In Sailor Moon S and Revolutionary Girl Utena, butchness is vital fluidity
Utena and Haruka are butch female characters who are treated positively and hold center stage in their narratives, making them noteworthy even after all this time.
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The Real Indians of Victorian Britain: Black Butler and the representation of South Asian histories
The depiction of Soma and Agni is significant, as it reflects the presence of Indian culture in 1880s Britain, representing historical reality that is often overlooked in popular culture. However, as in anime media more generally, it’s worth unpacking whether these two stand as strong examples of Indian representation or instead easy background gag characters.
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No Gunpla Girls Allowed: How Gundam Build Fighters fails its female cast
In a world where high-tech Gunpla battles reign supreme, anyone can build a Gunpla model kit and become a Gundam Battle champion… in theory. In practice, Build Fighters and its sequel end up undermining that message through the treatment of their female cast, and accidentally saying a lot about trends in shounen and the Gundam franchise in the process.
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Supporting Women’s Wrongs (Just Not Like That): Fandom misogyny and the flawed women of NANA
The need for well-written female characters is supposedly understood and advocated for in fandom spaces, but the moment these female characters show any unfavorable attributes or make mistakes, they are rarely given the same grace as male characters. The complicated women of NANA prove that there’s a limit to how flawed a female character can be before she’s no longer palatable to readers.
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BanG Dream! It’s MyGo!!!!!, Ave Mujica, and the Doll in Asian Feminism
Bang Dream: It’s My Go!!!!! and Ave Mujica challenge overly simple distinctions between fake and real that imagine Asian girls as doll-like constructs of femininity and marginalize trans women.
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2025 Spring Anime Three-Episode Check-In
Spring has brought us some powerful stories about girls growing up and compelling-but-fraught speculative fiction about decaying systems.
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How Ascendance of a Bookworm depicts the challenges and triumphs of chronic illness
Ascendence of a Bookworm depicts both the societal forces shaping the lives of people with chronic illness and how accessible community can help ameliorate them.
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2025 Spring Premiere Digest
Spring brings a crop of nostalgic revivals, from aesthetic throwbacks to reinventions of classic franchises.
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2025 Spring Premiere Reviews
All the spring premiere reviews in one easy-to-find place. We’ll update the chart as new series become available, so be sure to check back in the coming days for more!
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Folktales, gender and transformation in Where the Wild Ladies Are
Aoko Matsuda’s award-winning folklore collection, Where the Wild Ladies Are, is a feminist retelling of traditional Japanese ghost stories. Transformation is key throughout the collection, both to the characters’ journeys and to Aoko’s commentary on ancient and modern gender expectations.
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How women in The Apothecary Diaries navigate patriarchy and class
While some women do their best to play by the rules, others find loopholes in social customs through which they can enact a semblance of autonomy. However, doing so is extremely risky, especially for those lower on the social ladder.
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Girl Power and Guinea Pigs: Pui Pui Molcar through the lens of feminist media tests
Is a children’s TV show about guinea pigs worth delving into for feminist analysis? AJ thinks so.
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Wild Women and Iron Will: The battle for nature in Princess Mononoke
Princess Mononoke, with its focus on women in conflict, winds up reflecting an archetypal struggle between the “civilized” woman and the inner wild self.
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The business and politics of magic in Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc
When money is a key motivation, ethics and the greater good are quickly abandoned. This theme is apparent in Season 1 of the anime, bubbling away ever-present in the background as Kana learns the magical girl trade, but comes to the forefront in subsequent material when the manga really starts to dig into the politics of the magical girl business.
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Reading Violet Evergarden as an autistic woman
While it’s not necessarily overtly intended, one reading of Violet Evergarden is that the series explores the notion that the ways that empathy can be expressed by neurodivergent women are not inferior to those expressed by neurotypical individuals.
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2025 Winter Anime Three-Episode Check-In
Happy new year of anime! The stars of this season are stories about girls and women facing down crushing expectations and refusing to let go.
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Long Live the Queen: How gender defines the antagonist of Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail
Sphene thematically reflects previous antagonists, but the additional context of the setting’s gender roles (and the player’s own presumed awareness of gendered roles in real history) reframe her character and refresh the villain formula.
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2025 Winter Premiere Digest
The new year starts strong with multiple promising shoujo and the return of a beloved (by us) female director.
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2025 Winter Premiere Reviews
All the winter premiere reviews in one easy-to-find place. We’ll update the chart as new series become available, so be sure to check back in the coming days for more!
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Embracing darkness and exploring the female gaze in After God
After God is a wonderful example of how female characters in shounen can go beyond simplistic portrayals of strength and beauty, exploring the darker and more complex aspects of human emotions and identity–without disappearing from the narrative or being made an object.
