Est. Geneva, 2021
We Write About Anime
Like It Has a Wardrobe.
Because it does. And nobody else was talking about it that way.
Where It Started
In 2021, three people in Geneva noticed a gap. Anime had gone mainstream in a serious way — Demon Slayer was breaking streaming records, JJK was everywhere — but the cultural conversation around it was stuck in the same place it had always been: episode recaps, power-scaling debates, and recommendation lists organized by genre.
Nobody was writing about how Rengoku's haori worked as a design system. Nobody was explaining why Gojo's blindfold became a streetwear reference point before the licensed merch arrived. Nobody was connecting the visual language of these series to how people actually dressed and presented themselves.
That was the gap. We decided to be the answer to it.
What We Believe
Anime is one of the most visually sophisticated entertainment formats in the world. Character design, color systems, costume work — the people who make these series think about visual communication at a level that rivals serious fashion design. That thinking deserves to be taken seriously.
At the same time, the audience for anime has changed. The person who came to Demon Slayer in 2021 or JJK in 2022 often came from streetwear, from music culture, from fashion — not from a decade of watching shows. They were already thinking about what to wear. They just wanted help connecting what they were watching to how they wanted to present themselves.
Shonen Tribe exists at that intersection. Not a fan site. Not a fashion magazine. Something in between that neither of those was doing.
Who We Are
Small team, based in Geneva. We don't write on a schedule — we write when something is worth writing about. The Radar is called the Radar because it's supposed to pick things up that aren't obvious yet, not summarize what everybody already knows.
Two regular writers carry most of the content:
- Kenji Watanabe — covers series breakdowns, visual design, and the crossover between Japanese pop culture and global streetwear. Previously wrote about fashion for print publications in Tokyo and Osaka before moving to Europe and joining Shonen Tribe in 2022.
- Yara Tanaka — writes about color theory, visual storytelling, and Japanese design history. Background in textile design and editorial styling. Grew up in Osaka watching anime and never really stopped having opinions about character design.
The Name
Shonen (少年) is the manga and anime category aimed at teenage boys — but the audience has always been broader than that, and it's broader still now. The series that define the genre — Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, Dragon Ball, and the new wave of Demon Slayer, JJK, AoT — are watched by everyone, everywhere.
Tribe because the people who are genuinely into this aren't casual viewers. They go deep. They notice the details. They want the reference to land with people who would get it — not to explain it to people who don't.
That's who we write for.
Get in Touch
We're always interested in hearing from people who have something to say about anime aesthetics, Japanese fashion, or the visual language of the series we cover. If you have a pitch, a question, or a correction, reach out.