Fans are becoming increasingly annoyed by the antagonistic girlboss archetype.
Chi-Chi, Nami, Sakura, Karin, Rukia… There’s one thing these anime heroines have in common: they love to get violent. While not all of them necessarily fit the “tsundere” mold, these female characters can pack a hefty punch, and their physical aggression is played up for laughs in the narrative. However, for some fans, the violent anime girl archetype has overstayed its welcome.
A female character slapping, punching, or kicking a male character for comic effect in anime is a ubiquitous trope as old as time. But why is it considered funny in the first place?
The trope most likely has a socio-cultural basis. A woman beating a man conjures up an absurd image, especially for Japanese viewers. In a country with strict gender roles, a woman is supposed to be timid, humble, chaste, and moderate. A loud, brash, openly aggressive female character is the direct opposite of that; she exists outside of the cultural norms.
The strangeness of witnessing a female character lash out in excessively hostile ways coupled with the fact that women on average are physically weaker than men, serves as the basis for this gag. Whether or not the violence is “deserved,” the subject of abuse never seems too perturbed or upset by it for the audience to feel sorry for him, which is another factor that makes the trope work.
Moreover, anime isn't movies or TV shows; the lines of what’s acceptable are blurry in the land of animated works and allow for more leeway. Anime as a genre tends to be an over-the-top, exaggerated depiction of reality and is not meant to be taken literally. To translate it to real life, you need to tone it down by a few degrees and look at this particular trope from the lens of cultural relativism. What’s funny to some may not be to others.
Of course, that’s easier said than done.
Gender-based violence as a form of slapstick comedy has become a rare guest in the West ever since we’ve opened up a conversation about the impact of media on real-life interactions. A young girl routinely punching a boy as a joke would not fly on a children’s TV network these days, nor would it if the genders were reversed.
While many Western fans are more than ready to swipe left on the violent girlboss heroine, it’s up to the Japanese audiences to pull the plug on the pervasive archetype and retire it for good. Until that day comes, it is here to stay.
Fans are becoming increasingly annoyed by the antagonistic girlboss archetype.
Chi-Chi, Nami, Sakura, Karin, Rukia… There’s one thing these anime heroines have in common: they love to get violent. While not all of them necessarily fit the “tsundere” mold, these female characters can pack a hefty punch, and their physical aggression is played up for laughs in the narrative. However, for some fans, the violent anime girl archetype has overstayed its welcome.
A female character slapping, punching, or kicking a male character for comic effect in anime is a ubiquitous trope as old as time. But why is it considered funny in the first place?
The trope most likely has a socio-cultural basis. A woman beating a man conjures up an absurd image, especially for Japanese viewers. In a country with strict gender roles, a woman is supposed to be timid, humble, chaste, and moderate. A loud, brash, openly aggressive female character is the direct opposite of that; she exists outside of the cultural norms.
The strangeness of witnessing a female character lash out in excessively hostile ways coupled with the fact that women on average are physically weaker than men, serves as the basis for this gag. Whether or not the violence is “deserved,” the subject of abuse never seems too perturbed or upset by it for the audience to feel sorry for him, which is another factor that makes the trope work.
Moreover, anime isn't movies or TV shows; the lines of what’s acceptable are blurry in the land of animated works and allow for more leeway. Anime as a genre tends to be an over-the-top, exaggerated depiction of reality and is not meant to be taken literally. To translate it to real life, you need to tone it down by a few degrees and look at this particular trope from the lens of cultural relativism. What’s funny to some may not be to others.
Of course, that’s easier said than done.
Gender-based violence as a form of slapstick comedy has become a rare guest in the West ever since we’ve opened up a conversation about the impact of media on real-life interactions. A young girl routinely punching a boy as a joke would not fly on a children’s TV network these days, nor would it if the genders were reversed.
While many Western fans are more than ready to swipe left on the violent girlboss heroine, it’s up to the Japanese audiences to pull the plug on the pervasive archetype and retire it for good. Until that day comes, it is here to stay.
