animation Why is it that most animes make female either dumb or like degenerate them

[Sofen 75]

I mean its enough that most anime have way expanded candified eyes. But whats the deal with making female characters with no uniqueness. Although high school is bad in general sense because its so much of that in anime, and its either about massive melodrama or inner drama circles of how much nonsense can i talk about before i spout in melodramatic tears infront of your beautiful FACE! :grin2:

 

You may think.. Oh geez you would hate My Little Pony. Nah, those ant eyes are ok because they are good ponies. So i dont mind. They manage to do it well.

 

Like i can come up with a few series where they tend to actually have some competense and works like human beings. Kino's Journey is one of them. But thats really rare.

 

This is what most of them are like though.

 

 

 

[Xeltor23 704]

Because most anime makers today don't care about making good, not superficial and deep animes, no, most of them create anime just to make fanservice, dumb female caracters; why make a good story when you can have boobs? The worst exemple for me is Fairy Tail, that thing was great, like really, but then, after the seven years ellipse, it became.... horrible. Geez, that's really sad :/ Fortunatly, not all of them are like that, we still find some animes like before

[Zyrael 1,471]

I mean its enough that most anime have way expanded candified eyes.

Hey now. I happen to like those way expanded candified eyes.

 

But in any case, there are plenty of great, badass, even evil female characters in anime:

 

 

 

 

It's a long list. There's a LOT of anime out there, too much to make blanket statements like yours, I think. Sure, there are tropes. But the fact you can come up with "few series where they tend to actually have some competense and works like human beings" means you have plenty more to watch my friend. 

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,283]

Sadly, anime is a breeding ground for terrible cliches. For some reason, most girls in anime HAVE to wear some kind of skirt, seems to be the only thing allowed most of the time. I don't get it. I wish anime wasn't so bogged down by these types of cliches because many shows would be so much better without them, not just the female ones either. 

[Scootalove 10,684]

It's mostly for fan service depending on the material and sure anime makers have shown evidence of tropes, but I'm sure you'll find plenty of animes that actually do put love & care into their characters.

[honk friend 1,972]

First of all holy shit what was OP banned for

Secondly holy shit what the fuck was OP trying to say

[BennyBoy 21]

In the case of schoolgirls - 

 

I suppose with some authors or creators, it's because they're not schoolgirls.

 

If you're an older male writer (or even college age), I can see where you'd struggle to write school-age girls as either -

 

1 - You've graduated a while ago

 

2 - You aren't a girl and thus grew up not doing the same things or going through the same experiences that a Japanese schoolgirl would, the same as normal highschool boys don't sit in circles and whisper about who they like (I think) or worry about their hair or clothing. (I'm just going by the general idea of highschool, I don't mean to offend) Plus, girls have things that guys don't, including stereotypes, which are ever-present in most schools. (They were in mine -we were still a very accepting school, but we still fit into boys and girls personalities.)

 

3 - Making schoolchildren do accurate schoolchildren things isn't on the top of their list. In most "highschool" animes, from what I see, they don't make Haruto worry about getting his Physics homework done or follow Haruka's adventures in eating cafeteria food, going to band lessons and listening to Foreign Language lectures. Most times they go on daring journey's fight the bad guy and look awesome. 

 

I'm not saying that there can't be any well-rounded women - and maybe someday, there will be a balance between the boys and the girls where they both go about normal life, but in an entertaining and satisfying way (which I would totally watch). It's just not here yet. 

 

As for other anime, it might just be for the same reasons, plus, the audience seems okay with what they have now, but if someone does make a new manga with a well constructed female character, i'm sure they would buy it from interest as well as something new and entertaining, whether the characters are normal or have some sort of other-worldly power.

 

Also, just as a note - big eyes are a staple of anime. Not all have it, but it's hugely popular for the girls (and some boys too) to have large and shiny eyes because that's how it's been for a long time. There are lots of exceptions, but i'm just naming the bulk. 

[Shanks 10,811]

The expanded eyes is something anime borrowed from classic western animation, particularly Disney. Osamu Tezuka the "godfather" of anime and creator of classics such as Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion and this along with other features of anime some of which were also borrowed from western animation became the standard. As for fanservice and how much, it really depends on what kind of anime you are watching as anime is a much more diverse medium than many give it credit for. Shonen (young boys), Seinin (adult oriented) anime are where you are most likely to see fanservice aside from Ecchi anime which are deliberately designed to have as much as they can possibly get away with though you may also see some in the Magical Girl genre which is a subset of Shojo (young girls) anime  The anime most frequently released overseas is without a doubt Shonen though some prominant Seinin like Hellsing and Cowboy Bebop have also made it overseas along with a few examples of Shojo like Sailor Moon. 

 

With that in mind most fanservice does tend to be geared toward teenage to young adult males though there is a strong market of straight girls who like yaoi (gay male) anime which to be clear can be but isn't always pornographic. Japan has different values in regard to sex, you can actually buy used schoolgirl panties in vending machines there and alot of people won't care if you look up porn on your cellphone while you are on the train which combined with the fact that sex often sells and you have fanservice.

 

As for schoolgirl drama, you are much more likely to see that in Shojo anime than anywhere else. I have watched very little Shojo so most of what I have watched just dosen't have very much of that sort of thing. To say most female anime characters are shallow and bland isn't exactly true though, there are plenty of them out there as well as bland and shallow male characters but again it depends on what you are watching.

[CheeryFox 23,811]

Hey, fan service makes anime popular. No reason to cry about that. And if you were to narrow it down, you'd find more than enough, fully developed female characters. 

[Lagrangian 64]

As noted, it depends a lot on what you're reading, though even shojo can treat their characters badly.

Seinen and shounen are extremely popular, shounen trounament fight series in particular. They have male characters to begin with, add on top fanservice and a lot of the girls/women end up completely marginalized as characters.

Some do it better than others of course. One Piece comes to mind. It still throws fan service in, but tends to make it up by still giving all of its main female characters their own story arcs and complete personalities.

Japan is also entrenched in is traditions. Just think of how many manga you've read that feature a school setting. Though this may be in part linked to attempts in order to stay relevant in what is becoming an increasingly difficult business to become successful in.

[Xylosian 140]

If anything anime empowers women and men are shown as the docile weaklings.

[Black Sabbath 2,484]

If anything anime empowers women and men are shown as the docile weaklings.

Would you mind giving an example of this? 

[GeekySonic 1,150]

Well, I don't watch an awful lot of anime. But the most recent one that I saw was Ouran High School Host Club or something like that. In that, the main character (a girl), is one of the most level-headed of the group.

 

The guys she hangs out with are a mixed bag. One of them is overzealous, overbearing, overprotective, and flounders with envy whenever it's even suggested that she might be interested in someone else. Then there's a scheming pair of twins, a whiny little kid, and a couple others that I can't remember.

 

This is about the only example I can come up with, but the point is the female lead is portrayed a lot better than her male compatriots.

 

Also, not sure if this counts as an anime, but RWBY, anyone? I think that's a great example of making strong, likeable characters out of a (mostly) female cast.

Edited April 30, 2016 by GeekySonic

[cuteycindyhoney 13,283]

It depends on what type of anime you watch. If you stick with lighthearted shojo, you'll find lots of girly-girl big eyed bouncy girls. Try something like "Ghost in the Shell".

[Xylosian 140]

Would you mind giving an example of this? 

Could be a case of ignorance since I don't watch much anime but I could say Kill La Kill, not in terms of making men docile weaklings. But making the female antagonist and protagonist very strong compared to everyone else.

Edited April 30, 2016 by Xylosian

[Fluttershyfan94 5,738]

I'd argue it's the opposite, it is more true for men in anime rather then female. Honestly this was my reaction to this.

 

 

Edited April 30, 2016 by Fluttershyfan94

[Phanact 333]

Because that's what sells

[Silver Burst 36]

This is something even I am upset about. Sure there are animes where female characters have strong roles, whether that be as a protagonist (like Ryuko Kill La Kill) or side characters. But I feel as though there needs to be more female protagonists who are strong, dependable, and maybe even completely badass, or maybe have something calm and fun like Lucky Star, rather than having female characters like Sakura from Naruto in almost literally every anime.

And keep in mind this is coming from a guy.

Edited April 30, 2016 by Silver Burst

[powerpuff-tsubasa 447]

people tried to make that too funny. but i just find that offensive

[cider float 2,535]

I think I know what you're talking about. But it's pretty divided as anime goes. There is quite a divide between competent and incompetent female characters.

 

And if you have watched enough anime, you will know anime has a way of making incompetent "looking" and "acting" characters actually very competent for either male or female. There is sometimes a rule that the more frail and weak looking the character is in the anime the more powerful they are while the big buff guy is not as strong (this doesn't apply all the time but happens sometimes) So I can't really say anime makes females look bad it's pretty divided. Sometimes they make females way more competent than males take Black Lagoon for example also Black Lagoon seems to be viewed a lot by males over females. All the strongest characters are female there. There is plenty of incompetent male characters as there are competent male characters as well.

 

Incompetent characters are usually meant to make a point, be a goon or show just how better other characters are.

Edited May 18, 2016 by cider float

[Concerned Bystander 2,901]

Try watching a few Studio Ghibli films.  They almost invariably have strong, competent, independent female characters like Haru in The Cat Returns, Chihiro in Spirited Away, and the titular character in Princess Mononoke.  Even if that may lack some of those qualities at the start of the film, they have usually learned them by the end of it.

Edited May 19, 2016 by Concerned Bystander

[Discordian 6,013]

Kinda like all the men are completely irredeemable perverts, doormats that almost make Fluttershy look sane or complete morons who couldn't make their way out of a paper bag let alone save the world?

 

Women in anime aren't the only ones with problems that make them look really bad. At least they get to be attractive where the guys are often completely plain or even straight up ugly, often to fulfill the "unattractive nerd gets extremely hot girl" dream of the overly repressed creators.

[Zyrael 1,471]

 At least they get to be attractive where the guys are often completely plain or even straight up ugly

 

Idk what you've been watching. Anime guys are hot af

[Discordian 6,013]

Idk what you've been watching. Anime guys are hot af

Depends on where you look. Sometimes you'll get the Shoujo prettyboys, sometimes you'll get the guy who has no reason to ever be noticed by anyone. Diminutive, bony, fat or misshapen are often some of the types you see. Not necessarily as the main character as those often tend to stand out just a little but I've found very few anime males who I would consider even remotely good looking. But I'm not attracted to guys in general so my perspective is a little different.

[Zyrael 1,471]

 but I've found very few anime males who I would consider even remotely good looking. But I'm not attracted to guys in general so my perspective is a little different.

 

I mean... do you have an example? because I watch plenty of anime... 'unattractive' and 'fat' is by no means the norm, even for minor characters, from my experience. I'd even say most anime characters (that means males too) have 'ideal' body types. If you're straight, you can still know like, "yeah a girl would like that" 

 

 

Still I think this thread is based on false assumptions regardless. There's at least as much variety in anime as there is in american television, and then some. And just like western tv, there are bad shows and good shows.