To begin, a few clarifications are in order. First, I’m not talking about dark in terms of a lack of quality. Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen (JJK), and Demon Slayer have all been enjoyable watches so far. Secondly, I don’t mean to imply they are dark in terms of raw edginess. They all have a good bit of gore with limbs flying, blood spewing, and knives slicing as well as color palettes that often keep the atmosphere dim (Chainsaw Man and JJK especially). Still, these dark elements are paired with comedy, touching moments, and hype action that keeps things from feeling like The Joker wanted to write a shounen to show how fucked up society is. Rather it’s that these recent popular anime all incorporate dark elements way more frequently and in more detail than their predecessors.

So now that we know what I’m trying to imply, how did we get here? I still remember being around ten years old, turning on the TV a little late at night, and seeing Naruto for the first time. The arstyle didn’t grab me like Zatch Bell! did, so I never tuned in to it much, and when I did I would see stuff like Naruto bleeding in his fight with Zabuza/Haku. I would think in my kid brain “uh oh, I don’t know if I’m allowed to watch this” and turn the channel back to something else like those late night The Flintstones reruns on Boomerang. A goody two shoes you say? Damn yeah you’re right. What can I say, when you’re a nerdy only child you don’t take many chances ruining relationships with your parents. They’re pretty much the only human interaction you get. Anyway point is, while Naruto and Bleach had some gore here and there, they never felt overly crazy or bloodthirsty in the way these newer series can be. My girl Nobara is over here slapping nails in her arm with blood pouring out looking psycho in a way that the older shonen never portrayed their characters. At least not frequently. The bloodiest I recall Naruto ever getting was the Pain arc, and that still doesn’t carry the same DARKNESS in my opinion.

Now we're going sicko mode. Ya won't see Sakura doing this shit.

I’m not sure what’s responsible for the shift to full-on violence and gore in shonen anime, but I’m certainly not complaining. As long as they manage to keep other aspects of writing in check and don’t devolve into “this shonen kid SUFFERED so now he must get REVENGE and KILL EVERYONE with NO COMEDY and NO DEVELOPMENT and NO CHARACTER BUILDING just KILL! AND DARKNESS!” then I’m having a great time. And according to the manga readers, the next big shonen breakout, Sakamoto Days, will continue this trend of heavy violence paired with more relatable and human elements. Maybe it’s just a winning formula at the moment. Have you noticed the trend towards shonen with darker atmospheres? Are you hype for the transition, or do you miss the older classics? Will we see this style die out soon, or are the rivers going to run red for a long time? Grab your sword, promise to fight those monsters, and brutally cut down the bad guys before they decapitate your friends in the comments below!