The philosophical construct of the “shonen” genre in manga is something that speaks to a lot of individuals ranging large spectra of ages and dynamics. The reason why these stories are so compelling and philosophically relevant is because it is oriented around a protagonist’s road to overcome hardship and reach goals and happiness. The hardship is usually introduced through many different aspects, but the light and comedic tones are more ubiquitous in the storytelling. It gives for realistic views of what life really entails, the good and the bad, and it does not sugarcoat or avoid difficult, tough and melancholic situations and sentiments. Hardship is real, as well as pure joy and happiness. One might see these functions of a continuum and being each other’s extreme points, but they do not necessarily have to be dichotomous. In fact storytelling is complex and highly philosophical, something that manga and anime captures beautifully. With that said, many of these shonen stories have a training arc that might or might not be very approximating reality. Therefore this lecture was of great fun, to be able to speak to young people as well as people my own age regarding how we can use anime to inspire scientifically oriented exercise.
Major thanks to Comic Con Stockholm for the opportunity and honor!
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