For instance, take Orihime Inoue and Rangiku Matsumoto from Bleach. They’re my prime targets, and not because they are bustier than any other girls (real or fictional) I’ve seen. As main characters of a shonen series, Inoue and Matsumoto are characteristically weak. Both women have the least effective weapons of the all-good guys. Meanwhile, the less-“gifted” women, such as the relatively flat but brainy Rukia, have weapons that look and work as effectively as their male counterparts’.

Still on the Bleach angle, it would appear that Inoue and Matsumoto have opposing personalities. Inoue is soft-spoken and fragile. Matsumoto is loud with a tough exterior, save for the obvious. Still, both of these women are representative of how women are depicted in most anime and manga. They are either motherly like Oh My Goddess!’s Belldandy or one character from any given CLAMP production; or they are the tsundere, sweet-but-sour types: they’ll verbally kick your ass while still mugging for the cameras and going for the guy.

Even in the rare instance when female characters operate outside of the soft-spoken motherly role or the disapproving sisterly type, all women revolve around a male character. Utena Tenjou circled Touga Kiryuu, Dragonball Z’s Pan orbited Trunks and Goku, both Nanas spiraled their respective male love interests. All of these women appeared to be deviations from the standard anime/manga template, but they inevitably succumb to male presences in their stories.    

More mind-boggling is how female comic artists such as CLAMP, Ai Yazawa (NANA), and Naoko Takeuchi (Sailor Moon) also continue to create anime and manga that perpetuate the aforementioned stereotypes. Though media is used to reflect the reality and ideals of society as a whole, it also serves to bring the fantasies, thoughts, and desires of the creator into a tangible form. The underwire of the question becomes: Do all these creators want women to remain in subservient and sidelined roles in popular media? From what I can see, sadly it looks like a resounding “Yes”.

Mind you, not every single woman in anime and manga are cast from cookie-cutters. There are some ladies who aren’t afraid to use their brains and their muscles to lay it on a couple of guys outside of a bedroom context. Major Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell (especially in the original movie) transcended her body, arguably entering an enlightenment only male Zen Buddhists are said to find. Lieutenant Mao from Full Metal Panic had the intellectual and physical chops to best her male counterparts. While still not without their own male-centricities - Kusanagi with Batou, Mao with Sousuke - if it weren’t for women like them, I would lose all hope for the future.

The likable female character is a formulaic creature. Personality types might change ever-so-slightly, but the overall message does not.  According to Japanese media, the likable woman should be obedient, motherly or sisterly, and revolve around men, the bustier, the better. Which character are you more likely to go for? As far as the other side of the Pacific is concerned, not the woman with the brains and itty-bitty bra size.


The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Anime3000 or it's staff.