while the male characters are cheerfully two-dimensional—not unlike the “beautiful fighting girls” discussed by Saitō (2011)—completely removed from the reality of homosexual men.[5] The specter of gender switching hangs over the story as both potential and threat.
This makes the story different because it is not focused on the guys as much as on this female character, Ira. Kind of like how the husband was depicted in "All My Darling Daughters".
persisted from the “modern girl” (moga) of the 1920s to the “beautiful fighting girl” (sentō bishōjo) of the 2010s. As Saitō Tamaki points out, the fighting girl that commonly appears in anime lacks inner psychology; she is a lure, a collection of characteristics to attract otaku
Very interesting point. Implies that shoujo images of girls view women as objects rather than a character.
A comparison of the seven countries shows that the “Agree” response percentage was highest in the USA (35.7%). This was followed by the UK (26.1%), France (22.2%), Germany (20.1%), Sweden (17.4%), Japan (14.6%), and the Republic of Korea (8.2%
Interesting graph. It's interesting because it reveals that countries that are deemed "Western" have a high "agree" response percentage of male dominance in society than countries who are not really seen as "Western". In our society, it is usually portrayed that Western countries are more progressive in gender equality compared to the rest of the world.
his time. In contrast, the “I will be married” (-6.5 points) and “I will be raising a child/children” (-6.3 points) percentages were lower this tim
This would be a graph that Sugimura would have something to say about. I think that she link the graph back to the fact that Japanese youth are becoming more individualistic. This is proven when the excerpt says that the response for being independent and laid back is higher than it was six years ago, and the response for getting married and/ or having kids was lower. This is important because the youth are the future of a society, meaning they will set the societal norms in the future.
Akina always says how she's from a one-parent family. She's like, "I've only got one real dad. That guy she's married to now? To me he's just some man, co my mom he's the new husband, and co everyone else we're one big happy family."
Very interesting how some of the rare dialog we hear from Akina and it sounds depressing. Narrator builds Akina to be this goddess with no issues, but Akina explains how everything is not so pretty once it's not public. Is divorce and remarriage a bad thing in Japanese culture?
I don't have a cell phone. It's all, "You can earn your own money co buy one."
Interesting change of attitude shown. Went from being pompous and saying her parents will buy here clothes, to saying she has to buy a phone with her own money.
Akina doesn't even need to use her looks. She's probably going to go a totally different route. I can't imagine how she's going to end up. She's so enigmatic. That's what I like about her. Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing how Akina turns out. She' ll probably become a single mother or something like chat. That's not so out there for Akina.
Narrator has jealousy towards Akina. Feels that she can't compare to Akina because she is "number 1". Probably can't see that Akina isn't perfect, much less a goddess.
student council. Proud of their right to talk with adults as equals, these people go around being sickeningly overenthusiastic
Interesting how the student council's in Japan seem to hold more power and prestige than they do in The U.S.
. To yearn for the love of the same person for your whole life,
Even though it is not as common in American culture at least now, it is usually this love shown in Japanese film, maybe to add something dramatic.
To yearn for the love of the same person for your whole life, it's like a woman from the olden days
It definitely does feel like something from the olden days because it is rarely heard from now.
retarded
I noticed a lot of the use of this word in the narrator's voice. Also interesting about how Japan's low age of consent rule has an effect on relationships.
We bugged our parents until they bought us one. To tell the truth, they cost under ten thousand yen-if you found a job at some sleazy place in the city, you could probably earn that much in a nig
The way that the girls are talking about money and clothes so far makes it sound like they are well off. Interesting how this language of calling poorer/rundown areas sleazy by richer people is seen in both Japanese and American cultures