University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 2008 Female Protagonists in Shōjo Manga - From the Rescuers to the Rescued Jennifer L. Brown University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses Part of the Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons Brown, Jennifer L., "Female Protagonists in Shōjo Manga - From the Rescuers to the Rescued" (2008). Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014. 137. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/137 This thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FEMALE PROTAGONISTS IN SH ŌJO MANGA – FROM THE RESCUERS TO THE RESCUED A Thesis Presented by JENNIFER L. BROWN Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS May 2008 Japanese © Copyright by Jennifer L. Brown 2008 All Rights Reserved FEMALE PROTAGONISTS IN SH ŌJO MANGA – FROM THE RESCUERS TO THE RESCUED A Thesis Presented by JENNIFER L. BROWN Approved as to style and content by: ___________________________________________ Stephen D. Miller, Chair ___________________________________________ Bruce P. Baird, Member ___________________________________________ N. C. Christopher Couch, Member ___________________________________________ Amanda C. Seaman, Member _______________________________ Zhongwei Shen, Director Asian Languages and Literatures Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures ________________________________________ Julie Candler Hayes, Chair Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to my committee chair, Dr. Stephen D. Miller, for providing me with direction and guidance every step of the way. I would also like to thank the members of my committee, Dr. Bruce P. Baird, Dr. N.C. Christopher Couch, and Dr. Amanda C. Seaman, for their insightful comments and suggestions. I am grateful for the support that my entire committee provided. Special thanks to Sharon Domier, our fantastic East Asian librarian, for her assistance in finding a number of the sources utilized in this thesis. A big thank you goes out to Mom, Dad, Yoshi, and everyone else who cheered me on! iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................iv CHAPTER 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO SH ŌJO MANGA ....................................................... 1 1.1 Sh ōjo Manga and Social Change from the 1950s to the 1970s ...................... 3 1.2 Today’s Sh ōjo Manga ..................................................................................... 7 1.3 What This Thesis Intends to Examine ............................................................ 9 2. SH ŌJO MANGA FOR READERS AGED 9 TO 13........................................... 15 2.1 Female Protagonists Do Not Depend on Male Characters ........................... 15 2.1.1 Magical Powers as a Source of Confidence................................... 15 2.1.2 Reliance on Female Friends........................................................... 19 2.1.3 Internalization of “Masculine” Qualities ....................................... 21 2.2 Males Are Secondary Characters.................................................................. 25 2.2.1 Females Often Come to the Rescue of Males................................ 25 2.2.2 Relationships with Males Are Secondary...................................... 30 2.2.2.1 Reliance upon Masculine Females.................................. 31 2.2.2.2 Relationships between Two Females.............................. 32 2.2.3 Romance Is Minimized.................................................................. 34 2.3 The Concept of Fantasy Is Prevalent ............................................................ 38 2.3.1 Characters Do What Society Does Not Allow............................... 38 2.3.2 Hidden Messages in Things That Do Not Make Sense ................. 41 2.3.3 Dream Lifestyles............................................................................ 43 2.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 46 3. SH ŌJO MANGA FOR READERS AGED 11 TO 15......................................... 48 3.1 Romance Starts to Become Important .......................................................... 49 3.1.1 Romance Becomes a Major, but Not the Major, Story Arc........... 49 v 3.1.2 Females Do Not Understand Romance When They See It............ 54 3.1.3 Romance Causes Competition and Destroys Friendships ............. 56 3.2 Female Protagonists Have Increased Interaction with Male Characters ............................................................................................... 60 3.2.1 Males Appear at the Right Time.................................................... 60 3.2.2 Females Begin to Depend on Males .............................................. 62 3.3 Differing Degrees of Fantasy........................................................................ 65 3.3.1 Limited Fantasy: Familiar Lifestyles and Settings ........................ 66 3.3.2 Fantasy in Moderation: Familiar Settings or Lifestyles with Hints of Fantasy .......................................................................... 67 3.3.3 Abundant Fantasy: Fantasy Is Prominent ...................................... 69 3.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 70 4. SH ŌJO MANGA FOR READERS AGED 15 TO 21......................................... 73 4.1 Romance Becomes the Focal Point of Stories .............................................. 73 4.1.1 Sh ōjo Manga Teaches That a Person Cannot Be Happy Alone........................................................................................... 73 4.1.2 Female Protagonists Play a Passive Role in a Relationship .......... 77 4.1.3 Female Protagonists Make Choices for the Sake of Romance ..................................................................................... 80 4.2 Male Characters Become Integral to the Storyline....................................... 83 4.2.1 Males Become a Critical Part of Female Identity.......................... 83 4.2.2 Female Readers Can View the Innermost Thoughts of Male Characters ................................................................................... 86 4.2.3 A Male Character Is More Knowledgeable Than His Female Counterpart..................................................................... 89 4.2.3.1 Males Have Higher Job Positions................................... 89 4.2.3.2 Males Have More Education .......................................... 90 4.2.3.3 Males are More Romantically Experienced.................... 91 4.3 The Concept of Fantasy Becomes Muted ..................................................... 93 4.3.1 Fantasies and Dreams Are Hindered by Males.............................. 93 4.3.2 Female Protagonists No Longer Have the Power of “Cute” on Their Side............................................................................... 96 4.3.3 The Lone Fantasy Element Seems to Be Chance Meetings .......... 98 vi 4.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 101 5. CONCLUSION................................................................................................. 103 5.1 Trends in Sh ōjo Manga ............................................................................... 103 5.1.1 Female Protagonists Become More Dependent on Male Characters over Time................................................................ 103 5.1.2 Strong Romantic Themes and Strong Females Do Not Exist in the Same Work...................................................................... 105 5.1.3 Sh ōjo Manga Has a Tendency to Reinforce “Dated” Gender Roles as the Target Age Rises .................................................. 106 5.2 Why the Gap between Sh ōjo Manga and Reality Exists ............................ 109 5.2.1 Sh ōjo Manga Allows the Reader to Imagine Life without Responsibility or Consequences ............................................... 109 5.2.2 Male-dominated Manga Industry ................................................ 112 5.2.3 Sh ōjo Manga Allows the Reader to Be Someone She Is Not...... 113 5.2.4 Readers May Simply Be Unaware of the Decline in the Female Protagonist’s Power ..................................................... 115 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................................... 118 vii CHAPTER 1 AN INTRODUCTION TO SH ŌJO MANGA Shōjo manga is a popular form of entertainment for girls in Japan. While manga refers to graphic novels in general, the word “ sh ōjo ” indicates a particular genre of manga that is aimed at girls. Shōjo manga is just one facet of the extensive history of manga that can be traced back to pictorial narratives such as Ch ōjūgiga (Animal Scrolls), produced by Bishop Toba in beginning of the 12 th century. 1 However, Futagami Hirokazu 2 states that it is hard to pinpoint exactly where the history of shōjo manga itself begins. 3 He says that in the beginning “there was no consciousness