Macy Matsuda Anime & Manga

While I love shoujo a lot, I find myself a big shounen fan as well. Naruto, Demon Slayer, Boku no Hero Academia, Hunter x Hunter, and most notably, Fullmetal Alchemist. I presented this week, and this was the piece of media I had the class read. My presentation was on Arakawa and how shes a powerhouse in Shounen, making one of the most iconic pieces in the genre. She did all of this without oversexualizing any of the women in the show, and including feminism throughout. I love this about her work. I also adore her art style, and I'm excited to pick up Silver Spoon again when we get to it.

Another love of mine! Shoujo and romance kind of go hand in hand a bit, and I read shoujo on my own free time anyways, so this week was easy! some of my favorites are Kaichou wa Maid Sama, Ao Haru Ride, Card Captor Sakura, Snow White with the Red Hair, My Little Monster, and most of all, Chuunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai. All of them have themes of romance in them, and all make me feel good to watch. I get this butterfly feeling in my gut, and sometimes even tears in my eyes. I love the art style, often innocent and simple. Cute and lovable. I could read shoujo till my dying days and never get sick of it I think.

YAY!!! I LOVE Princess Jellyfish! I'm such a huge fan of romance anime and manga, and Princess Jellyfish is actually one of my favorites! It deals with Queer themes and makes the reader experience a different perspective on love. The characters are all so lovable and adorable, and even if you don't completely relate to them, you cant help but fall in love with them.    Akiko Higashimura did such a beautiful job with the art as well, the style is so vintage yet modern, finding a way to mix the two perfectly.

A lot of people will say that they grew up with Ghibli films, but it wasn't until I was well into anime in Middle School that I was introduced to the content. My first film was Spirited away, which then sent me into a hole where all I wanted to watch was Ghibli. I watched Howl's Moving Castle, Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Ponyo, and a bunch others! I fell in love with how each story had a strong female main, going on adventures, being bold, and doing super badass things! Some even being at a young age. I loved this and watching them made me want to go outside, play, and explore. I remember the rush of energy these films gave me, and I think that's what Miyazaki wanted from these. To inspire young girls to get out and do things, and WANT to be great! He created these wonderful role models and it definitely paid off.

For this week I want to talk a little bit about Gekiga. Unfortunately this week was not my favorite. While skimming through Lone Wolf and Cub, I found the art style to be a bit of a turn off. It was too dark for me and crude looking. The same for Cigarette Girl. With this style, however; it reminded me of that adult cartoon style, like Family Guy. It didn't draw me in and because of that I really couldn't get into the story.

Tezuka's style of manga is so captivating in many ways. I originally thought getting into the content would be a bit difficult, but I actually found Ayako to be quite interesting. The style itself is simple yet detailed. I would say my favorite part about his style is his use of elongated, vertical panels. It almost warps the scene and creates interesting perspective. He does this a lot throughout the pages and I loved every single shot that included them.