mechlizard

[mechlizard]

I personally wasn't aware of the shipping history of this show until today. I was talking to my brother this morning and I mentioned that we were watching Hetalia and he said "Oh no, Hetalia?!" and he told me about how much he has to hear about it from some of the women he knows.

But I can see it. It feels like this show actively encourages shipping. They're pretty boys and they seem to be sorted into two types of personalities, the tops and the bottoms. Where the tops are confident decision-makers and the bottoms are twinks who speak softly and act cute.

Hetalia Axis Powers

Oh my gosh. Hahahahahah. Okay. 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard my friend Angel talk about this show. We have been friends since middle school up until this very day. I promise you that I remember hearing about this so-called Hetalia show back when we were young. Because I was a sheltered child who feared the internet, I did not indulge in my curiosities (and that was a blessing). But now it’s a requirement for class, so here I am.  

I think what I’d want to reflect about most here are talking points related to the fandom of this anime. Now, you tell me—what do you presume will happen when you personify countries into cute anime boys before an audience of preteen girls? Any guesses? Shipping. 

My friend used to ask me to guess which countries I thought would be the top ships in Hetalia, and before watching this show, I would just begin laughing at the absurdity of it all. Germany and Italy? Russia and America? Whaaaat?? But after watching this show and seeing just as much Germany and Italy interact, it’s very clear why they would be pushed together in the minds of Hetalia fans.  

Are there implications here? What does it really mean to ship countries together? Like, are you just saying that the cultures are compatible with each other? Not to mention all the blatant stereotyping throughout this show. 

I’ve debated it and I’ve decided that I will not be choosing to ignore the strange vacuum that these characters inhabit. It does seem like there are other people in this world besides the countries—Italy is constantly flirting with women apparently and I always think... what women? There are women here? And apparently there is more than just Italy—there are actual Italians. And China brought their entire proletariat class to a meeting. So, what is happening here? Are the countries actually political representatives? Is this really all just allegory? Should I really be scrutinizing this so seriously?  

The answer is no. No, I should not be. 

[mechlizard]

Hetalia

I'm not personally up to date on the geopolitical situation at the time of WWII, so I don't quite get all of the references that Hetalia makes, although I have a bit of context from a podcast that I listened to that went over the situation in WWI in detail. I feel that "references" is the main word here. It feels like these were to fill in time between shows, so they condensed a lot of content into a short amount of time, so they weren't able to do much teaching and rather made a caricature of the countries based on a few personality quirks. I also found it pretty wild when I learned that this was originally supposed to appear on a kid's show before the broadcast was canceled. I know that other countries have better education on world politics, but a microseries aimed at kids that references war politics from nearly 70 years prior is pretty spectacular. 

I feel that this anime is quite odd (in a different way than most of the shows we were assigned). Not in the way that nations are personified as pretty boys, but in the sense that this boy-love-esqe comedy drama is supposedly taking place over the timeline of WWII. I'm not the type that believes that specific subjects can't be joked about, but it's just a weird, surreal moment watching Italy grope Germany's ass while supposedly the deadliest war in human history is taking place. It also weirdly depicts the Axis powers as just some goofy, well-meaning guys.

The pacing of this show also felt quite odd. We jump from topic to topic, switch art styles, switch character styles and attitudes, and switch between historical references and original character traits, all within a 5-minute micro-episode. It has a bit of a whiplash effect that makes me question what I've learned from each episode. 

If you enjoyed this show, that's fine. While it does seem like it has some problematic elements, it's boiled down to such a goofy format that you can't really take it seriously. I feel like it's fine to enjoy it as long as we educate ourselves on why it's problematic.

[mechlizard]

Your Name

How dare you make me feel my own feelings.

But, in all seriousness, this anime is one of the most beautiful movies I've ever watched. It subverted my expectations and sent me on an emotional journey that I had to physically recover from before I could type this reflection. Everything from the art, dialogue, pacing, character design, and theme were amazing.

In retrospect, I feel like this movie feels like an advanced version of a Hallmark movie. A city guy and a country girl have a chance encounter and have a challenging relationship, but eventually start to warm up to each other. They have a (massive) complication but are able to just barely reconcile this situation before they completely disappear from each other's lives. But the way that the writers were able to take a familiar formula and transform it into something that kept me so invested in these characters is something incredibly unique to me. Even forcing me to think about whether I've taken some of the connections I made in my life for granted.

So to not keep gushing about the movie, I'll mention that, similar to some of the previous animes, there are more themes about gender performance and gender policing. There are several times where the characters are partially chastised for not properly acting their gender, but I was happy to see that there are other times where showing non-gender-conforming aspects was applauded and rewarded.

Image 1 & 2 are people reflecting positively on a more feminine Taki, and image 3 is people being impressed by a more masculine Mitsuha in sports.

While I agree with the professor that this movie is a fairly conservative story, I feel as if, at least in this aspect, it is more progressive. I also expected the characters to audibly say that they are uncomfortable being the opposite gender, thus disparaging the idea of being more masculine or more feminine, but that never came.

Everything after the Freaky Friday plot felt like masterful storytelling that I'll be thinking about for quite a while. I'm quite glad that this class pushed me to watch this movie that I didn't think I would enjoy.

[mechlizard]

I liked your comparison to men that are drafted into the war. I've also reflected on the types of people that must have been drafted into a war that they didn't want to be a part of and didn't have a personality compatible with fighting an unknown enemy. Now that you mention it, I'm sure similar situations to Shinji must have taken place over those drafts. Likely why the military breaks down the person they use to be before they can build them back up again to be soldiers. Either way, war is pretty terrible for all people involved. Good post.

Neon Genesis Evangelion Part 1 Reflection

In the first half of Neon Genesis Evangelion, it is interesting to watch how Shinji refuses to accept the masculinity that others, and particularly Misato, requires him to perform. While other boys would be excited to perform the role of a masculine male, quite literally a warrior with high value women around him, Shinji would just rather leave. His strong resistance to traditional masculinity is impressive, but unfortunately, he knows that he must do the task, and if he does not, humanity will die. Indeed, he appears to agree to complete his first task out of pity for Rei, who is rushed to the 01 Eva in a hospital bed. He knows very early on that NERV needs him to be a warrior and will do anything to make him do it.

After Shinji makes his intentions to not perform masculinity clear, Misato adopts a complicated relationship with him. She still believes he should "man up" and act brave, but starts to see him as a child. Note that as she writes his door sign (which was written after she learned that he does not follow traditional masculinity), she uses the prefix chan. This prefix is generally used for little girls or babies. So here, she compares Shinji to a girl or baby simply because he does not act like a man.

Finally, although his reasoning for not leaving NERV after all is not entirely certain, it appears that he decides to stay as he felt that Misato was the closest thing to family for him. Shinji is clearly disregarded by his father, or only viewed as a tool (at least at first), and is said to have no mother. He envies the relationship Rei has with their father.

Upon reflection, I feel that the situation that Shinji faces is tragic, and is similar to many cases globally where male citizens are required to perform mandatory military service. While in most cases, one can choose to avoid combatant roles, this is not always possible depending on your nationality. Further, Americans drafted for the Vietnam war had to cope with a similar situation.

[mechlizard]

Yeah, this anime definitely stood out to be different from others in this second half. It felt more like an art piece rather than a traditional narrative at times.

And I agree about the realistic portrayal of mental issues. With most shows it's pretty expected for all of the characters to just shrug off the horrors of war, unrealistic expectations, and bodily injury without comment, but this one explores that a bit more to pretty good affect. Even though it can be frustrating at times to watch the only available savior fail to save people because he's struggling with mental issues.

Neon Genesis Evangelion (Part 2)

Now this is where I learned why Evangelion is so popular. I LOVEDDDDDD the end of the season in comparison to the first part. The addition of Asuka and Rei made the show go from something I was just tolerating to now one of my top 5 animes of all time. I've never been so excited to have a pit of anxiety in my stomach.

Even though she is a female, Asuka displays strong traditionally masculine characteristics that make her naturally dominant over Shinji. She's a very adept pilot, with a penchant for violence and a loud attitude. Asuka's presence is a direct opponent to all that Shinji has accomplished so far, and she makes him start to doubt all of the progress he's made. As a result, Shinji's performative masculinity that he uses to spite Asuka in Episode 16 ends up being his downfall, causing him to almost be killed, until he is saved by yet another woman, his mother.

The representations of mental illness in this series are my favorite thing about it. Even for a futuristic mecha anime, it's portrayals of depression and anxiety are incredibly realistic and relatable, and are notably ahead of their time, as the anime came out in 1995. Shinji not only struggles with depression, but we get to follow his spiral into it. He is continuously put down and fails to impress those he aspires to, and this takes a heavy toll on him. Asuka also experiences a severe mental breakdown, a result of her traumatic childhood and her defeat against an Angel. Asuka perfectly encapsulates what being a teenage girl is like, she builds up walls and acts confident and mean, but she does so only to protect herself from getting hurt again.

I loved the ending of the show and the mental gymnastics it kind of put me through, and I cannot wait to watch the movie next!!

[mechlizard]

I completely agree that this very much felt like an expression of art rather than a cohesive narrative. Which is fine, but it can be a bit jarring.

I like your interpretation of the hand cream segment. They made it pretty clear throughout the movie that he was in a terrible mental state and was actively wanting to separate himself mentally from anything happening. I feel that would be more of an appeal to Occam's razor than anything to do with struggling against queer masculinity.

Personally, I'll put my head in the sand and assume he was jealous of how smooth her skin was so he applied moisturizer.

The End of Evangelion

I strongly feel that the last two episodes are less a story being told and more art. I’m not sure that I want to understand all the themes and messages and deconstruct what were two very confusing episodes. Nonetheless, one scene stands out to me that I’d like to discuss: the masturbation scene in the hospital.  

In the masturbation scene, we see a distraught Shinji who has just been through some incredible situations visit Asuka who is in a coma. Keeping in mind all the incredibly traumatic events he has just been through; from a psychological perspective his only option is to either mentally break down or dissociate. He can’t afford to break down with everything going on and so in a dissociative state and in an attempt to feel remotely human, Shinji masturbates over Asuka. This kid is trying to feel human through something that is so incredibly inhuman, the irony is in your face. This isn’t about gender identities anymore; this is just a desperate cry for help. Shinji gives it no thought while doing it, he is so far removed from reality and himself and on varying levels we can see this in society.

While it may not be as extreme, people around the world engage in dissociative behaviors as small as reacting to one’s own hurt inside of ourselves with indifference, in the fear that the stored-up hurt will hurt us: our shadow self. Of course, we see people engage in extreme self-sabotaging behaviors that are unhealthy, and when we see them, we can remember Shinji and understand that these people are just trying to feel human and make their own lives worth living even if it doesn’t look like it at first glance. I feel very strongly about this topic of acceptance even when things don’t look right at face value. It helps us become better people who can employ more understanding with the people around us and bring a breath of fresh air to people who may really need support.

[mechlizard]

I really liked your comparison between the people of the Valley of the Wind and the native groups. Now that you mention it, that might have been part of the inspiration for the tribe. Since they are japanese, they may have been taking inspiration from natives in their part of the world, but it did remind me of how native Americans would respect the animal by using every part of it, although they did differ from the media by going out of their way to hunt. It also felt similar in the idea that the other nation invaded them with greater technology and military weapons with a stance of moral superiority.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

What a visually stunning piece of work. I also loved the score, it was quite different from Joe Hisaishi's other work under Studio Ghibli. Something about Nausicaä made it feel like a video game, and actually a lot of aspects of it reminded me of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind clearly exists as a critique on the destruction humanity has caused to Earth's environment, but it also provides a strong anti-colonialist message. The people of the Valley of the Wind seem to represent indigenous people all across the world, as they don't seem to draw specifically from one culture. It's shown that they have a healthy respect for nature, like many Native groups, using their location as an advantage to avoid getting sick from the poisonous spores. The people of the Valley value the resources which they are able to scavenge for, like the Ohm shell Nausicaä finds in the beginning of the film. What's important here is that they do not hunt down the Ohm for their shells, but scavenge for the shells they have shed already. This respect for natural resources is common in many indigenous groups. Princess Nausicaä herself is actively looking for ways to coexist with the insects of the toxic jungle. On the other hand, the Tolmekians, who represent colonizers, seek to conquer the toxic jungle in their attempt to use the giant soldier as a weapon against the very land they live on. The Tolmekians seem to assume they know better than the Valley people, who believe coexisting with nature is more productive than fighting it.

I can't say I personally relate to any of the themes touched on in this film, however I thought it was really cool to see a strong female hero for once. Nausicaä is a great protagonist who doesn't try to solve every problem with violence, instead seeking communication as an answer.

[mechlizard]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 cutscenes

The Xenoblade Chronicles storyline appears to revolve around the idea of a far future where the world has been destroyed by some massive weapon. All life other than the few humans that were able to live on the backs of titans has been destroyed in the process.

This storyline is fairly similar to Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in both the post-apocalypse setting and the idea of some factions living in a local paradise. The paradise is the valley of the wind in Nausicaä and the back of titans in Xenoblade. Both have criticisms of humans who take weapons and war too far, ending up with the world being unlivable for most people.

The characters finding a pile of slag melted by weapons from the old world. I feel that this looks awfully close to the Elephant Foot. The melted slag from Chernobyl's nuclear disaster.

One major way that Xenoblade differed from Nausicaä is that in Nausicaä, they rely on nature to fix itself. But in Xenoblade, there is a whole complicated plot line where a single scientist develops nanobots to start building life from scratch again and seeding the planet with them. With some help from his creations, they were reborn into titans. But it wouldn't be a Japanese RPG without some overly complicated plot points (looking at you, Kingdom Hearts).

Although I do find the twist that the top of the world tree was actually a space station to be pretty interesting, I was fairly fascinated that there was, in fact, no open landscape but just rundown buildings with more dead land. It had a pretty chilling effect.

I have to say that I'm normally the one to skip cutscenes when I'm playing games (yeah, I know that's weird), so it's a little odd for me to watch just 3 straight hours of videogame cutscenes.

[mechlizard]

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

What a wonderful and beautiful movie. This movie gives me Princess Mononoke vibes, where there are several factions that are at odds with each other. These factions are also not inherently evil but are just looking out for their own best interests and attempting to solve the world's problems the best way they see fit, even if they turn out to not be correct. Similar to Princess Mononoke, the main character acts as a self-sacrificing peacekeeper.

The self-sacrificing peace keeper making peace by letting the animal hurt her to show her friendliness.

Unlike Princess Mononoke, this world seems to take place in a post-apocalypse after some kind of terrible disaster took place caused by humans by both pollution and human-made weapons. These human-made weapons take the form of giants that are able to make mushroom-cloud explosions that appear to be references to nuclear weapons. The princess also notes that the toxic spores people are wary of are not poisonous by themselves, but are actually only dangerous because of the polluted ground. Likely, this is referencing the fear of how dangerous the world can be if we keep polluting it without regulation.

As I mentioned earlier, nobody in this movie is considered "the evil one." It appears to be a theme that there is moral ambiguity. The ones that are shown to do the most bad things were still doing it as a way of taking back their lands from a perceived threat. Even the main character, despite her role as a peacekeeper, still holds no ill-will towards the queen of that faction. At least not visibly.

I did notice, again, like Princess Mononoke, that this is a very bittersweet ending. Yes, the princess made friends with the Ohm and was healed by them, but two of the factions lost their entire city. They are worse off, but they do have hope for the future.

This movie also seems to be a massive inspiration for a game called Caves of Qud. If you like open-world roguelikes that are difficult, I recommend checking it out. Or just check out this review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_PBfLbd3zw

[mechlizard]

The End of Evangelion

Surprisingly, it got weirder.

Being weird isn't necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes it is. In my opinion, this anime seems to have fallen into both categories. This show very uniquely follows a fine line between action, art, and psychological analysis. Some of the body horror displayed was very reminiscent of Akira, but End of Evangelion really liked to take odd turns, be experimental, or pause on a subject for a while.

Someone really drew this and put it in a movie, huh.

Let's talk about Shinji. I can't say for certain what happened to his character plot line, but it was a little frustrating watching him in this movie. I get it; he's 14, he has zero confidence in himself, he's an icon of queer masculinity, he's been through terrible war scenarios, and he has the pressure of saving his loved ones and the world on his shoulders. Anyone who goes through all of that isn't going to be in the right presence of mind, and I appreciate that the movie doesn't mind exploring that angle. But when he's being strung up and used as a sacrifice to forcefully merge the consciousness of everyone on earth, it's kind of frustrating to hear him say for the 100th time, "Nobody likes me 🥺" and doing nothing else. However, I can also appreciate that Shinji's quest for happiness and acceptance is something that a lot of the viewers will be able to resonate with. Just because the pressure of a dire situation is present doesn't make those concerns go away.

I've noticed a lot of Christian iconography throughout the series. Lots of crosses, angels (biblically accurate or otherwise), Edam & Eve, even a crucifixion. I feel like that brings themes of repentance and forgiveness. Probably to do with Shinji's self repentance and forgiveness and attempting to move forward.

I feel like this scene could have used just a few more crosses

[mechlizard]

Neon Genesis Evangelion (Part 2, episodes 8, 16, 24, & 26)

I've been told that Evengelion gets weird, and I have to say that they didn't lie. There appears to be a common theme among the episodes that were chosen for us to watch, and that seemed to be Shinji's struggle with his queer masculinity and how the world doesn't quite except him for that.

In episode 8, we're introduced to Asuka, who is a great example of what the world seems to want from a mech pilot. Even though she is the primary reason I dropped off this anime when I first tried it out, She's cool, confident, and violent in the show, but also incredibly insufferable. But that might be my personal feelings toward tsundere characters.

Episode 16 has Shinji attempting to be a more confident stereotypical male persona, even throwing out a confident thumbs up sprinkled with some sexism.

Only for it to immediately backfire on him.

Oh no! My hubris!

Shinji takes a nice timeout in the self-reflection orb, where he thinks about how people perceive him compared to how he perceives himself. There are still the same themes of him coming to grips with his queer masculinity, but I feel this section has more to do with confidence. This section of self-reflection is the same back and forth with other people where they are clearly capable people, but their low self-worth and self-hatred get in the way of them pursuing their goals and making connections. Where their own self-image becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In the next episodes, I feel it emphasizes the idea of self-worth despite being different. He finds a role model, even though he turned out to be something different from humans, and then later has a whole self-reflection episode to learn how to finally accept himself. It seems that he finds that he can be a confident version of himself, queer masculinity, and all.

[mechlizard]

Neon Genesis Evangelion (Part 1, episodes 1, 2, 4, & 5)

The mindset of the main character of this anime is quite in contrast to the start of Gundam. They both start similarly with an overwhelming attack from an enemy, but in Gundam, the main character runs his way through an entire battlefield to steal, then learns on the fly how to pilot a brand new mech suit he's never seen before. In Evangelion, Shinji very much does not want to. Shinji in this show is depicted as a non-stereotypical male character who doesn't follow the same tropes as men in other shows. Although I would argue, at least in the first and second episodes, that if I were taking this show completely literally, I feel like most 14-year-old kids would probably react in the same way.

That being said, as they build Shinji's character over time, they make it clear that he is very much more of a less masculine character. He's thin, speaks softly, does his best not to be violent, is not brave, and doesn't like to participate in ogling women. Although, in a later scene where he finds himself in the room with a naked Rei, they seem to imply that he is attracted to her, so it doesn't seem like they were going for a gay stereotype. Shinji internalizes this hatred of his non-hegemonic masculinity, seemingly finding ways to force himself to become more normal so that he can gain the courage to do what needs to be done.

Wow, way to enforce the masculine hegemony 😤 (But it's actually fine since people were getting deleted by a skyscraper-sized alien while they were talking.)

Non-hegemonic masculinity is something that I encounter quite often since most of my friends are LGBTQ+ in some way. At least in my friend group, they very much don't act as stereotypical gay people you would see in the early 2000s media, just normal people that have different preferences. However, they don't adhere to hegemonic norms if they don't feel that it benefits them. Many of my friends love traditional masculine things and are traditionally assertive and confident, but if needed, they are able to share feelings or be vulnerable. They can also enjoy food or drink that is more feminine; they have no trouble doing so. I also believe I've seen a study showing that men who have daughters are less likely to adhere to the more toxic sides of masculinity. Something interesting to think about.

Or maybe the adults have too high expectations of a child.

[mechlizard]

Good to hear that your first convention went well. When I went to my first convention I also felt like others would judge me, but realized once I was there that everyone is in the same boat of being at least a little weird. It's a good way to let loose and try something new.

As for the hot costume in Florida, I feel that. There is a convention down in Orlando that takes place in a single large hotel/convention center, but the hotel is broken up into multiple buildings that requires you to walk outside to go to each. Along with it being in summer it's a death sentence to wear something that is particularly hot. It's always rough.

Convention Post

I remember as a middle-schooler I always dreamed of the fact of going to a convention. However, I was scared people would judge me or see me as odd, so I never acted on this dream. Finally, this summer I decided to stop caring and went to my first two conventions in Miami, FL, Supercon and Otakufest. I went with friends both times and it definitely remains one of my close memories for this summer.

Upon preparing for Otakufest in May my friends and I wanted to cosplay but didn’t know what the best options were and so on, so we put Kuromi and My Melody headbands and called that our cosplay. I loved seeing all the well-done craftsmanship for the cosplays and seeing the thought and work they put behind it. Seeing all my favorite characters and anime being cosplayed made me so happy, I’d often find myself just admiring the cosplays instead of paying attention to some events. For the second convention I went to, Supercon, the cosplayers were even more amazing, and I even went to a cosplay competition event to see all the cool and well-made cosplays. However, supercon was definitely not for the weak and I found myself exhausted at the end of it from all the walking. It also didn’t help that I decided to cosplay as Sylveon for this con which consisted of a large furry poncho in the middle of Miami heat, this was probably not the smartest cosplay choice. 

The artist alley was definitely my favorite part of the convention. I got to buy so many cute stickers, posters, prints, and figurines I can’t wait to decorate my apartment with once I go up to Gainesville. However, my most favorite merchandise there were the pokemon cards. As a kid I was a huge pokemon card collector and I played nearly all the DS games, but as the years went by I lost my interest and stopped collecting. The moment I saw all the pokemon card stands I cracked and I bought so, so many packs. I also loved to see so much Madoka Magica merch, which is my all time favorite anime, I never expected it to still have a living fandom. To say the least, I'm a pretty bad impulsive spender so artist alley was a death trap for me. I spent at least 600$ in total between both conventions. I'm not the proudest of it, but I definitely don’t regret it. Thank god my friends held me back or I would’ve easily blown a band. 

Supercon was definitely bigger and more exciting. David Tennant was there but god was the line long so my friend and I just took a picture of him from afar and called it a day. There were so many voice actors from JJK, MHA, Pokemon, Red Dead Redemption II, and so on. Personally, I didn’t care enough to wait in line or get an autograph but it was cool to see them from afar and for the option to be there. 

I didn’t go to many events other than the Cosplay Competition in Supercon. I tried going to a few Otakufest, however they weren’t really my style. I also was a little scared to ask people for cosplay photos but after much reluctance I finally asked. I got many cool photos of cosplayers like Lethal Company, Vigilante Deku, God Madoka, and so on. 

Overall, I loved both cons and I definitely want to go to more in the future and even possibly do an in-depth cosplay of one of my favorite characters!

^Picture of my pokemon pulls

^Tapestry I liked

[mechlizard]

I like how you noted that you didn't watch the show because it seemed cutesy, but were surprised at how heavy (metal) it gets. Which is very on-brand for who Retsuko is and how their cultural performance is reflected. But I can see where you were coming from. I was skeptical about the show until I saw the trailer where they showed the metal singing.

As for the difference in demeaner for women in the show and women in the US, I believe that Japan still significantly more conservative still, with stricter gender norms. I feel like that might be why you notice a big difference.

Aggretsuko

Aggrestsuko is an anime that if I had to describe in one word, it would be “cutesy.” I’m not going to lie, I’ve been avoiding it for a while. I’d always see it on Netflix and simply ignore it because I thought it wouldn't be my style, but lo and behold, I was hooked from episode 1. This surprised me quite a bit because I normally like heavily detailed and colorful anime, not bubbly and round anime designs. But I can’t deny that I love a good comedy, and a prim and proper red panda singing death metal at night sent me into absolute hysterics.

Now what I found really interesting about this anime is how the anime portrays that Retsuko is a woman. Voice alone isn’t a lot in the anime community – women have voiced male characters for decades at this point, with the prime example being Naruto’s voice actress in the English dub – but the mannerism in which she speaks demonstrates a lot. She’s poised and elegant, and styles herself as such at work. According to this week’s reading, gender is performative, and I very much agree. It’s how we are able to confidently make the assumption that Retsuko’s a woman – because she openly expresses herself according to feminine gender performance. She even berates herself at times, checking and scolding herself to act more womanly. Even with the random karaoke employee, she changed her speech and hid her love of death metal because she felt that it didn’t fit how she should be seen. 

Now maybe it’s because I’m a modern lady, but I found it a little funny that Retsuko associates a calm demeanor to how a lady is supposed to act. If I know women at all, we’re aggressive, go-getters, not afraid to tell someone off if they’re treating us wrong, and certainly not afraid to stand up for someone else. I suppose she does it to be respected in the workplace, and it just makes me really happy to be able to have a job at a place that encourages women to embrace both their femininity and masculinity.

[mechlizard]

I liked your analysis about why specifically does it have to be a feminine creation that gives the power. While one of the points in our reading mentions that it shouldn't just have to be masculinity that gives power, but they should have the choice to decide what type of powerful woman they want to be. Even if that power comes from femininity. And it appears that Usagi does appear to embrace that femininity. Although, the women aren't the only ones that are overly feminine. I noticed even the guys are all more feminine, almost like they're all thin Jojo characters.

...Although this line of thinking does make me wonder if men in that universe could use the moon prism powers 👀

Sailor Moon

Another popular show that I've just never seen before! It was enjoyable, even if the "monster of the week" format isn't quite for me. I also accidentally did this module a bit out of order, so my viewing of it was with both the Newsom and Butler texts in mind.

It's a classic example of textbook Girl Power and I do think it was important that young kids, young girls especially, had someone like Usagi Tsukino to watch growing up to show them that girls could be powerful and heroic while still being clearly girly. There is no need for them to try and fit themselves into a more masculine role in order to be strong, and they should be happy to embrace their traditionally feminine interests.

However, I do also see what Newsom means when she says that this girl power is still restricted by the patriarchy, which ties into the Butler readings too. This Girl Power emphasizes the fact that these girly things like makeup and tiaras and jewelry are still valid and powerful. But, why are those things girly? It's good that these girls can find power in their girly objects, but why are those objects girly? Why can't someone who doesn't consider themselves a woman enjoy makeup, for example? Not in a "men should have this power too!" sort of way; I don't mean men, I mean people who don't consider themselves women in the same way society defines what a woman is, in keeping with the "gender is a construct" concept. Girl Power in this context seems inherently reliant on what society defines "girl" as in the first place.

There's a lot of moments in the assigned episodes where Usagi compares herself to other girls. From her weight to her grades to her jewelry collection, she's constantly comparing herself (and being compared by others) to her female peers or the feminine expectations placed upon her. I'm curious if, were it made today, it would make the same comparisons and represent Girl Power in the same way, or if it would be adapted to reflect how much more acceptable non-traditional gender roles have become.

[mechlizard]

While I feel like this was a good show, I very much agree with your first points. I constantly found myself confusing the characters, especially since the only differentiating characteristics in the show was often the uniforms (which there were two of) and hair. The former multiple characters change between and Shu changes both often, sometimes without them having a scene between the change.

I was also distracted by the wispy white effect on the screen. I described it as making the whole show feel like a dream, but your comparison of it looking like Caillou is very apt. Almost like this school is taking place on Silent Hill.

Wandering Son Analysis

"Wandering Son" was not that enjoyable for me to be honest, mostly because there were so many names casually thrown around and I couldn't keep track of who was who (it doesn't help that there were only two different hair colors and maybe three varying hairstyles...). It seemed like there were at least five different transgender characters whose stories were intertwined. I mean that in a completely innocent way; I just found it difficult to follow along with the story. The art style kind of reminded me of the show "Caillou" because of its almost dreamlike wispy and faded colors. Nonetheless, this show definitely acknowledges some real-world issues surrounding the acceptance of transgender children. Here are my takes on the show.

Wandering Son depicts numerous students who are beginning to explore their gender through new methods of self-expression. The story mainly revolves around Nitori, a school-aged boy who seeks to become a girl. He tries his best to come to a sensible decision on dressing as a girl in public based on how he is perceived by others. Some children are naturally scared or confused by Nitori's seemingly sudden change of heart when he shows up to school in a girl's uniform. However, Nitori, surrounded by those who accept his choice, experiences a psychological effect called "group polarization." Essentially, after hanging out with individuals that he shares a common mindset with (such as Yuki, a transgender adult female who encourages Nitori's passions), he has the false notion that others will in turn react the same way. By sticking to his own ingroup, Nitori is further encapsulated within his own world and cannot understand that others may not respond as favorably as his friends. Nitori's experiences reflect real-life transgender individuals who seek to be accepted in a society where such expression is scorned.

I think the show comments on how transgender individuals are treated particularly if they are female-to-male transitioning versus male-to-female. The two characters who express themselves in the former are accepted and even well-liked among their peers, while the latter (Nitori, especially) are frowned upon and viewed as "perverted" or "strange." One of the female-to-male transgender students has an easy time making friends and is seen as brave and nonchalant to their peers when she wears a boy's uniform. On the other hand, Nitori is mocked and belittled for dressing in a girl's uniform. Even in my initial confusion of characters, I picked up on the way the different students were treated. I found it interesting; as a straight, cisgender female, I had never thought about this kind of comparison, and I can only assume it rings true in the real world as well.

Again, I wasn't much of a fan of this show because it was a little confusing and fast-paced, but it had potential. Not a bad watch!

[mechlizard]

Wandering Son

For context, I'm trans. I actually got my name change legally finalized yesterday 🎉. Yeah, this anime does a pretty damn good job at capturing the feelings that Shu is going through. The only thing missing is a whole lot more crying.

Shu replies "no" to this. The only thing not believable in this show is that a trans girl doesn't play videogames. /j

In the first episode, Shu makes it very clear that they don't feel comfortable in their clothes. That it's not physically restrictive, but it still feels like it. That smile in the photo didn't have a soul behind it. I'm sure that Shu would very much understand our lesson on gender performativity, even without reading much into it. I wouldn't doubt that Shu probably feels like they are playing a character to be able to not get harassed by their peers.

One thing I noticed was that there were some gender dynamics at play that are extremely similar in the United States. Where women who wear men's clothes get a pass but might be considered to be doing it for attention or to be cool. But if men wear women's clothes, the world might as well be crumbling apart, and they're looking to do it for sexual pleasure. I know this might sound weird, but gender expression and sexuality are completely separate, but it's very common that people believe that they are connected.

I do want to mention Doi. The guy that convinces Shu to go to school as a girl. I feel like others might have been confused as to what his motivation is. I read his behavior as being a classic "chaser." A chaser is someone that is attracted to trans people but does not respect their identity in front of others. Doi might also be wrestling with the possibility that he might not be considered straight, so he might also be lashing out in public so that others might not suspect that about him. This is something that trans people, especially trans women, have to actively be careful of, as a chaser will drop support for a trans person the moment they might be considered with the trans person.

Doi after meeting a transgender adult for the first time. I audibly said, "Ah, fuck, this dude's a chaser," right when I saw this, and I predicted the plot line that was coming.

I also want to say that this show came out in 2011, and the manga that this was based on was earlier. I noticed that these characters had a hard time expressing how they were feeling, and I feel like a part of the reason for that is that all of the words to do so haven't been popularized yet.

Every trans girl needs a dysphoria hoodie!

If this class could stop showing me things that make me cry, I would appreciate it. 🙃