Several years ago, I was venting my frustrations about Naruto to a friend of mine. My biggest complaint was that there are too many underdeveloped characters and all of the women are ultimately sidelined no matter how powerful other characters say they are. His response was “Well, it’s shonen. It’s supposed to focus on the… Continue reading Lessons from Attack on Titan: How to Write a Shonen Series Without Throwing Women Under the Bus
Category: Essays, Criticism, and Analyses
My Little Pony and United Feminism
I’m sure that no one expected a revamped cartoon about colorful ponies to take the Internet by storm, but no one expected the Spanish Inquisition either. The popularity of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is certainly warranted due to its writing and smooth animation. Though aimed at children, it fosters nostalgia and its anime-esque… Continue reading My Little Pony and United Feminism
Finding God in Prison: Flavors of Christianity in Orange is the New Black
If you have Netflix and haven’t watched Orange is the New Black, we’re fighting. But in all seriousness, this show is a treat in so many ways. Netflix’s newest original series features what is arguably the most diverse cast of women to appear on any television show in the West. Piper Chapman, a 30something yuppie… Continue reading Finding God in Prison: Flavors of Christianity in Orange is the New Black
If I Ruled the World and Could Write a Female Doctor
Now that the 50th anniversary has rekindled my interest in Doctor Who, I’ve been thinking about what would happen if the Doctor regenerated as a woman. What would the stories be like? What sorts of quirks would she have? If you’re the type that doesn’t think the Doctor could ever be a woman, I suggest… Continue reading If I Ruled the World and Could Write a Female Doctor
Gendered Book Covers and the Need For Empowering Femininity
I recently found a fascinating article about Maureen Johnson’s Twitter project examining what would happen to book covers if the authors were the opposite gender or genderqueer [NOTE: Link redacted because Huffington Post does not pay writers]. People all over the Twitterverse participated and it’s easy to tell from the photo set that non-male authors… Continue reading Gendered Book Covers and the Need For Empowering Femininity
YA Fiction and Underlying Gender Expectations
Mainstream Young Adult (YA) fiction contains some of the most popular and influential series of the past few decades. Iconic series like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games have captured the imaginations of millions of kids and adults everywhere. About a year ago, I was just delving into the complicated… Continue reading YA Fiction and Underlying Gender Expectations
My Pink Wand and Skirts Make Me Strong: Sailor Moon and Feminine Feminism
Sailor Moon is heralded as an iconic 90s anime and for good reason. Besides being an excellent super hero show, it encompasses everything awesome about “girl power.” It’s not just that the central characters are all female or that they all have shiny attacks that set things on fire or occasionally make them explode. It’s… Continue reading My Pink Wand and Skirts Make Me Strong: Sailor Moon and Feminine Feminism
Sailor Moon Returns in 2013: 3 hopes and dreams for the new series
According to Anime News Network, a new anime adaptation of Sailor Moon is set to air next summer. The only details released so far are that it won’t be a feature-length film and that Momoiro Clover Z, the group that created “Moonlight Densetsu,” will sing the opening for the new series. Rumor has it that this is… Continue reading Sailor Moon Returns in 2013: 3 hopes and dreams for the new series
Musical Attraction: Anime OPs and the Series They Represent (part 2.1)
We had some great discussion last time in the comments about anime OPs and I got some fantastic suggestions to add to the list. John Samuel mentioned the OPs for some great older series: Key the Metal Idol, Dirty Pair TV, Record of Lodoss Wars, and Serial Experiments Lain. I’ve heard of all except the… Continue reading Musical Attraction: Anime OPs and the Series They Represent (part 2.1)
Musical Attraction: Anime OPs and the Series They Represent (part 1)
The OP is often the first experience we have of an anime. It’s meant to ease us into the anime’s story and it usually tells us what kind of story we’re about to experience. From the video, we can glean major plot twists and guess how the characters are related to each other. The video… Continue reading Musical Attraction: Anime OPs and the Series They Represent (part 1)