Anime Anti-Male???

I've noticed that many of Takahashi's stories have the male characters always being beaten up, and yelled at, and being portrayed as jerks and trouble-makers. So, I've been wondering, are Takahashi's stories anti-male? I'm against extreme feminism. I find it immature and very annoying. Not all men are bad. Does Takahashi have something against men, or is it just a coinscidence? I mean no disrespect to Takahashi, but I'm just curious... And annoyed.

 

I don't think that Takahashi is anti-male, I think she's just using sterotypes to further the plot of the story. In general, guys tend to get into more fights, say more things that cause people to want to hit them, and cause trouble.

This isn't to say that girls are perfect angels; far from it. However, the sterotypical girl is non-violent, polite, demure, and a score of other things. Takahashi tends to stay away from the stereotypical girl (at least wholesale, there are very few who completely fit the mold of sugar and spice and everything nice), which might be part of the problem.

*shrug* I'd chalk it up to having more experience with how the female mind works than having an anti-male agenda. We write (or draw) what we know, after all.

~Shadrach Anki

 

Consider this: Takahashi's heroines are often intelligent, confident, and frequently short-tempered teenage girls. Now... Most teenage girls do tend to find teenage boys a little annoying at times, yes? When you factor in that her male protagonists are usually not perfect - translation: a little rude sometimes, a little pervy - someone's bound to get hit at some point. Her stories are mostly romantic comedies, where that type of male is very effective.

Now, quite often, Takahashi relies on characters who don't communicate their feelings well - they're not open books. Often, her main couple dislikes each other at first, and then they secretly become fond of each other, both assuming the other doesn't feel the same way. Thus, they're going to be a little shy and defensive, and this is where a lot of her male characters seem like jerks. They respond in the stereotypical male way when confronted with a situation that could "incriminate" them and make their affections known - they push the girl away and deny liking her.

Besides, it's far more controversial to show a guy beating up on a girl. When it's the guy who's a pervert or a jerk, it's funny if he gets smacked by the female lead. It doesn't work the other way around. I'm not going to turn this into an essay on gender roles in modern society... but it makes sense, given the tone of the stories that Rumiko Takahashi tells, to portray men and boys the way she does.

On the other hand, she does have a few instances of females who are... less than nice. Kodachi (was that her name? ) from Ranma, for example, is pretty evil most of the time - always trying to poison people, including her own brother. Nabiki (same series) is scheming, manipulative, and greedy. Lum, from Urusei Yatsura, is violent and posessive.

Overall, I think it's just a stylistic choice that she uses male characters the way she does. Her more well-known stories are very much reliant on slapstick comedy, and guys are more obvious punching bags than girls. But consider that Takahashi also consistently shows that her male characters have kind hearts, even if they come off as jerks most of the time. Ryoga (from Ranma) is an idiot, but he's sweet. Inuyasha and Miroku, though they frequently fight and get smacked for comments they make, are both very loyal friends, and decent people. Takahashi's females are simply more emotionally open, and don't come off the same way that her males do.

 

Very good point. I didn't bring that up because, for the life of me, I can't remember what the title was... But Takahashi's character choices are always tied in with the sort of story she intends to tell. It's just that her most well-known series are her comedies.

 

Hm. I didn't know she did horror. All I knew was Urusei Yatsura (my favorite Takahashi story), Ranma 1/2, Mansion Ikoku, and Inu-Yasha.

 

Dilandau pointed it out, that it's more controversial for male characters to beat up females. And so it's the other way around.

Takahashi's animes are pretty old. I remember I first heard about Ranma 1/2 when I was still in elementary school, and I'm halfway through college now.

 

I'd almost forgotten about the Mermaid Saga, it's been so long since I've heard/seen anything about it. Yeah, that guy was nice and cute. Plus, hey, eternal youth and all that. If I remember correctly, his name was Yuta and his companion was Mana. There was also a guy who reminded of Seishiro from X. He dressed like him, his hair and face was similar, and he killed people, just like Seishiro. :anime: Don't remember his name, but I liked him too.

Actually, I don't think that Godai is nearly as bad as Ranma or Inu-Yasha. I mean, he does do the denial thing but he isn't agressively rude or mean or anything like that. Maybe that's why I like him and sympathize with him more. As for Ataru, he needs to be hit. A lot. With mallets.

 

Try Sam Goody's, F.Y.E. or Suncoast. One of those should have the DVD or a copy of the old VHS.

 

Yeah. Ataru is an exception. It's funny when Lum zaps him. :anime: