When I watch these heroes-in-training attend U.A. High and compete in an elaborate sports competition, I’m much more impressed with its commentary on the inequality sports competitions breed, particularly in regard to gender.
No media exists in a vacuum, and justifying a trope doesn’t stop it from playing into broader harmful trends.
Kaze Hikaru follows Sei, who disguises herself as a boy in order to become a warrior. Determined to prove she’s capable of a dangerous role that society said women were unfit to have, the fact that Sei both succeeds in this role and gains supportive allies implicitly conveys the narrative’s approval of her “unfeminine” lifestyle.
ToraDora! tells a story about the bizarre tangled intricacies of teenage love. It also tells a story about how everyone has issues, inner turmoil, and inner selves that they keep concealed, usually with the intention of preserving a certain image of themselves for the people around them.
By primarily telling events from Kyoko’s point of view, Skip Beat! has often conformed to the pattern of telling a “single story.” However, in Volumes 37 and 38, the manga’s perspective shifts in a big way, giving readers an unexpected glimpse of Kyoko’s mom Saena through her own eyes.
Many of Princess Principal’s stories discuss the sharp social and economic divisions present in its world. But it’s the upbeat and inspiring Episode 7 that offers the show’s most nuanced depiction of inequality to date, as our central cast must acknowledge their own privilege—and find a better way forward.
In the realm of josei manga, Everyone’s Getting Married tries to “have it all” by combining the drama of a romance novel with some surprisingly modern and feminist takes on its heroine’s life choices and the modern Japanese workplace to create something entirely new.
For a movie to appeal to me as a woman, female characters had to be more than just caricatures and stereotypes. They had to make mistakes and learn from them; they had to have bad hair days. I think that’s why I fell deeply in love with Princess Mononoke when I first saw Lady Eboshi.
The success of My Hero Academia can be attributed to many factors, but most prominent among them, at least to me, has been Horikoshi’s ability to break from traditional narratives to create a truly unique story. One such example is in his handling of female characters in that shounen staple: the tournament arc.
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.
At a time when most female characters on television were barely allowed to have careers, Speed Racer‘s Trixie was an action star in her own right, a racing professional and hero on equal footing with the male characters.
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.
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.
Trigun is difficult to fit into a genre, so it’s fitting that the women in this singular series can’t be neatly categorized either.
Yuri!!! On ICE might’ve been one of the best things about 2016. It engaged viewers, offered one of the most positive portrayals of a queer relationship I’ve ever seen in anime, and—most importantly—offered me a chance to talk about Yamamoto Sayo, a director whose works have until now struggled to gain attention despite their high quality.
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.
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.
If most giant robot anime are based on masculine stereotypes, Patlabor is based on a feminine one.
