CLARA: WEEK 5 (PART 2)

4) What is the ‘shoujo’ and how does it often function in anime?

The term ‘Shoujo’ as Cavallaro (2006) mentions, translates as young girl (p. 29) and is also the basis of audiences within Japanese youth culture. In other words, shoujo is also a genre of anime with its many sub-genres with specific characteristics aimed toward young girls as its target audience. A characteristic of this anime genre is that the protagonist is most often portrayed as a female heroine with a minor exception that it is a male protagonist but it still follows a certain structure. That is, usually the plot would follow a romantic comedy type routine or at least, inclusive of some kind of romantic potential of sorts (Cavallaro, 2006). The main aspects of shoujo genre anime, according to Cavallaro (2006) “show images of powerful young women – women’s empowerment over the last two decades and certainly suggest alternatives to the notion of Japanese women as passive and domesticated” (p. 33). With regards to Miyazaki’s Princess Monoke, the protagonist is a female heroine and the potential male counterpart is portrayed by Prince Ashitaka; who adds to the interesting relationship between himself and San.

REF LIST

Cavallaro, D. (2006). Introduction. In The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki (pp.5-13). London: McFarland & Company.