AniFem Community
Site Update: Fundraiser realities and scheduling changes
We’re grateful from the bottom of our hearts to the wonderful readers who support us; in order to find the funds for our accessibility goals, however, we’ll have to rearrange the scheduling slightly.
Anime Feminist Recommendations of Fall 2020
The team highlights their favorite titles of the past season.
Skate-Leading Stars – Episode 1
Team skating series with a few tweaks to shake up the usual formula.
Cute Executive Officer – Episode 1
Series of ultra shorts for some reason smashed into one long episode.
Queer vampire romance that fails its execution at every step.
Chatty AF 132: 2020 Fall Wrap-up
Peter, Chiaki, and Dee go over (almost) every Fall finale.
Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies moved to a starter town? – Episode 1
Underwhelming fantasy premiere with some potentially good hooks going forward.
Sci-fi/horror yuri starring adult characters. The holy grail.
What’s your most anticipated Winter 2021 anime?
There’s an awful lot to look forward to this time.
Idol series that ignores its supposed sci-fi trappings in favor of being very dull.
Beyond AniFem
Jujutsu Kaisen Manga Translator Arrested for Possession, Distribution of Child Pornographyv (Anime News Network, Lynzee Loveridge)
Viz Media has not yet offered comment.
Jujutsu Kaisen translator Stefan Koza was arrested on December 7 for possession and distribution of child pornography, according to Virginia’s Herndon Police Department’s weekly crime report. The 33-year-old Koza is being held without bond on five felony counts of possession and five counts of distribution of child pornography at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
Herndon Police Department made the arrest as part of a collaborative investigation with Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Taskforce. Koza’s hearing date is set for March 3, 2021.
why are the lives of those that spoke up so worthless to you, but you so readily protect the abusers? (commenting on everything) (Nathalie Lawhead)
An essay on the fallout Lawhead experienced after accusing former Kotaku writer Cecilia D’Anastasio of unethical journalism in reporting on Lawhead’s sexual assault. Includes discussion of suicide.
At the end of my open letter to game journalists, I linked to a UNESCO document advising better practices for how journalists write about rape.
It is worth reading. Here is the link: has done to me, and others.
A sexual assault survivor is easy prey for a journalist. We are already in a very vulnerable position in terms of people not believing us, fighting the person we spoke out against, and the trashfire it turns your life into… It is far too easy for someone to come in and take advantage of that.
After all, we would be idiots if we spoke out about the abusive journalist RIGHT AFTER speaking out about rape. Who in their right mind would believe us now? Surely we must get off on outing people, right?
These (survivors) are people, that have been preyed on, who do not have big fancy platforms that will throw their support behind them. They are “small”, vulnerable, and don’t have the ability to speak up more. They do not have your “clout”.
This is not excusable behavior. Our safety should matter to you more than writing your ideal article. Our safety should matter more than discussions about on and off the record. Our safety should matter more than the cloud you get from writing about this.
80% of audible traffic signals for blind in Japan silenced to appease residents (The Mainichi, Haruna Tasaki)
That 80% includes over 20,000 signals in 47 prefectures.
There was a total of 37 accessible signals in nine prefectures including Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Gunma that had their audible function turned off entirely. Asked why the signals had been disabled, police forces in Kochi and Kumamoto said residents complained they were noisy.
Furthermore, though the law calls for making “daily life-related routes” — roads connecting train stations, government offices, welfare facilities, hospitals, commercial complexes and the like — barrier-free, the survey revealed that 6,189 audible traffic signals on these routes across Japan had time limitations.
The survey also found that there had been at least 77 injurious or fatal traffic accidents involving visually impaired pedestrians since 2015. Twenty of them were at pedestrian crossings without audible signals, and at least two happened during hours when the local signal’s audible function had been switched off.
Kobe signboard remembers Jews who fled on ‘visas for life’ to Japan (The Asahi Shimbun, Minami Endo)
These 4600 visas were issued on the bold action of a single individual, Vice Consul Sugihara Chiune.
The information board, which stands by the side of a stone wall on a narrow lane in the Kitano district, explains, in Japanese, English and Hebrew, how and why the Jewish refugees came to Kobe and how citizens received them.
“The Japanese people in Kobe opened their hearts and accepted the Jewish refugees from the mid-1940s to the end of 1941,” it says.
The signboard also presents photos showing Jewish refugees together with Japanese.
It is believed some 4,600 of the Jews who had arrived in Japan on the “visas for life” stayed temporarily in Kobe. They were housed in hotels, unoccupied foreigners’ residences and elsewhere for up to a year until it was decided where they were going to seek asylum, officials said.
Kobe Jewcom provided housing and food to the refugees and advised them on seeking asylum.
Laid-Back Camp Producer Details How They Avoided Making the Anime ‘Too Moe’ (Anime News Network, Kim Morrissy)
A big part of that is avoiding handsiness between characters and a lot of “you’re cute”-type dialogue.
Hotta, who has been following the manga of Laid-Back Camp since its first chapter, said that the appeal of series is in how “it doesn’t just adhere to ‘moe.'” It also portrays camping through the point of view of a beginner. Because of the fine balance between the different elements in the manga, Hotta said that the anime staff always had to struggle with the temptation to emphasize the elements that they are personally fond of. This applied just as much to the camping part of the series as it does to the “cute girl” factor. Hotta always strove for a 50:50 balance between the story and camping. The camping, he explained, is a plot device that develops the relationships between the characters.
The interview also touches on what to expect from the second season of the anime. If the first season was about bringing the girls together, the second season will emphasize more of what they experience as individuals apart from each other. He said that although the girls will “part ways,” it is not in the sense that they have a fight. “It will be a time for each of them to think about what they want for themselves,” he said.
Cafe Enchante Otome Review – An Enchanting Coffee Fueled Romance (Blerdy Otome)
A review of the fluffy otome game with lurking angst.
But, the real star of the show is Kotone, I guess I’m going to have to redo my top otome game heroines list because she is one of my new favorites. THIS IS HOW YOU DO OTOME HEROINES! I am loving the shift away from self insert heroines, because it really gives us a sense that we have some agency in the way the events in the story play out and it helps us relate to the heroine more. She’s the most underpowered person in the main cast and while that puts her at a disadvantage when compared to the LIs she still manages to hold her own in the story. She is allowed to be vulnerable but instead of that being a weakness it’s one of her strengths. Her ability to empathize with those around her and see things from their perspective and that what ingratiates her to all of the other characters. The tagline of the game is ‘Je t’aime juste comme tu es’ which means ‘I love you just the way you are’ and that is at the core of who Kotone is as a character. Her capacity for love and acceptance is what makes the café such a warm and inviting place to everyone, whether they are human or non-human. Even when she encounters a situation that is seemingly impossible, she faces it head on.
Women Are Just the Best: Reviewing mk’s “The Life of a Yuri Couple in Love” Vol. 1! (Pixelated Lenses, Mercedez Clewis)
Review of an indie storefront yuri doujinshi.
Their charm is further helped by mk-sensei’s art which is just so incredibly cute. It’s clear that mk-sensei has worked hard to become a quality artist. Additionally, they’ve chosen to do this volume completely in color which really shows off all of the super linework and the really, really lovely designs. Of note is Mai who’s a bit of a plumper character. It’s always nice to see different body types in manga.
One of the most refreshing things about this first volume is how open mk-sensei is with Mai and Emi’s desires. It’s very clear that these are two women who truly love each other. This extends from to Emi getting a bit amorous with Mai, and even a bit handsy.
Although I’m asexual and have no interest in sexual engagement, I find it really, really heartening to see WLW couples being shown -and drawn- wanting to have sex. For many people, sex is a part of their life: it’s something they want and desire and maybe even consider a “need”.
Yet often times, Yuri kind of handwaves away sex and just… seems to forget that women have desires too. And while there’s no sex in this all-ages volumes, it’s still nice to see that Emi and Mai are affectionate to their core. I really love that I’m finding more and more adult-focused Yuri with sex in mind, even if it’s not depicted. It’s really great!
TWEET: Fundraising effort for longstanding anime review site The Fandom Post.
TWEET: Brief interview clip with the founders of D’ART Shtajio (the full interview is here)
THREAD: Livetweet/analysis of the misogyny in BAKUMAN.
AniFem Community
The season is young yet, but at least we can all rely on those good camp girls.
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