A look into feminism in anime, and how it related to Japanese culture.

2.  Like any mass media product, anime has
widespread cultural impact, and as such
needs to be evaluated critically for its
gender dynamics
 Most anime, percentage-wise, is
consumed by children, making negative
gender stereotypes especially damaging

3.  Japanese women, more-so than in first
world countries, are marginalized in the
workplace
 Most Japanese women are part-time
workers or stay-at-home mothers, despite
being highly educated
 Having a salaryman husband is key

4.  OL (Office Lady) culture is a good
example of how Japan treats its female
professionals
 Patriarchal ideals are still strong in Japan,
specifically for child-care

5.  Fanservice girl: no utility beyond partial
nudity
Examples: Queen's Blade, Kanokon, Kiss x Sis, harem shows in general
Shows objectification, relative worth of females

6.  The mother: Nags the protagonist, then
makes him dinner.
Examples: Chi Chi from DBZ, Hiroko from Hajime no Ippo, many other shonen
moms
Reflects Japanese values of housewives

7.  The objective: Save her and complete
your quest!
Examples: Yuria from Hokuto no Ken, Holly from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Nico Robin during
Enies Lobby in One Piece, Rukia during the Soul Society Arc in Bleach
Standard damsel in distress trope, but the key here is when formerly useful characters become
useless so they can be saved

8.  Most of my examples are from Shonen,
because it's emblematic of the problems
in the genre as a whole, and by far the
biggest market in the anime industry
 Shojo, Seinen and Josei have their own
problems, which I will detail on the next
slides.

9.  While male role-models in Shonen may
want to rule the world, become the
strongest or become rich, girls just want
Senpai to notice them.
This gives a young, impressionable girls a warped perspective of what they should
be aiming for in their lives, for someone else to validate them.
While this is also not exclusive to anime/manga, it's particularly pernicious with series
meant for young girls

10.  Seinen series rarely have any women at
all, especially in major roles.
This is reflective of the trend of increasing singleness among middle-aged
Japanese men; they don't have women in their lives and don't want them in
their fiction either.

11.  Josei manga, intended for adult women,
does generally have gender-positive
characters and stories. However, owing
to its target audience, it sells far less than
all other types of manga.
Recommendations: Chihayafuru, Nodame Cantabile,
Gokusen

12.  Male characters in anime are typically
either very weak-willed or stereotypical
manly men, reinforcing typical gender
stereotypes.
 These are less damaging, overall, than
the negative female stereotypes,
because the male characters are
generally successful heroes.

13.  Madoka Magica has multitudes of strong
female characters, but the most
interesting in terms of gender dynamics is
Madoka’s stay-at-home father.
 The Madoka universe is filled with unreal
buildings, magic, and somehow the most
unrealistic thing is Madoka’s dad.

14.  For the first 5 parts, most of the story of
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is about men
saving women.
 Part 6 is about a woman saving herself.
This part was widely critically acclaimed,
but the author fought with editorial over
it and eventually moved magazines as a
result of the disputes.

15.  A series about a young female tennis
player, this manga is all about feminine
self-sacrifice.
 While it’s hard to clarify without deep
spoilers, this is an example of a truly
realistic (flawed, but still good)
independent female character.

16.  Because Japan is a male-centric society,
anime simply reflects what Japan is like.
 Some media, like the works of Studio
Ghibli have decent feminist material, but
they're few and far between.
 Japanese culture has to change for
anime to change, so it will take a long
time.