Magical Girls puzzle me; they make me feel intrigued and desperate at the same time. That is not just because of my, admittedly, relatively limited experience with shōjo (‘[for] girls’) anime genres – until recently, I preferred adventure fantasy, which is sadly, but undoubtedly, shōnen (‘[for] boys’) material of the most popular order. No, Magical…
Category: Understanding Anime
Objectification of Women in Anime
Where does enjoying beauty become objectifying? What does it mean to objectify a woman? A man? Does anime do it? What does it mean to objectify someone? Objectification is defined as when a person is regarded as an object. There are 10 aspects to objectification (Papadaki, 2014). I will use Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion…
Kill la Kill: A Masterful Subversion of Fan Service
Kill la Kill, at first glance, looks like one of those shows designed for horny teen boys by a horny teen boy. Nearly naked women battle each other for the pleasure of male onlookers. Only Kill la Kill has far more to it than that. I will be honest. At first watch, this anime made…
Kill la Kill – Exploring our Relationships with Clothing?
I was hesitant toward Kill la Kill when I first started watching it. First, the style of the humor tends to turn me off. The obsession with frantic humor is something I cannot understand. Next, the level of fan service turned me off. The skimpy uniforms and creepy come-ons by the teacher Aikuro Mikisugi toward…
Hentai: What is it, really?
Hentai. Yep, I am going there! Some information here may be considered graphic. You’ve been warned! Hentai is as valid a branch of manga and anime as shonen and shojo. Hentai has a long history and conflicted definitions. The word hentai is a compound word that describes a person, action, or state of being sexually abnormal….
Yaoi: Hate for Boys’ Love
As a librarian, I firmly believe people should have access to information and literature of all types. Yaoi isn’t a genre I have any interest in reading, but many of you will say the same about my beloved Roman history books. It is okay to like and not like something; that is what makes each…