Sorry I made my first thread related to the topic of sexism and feminism, I'm sure you've all had enough of that already, but I thought it'd might be an interesting debate. What do you think of the more polarizing aspects of Kill la Kill? It's an action-comedy anime that satirizes the Japanese schooling system. It's about as politically incorrect as you can get, so there are plenty of people angry about some aspects of the show. In particular, the protagonist, Ryuko Matoi. I honestly don't know what to think of her portrayal in the show, and I've seen some pretty good arguments on both sides on whether she is a strong female lead, or, well, isn't.
When you first see her, it's pretty clear she's several lightyears ahead of most chicks in anime (and still is as of episode 2) as far I'm concerned. Black Lagoon-tier, in fact.
- badass and determined to achieve her goals
- a very good fighter, but smart enough to know when she can't win
- she is a snarky tomboy but with a nice side
- doesn't rely on anybody else to deal with her issues
- willing to stand up to authority and protect the weak and abused
- eats lemons like apples, how hardcore is that?
- has a deep sexy voice, unlike the chipmunk-voiced "cute" pre-pubescent girls that are plaguing animation in an attempt to appeal to otakus and lolicons
Pretty good start right? Well, this is made by the minds behind Gurren Lagann, FLCL, Panty & Stocking. So some weird shit happens, and this is where the controversy starts.
If you haven't googled the plot yet (or did the smart thing and watched both episodes of this FUCKING AMAZING show, do it right now, seriously) I should point out that certain school uniforms give you powers in this universe. She needs this uniform to defeat her enemies and accomplish her goals. Did I mention that this school uniform is sentient and, more or less, forced her to wear it in a scene that was a visual metaphor (as subtle as a forest fire) for that one four letter word that begins with R?
It's pretty clear she hates wearing the thing (which she states several times), as she sports that blush all the time while wearing it, mainly because of all the awkward attention it gets her. Kids gawking over your passed-out body, your best friends fat ugly dad doing the same thing while loudly panting heavily later that day, getting mocked by everyone for being "exhibitionist", being objectified by every guy with a line of sight, more or less. They even bothered to draw guys in the background digging around inside their pants during the tennis deathmatch. And the camera certainly puts effort into taking the most risque angles of her possible, in the most naughty positions concievable. Though to be fair, the fanservice is equal oppurtunity. Her homeroom teacher definetly provides some (hilariously pointless) manservice for the ladies who have run out of FREE! episodes to watch (if you read Critical Miss on here, that's the swimming cartoon).
So the question is, does this silly outfit and blatant fanservice make Ryuko a weak(er) female character? Is it offensive enough that people should be insulted by it? One thing the show does do, is to make everyone that objectify her look like an ugly creep, as if to say "this loser is you." And no matter how people around her react to the outfit, she doesn't let them get to her. She is willing to put up with the embarassment (and pain, the uniform drains your blood while transformed so you only have so long before passing out, transforming in the first place requires you to draw blood) that it causes her because she needs the uniform to complete her goals. It says something about her determination that I think is very admirable. I think if the animators really wanted to objectify Ryuko, they would have made her a domination fantasy, which she isn't because she has control over her own body and doesn't let anyone treat her like an object. But it's understandable that people would complain considering how much the camera explots it for blatant fanservice (which I'm pretty sure is done for parody and laughs, given how hilariously shameless it is).
What do you think? At first it bothered me, but now that I think on it, it doesn't bother me that much. Also, go watch Kill la Kill. It's freaking awesome.
When you first see her, it's pretty clear she's several lightyears ahead of most chicks in anime (and still is as of episode 2) as far I'm concerned. Black Lagoon-tier, in fact.
- badass and determined to achieve her goals
- a very good fighter, but smart enough to know when she can't win
- she is a snarky tomboy but with a nice side
- doesn't rely on anybody else to deal with her issues
- willing to stand up to authority and protect the weak and abused
- eats lemons like apples, how hardcore is that?
- has a deep sexy voice, unlike the chipmunk-voiced "cute" pre-pubescent girls that are plaguing animation in an attempt to appeal to otakus and lolicons
Pretty good start right? Well, this is made by the minds behind Gurren Lagann, FLCL, Panty & Stocking. So some weird shit happens, and this is where the controversy starts.
I think gigguk sums up the first episode in this video pretty well
First Reaction: Kill la Kill episode 1 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4-xbKi7qa4]
First Reaction: Kill la Kill episode 1 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4-xbKi7qa4]
If you haven't googled the plot yet (or did the smart thing and watched both episodes of this FUCKING AMAZING show, do it right now, seriously) I should point out that certain school uniforms give you powers in this universe. She needs this uniform to defeat her enemies and accomplish her goals. Did I mention that this school uniform is sentient and, more or less, forced her to wear it in a scene that was a visual metaphor (as subtle as a forest fire) for that one four letter word that begins with R?
It's pretty clear she hates wearing the thing (which she states several times), as she sports that blush all the time while wearing it, mainly because of all the awkward attention it gets her. Kids gawking over your passed-out body, your best friends fat ugly dad doing the same thing while loudly panting heavily later that day, getting mocked by everyone for being "exhibitionist", being objectified by every guy with a line of sight, more or less. They even bothered to draw guys in the background digging around inside their pants during the tennis deathmatch. And the camera certainly puts effort into taking the most risque angles of her possible, in the most naughty positions concievable. Though to be fair, the fanservice is equal oppurtunity. Her homeroom teacher definetly provides some (hilariously pointless) manservice for the ladies who have run out of FREE! episodes to watch (if you read Critical Miss on here, that's the swimming cartoon).
So the question is, does this silly outfit and blatant fanservice make Ryuko a weak(er) female character? Is it offensive enough that people should be insulted by it? One thing the show does do, is to make everyone that objectify her look like an ugly creep, as if to say "this loser is you." And no matter how people around her react to the outfit, she doesn't let them get to her. She is willing to put up with the embarassment (and pain, the uniform drains your blood while transformed so you only have so long before passing out, transforming in the first place requires you to draw blood) that it causes her because she needs the uniform to complete her goals. It says something about her determination that I think is very admirable. I think if the animators really wanted to objectify Ryuko, they would have made her a domination fantasy, which she isn't because she has control over her own body and doesn't let anyone treat her like an object. But it's understandable that people would complain considering how much the camera explots it for blatant fanservice (which I'm pretty sure is done for parody and laughs, given how hilariously shameless it is).
What do you think? At first it bothered me, but now that I think on it, it doesn't bother me that much. Also, go watch Kill la Kill. It's freaking awesome.
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