Scans_Daily

There is also the fact that they were still reacting to early Showa Era propaganda which encouraged High Schoolers to be ready to lay down their life for the Empire. Stories of heroic teens who would ultimately lay down their lives for their Emperor.

Now creators are telling the same kind of stories with different messages, celebrating the individual, and having friends save the day and making sure no one is sacrificed to do so.

It's why Sailor Moon S gets so gritty, "We must be ready to sacrifice anything, and anyone to save the world," says Uranus and Neptune... "fuck no," says Sailor Moon.

Japan is also one of the few countries I've seen that has a lot of stories that focus on Jr. High students too (Sailor Moon, Evangelion, Fushigi Yuugi) cause the all important High School entrance exams are such a big deal there.

And yeah as noted... the kind of superheroic stories are just easier to to do with teens or young adults in Japanese society.

There are however plenty of manga aimed at adults about adults, and work. A couple aimed at nerds (but not scifi) that I've been reading lately are "Love is Hard for Otaku," and "Lend Me 100 Yen So I Can Play a Game."