Last year, I decided to give anime a try because a crush of mine was really into it (sue me!) and what was meant to be a little adventure in curiosity has now dominated my to-watch list. I used to watch trash TV in my time off, but now I’m scrolling through Crunchyroll like an addict in need of a fix- and I’m not alone. The anime market was valued at $24 billion worldwide in 2021, half of which came from outside Japan. Furthermore, the U.S. ranks first in the world for the highest revenue generated from anime-related events and half of those attendees are women. This made me wonder: will this surge in popularity pressure anime studios to better consider their female audience?
If you’ve been watching anime for even a quarter of a millisecond, you’ll know that it’s practically bursting at the seams with erotic, sometimes bordering on pornographic, depictions of women and, more alarmingly, underage girls. Often, female characters in anime seem to only function as sexual enticement for its male audience. This includes, but is not limited to : a skimpy outfit in combination with unrealistically large breasts, camera angles of underwear, and finally, facial expressions and vocal tones that mimic having an orgasm. Not only does this add nothing to the story, but often these characters’ whole identity revolves around or is molded for the male protagonist. I’m looking at you — Future Diary, High School of the Dead, and every harem anime ever!
But it’s not all trash, or else I wouldn’t be watching it. We only have to turn to movies by Hayao Miyazaki, the director of Studio Ghibli, and some shoijo anime like Sailor Moon for some female empowerment. However, for this article, I want to focus on a recent series that made me want to write on it in the first place.
The Good
Jujutsu Kaisen came out in 2020 and soon garnered a cult-like following, myself included. The story follows a high school student, Yuji Itadori as he is suddenly thrown into the secretive world of Jujutsu sorcerers after he becomes the host of a powerful curse named Ryomen Sukuna. Like any normal shōnen anime, it has a lot of amazing fight scenes, but what is most impressive about the series is it brings one of the most iconic female characters to break into anime history: Nobara Kugisaki.
Nobara Kugisaki winning the fight
From the first time we meet her to the last episode, she’s clearly a force to be reckoned with in her own right. One of the scenes that really stood out, regarding feminism, is when Nobara fights a third-year, Momo Nishimiya, during her school event. During the fight, Nobara rejects Momo’s philosophy about being discriminated against based on looks, despite the fact that their talents are skill-based. Kugisaki states, “ Boys versus Girls?! Give me a break! Keep your mouth shut! I love the me that dresses up and looks beautiful! I love the me that’s strong! I’m Nobara Kugisaki!” Another refreshing aspect of Nobara is her practical clothing—a big win in my book! The other female characters, like Maki Zenin, also have rich backstories and stand strong as independent women. But while Jujutsu Kaisen has made strides in depicting strong multidimensional female characters, other popular series still fall into problematic tropes with their depticions of women.
The Bad
As much as I love Demon Slayer (and it hurts me to admit this), it has fallen victim to certain tropes regarding its female characters. For those who need a recap, Tanjiro Kamado begins a quest to fight demons and save his sister after finding his family slaughtered and his sister turned into a demon. The strongest Demon slayers are called Hashira, and only two out of the nine are women, which would have been okay if they had awesome strengths, but alas, both of them use fairly feminine non-elements as their skill-set: Love (seriously?) and insect (although she dresses like a butterfly), while the rest of the male Hashira fight using an element, such as wind, fire, or stone (except for two, who use serpent and sound).
The Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji, makes her first real appearance at a hot spring, where she’s, well, naked. She’s the only character ever shown like this, but don’t worry! She’s actually really shy and just wants to find love—because that’s pretty much her whole character arc. Which is pretty frustrating, because as a high ranking Hashira whos fought an upper rank demon on her own, you’de expect her to have the same depth as her male counterparts. They get complex family dynamics and tragic backstories, while Kanroji’s enitre backstory is that nobody wanted to marry her because of her hair color and superhuman strength. Compared to motivations like avenging a dead brother, hers is…well pretty shit.
The infamous bath scene
Finally, I want to talk about the character who’s literally only there to help the male main character: Nezuko. Over the course of all four seasons, she says maybe ten words, the reason being that she’s been gagged so she doesn’t eat people. Despite her being Tanjiro’s main reason for becoming a Demon Slayer she’s rarely ever seen as she needs to hide from the sun…and she sleeps a lot! Like Disney princess levels of sleep. So she’s basically luggage for at least half of the story. When her moment finally comes and she takes on her demonic form she is severely oversexualized in the process (did I mention she’s fourteen?). Despite Demon Slayer’s success the creators either refuses to cater to female fans or have been so indrenched in Japan’s cultural norms that that they lack the blueprint to develop better female characters.
Nezuko Transforms
Images from Fancaps.net
The Ugly - Consequences of Bad Representation
Japan seems to have an issue with women, or at least it appears that way. In recent years there have been several controversies highlighting the misogynistic attitude in Japan. To mention a few: the time Japan's LDP party told women that they could be in official meeting as long as they didn’t speak; the app that needed to be developed so that women could stop being sexually assaulted on the subway; and the cherry on top-the ever so creepy Japanese schoolgirls for hire. It’s not a far stretch to say that the representation of women in anime is a result of Japan’s deep-rooted cultural attitudes, where traditional gender roles and patriarchal norms continue to influence various aspects of society. But this representation has far reaching consequences far beyond Japanese borders, it directly contributes to the fetishization and exoticization of Asian women,
leading to the increase of harmful stereotypes that Asian women are submissive and often infantilized.
As anime continues to gain traction worldwide, the industry faces a choice: perpetuate outdated gender norms or evolve to reflect a more inclusive and diverse audience. The representation of women in anime doesn’t just matter to Japanese viewers—it resonates globally, shaping perceptions and influencing cultural dynamics far beyond Japan’s borders. The question remains: will anime rise to the challenge?
To learn more about this topic check out the links below!
Understanding the Misrepresentation and Sexualization of Women in Anime
big boobs, little skirts: exploring misogynistic female representation in anime and gaming
The Hyper Sexualization of Women in Anime - Meriam El-Assaad
Anime Popularity in America Surges with Over 5 Million Subscribers
Column: The culture surrounding anime
Half Of North American Anime Convention Attendees Are Women
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