The Rose of Versailles makes the argument that women’s lives and the romance genre can be radical and revolutionary—and, in fact, they were always central to revolutionary movements.
The author, illustrator, and character designer has created some of manga’s best-loved shoujo works by combining the aesthetics of fantasy aimed at young girls with complex themes.
Despite the lack of a love story between the protagonists, however, Buddy Daddies can still be read as a queer series. While queer relationships in mainstream media are often defined by romantic and sexual attraction, Buddy Daddies stands out because it examines queerplatonic relationships, which is rarely depicted even in LGBTQIA+ storytelling.
Leading up to Tears of the Kingdom’s release, many fans of the franchise held out hope that perhaps this game would be the one to break the franchise’s cycle of Link being the only playable character. But, unfortunately, this was not the case.
We spoke with Watari about his wonderful trash girl heroine Chitose, adapting The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, and his future plans.
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.
NEJIGANAMETA’s manga Ladies On Top is a cute, sexy josei romcom about the crushing pressures of heteronormative gender roles. I know, the emotional trauma inflicted by society’s narrow expectations about acceptable masculinity, femininity, and sexual desire doesn’t sound very cute or sexy, but trust me when I say Ladies On Top weaves these themes together effectively with its fluffy romance.
While Lum herself unquestionably remains an anime icon, looking to the different ways she’s depicted in the older anime versus the new can shed some light on changing attitudes to the genre and archetype she’s so nicely embodied over time.
Akane-Banashi, a manga about a young woman coming into prominence in the world of Rakugo, has one of the farthest possible premises from the shounen standard, and yet it uses the tropes of shounen effectively to convey the emotional stakes of the story.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure presents a very different attitude from the common story of patriarchal family lines. Not only does the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure conclude with Jolyne, the first female protagonist of the saga, but it’s clear that her very survival hinges on traits she inherited from her female predecessors.
Lolita fashion has been part of Japan’s rich alternative scene for over 40 years. It is a celebration of self and is intended to provide a ‘hyper-femme space’ away from the imposition of the male gaze. Not to be confused with Vladmir Nabakov’s (1955) Lolita, this movement actually uses the word “lolita” to mean frilly “French-inspired” fashion. A big influence on lolita fashion is kawaii and Japanese “girl culture” which is for anyone of all genders and ages.
Soaring Sky! PreCure is the first in the franchise to introduce a boy to the team, with Cure in his name, who isn’t a supporting character or sidekick. It’s been a long journey but this is significant for the show, and also for the genre as a whole, since Pretty Cure is now the dominant magical girl series for Japanese children. How did we get here?
In an exclusive interview with Anime Feminist, Sedgwick and Kutsuwada spoke about the process to create this project, how they approached diversity considering gender and racial themes, the sensibility of portraying real life trauma, and how their work has been a healing experience to both and readers alike.
More than three decades after its release, this sweet coming-of-age tale has not lost any of its charms, using its magical elements and the symbolism of the witch to weave a gentle but powerful story of female community and independence.
Rena and Shion originally appeared in direct counterpoint to the then-oversaturated moe tropes of the time; however, what began as subversion would become an archetype all of its own, for better or worse.
While still tangled in fan service and horny comedy, My Dress-Up Darling’s depictions of masculinity and the sexualization of its female characters are typically leaps and bounds above many of its genre counterparts.
Ai Yori Aoshi in many ways feels distinct from the tropes established in titles like Love Hina, despite being a contemporary of it. When revisiting it twenty years later, is this some diamond in the rough, or a relic of an era long past?
Both interpretations of Arete’s tale are valuable works rich with feminist themes, and looking at the different ways the different versions play them out gives insight into the potential strengths that different tones and narrative structures can hold.
We sat down with Ise at Otakon 2022 for a wide-ranging conversation. In the process, she touched on the increased pressure for voice actresses to be idols—an issue that also affects women in other public-facing professions—and how the slow change post-#MeToo (as well as #KuToo, a Japan-specific movement) has given more people space to come forward with their stories.
Regardless of how anyone feels about the Ghost Stories dub itself, its legacy is virtually inescapable, and it’s had a big impact on how we talk about localization and translation in anime, even to this day.
