You Don’t Have to Kick Ass to Be Kickass: Shoujo fantasy and the value of the noncombatant hero
Over the decades, the number of fantastical stories starring female characters has slowly but significantly risen. As that number has gone up, so too have the number of lady action heroes. Girls and women are no longer relegated to the roles of “white mage” or “brainiac”; they can sling spells, slay vampires, and punch supervillains in the face right alongside the menfolk.
While I didn’t write any premieres this season, I did watch far too many of them—and enjoyed quite a lot of them, too. Read on for my own brief first impressions, and if you’re curious to learn more, click the show’s title for a detailed review from one of my AniFem teammates.
Twenty years ago, I watched my very first episode of Pokemon and began my lifelong journey into the world of anime, manga, and JRPGs. I couldn’t tell you the exact date, but I can tell you the episode was “The Flame Pokemon-athon!” and that I was both confused and delighted by this weird show with electric mice and flaming horses. I can also tell you…
It’s a given what I chose to gush about this season.
I got together with the rest of the AniFem staff to highlight our favorites of the season. Like the Spring before it, Summer was a bit light on shows that wowed us, but the ones that shone were pretty darn bright.
Maybe it’s called “Fall” ’cause you watch anime until you collapse.
The Fall 2019 season is jam-packed with new series, which means I watched a small mountain of premieres. Some soared, some wobbled, and some fell flat on their faces. And I’m here to tell you all about it… in a paragraph or less.
But hey, don’t worry! If you’d like to hear more in-depth thoughts from my teammates and me, I’ve…
In the first episode ofNichijou, high schooler Yuuko holds up the final octopus weenie in her lunchbox, smugly announcing that she saved the best part of her meal for last. She moves to eat it—only to have it slip from her chopsticks.
With DRAMATIC slow motion and INTENSE music, we watch Yuuko and her friends’ FUTILE ATTEMPTS to save the sausage from the floor, followed by Yuuko’s HEROIC DIVE to scoop it up within the “five-second rule” time frame. She does, and TRIUMPHANTLY scarfs it down (to best friend Mio’s horror).
It’s over-the-top. It’s ridiculous. And it’s an absolutely perfect representation of what it feels like to watch a piece of delicious food fall from your grasp to the cruel, unforgiving ground.
Despite spending my last month bouncing from city-to-city and house-to-house like a hyperactive jackalope, I managed to find a little time to watch some summer premieres and chat about them. Like I did last season, I’ve also linked to the full premiere reviews over at AniFem if you’d like to hear more in-depth thoughts from my teammates.
A friendly corner of the Internet for anime newbies and long-time fans alike. Features my own blog post links along with shared news, reblogs, silly gifs, cultural tidbits, and general geekiness. I'm more than happy to field questions about the medium and/or recommend series, too, so don't hesitate to shoot me an Ask!
Dee is a writer, a translator, a book worm, and a basketball fan. She has bachelor's degrees in English and East Asian studies and a master's degree in Creative Writing. To pay the bills, she works as a technical writer. To not pay the bills, she writes young adult novels, watches far too much anime, and cheers very loudly for the Kansas Jayhawks.
