My Fave Is Problematic: Stop!! Hibari-Kun!
The dichotomy of Hibari as both a progressive trans narrative and an ignorant product of its time showcases Japan’s complicated relationship with trans women and other marginalized groups.
My Fave is Problematic Category
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My Fave is Problematic: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
As I took in each new part and new Jojo, I became increasingly invested in the story and characters, and when Stone Ocean was finally adapted, Jolyne was everything I’d hoped for and then some; however, because the source manga has been around since the late 1980’s, some parts, particularly early on, haven’t exactly aged well. It’s too big a franchise to cover in every detail here, but its biggest issues feel worth discussing alongside its strengths.
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My Fave is Problematic: Golden Boy
Although Kintaro’s respect for women toes (and occasionally crosses) the line into objectification and some of them get more respectful treatment than others, the series overall gives these female characters more agency and regard than other anime of the same genre.
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My Fave is Problematic: Bleach
Bleach means quite a lot to me. It’s the foundation for so much of my work as an artist and writer that breaking it down into its smaller parts would be very difficult. Reading it carried me through high school as a deeply insecure, deeply in-the-closet teenager, and even through early college when the series ended in 2015.
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My Fave is Problematic: Samurai Flamenco
No one has ever asked whether Samurai Flamenco is good, because the question is a loud and simultaneous “no” and “yes.” But the question of whether it “counts” as queer romance has waged on for eight exhausting years now. Incidentally: yes, it does.
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My Fave is Problematic: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
From 2007 to 2011 or so, Kyoto Animation’s multimedia juggernaut dominated most aspects of Western anime fandom. Whether getting stormed by a “Hare Hare Yukai” flash mob at a con or debating the “correct” viewing order online, you couldn’t escape the series’ sizable cult of personality. When watched today, it’s still easy to see why the small show left such a big impact. Yet for all of its still-endearing charms, Haruhi is plagued by foundational cracks that consistently threaten to undermine its core strengths.
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My Fave is Problematic: Yu Yu Hakusho
The lovable characters have kept me hooked on Yu Yu Hakusho for the past 18 years, in addition to the “fight your enemies head on and defeat them through raw power and sheer force of will” storyline that will always be a guilty pleasure of mine. Although these elements make it worth the rewatch even now, my love for this anime hasn’t completely blinded me to its flaws. Yu Yu Hakusho, unfortunately, overtly and subtly fails its female characters time and again.
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My Fave is Problematic: Kakegurui
It soon becomes clear that within Hyakkaou Academy, it’s the women who get shit done. That was where I found what had first caught my interest in the first place: the women of Kakegurui.
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My Fave is Problematic: Free!
One of the biggest gripes I have now with Free! is the amount of fanservice the show throws at you. While the perfectly sculpted muscles of the main male cast is what led to the show’s boom in popularity, it has also caused harm for the show.
Despite its flaws, Free! remains close to my heart as a show full of relatable and raw emotions. There’s been times where I’ve shed tears along with the characters on screen, and also deeply sympathized with their hardships. -
My Fave is Problematic: Phantom Thief Jeanne
As Jeanne, Maron steals paintings possessed by demons trying to steal the beauty of human hearts, weaken God, and strengthen the Demon Lord. By doing so, Maron seals the demons away, restores the affected humans to normal, and leaves a new painting of an angel in its place. This premise intrigued me because the magical girl was a phantom thief, rather than the standard “magical warrior” or “witch.”
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My Fave is Problematic: Attack on Titan
As it stands, no matter how Attack on Titan ends, its legacy will be a divisive one: a lauded masterpiece to some and despised propaganda piece to others. However, there is a strong argument to be made that Attack on Titan is a far more nuanced tale than its most vehement critics accuse it of being.
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My Fave is Problematic: Nobunagun
You never know when a series you watch on a whim will turn out to be one of your favorites. That’s how I discovered Nobunagun: I just plopped it onto my Crunchyroll queue after seeing my favorite voice actress, Asakawa Yuu, tweeting about it.
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My Fave is Problematic: Mad Bull 34
Mad Bull 34 cranks up the absurd action of buddy-cop movies in a way only the animated medium can. But the series and buddy-cop movies in general have a serious flaw: the glorification of police officers who circumvent the rules, as well as police brutality in general.
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My Fave Is Problematic: Scum’s Wish
What truly sold me on Scum’s Wish was that it was a romance that didn’t play by the rules. The series promises sex drama instead of sex comedy, a romance where people are flawed, ugly, disappointing creatures rather than glossy cartoon stereotypes.
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My Fave is Problematic: The Future Diary
The Future Diary comes with a laundry list of caveats, especially regarding how it depicts women, LGBTQ+ characters, and sexual violence… but there’s just something about its over-the-top camp aesthetic and murderous heroine that really appeals to me.
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My Fave is Problematic: Persona 4
No video game has ever hit me quite as hard as Persona 4 did. From Chie Satonaka’s very first moment on-screen, I related to everything about her.
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My Fave is Problematic: Dragon Ball
Back when I could barely read and was living in the skin of my anime heroes, sexist tropes in anime never really crossed my mind. It was possibly that childish thinking that convinced me Dragon Ball was made for me.
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My Fave is Problematic: Kill la Kill
I discovered Kill la Kill when a PowerPoint showed up on my Tumblr dash arguing that it was a feminist anime and people should give it a chance. Since I was a feminist, I figured I could give my verdict on whether the anime was feminist or not—although in hindsight, that wasn’t the question I should’ve been asking.
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My Fave is Problematic: Fushigi Yugi
Full of big adventure and bigger emotions, Fushigi Yugi scratched an itch I hadn’t even known I had: for fantastical, adventure-driven comics and TV shows that placed as much focus on character relationships and emotional turmoil as they did on action and intrigue, and treated those feelings not only with respect, but as powerful forces essential to the plot.
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My Fave is Problematic: Kare Kano
Kare Kano starts off as a light, funny, and typical “girl-meets-boy” shoujo series, but it quickly evolves into a dark, emotionally gut-wrenching tale that delves into discussions and depictions of child abuse, suicide, sexual assault, self-harm, mental illness, bullying, and other themes that I could very much—albeit uncomfortably—relate to.
