The pairing of a meek young woman with a self-assured and wealthy man is common in shoujo manga, sometimes leading to depictions of abusive or unhealthy relationships that are tacitly treated as acceptable by the story and audience. It’s worth examining how The Ancient Magus’ Bride does (or doesn’t) fall into these patterns.
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.
I love many things about being a geek: reading or watching different media, researching their histories, and talking to others about it. These activities are viewed as essential to being a geek. But replace the word ‘“geek” with the word “autistic,” and suddenly all the traits that were so readily accepted get read as strange and negative.
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.
When this season started out, Clean Freak! Aoyama kun had a huge uphill battle to win my respect. But it won me over. Aoyama-kun is good. And it’s stayed good, mostly due to the compassion it shows for its ever-expanding ensemble cast.
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.
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.
