Having a gun would make things way too easy. Also, considering most of the shounen mangas involve some underage youth that probably doesn't have the means to procure or buy a gun is also an issue. But I do agree with you in the fact that the main character having a gun would make the fights A LOT faster.
I think mangakas find swords appealing because when they have their protagonist wield a sword, whether consciously or unconsciously, they partake in a form of nationalism.
Katanas, or Japanese swords, had always been the main weapons of Japan before the Black Ships (Kurofune) landed. The arrival of these Western vessels marked the end of isolation and the advancement of the Meiji Restoration during which samurai were banned from carrying swords altogether.
So although Japan was Westernized, its unique culture leaves something to be desired from its past.
Personally, I'm not a fan of guns, but I still like anime where guns are the protagonist's weapon of choice, like Trigun and Hellsing (Is that contradictory? Maybe so). Of course both weapons require a high level of dexterity, but they give off entirely different "feelings" in a fight. For example, imagine Roronoa Zoro wielding guns instead of swords. He has a different atmosphere, right? Or imagine Alucard wielding swords instead of guns. Also very different.
I think because of the nature of guns it's more difficult for a mangaka to draw exciting fight scenes.
For me, it's about the struggle which is why I really like the manga Berserk. The protagonist's weapon, a sword that looks like an iron slab, suits him perfectly as a human who struggles as much as possible against non-human foes. I feel that if he wielded a gun the outward illustration of his struggle would diminish.
Sorry, turned out longer than I thought. Thanks for reading.
Also, Japan has very strict gun laws which may have contributed to mangakas preference of sword-wielding characters.
I totally agree with you about the "feel" of the manga but seriously i think zoro and alucard would look cool even if they were wielding a tooth pick!!! they're just that good ⁄(⁄ ⁄·⁄ω⁄·⁄ ⁄)⁄
Actually i like swords and guns equally, has my favorite character's weapon they're both really cool and equally dangerous in the right/wrong hands
all i'm say is, in a life are death situation, i'd go for the gun, it just logic┗( T﹏T )┛
Hi guys ヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉ~
I was just reading this amazing manga, below
http://www.mangago.me/read-manga/green_worldz/
and i realized something: why does the main character of EVERY great shounen (well, just the one's that i know, what?! "every" sounds better than "some") their weapon of choice has to be Either their fist or some kind of over sized kitchen knife?
i'm no rocket scientist but isn't the most logical weapon a really powerful GUN with limitless bullets something like a lazier gun （￣へ￣）
well, true, some of the story plots would be meaningless without one but still i just want to hear someone else's thoughts on the matter.