Scamp did a pretty great runthrough of the summer anime season on the Cart Driver—check it out!—and I can tell this is going to be a pretty full season for the ladies.
Here’s what I mean:
- We’re getting Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal (not to be confused with Viz Media’s Sailor Moon re-release) a remake of only one of the most beloved shoujo series in Western anime fandom;
- Blue Spring Ride, a Kimi Ni Todoke-type shoujo romance;
- Free! 2, which puts all the talent and hype of Kyoto Animation behind a series engineered exclusively for the purpose of ogling hot guys;
- Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, a rare 4-koma romance adaptation targeted at girls;
- Dramatical Murder, Love Stage, and Black Butler: Book of Circus (thanks for the correction, Tony!)—three shows that are probably not going to be notable except that they’re all BL shows that pander to women. I cannot recall a time we’ve had more than one BL show airing per season.
I’m not saying that all of these shows are going to be awesome. We probably won’t know if there’s even a single one worth watching until July. However, this seems to be an indication to female fans that senpai has finally noticed us. Studios realize our money is just as good.
Still, will this season be any better for it? I don’t think it will be.
A lot of these shows may be pandering to women now, but it’s still pandering. Whether it’s the “my little sister is hot for me” of last season or the “men in drag for no reason” of the now, studios will deliver us these fantasies whether we want them or not.
Did you notice that just about all of these shows are romances? Whether het or BL, they seem to be primarily about two people getting together. But I suppose that comes with the territory of the shoujo term—even if we had a show about an engaging, independent female character kicking ass, that would probably be considered shounen.
And let’s look more closely at this glut of BL. So far, nobody has very high hopes for the plots of these shows; they’re simply targeting fujoshi viewers. We’ve been trained not to expect much from the single BL show of the season and we get what we expect; recent titles like Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi get uncomfortably non-consensual. Yes, I am definitely part of the problem, but if we tell studios we just want pretty boys, we’re not going to get any of the cool female characters we crave.
It’s almost cliche for an anime fan to bemoan today’s shows and how much they suck, compared to the “good old days,” defined as “five to ten years before that fan discovered anime.” You often hear a lot about the ‘90s or early ‘00s being a golden time for anime, when really, there was just as much junk then as there is now. In reality, time and distance wipe away the bad shows from our memories, so we only remember the good stuff that aired.
My guess? Probably I’ll end up watching one or two shows from the summer season—same as always. There’s more shows aimed at women, but the percentage of what looks like quality and what looks like junk remains the same. It’s remarkable that women are getting such a big piece of the pie now, but fanservice is still insufferable, no matter who it’s aimed at.
More of my writing on fanservice:
Photo via Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal.
6 Comments.
It’s “Book of Circus”, not Love Circus. That series is going to be a big deal since the 3rd season covers one of the best arcs that Black Butler manga fans love.
XD I LIKE BLACK BUTLER, OK!?
Don’t forget Shonen Hollywood, which is nothing but ogling male idols.
I also think Tokyo Ghoul (manga is excellent) will be big among girls too, despite how violent and horrifying the story is. The male seiyuu cast for the show so far is top-notch.
@Tony, thanks. I corrected it and credited you. I am not judging you AS I SAID I AM PART OF THE PROBLEM
Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun may be interesting, it was released in a shonen magazine though. I’m currently working through Bakuman so the timing will be fun with this one for me.
One that seems off in the Summer list is Hanayamata, which appears to be a slice of life cute series dealing with middle school girls getting into traditional dance…the odd part is that the manga was serialized in a seinen magazine…weird…possibly creepy.
Glassip seems potentially interesting as well, if it doesn’t turn out to be too slow moving. I am torn between enjoying and being bored by One Week Friends right now…and I have the feeling Glassip may be similar in feel.
With the ‘the past was better’ you are right, there has always been a fair share of slop being released. One thing that has been bothering me for the past decade or so is the rise in moe culture and the over bearing presence of titles derived from galge and other deep otaku pandering plot devices that involve over developed under age characters.
What’s interesting about Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun is that it is TECHNICALLY a shounen, which is why anime is confusing. It’s such a straight-on parody of shoujo manga that it has found a big fanbase with shoujo fans, despite not being marketed that way at first.
It’s hardly targeted at girls, though. Either way, it’s just that good that everybody should like it, so it’s pointless to say that only one gender can enjoy it.
P.S. it’s not too much of a romance either, when Chiyo has to RECALL that there was a romantic subplot going on. It’s just a godly comedy that is published in a shonen magazine.
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