Shounen vs Shoujo - Popularity Contest?

I was browsing around on some anime review sites today and I came across a commenter who quite rudely disagreed with a review of Kodomo no Omocha, and as much as said right out that shoujo series are crap. The reason shoujo series are crap? Because they don't get as big a budget as shounen series, and because shounen series are more popular. I'm not sure which is the cause and which is the effect in his argument, because he kept changing his position. Sometimes it was 'because shoujo series are crap, they don't get a big budget and aren't as popular with fans'. Other times it was 'shoujo series are crap because they don't get a big budget, and the fact that they aren't popular is proof that they suck'. Attempts to tell this guy that budget and popularity don't necessarily make a good anime series were ignored as the poor sucker kept turning his argument around and re-wording it as if hoping it'd somehow make sense if he did this often enough. He also said that because it took longer for shoujo series to be licensed, this also meant that they were crap.

I think we can extract something from this mess of an argument. Putting aside Kodomo no Omocha, let's look at shoujo series for a second. It's kind of true: a shoujo series, even if it's popular with its demographic, will often take a while to get licensed (if it ever does), while a popular shounen series will often get snatched up right away. I don't think this is necessarily a case of 'shounen = better than shoujo'. Shounen has as much crap as shoujo, and a series one person thinks is garbage might be another person's favorite. Deciding on a 'good' anime series is pretty subjective.

Personally, I think it's just what sells over here. Female fanbases may be increasing in size, but what appeals to female anime fans in Japan isn't necessarily what appeals to female anime fans here. A lot more of us are more interested in Fullmetal Alchemist or Naruto than Vampire Knight or Peach Girl. A popular shoujo series can still turn heads (look at Fruits Basket, for example), but the elements of shounen appeal to a wider range over here - and possibly over there as well. The willingness to cross this so-called 'gender barrier' (shounen vs shoujo) is one-sided. Girls do want to see kickass fights, badass characters and crude humor. However, not many guys want to see beautiful vampires and tense emotional dilemnas (and if they do, they are scared to death of admitting it). Quite often they won't even glance at a series twice if it's the slightest bit 'girly', even if it's a work of genius. It's "unmanly", or something. Hence why shounen tends to sell better. Not because Hunter X Hunter is a better anime series than Princess Tutu.

It's not. Trust me.