Inspired by comments from 10 Most Rewatchable Shonen Anime Series, Ranked
Here are a few examples that I know of:
| title | expected | actual |
|---|---|---|
| Frieren | non-shounen (seinen?) | shounen |
| Attack on Titan | seinen | shounen |
| The Apothecary Diaries | shoujo | seinen |
| Umamusume: Cinderella Gray | shounen | seinen |
| 100 Girlfriends | shounen | seinen |
What are other instances of misidentified demographic you have seen?
Quick and dirty definitions of anime demographics:
- shoujo - girls
- shounen - boys
- josei - ladies
- seinen - men
I think a common misconception comes from people assuming most romance is shoujo or josei. But a lot of the most popular romance series today are almost all shounen or seinen: Dress-up Darling, Horimiya, Kaguya-sama, Komi-san, and You and I are Polar Opposites, just to name a few. There’s actually a pretty notable difference between shounen and shoujo romance if you compare them.
Even Bloom Into You is categorized as a shounen yuri. Those are not mutually exclusive tags!