What do young adults like to see in manga? For example, blood, guns, love etc.

I think that's too vague of a question. It really varies on the person and in all honesty to just say young adults you would have to be a little more specific. Not only that but the title of this thread is a little misleading. When you named it "Young Adult Manga" it makes me think that you want to discuss the manga that is targeted for young adults and give examples of such titles. But that's just the way I see it. Sorry if this response is too long.

>>2 You're making me feel bad before I even start typing by apologizing for the length of your post.

Here we go anyway.

>>1 Depends on your definition of young adult. Mid-teenage people, 14~16? It's likely they're into increasingly complex material, since they're reaching a point in adolescence when they start developing a real personality. Before this age most kids would be satisfied with cheap thrills due to an unrefined taste in things (note that 'refined' doesn't necessarily mean 'good', it just means tempered)

Although, they likely wouldn't follow much of it on a very analytical level. This is speaking from experience now - around that age is when I started watching/reading anime/manga like Death Note and Code Geass. Stuff that appeals to thought, without requiring the viewer to understand it on every intrinsic level.

Others might be interested in something they can immediately relate to, like romance and slice-of-life highschool manga like K-On or Haruhi. Or perhaps something more emotionally stimulating, like Toradora.

I've never honestly heard someone seriously say they liked something because of blood and guns. Maybe as a passing/joking comment about how awesome something is, like saying you like Gurren Lagann for its giant robots rather than its thematic elements. However, if we're going for the very lowest spectrum of "young adult", which is around 13~14, then it might be true that they associate violence with maturity. Which is silly and immature. That isn't to say that actiony manga are for people of bad taste either, though - but when it's the only redeeming quality, it's rather two dimensional.

If I had to generalize, I'd say young adult literature in general encompasses highly emotional content, be it through drama, suspense, or romance. Younger kids don't really care about that stuff, because they lack a sense of immersion into the characters of a story. They just want to know how it ends. But when they first start to understand character development, it opens up a whole new field for them to experience.

Or maybe I'm completely wrong. I dunno. I was sort of a young adult once, I think.

>>3 Sorry or making you feel bad, I didn't mean it Dx

>>3 what? aren't young adults like 20 up to middle-age?

I'm under the impression that young adults like to read manga that are 'nostalgic', Manga that makes them go back to their youth, those with themes of growing up and being ambitious.
I think it's usually children/teenagers who prefer those with 'mature' themes of violence and sex, and such, pretending to be mature.

>>5 Actually young adults can be as young as 15. The oldest age to be considered would probably 25. However, there is a difference between being considered a young adult and being mature. I'm not saying a 16 year old can't be mature but you can have someone who is 20 and still act in an immature manner. It really varies on the person as everyone is different so really it should depend on how mature the young adult really is.

Apparently "young adult" can refer to two different age groups depending on context.

When it's used to identify the target audience for something, like in the case of 'young adult fiction', it includes people from the ages of 12 to 18 (according to the American Library Association). In a more general sense, since it contains the world 'adult', it refers to the early years of adulthood, so from age 18 to about 35.

So since manga is a type of fiction it could just be included in the same category as young adult literature and share its demographics. Then again manga has its own age group categories (shounen/shojo, seinen/josei) so...

I have always been very picky about everything. Food, Friends, Games, and Anime.

I enjoy shows where the good guys win of course, but I hate "overly" good characters like "no, I will not kill because killing is bad, and I am good"
I also enjoy when they explain the motives behind the bad guys and why they do what they do to make it seem like they are justified or reasonable.

Basically, I like shows that make you think about the morality of the situation. A good guy might not be good, a bad guy might not be bad. If you're too late in figuring it out you're dead