AniFem Round-Up
I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History – Episode 1
It’s fun to see a reincarnated villainess who’s downright excited to lean into evil scheming and revenge.
Tying the Knot With an Amagami Sister – Episode 1
We have Love Hina at home.
This is “a magical girl fangirl is better suited to playing the villain” as filtered through a shoujo lens, and it’s pure joy.
It’s stylish and grounded by a great heroine; whether you can get through the sexual violence will end up being the deciding factor.
Sweet and well-made if a bit overly polished.
365 Days to the Wedding – Episode 1
A cute, classic fake dating caper with room for some deeper social commentary.
Kinokoinu – Mushroom Pup – Episode 1
An unexpectedly raw and hard-hitting depiction of grieving a pet.
Definitely proves there are no ethical billionaires, but seems to expect you to side with the trillionaire-aspiring protagonists.
Goodbye, Dragon Life – Episode 1
Dragons are awesome! This show, starring a reincarnated dragon, makes paste look exciting.
How I Attended an All-Guys Mixer – Episode 1
Pretty promising, but too soon to call how well it’ll thread the needle joking about drag, attraction, and Gender.
Negative Positive Angler – Episode 1
Dives in deep on illness and suicide without feeling too bleak, and might just thread the needle if you’re down for some fishing.
You Are Ms. Servant – Episode 1
The phrase “unbearably condescending” comes to mind.
The leads and the goofs of this premiere still hit for new viewers after 35 years.
Mecha-Ude: Mechanical Arms – Episode 1
It’s hard not to root for a crowdfunded-project-turned-big from a female director.
The Healer Who Was Banished From His Party, Is, in Fact, the Strongest – Episode 1
Tepid on the surface and bland as can be, this premiere invites questions about the overall “I’m secretly the strongest” subset of fantasy narratives and its implications.
The Stories of Girls Who Couldn’t Be Magicians – Episode 1
This has all the makings of a solid magic school story for older kids.
Orb: On the Movements of the Earth – Episodes 1-2
An intense and affecting bit of historical fiction.
Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. – Episode 1
It’s fantastic to see adult magical girls, though the execution is somewhat middle-of-the-road.
Puniru is a Kawaii Slime – Episode 1
The central joke is “What if your imaginary friend grew boobs to try and keep your attention in middle school (but doesn’t really get what that means).” It is….uncomfortable.
Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii – Episode 1
The epitome of decadent, compulsively edible garbage.
This show deeply, desperately wants you to believe it’s not going to get weird with the premise. The jury is still out.
What’s your favorite memory of watching anime in a group?
Whether it’s in a theater or a living room.
Beyond AniFem
Will Ghost of Yōtei Tackle the History of Ainu Discrimination? (Unseen Japan, Alyssa Pearl Fusek)
Discrimination against the Ainu people continues up to the present day.
Right away, we hit a stumbling block with the game’s title. First off, it’s inaccurate relative to the time period. The mountain in question wouldn’t be renamed Yōtei until the 1960s.
But this inaccuracy is intentional, right? Ainu researcher Tangiku Itsuji thinks so. He posted on X/Twitter his conviction that Mt. Yōtei was called Machineshir, or “female mountain” by the Ainu.
To the Yamato Japanese, Machineshir was Kouhou Yoteizan or Shiribeshi. Tangiku speculates the usage of Yōtei in the title represents the days of early contact between the Ainu and Japanese and the strict assimilation policies during the Meiji period, forgoing everything beforehand. While he sees this as a dig at colonialism, the name is most likely for marketing purposes.
The appearance of the Ezo wolf in the trailer is also telling. The Ezo or Hokkaido wolf, declared extinct in 1889, called Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands home. The Ainu called the wolf horkew kamuy (howling or hunting god) and treated it with great respect. Ainu hunters would leave part of their kills for the wolves, and occasionally sacrificed wolves in traditional iomante or “sending away” ceremonies.
Looking Back at Look Back (Aniwire, Adam Wescott)
Since theater-goers are having a good collective cry right about now.
In an interview following the release of the film, director Kiyotaka Oshiyama positions Look Back as a response to generative AI. A tribute to hand-made things and the people that make them. Every frame bears the love and obsession that comes with sitting down at a desk and engaging in months of painstaking monotonous work. We see the characters do the same thing in the movie. Often it is hard and boring. At other times, as we see, it is like running through the water into gradient sunlight.
I’m convinced after seeing Look Back that Oshiyama is a genius. But the good news is that we don’t all have to be at his level, or at Tatsuki Fujimoto’s level, or even adult professional Fujino’s level. Art is subjective after all. No matter how good you are, even if you have the style and sense of humor of a grade schooler, you possess the capacity in some form to make art right now. Even bad art. Then you can share it with a friend, and communicate something.
That is our shared fundamental freedom, our collective proof of being alive. I will never give it up, not until my rotting bones are tangled deep under power cords beneath the sunlight waves of the future.
New guidelines for doctors to diagnose gender identity issues (The Asahi Shimbun, Yuki Nikaido)
Only 15 psychiatrists in Japan have been certified by the GI Society. Opposition groups are also leaning hard on the implication that loosening diagnosis criteria will, essentially, let fake trans people through.
The top court unanimously ruled that requiring transgender individuals to undergo surgery to remove their reproductive organs for gender changes is unconstitutional.
In July this year, the Hiroshima High Court allowed a transgender woman to change her gender in the family register without undergoing surgery to change the physical appearance.
The individual was born male but now lives as a woman.
The amended version of the guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment for gender incongruence was released Aug. 29 by the GI society as well as the psychiatry association’s committee on gender dysphoria.
Officials said the updated material recommends that doctors complete “workshops and training sessions” organized by relevant medical societies.
This is because the former guidelines simply stated that “psychiatrists with sufficient knowledge and experience,” including ideally “one doctor certified by the GI society,” should engage in the diagnostic process.
The latest guidelines also state that the diagnoses of at least “two physicians certified by the Japan GI society, or a pair of psychiatrists with equivalent expertise, must be consistent with each other for changing a patient’s registered gender.”
The Flytrap: Bringing Back the Feminist Blog (Kickstarter)
We’re always happy to see other intersectional feminist websites establish themselves.
Let’s be real: It feels like the joy is being sucked out of the internet these days. We’re drowning in a torrent of sloppy editorial practices, bad-faith social media takedowns, and right-wing mis- and disinformation fueled by Big Tech and so-called “AI.” All this while news outlets are pressured to feed the maw of the algorithm and a shrinking number of journalists are facing an increasingly uncertain future.
This is where The Flytrap comes in. We’re fighting subscription fatigue by publishing top thinkers and creatives in one place, with community-building in mind (sorry not sorry, Elon and Jack). We’re embracing a long tradition of feminist publishing: producing unflinching, occasionally provocative, but always engaging and values-driven work — and we’re going to have fun doing it, dammit.
Longing for analysis of Hopecore on TikTok? A look at how disabled people get used as pawns in urban planning conversations? Ruminations on the Victorian novel? Terrifying tales of state fair fried foods gone awry? A probe of eShakti’s enshittification era? Full-throated, gender-inclusive, intersectional abortion coverage? A meditation on the freaky feminism of Evil (the show, not the sin)? Pictures of our cats and their problematic opinions? We’re publishing all that and more!
Comments about Dragon Quest 3’s censorship were mistranslated and maliciously taken out of context, according to statement by Yuji Horii and Torishima’s talk show account (Automaton, Amber V)
If a news source is unironically using the term “globalist,” do not trust it. Rule of thumb.
The post, containing Horii and Torishima’s comments regarding changes made to Dragon Quest 3’s remake, quickly gained traction and was picked up by the media. As KosoKoso Hōsō Kyoku later reported, even Elon Musk reposted the video. The post Musk shared to his followers included the headline “Japanese Game Developers are frustrated at the forced ridiculous UN driven Globalist agenda compliance they have to include in their game.”
In response to the resulting uproar, KosoKoso Hōsō Kyoku shared the following: “On the afternoon of September 30 (Japan time), Mr. Musk reposted a video with English subtitles (mistranslated) of a program in which some of our members appeared. The following is a statement and request from the [talk show’s] participants regarding the reposted video and related media reports.”
The attached statement gives specific examples of mistranslations, such as “puritan” being translated as “sex education” and alleges that “parts of the comments made by the speakers have been deliberately cut out of context and quoted as if the speaker was expressing a negative opinion against a certain ideology or belief, and have been spread in a way that is far removed from the true meaning of the comments and the original content and message of the video in question.”
In the statement, KosoKoso Hōsō Kyoku asks social media users and media to refrain from “arbitrarily extracting parts of comments and quoting them as comments that are in line with your own opinion for the purpose of reinforcing the legitimacy of your own opinion.”
I’m offended that the only thing Zelda can consume in Echoes of Wisdom is smoothies (Polygon, Zoë Hannah)
It’s a small thing, but considering how many excuses about her gender preceded Zelda’s starring turn, worth thinking about for a minute.
Smoothies — the icy liquid food that’s been shoved in women’s faces for their entire lives as healthy and devoid of carbs and something you can consume daintily. Don’t get me wrong, I love a smoothie, and obviously folks of any gender can drink smoothies. But liquid diets have long been a choice method the health and fitness industry has used to convince women that they don’t actually need to eat that much. If you’re a mom too busy to make dinner, don’t ask your kid’s other parent for help — just make a smoothie! Don’t wanna look bloated before a big event? Smoothie! Embarrassed to eat in public because you don’t want to be seen consuming calories? SMOOTHIE!
And now, when I’m finally playing as my favorite video game character maybe ever, I must refill her health not with hearty steamed veggies or spicy pepper steak, but with Refreshing Mixed Smoothie. Even worse, Zelda’s smoothies are only made with two ingredients! Where’s the protein? At least give me the option to mix in some Greek yogurt.
Am I thinking too much about gender as it relates to this game? Probably. But to have the first woman protagonist in the franchise only drink smoothies feels very much like a “all the women were out sick that day” sort of decision.
I imagine a group of dudes sitting around a desk, asking each other what women eat. “Smoothies!” they say, and on the other side of the world, I toss and turn in my sleep, knowing some wrong has just been committed. (As a journalist, I have to note that I have absolutely zero proof that men were at the helm of the smoothie decision, nor that that choice had anything to do with Zelda’s gender.)
Reparations bill for sterilization victims garners Diet approval (The Asahi Shimbun, Yuki Kawano)
The biggest hurdle will be making sure that those who could benefit from the law are aware of it.
The Lower House on Oct. 7 also passed a resolution to formally apologize to the victims and rectify the damage they were subject to.
The purpose of the former law, which was enacted in 1948 and remained in effect until 1996, was to “prevent the birth of defective offspring.”
It is estimated that about 25,000 sterilization operations and 59,000 abortions were performed under the now-defunct law.
Since 2018, there have been a series of lawsuits seeking damages from the central government.
In 2019, the lump-sum payment law was passed by legislators to provide a flat sum of 3.2 million yen ($21,630) to victims of forced sterilization. However, it was not based on the assumption that the former law was unconstitutional and that the government was liable for compensation.
Under the new compensation system, the government will pay 15 million yen to victims of forced sterilization and 5 million yen to their spouses. Both can be claimed by the surviving family members if the individual is deceased.
Go! Princess Precure Episodes 26-50 Anime Series Review (Anime News Network, Rebecca Silverman)
At long last we’re starting to get more of the Precure backlog on English streaming.
All of this combines to make Go! Princess Pretty Cure one of the strongest, if not the strongest, seasons to be officially released in English. The characters, especially Haruka and Yui, show steady growth, and they don’t just exist within the show’s thematic elements; they embody them. The use of Sleeping Beauty imagery, with tangled thorny vines and villains who steal dreams while putting the dreamers to sleep, helps to demonstrate the heroines’ growth and turns the idea of the passive princess on its head. Many people overlook the fact that before her slumber, Sleeping Beauty was very active; she wouldn’t have found the spindle if she wasn’t out exploring. She’s punished for this in many early variants, but the Go! Princess girls don’t allow anyone to do that to them – Yui’s increasing strength amply demonstrates that. The story also allows for the bad times. When the final villain isn’t beaten but retreats and when Haruka cries after saying goodbye to Kanata, the story acknowledges that sometimes things are bad. We have to leave someone, we hit roadblocks, and we cry. But the important thing is this: even though bad things happen, you keep going. It’s okay to cry and feel despair. Pick yourself up back up afterward. Keep chasing your dream, and someday you’ll catch it.
VIDEO: Non-Speaking Representation in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.
VIDEO: Looking back at the very different vibe of early online BL fandom.
AniFem Community
This has been a really touching set of responses, AniFam.
It’s fairly recent, but discovering Master Keaton with my friends was a great experience. It’s the kind of show you can watch an episode, and then talk about for hours.
— Stephanie (@firefaerie81.bsky.social) October 7, 2024 at 11:15 PM
The time I brought my mum along to my university anime society's yaoi/yuri afternoon. I can't remember why I even did that, maybe I was subconsciously coming out. 🤣
— Kami Bee (@kami.land) October 8, 2024 at 4:28 AM
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I have a friend circle comprised of several ex-Something Awful Goons and their associates, and I ended up reuniting with one of my high school friends through them on the night they were doing a rewatch of Mad Bull 34 and Golden Boy. Anime is magical, yo.
— Robert Is Lost In A Spooky Mansion || Mr. 404 (@robertinthewires.bsky.social) October 7, 2024 at 10:40 PM
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