOT is generic, and I'm a big fan of AOT. If you think it's generic, read it. Also, it doesn't really have a goofy side either, little gags here and there, bit aside from that it stays pretty grounded.
What nonsense,there are barely any child soldiers in Kingdom.
I can only think of 7 out of hundreds of characters that can even be considered a child soldier.
Kingdom unlike the senien 3 is actually consistent I it's quality,and it doesn't fall off after it's peak arc. There is a reason why it outsells the other 3.
it's simple they change your life mostly positively and allow you to think and be free for yourself they give you philosophies to adjust your life to and more importantly they tell you the reality of our accursed world and how we can still be happy
I would also add "Goodnight PunPun" and "Monster", they are just too good to not be in some top-something best seinen ever
Both are masterpieces.
Ok yes I’m saying seinen incorrectly apparently
ok damn.
Your channel is criminally underrated
Edit: Nah this video was simply beautiful
Kingdom is like the puzzle piece that looks like it should fit when you see it but when you actually try and use it, it just doesn't quite fit right. Sure, you could force it, but it doesn't really belong there. It's very apparent that the anime adaptation has very easily gotten away with being practically a shonen by just censoring the gore. Which imo it really feels like when reading, there are very few moments that hit emotionally compared to BVV. The only big emotion I felt was hype (best hype/celebration panels in manga btw don't @ me), which to me is the main driving force of many if not all shonens (or at least big 3 and their sucessors).
I love watching videos like this cuz I always end up hearing persona osts in the background
The difference between the top 3 shounen and seinen is also that:
The shounen are pretty broad trying to fulfill many themes and plotpoints, becoming a bit of an all-rounder. You have multiple things, multiple themes being explored. The are just not explored deeply due to the amount of those points.
The seinen try to do one thing very well. An older audience does not want to see many things done just ok. That's too superficial and lacks meaning. They want to see 1 thing done very well. Due to this focus, that theme that each seinen tackles gets very deep. Vinland saga for example pretty much tackles one theme only and thrives in it. The damage hatred causes and how much harder showing compassion is in a world that revolves around said hatred.
A lot of manga readers are men and these 3 MCs are very relatable. Their respective manga does not revolve around what is happening. The plot is just a vehicle to get the characters going. The goal of the story is not to show how these characters defeat the big bad or save the princess which is in another castle. The goal of the story is about each man overcoming the biggest enemy. Themselves. In what scenario that happens, barely matters. Ichigo needs to save his friends, luffy needs to save that island from the big bad, Naruto needs to burden the responsibilities of being respected and looked up to. Without those things, their manga becomes useless. Those guys doing those things is the point of the entire story.
Look at thorfinn. Does he need to fight askeladd? Does he need to father a child? Does he need to find Vinland? He does not. The story could go on without those things. The point of the story is his flaw and failure as a human being how that gets going is irrelevant as long as it works.
Same thing for Guts. Does he need to fight Griefin? Save Casca? No, not really. The point of the story is once again him. How a mind can find piece among a hellscape.
Big 3 ≠ Top 3, objectively they ain't even among top 5 shounen.
The artwork of Vagabond ! Is simply mesmerising
Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop and serial experiment lain - Big 3 of depression
I like that :)
berserk is a category of itself. its truly great.
While I agree with Berserk, Vagabond, Vineland
kinda hard not to have Kingdom in there
if I went by my personal favorite officially it would be Kingdom, Berserk, and anything by Urasawa
I recently finished watching vinland saga S2, I am currently reading Berserk, and because of this video I will most likely read vagabond after.
No show made me emotional like vinland saga S2 did to me. From him changing for the better to the reunion with his mother.
I never thought a piece of fiction could make me to strive to be better, but vinland saga did have that impact on me, which I find crazy.
I also never thought I could get emotional from reading something (as I am 19 currently), but Berserk definitely made me tear up a few times. I am on chapter 162 as of now.
My close ones already consider me very kind, but I realised I can do a lot better and improve myself more, mostly because of Vinland Saga.
Thank you for this video! Even though I am a bit late, I am still grateful for this video. ❤
Get ready as Berserk continues and for Vagabond definitely read his first series slam dunk :) changes how you feel about things people can be passionate about
@@mugenbop Will do! Thanks for the recommendations.
berserk, vagabond, and vinland saga have the same thing that makes the shonen big three the big three and that is major well written mc focus. Everything done and mentioned at some point holds some importance to the mc that is shown or atleast has something to do with them. in other series, like monster, there are parts where it focuses on Johan and others that has nothing to do with the mc nor is it important to them. It is there to add to the story, but simultaneously stops them from being included in this. when people normally think of the big three, it's the face of the mc, which is why more mc focused and well written series are more likely to be mentioned. when these series are mentioned nobody thinks of usopp, sakura, and rukia or kojiro, puck, and anne, they think of the mc and this is the reason why it wouldn't work with jjba which has multiple mc's but is just as good or 20cb which has books that kenji isn't even in, or monster where there are plotlines that dont include dr tenma or affect him at all. they are all just as good, but when people think of the big three, they think of the mc's so more mc focus is better. It doesn't make as much sense to say the big three mc's:tenma, kenji, and alucard or for shonen one of the joestars, itadori, and denji (Denji could be in the future but time for development is also a factor) it also helps when they are capable of affecting the readers life in a way, and each one in either big three does that well. One piece does this with freedom, friends, and dreams. Naruto with never giving up, working hard, and helping those in need. Bleach with helping friends whenever they need it and standing up to injustice. The shonen big three does it more overtly and simplistically, while the seinen big three has much more complex life lessons that aren't outright said like in one piece naruto and bleach which are too long for me to explain and this comments already getting lengthy so I'll leave it to the eyes of the beholder.
edit: they also need to be similar in message, lesson, art, or mood. you wouldn't mention berserk and spy family as members in a group together
i appreciate your effort👍🏻
When I was in middle school after school my buddy that had lived in Japan would bring in his English manga of ghost in the shell and the Japanese berserk. I remember seeing them all for the first time and just being so drawn to it. The art was unlike anything I had seen before. In that same period of time this kid would bring in laser discs every other week or month with a new anime OVA. The teacher would let us chill after school and watch it in the tech classroom. Thinking back it wasn't the most responsible thing given all the adult themes in most of them. But being exposed to it such a foreign and niche thing back then and wanting more was a blessing and a curse. Its's amazing we can just flip on the PC or phone and watch or read some of my favorite things in seconds now. BTW, Dead Leaves, check it out if you haven't. Awesome vid!
Great video 👍 just fyi, seinen is pronounced “say-nen” not “sigh-nen”
I just finished season 2 of Vinland Saga. It comes at a special time in my life and it helped me process some things.
I've learned that a man must afford to choose non violence. A lot of the small violences of the modern world come from the fact men are trying to manifest their balls but have no place to do such a thing. Living together in such apparent comfort comes at a price : not processing our innate violence, and letting it squeeze its way in the darkest corners of our lives.
Non-violence from a place of cowardness and weakness is a pale imitation. One must allow himself to dive into uncertainty and take many "punches" to have the opportunity to teach himself how god fashioned him. It also requires a lot of self-soul hugs, places of sweetness to happen. Then, when one had the courage to face all that sucks for real, when there is enough place for regrets, when it's been too late for enough things to make the magic happen, a void of the ego may happen. In fact it might happen many times in a cicular fashion in life, and such times are like dry deaths.
Some great treasures may emerge from the ashes. Violence/Non-violence from a place of faith, love, choice AND non-choice is one of them.
the first reference to the concept of "The Big Three" was the First Roman Triumvirate: Julius Caesar, Pompeius "Pompey" Magnus, and Marcus Crassus.
yo but lets be real octavian clears all 3 no diff
@@nathangaspacio6128 no lie no lie
Congratulations for 500,000 views❤
wow thanks and for letting me know, cheers :)
Bro foreal vinland is amazing, i personally put it above Berserk and vagabound, changed the way i see the world
Overated ,attack on titan is better
@@mmor7380 overrated is your existence
Lol bro you cant say something is overrated and then recommend attack on titan 💀
the reason these three are the best is because they excel in quality. they are bonkers.
4 minutes and I already know he didn't look that hard becuase before that there where the three major greek god zues,hades, and posideon and even after that there was the big 3 in rome called First Triumvirate which was Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Marcus Licinius Crassus. Am sure there more but big 3 of something has been around for a while.
And I am now roasted
Love the persona music in the background, over here groovin
Guts is literally the most mentally and physically tolerable person in all of anime
Babies first seinens, all either incomplete or in a downward spiral of quality after their respective's golden ages
Vagabond is not in a downward spiral, the spiral stopped, because the author was aware that his art was being affected, and he wanted it to be perfect.
No yeah, Beserk, Vagabond, Vinland Saga are the Seinin Holy Trinity. No need to elaborate further, those that get it, get it.
Wow, that was amazing, good job mate
what if the big 3 was vagabond, vinland, and kingdom and berserk holding the influence over them like dbz did with shounen
This makes a lot of sense. I keep wondering why DBZ isn't considered Big 4 even though it paved the way for them
Well dragon ball was apart of its own big 3 of wsj with First of the North Star and Slam Dunk, once all three finished a new era started to begin. It makes more sense to identify dragon ball as one of the godfather of shonen
Everytime you say "seinen" like that a cute puppy dies of hunger.
Good video.
bro we need a big three waifu video
Now that will just put a target on my back haha
oh I LOVED that you mentioned GANTZ! I feel like too few people know about that anime but it's insanely good...
Nooooo, otsu is the best wifu, she literally followed musashi through whole Japan
Yes but Farnese learned to be cool ✌🏻Otsu is pretty cute ngl
@@mugenbop also learned how to baby sit, Hahahahah
I'm honest, Vinland saga is arguibly greater than Vagabond and Berserk, I hope it now reaches the sales it deserves from an art and meaning standpoint
btw Monster is incredibly good too
I respect your opinion but for me, Vagabond>Vinland saga >Berserk.
First video I've watched from you and let me tell you I am not disappointed at all. Definitely subbing!