All Articles
-
-
Chatty AF 42: Winter 2018 Mid-Season Check-in (WITH TRANSCRIPT)
Amelia, Dee, and Peter check in on the Winter 2018 season.
-
The Diversification of Otaku in Japanese Media
While as a westerner it’s difficult to have a truly nuanced understanding of the cultural norms surrounding the term “otaku,” we can get an idea of how stereotypes and expectations have changed by looking at how otaku are portrayed in anime and manga, and how those portrayals have evolved over the years.
-
Yamamoto Sayo, director and storyboard artist, chats about Yuri on Ice and creating “raw” female characters
AniFem staffer Caitlin sat down with Yamamoto Sayo at AnimeFest 2017 to talk about Yuri on Ice, her themes, and her career.
-
[Links] 7-13 February 2018: Colorism, Yami Kawaii, and Olympic Yuri!!! on ICE Fans
This week: Colorism, Yami Kawaii, and Olympic Yuri!!! on ICE Fans.
-
Chatty AF 41: Miss Hokusai Retrospective (WITH TRANSCRIPT)
Caitlin, Amelia, and Dee discuss Miss Hokusai, the 2015 feature film from Production I.G. Set in the early 1800s, this historical fiction follows real-life artist O-Ei as she navigates her relationships with her famous father, her young sister, and her own developing art in a society and profession dominated by men.
-
My Fave is Problematic: Fushigi Yugi
Full of big adventure and bigger emotions, Fushigi Yugi scratched an itch I hadn’t even known I had: for fantastical, adventure-driven comics and TV shows that placed as much focus on character relationships and emotional turmoil as they did on action and intrigue, and treated those feelings not only with respect, but as powerful forces essential to the plot.
-
The Problem with Problematic Creators
How do you react when you find out one of the main creative forces behind something you love is, to not mince words, a completely shit person?
-
[Links] 31 January – 6 February 2018: NHK and LGBTQ+ representation, Netflix and piracy, and #BlackGirlMagic
This week: NHK and LGBTQ+ representation, Netflix and piracy, and #BlackGirlMagic…
-
Chatty AF 40: Fushigi Yugi Watchalong – OVAs (Part 2 of 2) (WITH TRANSCRIPT)
The team finishes out the OVAs in trademark rollercoaster fashion as they bask in one of the series’ highest highs, suffer through one of its lowest lows, and still come out the other side fighting for this messy, sincere franchise. Taka finds himself. Chichiri needs a hug. Mayo does everything wrong.
-
DEVILMAN crybaby, Legacies of Queerness, and Diversifying Remakes
What do you do with a series that features sympathetic representation while also roundly killing its queer characters off, and does it make a difference that everybody is dying?
-
2018 Winter Three-Episode Check-In
We’re continuing the informal three-episode “check-in” roundtable that we started last season, this time with the long list of promising Winter 2018 titles.
-
[Links] 24-30 January 2018
Yuri!!! On Ice, hafu support networks, and updates about John Leigh.
-
Chatty AF 39: Fushigi Yugi Watchalong – OVAs (Part 1 of 2) (WITH TRANSCRIPT)
The multi-part Fushigi Yugi watchalong with Dee, Vrai, and Caitlin is back for a pair of bonus episodes covering the OVAs! Here in Part 1, the team talks Oni 1 and half of Oni 2. (Spoiler alert: It’s the angry half.) Studio Pierrot writes a drunken fanfic. Hotohori and Nuriko revisit some old haunts. Tasuki gets […]
-
Roundtable: Age-gap relationships in fiction
During the Chatty AF Fushigi Yugi watchalong, Caitlin, Dee, and Vrai would frequently chat privately about the show. While watching the OVAs, the conversation turned to the relationship between a pair of supporting characters, which in turn developed into a spontaneous discussion about age-gap romances in fiction. As the subject is a complicated one (and particularly topical given recent anime), the team thought it worthwhile to expand it into a roundtable and publish it for the site.
-
Makoto Kageyama discusses mental health issues in Japan and anime
Makoto Kageyama, a former volunteer at Aokigahara, was kind enough to speak with us about their experiences living with mental illness, how the mentally ill are treated in Japan, and how those issues are depicted in anime.
-
[Links] 17-23 January 2018
FRANXX discourse, LGBT coming-of-age, and Taishou fashion.
