Week 5-6: Anime [Julie]

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

‘Shojo’ in Japanese, literally translates to ‘young girl’ and refers to a specific character archetype commonly seen in anime. The ‘shojo’ is a female character who is typically aged 18 and below. Napier (2005) suggested that the ‘shojo’ role is atypical in other media.

Depending on the target audience and type of story, the function of ‘shojo’ varies.

In the case of Princess Mononoke, it is clear that the main character is a ‘shojo’ character. Many of Ghibli’s works, especially those of Miyazaki’s, have a tendency to use ‘shojo’ archetype characters as the protagonist of the story. In Mononoke, San is portrayed as a feral, aggressive and persistent girl which is the polar opposite of stereotypical Asian girls who are seen as obedient, refined and feminine.


Although not a typical ‘shojo’ character, the film Princess Mononoke also used many female characters with aggressive personalities such as Lady Eboshi who is the manager of Tatara and Moro the wolf god who raised San. Napier (2005) also pointed out that these characters defy the traditional convention of having men as leaders and in fact are placed second to the females.

Often in anime, if the ‘shojo’ archetype is the protagonist, they are are often given very out-going, persevering and courageous personalities. This can be seen in animes such as Sailor Moon and like San in Princess Mononoke who defies the typical view on Asian women. Most of animes with these types of ‘shojo’ characters are often targeted towards female audiences, commonly known as ‘shojo anime’.


On the other hand, the opposite is ‘shonen anime’ which translates to ‘boy’s anime’. The ‘shojo’ characters in these kinds of animes often end up playing the male protagonist’s love interest takes a more subdued role and commonly more subdued personalities.

Reference:

Napier, S. (2005). Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.