Gender roles in anime

emotionalocean

Hey guys, I'm just doing a college assignment on the gender roles in anime and I'm just conducting some research and was wondering if I get some input from you guys, I'm just looking to see what you think about how males and females are stereotyped and portrayed in the different forms of anime and if you think that there is specific roles they should be in. Any feedback will be appreciated.

Thanks,
David

gearoidof

"there are specific roles they should be in"
What do you mean by that?

Women in anime are stereotyped horridly, I gotta say. They're all 1D characters, big boobs, always happy, emotional, in need of help...
The exceptions are few and far between, but usually better off for it.

Karl Hungus

emotionalocean wrote: »

I'm just looking to see what you think about how males and females are stereotyped and portrayed in the different forms of anime

Fairly loaded question to begin with there, you ask how we feel about how males and females are stereotyped and portrayed in anime, that's a presumption that they are stereotyped or at least that there is a specific stereotype you are referring to. Also, I'd same Anime is far too broad a subject for what you ask, many different directors, writers, producers, animation studios, and as many different ways each will depict and portray genders. You might as well be asking what we think about how they're portrayed on TV, or in Film, it's equally as broad.

I mean, take a look at the vastly different female characters in Miyazaki's films? The young heroine in Nausicaa, the ailing mother in Totoro, the young girl finding her independence in Kiki. I don't feel that any of these characters are stereotyped, and are as fully fledged and well written as any male counterparts, perhaps even more so as Miyazaki's films often feature female protagonists, as well as antagonists. Or how about in the films of Satoshi Kon, take characters like Chiyoko in Millennium Actress or Mima in Perfect Blue for example, extremely well written characters with great depth that are pretty far from stereotypes.

Not that I'm saying stereotyping doesn't happen in Anime, or that there aren't films or shows with dreadful female characters. There are, but I'll generally look at that as a case of bad or lazy writing and poor characters. But on the whole, Anime films I'd be inclined to watch, like the aforementioned ones, or films like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Jin-Roh, and so forth, I'd say gender roles are as varied, diverse and well written for males and females as anything else.

Here's a film from Isao Takahata, Only Yesterday, it's a drama about an office worker who reminisces about her childhood:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9WNAcPcIGY

emotionalocean wrote: »

and if you think that there is specific roles they should be in.

Yes, I do think there are specific roles they should be in; whatever role suits the narrative best.

Cy_Revenant

emotionalocean wrote: »

Hey guys, I'm just doing a college assignment on the gender roles in anime and I'm just conducting some research and was wondering if I get some input from you guys, I'm just looking to see what you think about how males and females are stereotyped and portrayed in the different forms of anime and if you think that there is specific roles they should be in. Any feedback will be appreciated.

Thanks,
David

This style of question seems to be asked frequently on these boards. I find myself disappointed every time I see one.