AniFem Round-Up
Nina the Starry Bride – Episode 1
An intriguing start for a josei fantasy about a princess’ forced body double.
This show has somehow escaped, fully formed, from the year 2008.
A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School – Episode 1
There’s nothing more Halloween-grade horrifying than a fun supernatural slice-of-life premise cursed by an obnoxious protagonist.
The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor – Episode 1
Packed to the gills with drama! betrayal! And a seriously questionable age-gap in the central romance!
A refreshingly inventive take on a “demon lord” story, with a side of cyberpunk.
Chatty AF 215: 2024 Summer Season Wrap-Up
We look back at a Summer full of rom-coms, good ideas with questionable execution, and some quality sequels.
What was your favorite Summer 2024 anime?
Since we’re wrapping things up with a bow.
Beyond AniFem
Man studies plight of disabled people in Battle of Okinawa (The Asahi Shimbun, Kazuyuki Ito)
The researcher, himself disabled, wishes to record these understudied stories.
According to Uema, the number of evacuees increased after the 10.10 air raid. The situation became more severe for disabled people and elderly people, and some of them gave up on their lives or were left behind as the fighting intensified.
“In a society where the execution of war came first, a person’s value was determined by whether or not he or she was useful to the country,” Uema said. “Disabled people’s lives are better when they have someone to protect them, but if they don’t, they are the first to be sacrificed.”
After graduating from university, Uema continued his research.
In May this year, he participated in the writing of an encyclopedia about the Battle of Okinawa, published by a group of young researchers.
There are only fragmentary records of disabled people during the war, and little is known about their actual conditions. Uema has been able to obtain the testimonies of only six people so far.
It has been 80 years since the 10.10 air raid.
After the end of the war, societal conditions improved for disabled people, but acts of discrimination continue to this day.
Uema said he thinks it is important to keep asking, “Is our society a place where people with disabilities are not excluded as a ‘liability’?”
‘Incident is fading away’: Sex abuse victims from ex-top male idol agency in Japan worried (The Mainichi, Ryotaro Nishimoto)
It’s been a year since the most public discussion of deceased agency founder Kitigawa Johnny’s years of abuse of talent under his care.
Johnny & Associates Inc. (now Smile-Up Inc.) acknowledged the sexual abuse by the late founder for the first time in September 2023.
Former members of the Johnny’s Sexual Assault Victims Association, which was dissolved in September this year, held a news conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Oct. 9. They criticized Smile-Up for not holding a press conference since last October, and raised doubts about the problem being allowed to end like this in front of sponsors and the media.
Individuals who were interviewed by the victims’ relief committee set up by Smile-Up in September 2023 reportedly complained about the committee’s response, with one commenting, “It felt like an interrogation, and I was scared,” while another said, “I’m anxious if I can endure the interview.” Yasunobu Shiga, a former member of the idol group Ninja, expressed his concern, saying, “I have doubts about whether the victims’ human rights are really being protected.”
Attendees at the press conference stressed that concrete measures to prevent slander of the victims and to forestall a recurrence must be presented to clarify the whole situation. Koji Nagato, a former Johnny’s Jr. member, pointed out, “The victims are traumatized. We must not leave them as they are and let the curtain fall.” Kazuya Nakamura, another former member of the group, said, “Sexual violence is a social problem. If Smile-Up, an influential company, raises awareness of the issue, that will lead to a recovery in trust.”
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a metatextual, politically-anxious RPG that makes Persona feel like a prototype (scrmbl, Alicia Haddock)
This is an in-progress impressions piece for roughly the first quarter of the game.
Metaphor seeks to take these conversations on the state of our modern society into the realm of high fantasy. The first thing the game asks you is not the name of our protagonist, but your name. Here, you, the player, are no mere observer. You are a character in this world, a part of the fictional utopia spoken of in the protagonist’s mysterious novel defined by its adherence to the ideals of equality and democracy, a joy achieved through the dismantling of class and racial division.
Although the implications are obvious, this utopia is Japan, albeit not the one we know today. Tokyo Tower shines in the bustling metropolis, but this is Tokyo with its potential unleashed, freed from the shackles of our history and generational injustice to put into action the ideals we speak. ‘It sounds like fantasy,’ our characters recall.
It doesn’t slow down. In the very opening scene, we witness the bloody usurpation for the throne by a wannabe dictator before introducing our protagonist and their fairy companion Gallica. You’re an Elda, one of eight fictional races in this deeply-divided society considered cursed and tainted by the broader population, who soon becomes an influencing figure in an election to determine the successor for the king in a system of succession imposed as the dying wish of the former ruler of this kingdom. As election anxiety intensifies, the deep divides of race and class amidst the population rise to the surface, all as religious fascism and dictatorship, religious theocracy and democracy fight for the soul of a struggling nation.
Amidst it all, there’s the monsters in the room, or should we say outside the city walls – a frightful species pointedly known as humans.
Matchmaking Party Promoted by Tokyo Rejects Disabled Man (Unseen Japan, Saki Toi)
This party was explicitly hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to combat population woes.
The man registered mid-july for a matchmatcking party in August. Worried about his disability, he contacted the organizer. “I have a mild intellectual disability, but I work full-time. Can I participate?”
20 minutes later, the organizer replied, saying, “According to our terms, the event is only open to individuals who are mentally and physically healthy. We will cancel your registration.” They also requested, “Please delete this email, and we will discard your information.”
“I gathered the courage to share my disability, and this is how they responded,” the man told reporters. He figured there was a chance that women at the event might shirk from his disability. At the same time, he felt deeply disappointed that the organizers didn’t even give him a chance.
Organizers initially defended themselves
The organizer’s representative explained why they denied the man’s participation. They said, “Participants with intellectual disabilities could cause complaints from others. We made this decision to ensure the event runs smoothly.”
They added, “As a nonprofit, we cannot provide support for participants with disabilities. We’ve run the event this way for over ten years. The Tokyo government’s website has featured it multiple times.”
However, their long-standing policy raises concerns about whether they’re prioritizing “smooth operations” over inclusivity and the rights of individuals with disabilities.
China harassing its citizens in Japan it considers subversive: report (The Mainichi)
The report was conducted by Human Rights Watch.
The organization’s interviews with 25 people, including those from Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia, revealed that Chinese police or the Chinese Embassy in Japan have contacted them or their relatives in China, pressuring them to end their activities in Japan.
The interviewees have participated in nonviolent activities, such as organizing public events to draw attention to human rights abuses in Xinjiang, promoting Tibetan culture, and hosting book discussions featuring works by Inner Mongolian activists, the organization said.
“The Japanese government should call on the Chinese government to end its surveillance and threats against those living in Japan,” the group said in the report, urging Japan to establish a system to report such incidents and provide protection.
China denied engaging in such transnational repression activities, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning saying at a press conference, “All our actions are carried out in accordance with laws and regulations.”
The report said a woman was arrested in 2023 upon returning to Hong Kong for posting pro-democratic comments online during her studies in Japan, while another individual who promoted Tibetan culture in Japan was told to return to Tibet to renew their passport.
VIDEO: The evolution of Blackness in anime, the cultural relevance of Black characters, and how Black people changed anime.
VIDEO: Discussion of the second half of Hot Gimmick.
VIDEO: Studio Ghibli heroines, empathy, and catharsis.
VIDEO: Review of otome game 9 R.I.P
VIDEO: Look back at shoujo magazine Asuka, which published adaptations of a lot of series thought of as “boy titles.”
AniFem Community
Always good to see chatter about titles we might’ve missed.
VTuber Legend. Easily the most accurate representation of VTubers while also being the most wonderfully unhinged yuri in years
— JJ🟣⚫⚪ (@jjs-brainrot.bsky.social) October 15, 2024 at 1:26 PM
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