Isaac's Week 6 Post, Anime

What is the ‘shojo’ and how does it often function in anime?

Shojo, or Shoujo, is a sub-genre of anime, which generally features magical and dream-like worlds and stories.
'Shoujo' literally translates to 'little female', and refers to pre-pubescent girls (ages 12-13). It's a combination of the innocence of a young girl, and the coming-of-age sexuality of a young woman.

Shoujo not only caters to the typical expected audience of young girls, but also, surprisingly, attracts a lot of male readers. Susan J. Napier points out, shoujo characters "embody the potential for unfettered change and excitement that is far less available to Japanese males, who are caught in the network of demanding workforce responsibilities" (Napier, 2001, p. 119). So as a function in anime, shoujo works as an escape for readers, and even a tool for expanding the market.

Furthermore, one could argue that shoujo functions as a tool to create deeper female characters, as appose to characters built upon physical attractiveness alone. Shoujo characters are often given characteristics that would usually seem beyond their years, in an attempt to move away from creating a Lolita-type complex/attraction that most would see as seedy. For example, in Princess Mononoke, San has character traits (independent, aggressive, intelligent, resourceful) that would not often be associated with the cute-type young girl character (instead having innocent, naive, unsure-of-herself type characteristics.)