It’s categorized as seinen – young men’s manga – as well as ecchi – pervert manga, with panty shots and grown men macking on nubile high school girls and whatnot. But I’m left feeling like it’s more for teenage girls. While the guys grope breasts and peep in the shower and lift skirts, it’s all remarkably non-threatening. The guys seem to be motivated by a romantic love of youth and beauty, and the girls are free to beat the crap out of their pervert friends without consequence. It’s kind of empowering.
so far, anyway
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prelapsarian
advancedclass
advancedclass Said:
on September 6, 2009 at 23:33
As near as I can tell, /everything/ in Japan is now for teenaged girls except for the most objectionable hentai manga and possibly josei manga, because Japan discovered that even if it’s full of battles and tits, girls will still read it if there are cute boys involved.
That being said, how skeevy it comes off as really depends on the author/artist/whatever. I’ve read some seinein that gives a fair deal to ladies, seen some that’s just repulsive (which is at least something you can /mostly/ avoid in shounen), and I’ve seen a bit of shoujo that’s very feminist … and a lot more that’s more offensive in some ways than the hentai seinen stuff.
And we’ve had the discussion about the horrible state of BL and female characters already.
But everything is better with cooking.
prelapsarian Said:
on September 6, 2009 at 23:41
I was wondering whether it was mislabelled, but depending on where it was published I don’t really have the ability to make that call. I think shoujo has the potential to be a lot more counter-feminist than seinen, on the theory that the beloved /has/ to be in some way worthwhile, whereas the protagonist just has to be a placeholder for the reader.
I’m toying with the comparison to this repulsive North American thing where men are useless children and women control them through sex. The skeeviness is at least as important in the depiction of the guys as the chicks. In this manga, the guys are honestly pretty innocent. I should have added that part of the nonthreatening-ness of the male protagonist is the way he never pursues the girl. The relationship occurs mostly in the minds of the other characters, freeing the girl up to act without putting herself on the line too much, and also without really having any sort of commitment demanded from her.
I don’t know, I’m rambling.