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In the context of manga and associated media, the word shounen refers to a male audience roughly between the ages of 10 and 18. In Japanese, the word means simply "young male", and has no anime/manga-related connotations at all. It does not comprise a style or a genre per se, but rather indicates the publisher`s intended target demographic. Still, while not mandatory, some easily identifiable traits are generally common to shounen works, such as: high-action, often humorous plots featuring male protagonists; camaraderie between male friends; sports teams and fighting squads (usually coupled with the aforementioned camaraderie); unrealistically attractive female characters (see fanservice). Additionally, the art style of shounen tends to be less flowery than that of shoujo and the plots tend to be less complex than seinen, but neither of those is a requirement.