Anime and sexism/feminism

I'd say that Gurren has some actual characterization for its female characters. They're sexist stereotypes, yes, but so are the male characters, and its for the sake of comedy/parody, so it doesn't bug me much.
 
If that was the only reason, that would hold water, but look at the big picture. They're a Japanese-American couple, who have chosen to live and work in America rather than Japan, and before deciding to get married, she chose a non-traditional career for herself. EVERYTHING points to her being a non-traditional, modern, progressive, Western woman except for this one stupid sexist line of dialog. It's ridiculous.
 
I think Balsa's interesting.......

And furthermore, I don't think she's as much of an unsexual character as some have. I think it's just such a gross difference from how overt lots of female anime characters are. Balsa isn't;

1. The overtly perverted type.
2. The fanservicey type.
3. The innocent type
4. The mean *****y always smacking someone type.
 
Here's the thing, kiddies: Though women can be very powerful in Japan, they still don't have that many rights. Not as many rights as the women in America may have, as a good example can be examplified through the Rapelay controversy. It's completely legal in Japan, and they don't find it at all absurd. The reason why it's so disturbing is not because of the whole "video-games-create-rapists/killers", but it's because it's displaying for us the molestation towarRAB women that really does happen on the transit trains in Japan. Because of cultural differences, women won't speak up about it since they don't feel they need to, and even if they do, it is a rarity for a cop to react to a cry of "Chikan!"

So it's not a surprise than many anime objectify women as sex objects, seeing as they can get away with it. Meanwhile in America, something like that would create protests.


Exactly. It's just the shape and figure that is appealing, it's almost like a form of artwork, if you will. Any artist will tell you that the female body is one of the most beautiful things to look at.

And yes, I myself admit that hips look very lovely on a female's figure. It's all part of the curves and proportions that make the other ahem parts stand out.
 
Probably more of the result it had with them than whatever the intention was, it seems to be the cornerstone of the lolicon community. Why that is is another question entirely, and I've only seen a handful of episodes, though to me it always seemed Sakura's dress-up outfits probably appealed to them, and I guess the lesbian undertones in elementary school girls as well. Who knows.

That sounRAB reasonable for some, though it also seems questionable when you see a lot of those types of girl shows feature nudity, panty shots, and other fanservice scenes on a constant basis, which I don't think is there for the girls. Shows aimed at boys having fanservice makes sense to me, and we can just dismiss it as pandering to male fantasy. But then girl shows start putting it in there, which is kind of disappointing to see that stuff in series aimed at girls and giving them the message of "being sexy is very important for you girls"
 
I think it was just a surprise to me. I personally was not expecting it when I first saw it back in the early 90's.
You are right in saying it was not really that explicit. Especially compared to later shows.
 
If validating yourself to a significant other encompasses reproductive success, I suppose there is no other reason.

True. The "Hot Coffee" controversy is evidence enough. Yet that overlooks one important fact, which is that, despite any controversy, it would be defended as free speech and continue to be sold. Unless sexual depictions of children are involved, anything goes.

Oh my yes. Unless you happen to be an ancient Greek or Roman... or perhaps one of those possibly homosexual Renaissance artists. Hmm, but then even a straight Renaissance artist would have had a lot of appreciation for Greco-Roman stuff. I'm getting off track here, trying to be witty. Sorry...

--Romey
 
Being a Geneon release did not help GunXSword, highly priced and still that way. If anything, being a Geneon release probably killed more talk about it than it got.

Really only one quibble about the fan service of Godannar

Shizuru's breasts increased markedly for that final wedding scene, which makes no sense since they'd just showed one 7 year time skip where her breasts remained the same, then suddenly exploded in size for this scene a year later. And it's not like she was young and underdeveloped before.
 
Lol, such an interesting thing to note about Godannar .

I dunno, she did inherit the commander's position, so maybe she put on a few . You saw how much of a freak she was in the weight room, so maybe since she was piloting less, she was working out less to keep her body suit figure. But then she's her mecha suit again at the end, so . I mean she didn't have a kid or anything since it looked like she was still waiting for Shinobu and Koji to battle it out for her hand. Though I think she favored Shinobu . Shizuru probably deserves both guys for everything she went through in the show .
 
Hey, I don't mind fanservice. Just overkill. I mean, yeah Elfen Lied is technically overkill but it had an amazing story/plot so it's very forgivable.

I didn't mean I had a huge problem with the fanservice. I meant that I've held Elfen Lied in such high regard in quality and story...and now I find out the anime was done by the same guys who did Queen's Blade. Makes me think a bit more.
 
Doesn't matter much in the long run, probability and repetition win out. (I was agreeing with you. At least I think I was.) Actually, I'm not entirely sure of your reply's intention.

--Romey
 
While I'm far from pro-fanservice, I'd be lying if I said I was completely against the equivalent for the female audience. I am an emo bishie lover, after all So I suppose I stand more on the side of letting it slide as long as it's equal opportunity.

Code Geass was a good example of this: there was healthy amounts of fanservice in both seasons but there was fanservice for both sides of the spectrum. The guys got Kallen in her pilot suit while we girls got Suzaku in his. Kallen got a shower scene but so did Lelouch, even if hers was longer and more revealing than his. I know the female fan is in the minority so more fanservice will pander to the guys, so as long as there is some aimed in my direction, I'll care less about the former. I don't especially like it, but I try to be realistic and as non-hypocritical as possible.

What I do object to, however, is the female characters who exist solely to be objects of fanservice. That and fanservice for the sake of fanservice. That is objectifying women and a concept that I abhor. I'm not a militant feminist, but I still consider myself somewhat feminist in my beliefs and that objectification is where I draw the line.

Women are obviously misused and misrepresented in both American and Japanese entertainment. It's something you tend to get accustomed to over time. That's probably not a good thing, but it's what happens. Realistically, I know a lot of anime is sexist--just like plenty of American entertainment I enjoy--but that doesn't stop me from enjoying it. If I were to only watch shows that were "non-sexist" so to speak, my choices would be severely limited and I'd be missing out on things I'd likely otherwise enjoy. However, certain things like the token fanservice characters or the constant damsel in distress will keep me from watching a series.

A series that I was really impressed with on the female character aspect was Daughter of Twenty Faces. Even in the 1930s setting, Chiko is a strong lead that is smart and can take care of herself. Haruka and Tome are also strong women in their own rights, though have fewer instances to display it than Chiko. There is relatively little fanservice on the whole and I would say Chiko could be a role model heroine because of the strength of character she displays throughout.
 
The amount of seemingly male-oriented fanservice in magical girl show can be a tell as to whether it's actually otaku-centric rather aimed at kiRAB. In fact, post-Cardcaptor Sakura, magical girl series by and large have stopped being aimed at kiRAB with rare exemption, and even those shows targeted primarily at kiRAB are often very conscious of the secondary audience. Even PPGZ, which I would sworn would have had to keep any targeting towarRAB lolicons to a minimum, had some noRAB to that audience (swimsuits, transformation sequences, etc.) As such, the genre as it is today isn't a great example of being forward thinking.
 
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