In Princess Mononoke, although a more dark storyline, both boys and girls can place their selves in the shoes of the female characters. While still remaining feminine in the face, they go against the "cutesy-ness" that most people know Anime for. I've noticed this as a similar quality of art for the female, or "Shojo" characters in Miyazaki's films.
(Spirited Away) (Kiki's Delivery Service) (Princess Mononoke)
The way these characters are drawn show a feminine, but not over-the-top type of character.
This is very different from other well known anime characters such as:
(Inuyasha: Kagome) (Sailor Moon Characters)
Although the characters are drawn in a different style, Miyazaki's artwork goes against what comes to mind when people think about female anime characters. This also allows for the storyline and characters to be taken more seriously and realistically (despite the fantasy/supernatural qualities that are part of his stories) and not to be made into some sort of sex-icon. Even finding the images for Kagome and the Sailor Moon team, I found some unpleasant fan art-work.
Not only are the characters drawn differently than other types of anime, they are also different in the way that they are the "hero" figures in the films. In Sailor Moon, although she is meant to be the hero and the lead, she is often saved by the character Tuxedo Mask. Kagome is also frequently saved by Inuyasha in the show, although she is not necessarily meant to be the 'hero' character. In Kiki's Delivery Service, however, Kiki plays the hero and 'saves the day' at the end, saving the boy rather than vise-versa. The same can be said about the female protagonists in Princess Mononoke.
References:
Images:
(All Retrieved on 21/10/2012)
http://www.btchflcks.com/2011/12/animated-childrens-films-spirited-away.html
http://www.ifccenter.com/films/kikis-delivery-service-2/
http://www.animevice.com/princess-mononoke/13-19/all-images/84-52837/princess_8/83-364364/
http://unobtainium13.com/2012/07/06/new-sailor-moon-series-to-return-in-2013/
http://www.fanpop.com/spots/kagome-higurashi/images/15105815/title/kagome-photo
Napier, S. (2005). Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
You've mentioned Miyazaki's divergence from the typical "cutesy-ness" of mainstream anime (MOE IS POWER! (づ◕ ▽◕)づ .:*・°★.。). It does emphasize that the characters in his works are not the typical shojo character, as shown by San's feral and aggressive behavior and Kiki's journey to discover her self that isn't dictated by others/ having a man. Typical shojo animes are romanced focused though like Sailor Moon and Inu Yasha as opposed to Mononoke where romance takes a back seat much like the men in the movie. Miyazaki gives female characters the wheel in many of his works which diverts from the mainstream topic of romance although the female characters are meant to be the heroes. As opposed to the stereotypical view of Asian women being feminine and obedient, Miyazaki gives us a feminist take on the world with Mononoke.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what I was trying to say, thanks! With a less Romance-driven plot, you can take the themes more seriously and read deeper into what the text is trying to convey.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. It's not like we're trying to take out the romance theme out completely but the fact that it overshadows the entire story makes it hard for viewers to get a good grasp of the evil fighting themes.
DeleteI agree that Miyazaki has different female characters for his animations. For example, the girl from Spirited away, san from Princess Mononke etc .. they are all in the similar age group and not shown as a sex-icon but drawn in simply young girls face and body. Because when we see many of the Japanese female and male characters, they are drawn basically with similar unrealistic features and we can understand it because its animation. However, I think Miyazaki's work is lot more than just anime, he has so many details in each characters and also made a lot of female characters the hero of his stories.
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