Archetype:Regular Shōnen Protagonist/Seinen

> This story relates how I got up on my feet. Not in the physical term, but how I went from adolescence to adulthood.
>
> Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 3

> What's so fun about everything always going my way? What I really love is when amazing things happen that I had never expected.
>
> Takeshi Tatsumi (Giant Killing)

> I caught a glimpse of Heaven once. The angels showed me. The idea was I'd kill for them. Clean up their mistakes on Earth. Eventually redeem myself. Tried it. Didn't like it. Told them where to stick it. So they brought me up to Heaven, to see what I'd be missing. A wife. A son. A daughter. All finally at peace. I hadn't seen them since they bled out in my arms. Then I was cast down. Back to a world of killers. Rapists. Psychos. Perverts. A brand new evil every minute, spewed out as fast as men can think them up. A world where pitching a criminal dwarf off a skyscraper to tell his fellow scum you're back a sane and rational act. The angels thought it would be Hell for me. But they were wrong. Welcome back, Frank. Says New York City.
>
> Frank Castle, the Punisher (Marvel Comics)

The power to **use the archetypal traits of a Seinen Protagonist.** Older opposite of Shōnen Protagonist and adult male equivalent of Shojo Protagonist. Opposite of Seinen Antagonist.

## Also Called

* Stock Seinen Hero
* The Golgo Expy
* The Devilman Expy
* The Guts Expy
* The Ri Shin Expy
* Adult Male/Men's Media Protagonist
* Adult Male/Men's Show Protagonist
* Adult Male/Men's Media Hero/Heroine/Heroes

## Properties

The user is a protagonist of Seinen, a demographic and genre designation of Japanese Anime, Manga, Korean Manhwa, western comics, webcomics, and etc. aimed at males' audiences. It is the older counterpart of the ***Shōnen Hero*** and effectively makes for most anime/manga/manhwa/comics in an older demographic.

Thanks to the older target audience, a seinen protagonist tends to be much more sophisticated and mature than their shōnen counterparts. More attention is paid to the plot and the interaction between characters than to action and fights, which is usually the main attraction for most viewers, and the characters are well fleshed out. *Realism* is the trademark calling card of the protagonist, commonly earning them acclaim for their depth and maturity.

A typical protagonist can be of any gender and age (in stark contrast to shōnen, whose protagonists are almost exclusively young and male), but tend to be young adults to individuals in their later years. Romantic wise, anything goes. Relationships are often portrayed in a less idealistic light than in the shojo genre, with many grays and uncertainties like in Real Life, and do not tend to indulge the typical over-simplification of "which heroine will be hooked up with the hero" usually seen in shonen. Certain protagonists are also well known for their controversial and divisive displays of mature settings - Devilman of the *Devilman CRYBABY* and Guts from *Berserk* being some of the more famous and infamous examples. These characters tend to be on the opposite side of the standard idealism shown in Shōnen characters with cynic, sarcastic, and the realists’ grim types being the main stay.

## Applications

* ***Apathy***
	+ ***Emotion Negation***
* ***Ability Mastering***/***Ability Transcendence***
* ***Adaptive Power Level***
* ***Combat Pragmatist***
* ***Companion Allegiance***
	+ ***Enhanced***/***Supernatural Charisma***
* ***Determination Embodiment***
* ***Enhanced***/***Supernatural***/***Absolute Combat***
	+ ***Combat Adaptation***
	+ ***Combat Perception***
	+ ***Combat Specialist***
* ***Fighting Instinct***
* ***Humor Mastery***/***Sarcasm Mastery***
	+ ***Taunting***
* ***Indomitable Nature***
	+ ***Indomitable Emotions***
		- ***Indomitable Will***/***Enhanced Willpower***
			* ***Fear Masking***/***Fear Immunity***
		- ***Indomitable Love***
		- ***Indomitable Lust***/***Indomitable Sexuality***
		- ***Indomitable Rage***/***Indomitable Hatred***
* ***Killing Instinct***
	+ ***Bloodlust Aura***/***Bloodlust Empowerment***
	+ ***Killing Intent***
* ***Revenge Empowerment***
	+ ***Rivalry Empowerment***

## Associated Powers

* ***4th Wall Awareness***/***4th Wall Breaching***/***4th Wall Interaction***
* ***Ambition Empowerment***
* ***Badassery***
* Child Prodigy
* ***Exaggeration***
* ***Legendary Status***
* ***Linguistics Mastery***
* ***Paranormal Birth***
* ***Sport Mastery***
	+ **Baseball**
	+ **Basketball**
	+ **Boxing**
	+ **Kendo**
	+ **Racing**
	+ **Soccer**
	+ **Wrestling**
* ***Trickster***

## Genres

* Shōnen Protagonist
* Shojo Protagonist
* **Seinen Protagonist**
* Children's Media Protagonist
* Adult's Media Protagonist

## Relationships

* Adult's Media Protagonist
	+ (*Example: Arsene Lupin III, Lupin III*)
* Anti-Hero
	+ (*Example: Golgo 13/Duke Togo, Golgo 13*)
* Child Prodigy
* Children's Media Protagonist
* Dark Lord
	+ (*Example: Ogami Ittō, Lone Wolf and Cub*)
* Mad Scientist
	+ (*Example: Worick and Nicolas, Gangsta*)
* Lightning Bruiser
	+ (*Example: Griffith/Femto, Berserk*)
* True Friend
* Spy
	+ (*Example: Ri Shin, Kingdom*)

## Exampled Characters

*See Also: Seinen, Seinen Protagonists from Non-Anime Media and Seinen Protagonist*

### Cartoons

* Sterling Archer (*Archer*)
* Stan Smith (*American Dad*)
* Peter Griffin (*Family Guy*)
* Phillip J. Fry (*Futurama*)
* Hank Hill (*King of the Hill*)
* Shrek (*Shrek*)
* Homer Simpson (*The Simpsons*)
* The Boys (*South Park*)
	+ Stan Marsh
	+ Kyle Brovlovski
	+ Eric Cartman
	+ Kenny McCormick

## Gallery

### Cartoons/Comics

Stan Smith.pngStan Smith (American Dad)Sterling Archer Standing POSE.pngSterling Archer (*Archer*)Batman the OG Dark Knight.pngBruce Wayne/Batman (DC Comics)Peter Griffin.pngPeter Griffin (Family Guy)PhilipJ.Fry.pngPhillip J. Fry (Futurama)Iron Man Armors Secret Wars Vol 1 6 Midtown Comics Variant Textless.jpgTony Stark/Iron Man (Marvel Comics)

## External Links

* Heroes Wiki
* Pure Good Wiki
* Near Pure Good Wiki
* Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
* Villains Wiki