My mom: Your older sister is Alice. Your younger sister is Snow White. You're Mulan.
Me: Mom, I am NOT Mulan!
My mother and I have exchanged these words on more than one occasion. I never related much to Disney princesses. The closest I come to is Belle because I enjoy reading, I always try to give people a chance, and "I want much more than this provincial life." Still, it never quite fit. It wasn't ME.
Tonight I was fortunate enough to attend Crispin Freeman's Anime Mythology lecture on priestesses, mystics, and warrior women. He made very solid comparisons between what it means to be a western princess versus an eastern magical girl. I couldn't possibly do his lecture justice by going into detail, but to sum it up: Western princesses achieve happiness through marrying a man. Eastern princesses achieve happiness through self-actualization.
The lecture got me thinking about my own life, why I relate better to female anime figures, and why I am more intrigued by Japanese male characters than western ones.
Female anime characters: I crave adventure. Life can be extremely repetitive and banal to me. So I find that the stories I enjoy the most involve females who must fight against an opposing force to save the world (whichever one it may be). Sadly, there is no such adventure in this day and age as we find in stories. Still, I don't want to be the damsel in the tower to be rescued by the prince. I want to be the warrior kicking ass and taking names!
I want to be special.
Male anime characters: I have been fortunate enough to not be pressured by my family to "find a man and get married." Quite frankly, I enjoy being single and find it sad how many people are placed under this pressure. Lately, I've been saying to myself, "I would rather have a common warrior who fights by my side, than a cowardly prince who hides in his castle" in relation to a recent romantic interest who did me wrong. In Crispin's lecture, he touched on the male protagonists involved with the females' journeys as being, not princes, but "devoted protectors" who serve as much as they love. Examples he used were Tamahome from Fushigi Yuugi, Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon, Van (and I'd include Allen) from Escaflowne, Inuyasha from Inuyasha, and even Alucard from Hellsing.
And I realized that THAT is what I want from a man. I don't want castles and riches and pretty faces. What I truly desire is an equal. I want that "devoted protector" who will join me in the final battle for the world's fate. Whether we'll be on the same side...well that will be interesting to see.
I for one have always wanted a woman who would "join me in the final battle for the world's fate" as "an equal." I'm glad to see at least one woman in the world feels the same. Good luck to us both!
ReplyDeleteI saw Crispin Tweeted your blog post. Thanks for sharing. I've wanted to attend one of his lectures but I'm not geographically close.
ReplyDeleteI like that image of the "devoted protector." It's very accurate. I can't think of an anime chick sitting around waiting to get rescued. Most are out there themselves kicking some ass. Even Yuffie from Code Geass was using her political power, since she wasn't a fighter.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
YYou have to remember strength comes from within not how many times someone starts shooting up a building.
ReplyDeleteYou know, its usually much more interesting if your not on the same side. Otherwise, hell, it would just be too easy, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteYou would like Anne Bishop's Black Jewels series then.
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ReplyDeleteBut isn't Mulan a warrior kicking asses and saving one of the biggest countries of the world?
ReplyDeleteAbout the others you are right.
And being a "devoted protector" seems much more interesting!
Yes, be an anime girl, instead of a woman princess.
ReplyDeleteAnime girls are:
weak
look almost exactly like their "men"
sit in the background while the action happens
OR
only get in the way
look 8 years old with grossly large tits
dress like sluts
This post is so good!
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ReplyDeleteI like ur post ... and the princesses that will fit in are Mulan obviously ,Pocahontas,and Jasmine...
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ReplyDelete