AniFem Round-Up
Akiko Higashimura and the art of shoujo manga writing
Higashimura is probably best known in English for Princess Jellyfish and her refreshing range of female character designs–and we’ve only seen a fraction of her full body of work.
Going Beyond Severance: Metaphorical and literal queerness in Yurikuma Arashi
Ten years ago, Yurikuma used its story of girls, bears, and exclusion ceremonies to explore the perceived boundaries of “acceptable” desire between young women.
What’s your most interesting tape/DVD of an out-of-print anime?
Media preservation is important, kids!
Beyond AniFem
Rock is a Lady’s Modesty Director Shinya Watada and the Rise of Girl Bands (Anime News Network, Lynzee Loveridge)
A spoiler-free interview on the currently-airing series.
Recently, we’ve seen more anime focusing on girls in rock bands. Why do you think these types of stories appeal to audiences now?
WATADA: Looking at trends in Japan, I think we are seeing a shift from the idol-centric smartphone game content of the 2010s, blending with the influence of K-ON! and Bocchi the Rock!—outstanding examples of Kirara-style anime. This fusion has helped establish the band anime genre as something fresh and more evolved.
Beyond that, I think the themes in girls’ rock band stories—things like “admiration” and “sparkle,” but also “struggle,” “grief,” and “resistance”—speak to today’s audiences, who are navigating an unstable world and society. The raw power and intensity of rock music seem to resonate deeply with the emotional needs of viewers in this era.
Can you talk about music’s role in Otoha and Lilisa’s sense of self?
WATADA: We received a general outline from the original creator, Mr. Fukuda, about the pasts of Lilisa and Otoha (and their families), particularly as it relates to music. Our anime production is based on that information. However, since some of that content would count as spoilers, I cannot go into too much detail at this point.
What I can say is that, for both of them, music represents a moment where they can be free from outside interference and fully themselves. It is a pure expression of their inner drive, a time when they can truly feel like who they are. That mutual resonance between them elevates them to something even greater—and that is what makes their bond so special.
Rock is a Lady’s Modesty presents an interesting idea of what it means to be a “lady” in a traditional versus modern sense. Can you talk about how these ideas are presented in the anime?
WATADA: From a production standpoint, we try to stay true to the values and perspectives already presented in the original manga. So, we did not make any major changes when adapting it into anime.
That said, the image of a “lady” as envisioned by Oshin Girls’ Academy, where Lilisa attends, is certainly very old-fashioned by modern Japanese standards. Still, globally speaking, Japan does not have a particularly high standing in terms of gender equality. For Lilisa, who moved from poverty into the upper class, that sharp contrast in environment reflects the social gap she experiences.
It is similar to the kind of societal friction she and her bandmates face by choosing to be an instrumental rock band. Lilisa who tries to be the “lady” her mother wants her to be, and the Lilisa who cannot lie to rock music—these two aspects are both part of her. I see her as a symbol of the strength of modern women who live boldly and, at times, cunningly within today’s society.
As the game industry cuts back, accessibility is feeling the impact (The Verge, Geoffrey Bunting)
There have been some small recent victories, including plans to include accessibility tags on the Nintendo storefront.
“People in the accessibility community are tired,” Kaemsi says, summing up how many speaking to The Verge feel. Nor does it look to be improving in 2025. As relations fray between Donald Trump’s government and other nations, with many countries issuing travel advisories to the US, “it’s getting harder and harder to even potentially cross the border,” Saylor, who lives in Canada, says. “90 percent of my work was in the US and if that’s gone, I don’t know what that means for me going forward.”
Similarly, with so much of the gaming industry tied to the US, federal-level attacks on anything resembling inclusion in the name of pushing back against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies (DEI) are making it dangerous for many advocates to continue fighting for inclusivity.
A side effect of so many consultants leaving the industry is that they’re also taking much of their knowledge with them. While many studios are maintaining features implemented in previous games, Dale says “knowledge of why those features are implemented, and why they’re handled in a specific way, is being lost.”
‘Zainichi’ Koreans in Kyoto, Kanagawa prefs. enjoy exchange in face of hate speech, poverty (The Mainichi, Yoshiya Goto)
Zainichi Koreans have been a frequent target of scapegoating going back at least a century.
On May 21, elderly Korean women from both regions who have lived through hardship, facing discrimination and poverty, interacted with each other beyond their local communities and shared moments of happiness. The mutual visitation program started in 2023, when a group of Zainichi residents from Sakuramoto visited Utoro, and the latest event marked the second of its kind.
In Utoro, a 22-year-old man set fire to a building in the Korean settlement in 2021. The arsonist was quoted as saying that the attack “was aimed at terrifying Zainichi Koreans.” Meanwhile, Sakuramoto has also been targeted in hate speech rallies. In 2020, the Kawasaki municipal Fureai-Kan hall, a regional multicultural inclusivity promotion facility, received a postcard threatening to kill Zainichi Koreans.
During the latest event, women from both Utoro and Sakuramoto recounted their tumultuous lives. Seck Ilboon, a 94-year-old resident of Sakuramoto, said that after her husband’s death she continued to work until 86 to make a living. She then came across “Toraji no kai,” a group of senior Zainichi residents in Sakuramoto. Through the group’s activities, she sang and danced to Korean folk songs alongside fellow Zainichi residents of her generation, and petitioned the Kawasaki Municipal Assembly for an ordinance to ban hate speech, which was later introduced. She has also been teaching how to prepare kimchi at a local elementary school. “At 94, I find myself truly happy,” she said.
Chiba’s Afghan community blooms as more move overseas (The Asahi Shimbun, Tatsuya Sato)
The growing community has faced hurdles, as there aren’t many places where working adults can study and strengthen their Japanese language skills.
Tomoko Fukuda, an associate professor of global sociology at Chiba University well-versed in economic activities of immigrants, said the foundations for what would grow into Yotsukaido’s Afghan community were laid in the 1980s.
The city’s lower land prices and easy accessibility via an expressway encouraged many auto dismantlers to relocate there from Tokyo where real estate was already notoriously expensive.
Some entrepreneurs in Afghanistan were starting businesses importing and selling used parts from Japanese cars around the same time.
As Afghanistan’s civil war intensified in the 1990s, a growing number of citizens began seeking new lives abroad, with Japan being one possible option.
Yotsukaido is said to have been singled out because the concentration of vehicle dismantlers in the Japanese municipality made it an ideal place to buy in auto components.
More recently, the city’s Afghan population has risen 1.7-fold since the Islamist extremist group the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021 after all U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan.
Why Can’t Hentai Go Legit? (Close All Tabs, KQED)
This episode includes a transcript at the source link.
Hentai, sexually explicit Japanese animation (anime) and comics (manga), is a genre that’s been criticized for depicting violent or ethically questionable scenarios. But some fans also see it as a space for expanding the boundaries of art, culture, and sexuality in a way that reverberates beyond its status as a niche subculture. In this episode, Morgan talks with anime marketer Drea Ramirez about how discovering hentai helped her explore her own sexual identity — and how today’s streaming platforms are stifling weirder, more experimental forms of animation. We’ll also hear from Jacob Grady, CEO of the hentai manga site Fakku, about the challenges of running a licensed and legal business in the face of content piracy, and how anti-trafficking laws like SESTA and FOSTA can make it harder for hentai artists to make a living.
The Best Queer Anime to Watch Right Now, From Romance to Mecha (Them, Kazuma Hashimoto)
It’s just so nice to see people besides us who remember Stars Align.
Once hard to find, even in specific circles, queer anime has now become part of the mainstream. From the 1980s to the 2020s, anime fans are seeing more and more LGBTQ+ representation arise in a variety of ways, whether its the production of new series or the introduction of queer elements to existing ones. Even series like Mobile Suit Gundam have embraced overtly queer characters, and plenty of queer anime is set to release in the coming years. But while you’re waiting for adaptations of highly lauded works like The Summer Hikaru Died, or just want to explore queer anime for yourself, we’ve written a list of 11 titles you should check out for yourself.
As with any list, please consider this one just a starting point for your own discovery. These are just a few recommendations we have, and there are plenty of other queer anime you can check out as you get deeper into the world — and I’d encourage you to do so! Not all experiences are one size fits all, much like the anime on this list. But if you’re looking to get started, check out the curated selections below ranging from classics like Revolutionary Girl Utena to some deeper cuts.
VIDEO: Portrayals of adult women in anime and manga, from tired archetypes to vibrant gems (and the demographic connection).
VIDEO: Dissecting the failings of the most recent Crunchyroll Awards.
VIDEO: On revolution-minded manga Kiichi! and its sequel.
SKEET: Newly-announced publisher BluPetal plans to focus on licensing BL, yuri, Teen Love, shoujosei, and geikomi titles.
A New English Manga Publisher named BluPetal was revealed today: • Made up of former Crunchyroll, Seven Seas, VIZ, Anime Trending, the OG Yaoi Crate, Kodansha, Activision, Roku, Panasonic, Media Do employees • This pub will focus on printing BL, TL, Yuri, Shoujosei, & Gei Komi titles #MangaNews
— MangaAlerts (@mangaalerts.com) May 21, 2025 at 12:00 PM
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AniFem Community
Seeing everyone’s photos this week has been especially cool!
This JP DVD of Please Save My Earth, which has an alternate ending to the OVA series and several music videos on it.
— Otacat (@otacat.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 12:31 AM
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Does it count if we’re not even sure it made it to retail? There is so, so much to be said about Dream Dimension Hunter Fandora, its creators, and its mysterious English release that probably didn’t officially happen. Pretty sure I used up all my luck for the rest of my life when I found it.
— vi (@v-i.dev) May 28, 2025 at 12:15 AM
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