Week 5

What is the ‘shojo’ and how does it often function in anime?

The term Shojo (spelt ‘Shoujo’ in Cavallaro, 2006) is known as romantic comedy anime.
This type of anime involves young girls aged around 12 – 13. Napier states that Shojo in anime functions to give excitement, as this is rare to Japanese males who are caught up in the stress of their professional workplace. Shojo is also popular with young girls as they are drawn to the ‘cuteness’ portrayed in these stories.

Miyazaki’s young females are unquestionably shojo, based on their age and general appearance. Although, (as cited in Cavallaro) Miyazaki is defended with the statement “Miyazaki’s heroines are active, independent and inquisitive – to the point that some commentators have described them as “youths wearing shojo masks”” (pg. 11)
Miyazaki backs this statement up by declaring he had no intention of representing attractive young girls as “play toys” or “pets” for complex men.
Miyazaki’s most recent productions show that he steered clear of the conventional notions of young feminine beauty altogether and portrayed the characters with only sheer physical attractiveness (Cavallaro, 2006).


According to Lent (2000), what place does animation occupy in Asian societies? How different is this across Asia (ie comparing China and Japan)?

In Asian societies, anime has occupied large areas such as the mass media. Politicians have used campaigns that have anime to attract the support of people to follow their leadership. Lent (2000) also states “In economic terms, animation found its niche in parts of Asia” where the many foreign studios and co-production schemes brought in foreign money. The Korean government was the main contributor when it found out that animation had many economical advantages and represented most of the country’s cultural products exports.

Lent (2000) states that many of Japan’s anime companies went into partnership with the USA in the hope of decreasing the effects of the economic downturn that occurred in the 1990’s.
However, in the past, the Chinese government has viewed foreign animation with suspicion (Lent, 2000) and therefore banned foreign anime to make room for local cartoon characters and to promote their own anime as it is considered to be more related to China’s cultures and values.
Also, an obvious relationship is present between animation and other mass media in Asia. In Japan, manga and anime feed off one another, whereas in Hong Kong and Taiwan, many Japanese anime evolve into live action films and television drama series. Lent (2000)

I believe that Japan’s choice to partner with American anime is the most realistic decision rather than banning foreign anime and one example of this that Lent (2000) states is the joining of Japan’s Tokuma Shoten Publishing Company NB and America’s Walt Disney International

References:
Cavallaro, D. (2006). The Anime art of Hayao Miyazaki. London: Mc Farland & Company.

Lent, J. A. (2000). Animation in Asia: appropriation, reinterpretation, and adoption or adaptation. Retrieved 23 August, 2010, from AnimeResearch.com