Sometimes wrenching but ultimately inspiring, Chihayafuru’s first volume quietly challenges traditional gender norms and offers the hope of a supportive community to anyone who’s ever felt like they didn’t quite fit society’s gendered expectations of who they’re “supposed” to be.
Referring to a person who dresses and passes as a woman as a “trap” is extremely dangerous. The idea that trans women are traps implies that they cause harm to (cis) men and women, which perpetuates the fear-mongering that allows society at large to defend people who murder trans women.
Nobody can deny that Bruno is a very smart prince. But what truly makes him special is his hyper-awareness of the invisible forces that have allowed him to devote so much time to the pursuit of knowledge.
Yuri manga is an entire genre of comics about girls and women falling in love. So why is it so often overlooked by queer and feminist fans?
Over the past few years, josei manga has had a renaissance in the West as readers rediscover older titles and publishers release new ones. It’s a glorious turn of events for josei fans like myself and others, but it also begs a few questions. Namely, why is this happening now and not sooner?
ClassicaLoid may be first-and-foremost a wacky comedy, but it’s also proven itself adept at quietly challenging cultural norms about gender and sexuality. Guess it’s true you should never judge a book by its cover—or a series by its goofy premise.
Suburban horror plays on the anxieties of people living in these quiet communities, and as such, they tend to focus on the victimization of women. By making Kira’s first victim, Reimi Sugimoto, an active player in the story through the final act, Jojo’s reverses that victimization and turns into something far more empowering.
Murder and despair are normally nowhere near the magical girl archetype, but that’s changing in some recent and disturbing developments.
Because moe characters are courageous in their fear, I’m able to find inspiration in these girls who step out from hiding to stand victorious beside their friends or charge into battle for the sake of love.
Rei’s role as an object of straight male desire extends beyond examining Rei through the lens of feminist film theory to include Evangelion’s greater conversation with the psychological condition of the otaku audience.
Translators are human, and humans make mistakes. This post is not about translation errors. This is about the choice simulcasting companies currently make to leave problematic translations intact.
She and Her Cat -everything flows- is a refreshing take on the traditional female coming-of-age tale, avoiding the typical focus on cishet romance to instead focus on relationships between women.
The Nodame Standard is the romantic version of a great shounen rivalry: two characters who love each other pushing each other to achieve their goals.
The premiere of this year’s Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash has a scene which contains both blatant examples of the male gaze in action and a moment which challenges the male gaze more directly than you might expect.
In episode 8, “Girls’ Day Out,” the ClassicaLoid ladies take some time off to unwind and open up. With humor, subtlety, and a dash of vinegar, their time together becomes an exuberant exploration and celebration of what it means to be a girl—and their answer turns out to be a happily inclusive one.
BBK/BRNK is not my favourite anime of the year. It’s not even in my top five. But as far as I’m concerned it has the strongest premiere of any brand new series this year. Let’s look at why.
In many ways, Kiss Him, Not Me is a perfect series for a feminist blog to explore: it does some things very well, some things very badly and inspires strong, mixed feelings. This is especially true in the way it handles physical contact, consent, and assault.
I was expecting Your Name to be a fluffy, gender-bending rom-com, and I got that. What I wasn’t expecting, though, were the progressive and fantastical twists that breathed new life into the exhausted body-swapping subgenre.
In episode 7, Yuri on Ice directly connected Victor to famous gay skater Johnny Weir. Meanwhile, members of the anime fandom are digging their heels in about whether Victor throwing himself lips first at Yuri was actually gay.
One common element in series that successfully employ fanservice is consensuality. When fanservice is fun, all parties involved are enjoying themselves.
