AniFem Round-Up
Anime Feminist Recommendations of Winter 2025
Winter had some incredible work by prominent women in the industry, both on new projects and established franchises.
2025 Spring Anime Three-Episode Check-In
We checked in on our top shows of the current season. The result? Some fantastic coming-of-age stories about young girls and some very messy but compelling speculative fiction about decaying systems.
Chatty AF 228: ZENSHU Retrospective
AniFem’s shoujo isekai squad returns to talk about a love letter to the genre and early AOTY contender.
What’s your all-time favorite isekai?
We’ve got decades of options to choose from!
Beyond AniFem
Polygon Sold To Valnet And Hit With Mass Layoffs [Update] (Kotaku, Ethan Gach)
Valnet has been buying and gutting websites for several years now.
In a report earlier this year by TheWrap, many former contributors accused Valnet’s current media holdings of being exploitative content mills. “In journalism, there are really bad jobs. And then there is a place like Valnet,” a former Collider contributor told TheWrap. “[It’s] one of the worst places that I’ve ever worked and is probably one of the worst journalism publications I’ve ever seen.”
Valnet responded to the investigation by suing TheWrap for libel claiming the reporting was full of errors and had caused the company’s founder “tremendous emotional distress, affecting (among other things) his mood, temperament and his ability to sleep.”
The Vox Media Union blasted the sale and layoffs which occurred as it bargains over its next contract. “Arguably even more demoralizing is Vox Media’s decision to sell a lauded games website to a company known for alleged exploitative conditions and for devaluing rigorous journalism in favor of churning out content,” it wrote in a statement. “Vox Media’s lack of respect for Polygon’s reputation in games media, the hard work and passion of its staff, and the robust community of gamers and fans who support it could not be clearer.”
Band Producer Hiroki Matsumoto On Finding Ave Mujica’s Sound, In And Outside Of Anime (Paste, Elijah Gonzalez)
Discussing the genre influences on the show and its counterpart series.
Hiroki Matsumoto: If we consider MyGO!!!!! as “light,” then Ave Mujica’s music represents “darkness.” We centered our work around metal as the primary genre, crafting heavy sounds that suit the dark storyline.
That said, while we describe it as “darkness,” darkness isn’t inherently negative. Light exists because there is darkness, and the reverse is equally true—darkness exists because there is light. Everyone carries a darker side within them, so we hope people can enjoy Ave Mujica’s music without feeling too burdened.
Some audiences may be unfamiliar with metal as a genre, but thanks to the catchy melodies that transcend language barriers, I think many will find that it’s not as foreign as they might have thought once they give it a listen.
Also, I believe metal is the perfect genre for unleashing emotions. It was an ideal choice for expressing the heavy feelings portrayed in the anime.
Paste: The Ave Mujica anime seems to draw from an eclectic mixture of influences like stage plays, gothic aesthetics, and even Herman Hesse’s novel Demian. What were some of your inspirations for Ave Mujica’s music, whether that’s specific bands or anything else?
Matsumoto: Of course, there were songs and bands that served as references during the production process. Personally, I’ve been influenced by genres like symphonic metal, melodic speed metal, and metalcore—and I think those influences are reflected in Ave Mujica’s musical style.
It just so happened that my personal tastes aligned perfectly with the theme of Ave Mujica—[laughs]—I guess I was lucky in that sense.
BL Anime Studio Grizzly Dissolves (Anime News Network, Anita Tai)
The studio was founded in 2017.
According to a report in the National Tax Registry of Japan and Commercial Registry of Japan, MAPPA‘s sister BL animation studio GRIZZLY dissolved on February 25.
The studio produced the first film in the planned anime trilogy of Kou Yoneda‘s boys-love manga Twittering Birds Never Fly (Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai). Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai: The Clouds Gather, the first film in the anime franchise, opened in Japan in February 2020. Sentai Filmworks licensed the trilogy for release in English in August 2020. The company has removed the official press release announcing the licensing. HIDIVE is still streaming the film.
Japan opposition party submits selective surname bill for married couples (The Mainichi, Nao Ikeda and Hitoshi Sonobe)
The issue has been attracting increased public discussion; even Utada Hikaru made reference to it.
According to several senior DPFP officials, the party decided to submit a bill to the Diet during a party board meeting on April 28. While some party members have insisted expanding the use of maiden names instead of introducing a separate surname system, Hamaguchi stated, “I don’t think those voices are large within the party.” He suggested that the proposal to expand the use of maiden names is “not included” in the separate surname system advocated in the party’s campaign pledge for the lower house election last fall. Hamaguchi revealed that the DPFP bill is expected to be different from the CDP’s.
Nippon Ishin Secretary-General Ryohei Iwatani also suggested on April 30 that the party is set to submit a bill after the Golden Week holidays to legislate the use of maiden names as common names for business and other occasions.
Kiyomi Tsujimoto, head of the CDP’s headquarters for the realization of selective surnames for married couples, told reporters following the party’s submission of its own bill to the lower chamber, “This is one of the reforms that have long gone unrealized. I hope the Diet will deliberate on the issue of whether to continue to force people to decide whether to use common or different surnames, or allow them to select their surnames at their own will.”
‘Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX’ Director on Breaking Barriers With Prime Video’s Anime Powerhouse: ‘What Does It Mean for a Woman to Pilot a Gundam?’ (Variety, Naman Ramachandran)
He also namechecked Gunbuster as a model for the two leads’ relationship arc.
The series marks a significant departure for the franchise by featuring a female protagonist. “This time, we thought we could explore the new theme of ‘What does it mean for a woman to pilot a Gundam?’” Tsurumaki says.
The director says he was initially concerned that there would be “various objections” to this creative choice. “But contrary to my expectations, we received support not only from Yoji Enokido but also from Hideaki Anno,” he says. “Furthermore, after we developed our plan, other ‘Gundam’ works featuring female protagonists also emerged, which confirmed that our choice of a female protagonist was the right decision.”
Tsurumaki notes that bringing in Ikuto Yamashita for mechanical design was crucial to the project’s vision. “Yamashita-san is not just a designer; he approaches his work with the mindset of a science fiction author. His method of incorporating engineering principles and mechanical elements into his designs aligned perfectly with our intentions for this project,” he says. “In the history of Gundam design, there has been an evolution from Kunio Okawara’s tank-like foundation to Hajime Katoki’s addition of aircraft-like elements. Yamashita brings a new approach that strongly emphasizes ‘space’ consciousness.”
One of the most striking innovations Tsurumaki brings to the franchise is his approach to character. “The slapstick and nonsensical animation expressions that were characteristic of ‘FLCL’ are intentionally not implemented here, as we prioritized maintaining the nature of Gundam as a series,” he explains. “However, in terms of character development, particularly in the personalities of Machu and Comoli Harcourt, I believe we have incorporated elements reminiscent of ‘FLCL’ that differ from traditional Gundam series.”
You and Idol Precure♪ Episodes 1-12 Anime Review (Anime News Network, Rebecca Silverman)
The series faces tough competition from the last few strong series.
Episode eleven’s treatment of Uta trying to figure out what her dream for the future is does a great job of reminding us that Uta is only fourteen; she’s got plenty of time to figure things out. It’s also remarkable that Uta settles on “being Cure Idol” as her interim dream rather than declaring that she wants to be an idol as Uta Sakura. Many other idol-themed series would have taken that latter route, especially given Uta’s love of singing and her budding friendship with Kaito, a popular male idol. Kaito is representative of the hard work idols put in, and when Uta meets him, he’s taking a break. Although he doesn’t elaborate on this, just knowing it gives Uta something to think about, and we can extrapolate that it’s factoring into her thinking. She gives the impression of being shallow, which stymies these opening episodes, but I don’t believe that she actually is.
That I got that impression may also be because both Nana (Cure Wink) and Kokoro (Cure Kyun-Kyun) have less secure family lives, which influence the way they interact with the world. Nana’s parents are frequently busy, while Kokoro’s mother is widowed, and both girls have had to grow up a bit more quickly. Nana is also anxious in a very relatable way; her inability to forget (or let go of) past embarrassments holds her back in real ways. Her transformation into Cure Wink is a way for her to find power in herself; to become a stronger version of Nana Aokaze, one who can find the confidence to do what she wants to. While this occasionally takes a bizarre turn, as in episode nine, her ability to wink at her fears and problems enables her to become the person she wants to be. Similarly, Kokoro, who initially sees herself as nothing more than a Cure Idol and Cure Wink superfan, finds in her Cure Kyun-Kyun persona the strength to acknowledge her dreams and to head towards them. She realizes that she doesn’t have to remain on the sidelines if she doesn’t want to, giving herself grace.
The show also does a good job of acknowledging the pervasiveness of social media and smartphones. Purirun, the fairy from KirakiLand whose job is to find the Cures, consistently records them without permission, uploading videos to social media without their express consent. The show does note that this is a bad thing, but I do wish it had gone farther; the only punishment Purirun receives is that the queen gives her bad hair for a bit. It’s possible that later on, the work as actual idols that results from Purirun’s actions will get in the way of being Cures, but I still wish the privacy issues had been handled with a bit more gravity. We see the positives – work as idols, finding Meroron in episode twelve by following posts about sightings – but the negatives are also important.
VIDEO: The Animator Dormitory Project 2025 update.
VIDEO: Some suggestions for getting into the Precure franchise as a newbie.
VIDEO: Queer manga recommendations.
VIDEO: Brief history of shoujo magazine Betsuma.
AniFem Community
Much as we love the classics, there are quite a few modern greats too.
I concur! Twelve Kingdoms remains my favorite! That said, I really enjoy Vision of Escaflowne and Magic Knight Rayearth, and the second season of Fushigi Yuugi is viciously dark
— Lena of Lune 🌙🏳️⚧️🌈 (@lena.realitywerks.com) May 6, 2025 at 4:33 PM
The extremely depressing one
— AngelsArcanum/NabariNoBro (@angelsarcanum.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 7:05 AM
[image or embed]
Only seen Escaflowne once, so if I'm being honest
— Jetzero Infinity @ Snobby Black Weeb (@jetzeroinfinity.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 2:07 AM
[image or embed]
Comments are open! Please read our comments policy before joining the conversation and contact us if you have any problems.