Since her debut over 20 years ago with I.O.N., Arina Tanemura’s name has been synonymous with shojo manga. AniFem staffer Caitlin Moore sat down with her at AnimeFest to talk about her past and current projects.
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.
Kaze Hikaru follows Sei, who disguises herself as a boy in order to become a warrior. Determined to prove she’s capable of a dangerous role that society said women were unfit to have, the fact that Sei both succeeds in this role and gains supportive allies implicitly conveys the narrative’s approval of her “unfeminine” lifestyle.
By primarily telling events from Kyoko’s point of view, Skip Beat! has often conformed to the pattern of telling a “single story.” However, in Volumes 37 and 38, the manga’s perspective shifts in a big way, giving readers an unexpected glimpse of Kyoko’s mom Saena through her own eyes.
In many ways, Kiss Him, Not Me is a perfect series for a feminist blog to explore: it does some things very well, some things very badly and inspires strong, mixed feelings. This is especially true in the way it handles physical contact, consent, and assault.
