Fantastical fiction is an ideal space for working through complex real-world issues using the frame of allegory, metaphor, and a little bit of magic. Yurikuma Arashi is one such series, a step detached from reality but with something to say about real-world problems, specifically about homophobia and the societal stigmas queer women face.
While both Nanachi and Mitty underwent the dramatic transformation from human to Hollow, they are constructed with perceived differences of ability. Ultimately, this leads to Mitty’s life being depicted as having far less value than Nanachi’s.
With a myriad of of erotic games in existence—many of them featuring questionable consent or sexual assault—both the writing and gameplay of Cute Demon Crashers refreshingly embody the core principles of sex positivity, making for a uniquely positive player experience.
There’s a lot to love about Code: Realize, but a major part of its appeal is its heroine. While many otome games have meek, passive heroines, Cardia grows into an active protagonist who takes control of her own narrative. A significant part of this transformation comes when she trades in her gown for pants, a rare and welcome move for female characters all across anime.
The first five episodes of Violet Evergarden depict Violet’s efforts to become a letter-writer known as a “Doll.” During this arc, Violet positively portrays the behaviours and difficulties commonly experienced by people with autism, and the way she becomes a Doll reflects an important idea in disabled activism: the social model of disability.
Experiencing abuse from a young age, lacking a healthy vision of how to love and be loved, can resonate through a victim’s life for years, even decades. This is explored thoughtfully and compassionately in the classic shoujo manga Fruits Basket.
Helter Skelter tells the horrendous tale of fashion model Liliko. While she’s initially introduced as a typical diva who takes advantage of others and seems utterly shallow., as the story goes on, the reader learns about both Liliko the monster and Liliko the pawn of the beauty-industrial complex.
Through its raw, emotional, sometimes-frustrating narrative, Fushigi Yugi uses isekai trappings and the relationship between Miaka and Yui to explore common sources of desire and anxiety for teenage girls along with their potential consequences, both positive and negative. By tapping into the mentality of its audience and providing reassurance in its conclusion, Fushigi Yugi serves the function of a modern fable or fairy tale.
There is a double standard at play: media targeted at or starring women is “for girls,” while media targeted at or starring men is “for everyone” (unless, of course, someone who isn’t a man is critical of it; then it wasn’t “for them”).
While there’s certainly a male audience for handsome dudes and fluffy mascots (like the guy writing this article), Sanrio Boys also wants to reach out to those conditioned to dislike cute things, directly addressing its male viewers through its musings on—and challenges of—traditional ideas about masculinity.
Since the rival trope goes back to fairy tales, it’s no surprise that Princess Tutu involves a pair of dueling princesses. But as the rules of the story break down, the designated rival becomes so much more: a strong and loving young woman, a good friend, and the heroine of her own story.
“Idols as hope” is an inspiring setup. That is, until it’s undercut by the notion of “idols as product.”
As someone who works in a mental health-adjacent field, the Flying Colors Foundation’s approach to mental health in the anime fandom seemed not only misguided, but also irresponsible and potentially dangerous.
As self-aware as Pop Team Epic is, the characterisation of its leading ladies serves as a sort of metatextual raised middle finger to the concept that girls should be cute rather than funny.
Because of the choices made by the 2003 Kino’s Journey adaptation, Kino becomes something incredibly rare: a nonbinary, AFAB anime character who isn’t a robot, alien, or sentient rock, but a human being.
Darling in the FRANXX purports to have something to say about sex, gender, and adolescence, but as illustrated in the “battle of the sexes” plotline in the episode “Boys x Girls,” thus far it only rehashes outdated stereotypes and an antiquated “boys will be boys” attitude.
Fumi Yoshinaga’s ongoing manga Ōoku: The Inner Chambers traces the events of medieval Japanese history with one big twist: the Redface Pox has killed most of the men in Edo, leaving women with the power of the shogunate.
Hyouka’s “normalcy” helped it present a very grounded take on high school life, carefully depicting the flaws and struggles of its main characters without reducing them to archetypes.
The inherent transphobia written into Erica’s character is reflective of Japanese society, as conformity is part of the social constructs within the country itself. Erica is the product of misinformation about lifestyles that were not visible, and still remain somewhat invisible, in a conservative society.
My Hero Academia is one of my favorite series in recent years. Regrettably, though, it’s not entirely free of some of the most frustrating (and typical) shounen stereotypes that frequently undermine its strong female cast.
