AniFem Round-Up
The World is Our Egg: Understanding Adultification through Anthy Himemiya
The way Anthy is scapegoated and treated as a threat by adults and peers echoes a very real phenomenon of treating Black and Brown children as being “more adult.”
My Fave is Problematic: Golden Boy
Izzi dives into what makes this ecchi comedy so fondly remembered in an overstuffed genre (hint: having actual adult women has a lot to do with it).
Chatty AF 174: Sex Ed 120% – Part 1
Dee, Vrai, and Alex talk about the comedy edutainment manga Sex Ed 120% and how it compares to real-world sex education.
What anime character death hit you hardest?
Let your tears flow, AniFam.
Bonus Podcast (with Transcript): The Untamed for the Uninitiated
We took a newbie-friendly detour into the world of CDramas to talk about the romantic epic that ate our brains.
Beyond AniFem
Self-Defense Forces Soldier Speaks Out on Her Double Harassment (Unseen Japan, Jay Allen)
Discusses not just the harassment Gonoi faced in the service but the online harassment and struggles with suicidal thought that came after.
The public apology makes sense given what happened after Gonoi filed her report. The SDF didn’t just investigate what happened to her; they reached wider to see if other servicemembers have had similar experiences.
What they found was disturbing.
In a survey sent to servicemembers, 146 responded with reports of some form of harassment. A female soldier reported how other members touched her while she was resting. Another woman said she was slapped in the face after refusing to take off some clothes during a baseball game. And a male soldier talked about how his comrades forced him to strip naked and dance during a night out.
Official statistics show these complaints aren’t just one-offs. Reports of harassment have skyrocketed in recent years. In 2016, the Defense Ministry recorded 256 reported cases of harassment. By 2021, that number had exploded to 2,311[2].
Japanese anime ‘My Hero Academia’ theme song creator accused of assaulting girlfriend (The Mainichi, Seiho Akimaru and Hidenori Kitamura)
Akiyama’s site currently hosts an apology posted by Sony Music.
An investigative source said that Akiyama, whose real name is Yuya Arai, 26, is suspected of attacking and injuring his girlfriend in her 20s by pulling her hair among other actions at around midnight on Nov. 22 in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward. He has reportedly admitted to the allegations.
According to Kiro Akiyama’s official website, he sings, writes lyrics and composes music as a solo artist. He was also involved in the theme song for popular TV anime “The Promised Neverland” and a song in the anime film “Poupelle of Chimney Town,” among other works. He apparently started his music career on YouTube and by other means to secure a foothold in the industry.
Japanese model Ryuchell speaks on sexual consent at Tinder-hosted event for students (The Mainichi, Ai Kunimoto)
A survey found that one in five couples who married in 2022 met through an app.
During the event, the audience fired a barrage of questions at Ryuchell and Kana Mitarashi, a clinical psychotherapist, regarding sexual consent. Mitarashi has been sending out messages about sexual violence and sexual consent.
One student said, “I had sex with someone when the mood arose while drinking at home, but they told me the next day that they ‘didn’t consent to it.'” Another student commented, “When I’m asked, ‘Is it OK?’ I allow sexual acts without being able to decline, even if I’m reluctant.”
To the second comment, Ryuchell responded, “I can understand the feeling that you don’t want the other person to dislike you. I’m not the type of person who can say no, either, but you are the only one who can protect your own body and mind. Please consider whether you can be happy if you keep on conforming to the other person, and keep your own core tight.”
VIDEO: Recording of the talk “Kawakami Hiromi and the Queering of Distant Intimacies: Reading Japanese Literature from Hong Kong and Taiwan,” by University of Hong Kong’s Assistant Professor of Gender Studies, Grace En-Yi Ting.
VIDEO: Review of the accessibility options in Pokémon: Scarlet and Violet.
VIDEO: Social anxiety in BOCCHI THE ROCK versus Komi Can’t Communicate.
VIDEO: Personal essay on trans manga To Strip the Flesh.
THREAD: Shoujo and josei manga recommendations.
THREAD: Discussion of translation approaches to erotica.
THREAD: Statement from a Jujutsu Kaisen 0 actor on unfair pay conditions.
AniFem Community
We’re very impressed with the creative allusions to spoilers, well done.
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