Anime and manga has always struggled in its depiction of women. Research typically concentrates on the bosomy characters dressed in Gothic Lolita gear and all the up-skirt nonsense that accompanies them. However, there is a less examined trope that demands attention: the aging woman who sacrifices life and power to appear younger.
One of the first manga/anime to feature this is Kishimoto’s Naruto. While *Naruto *has featured young women sacrificing their femininity for power, the character of Tsunade sacrifices her power for femininity. The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade is approximately fifty-four years old but appears in her late twenties. Tsunade achieves this by perpetually sacrificing her chakra via the Transformation Technique. Now, it is important to note that perhaps by maintaining this youthful appearance, she may be a more effective ninja; however, her extraordinary sensitivity about her age seems to negate this (as well as the fact that many of the strongest ninjas have been quite old in appearance ). One wonders if Tsunade would be a more powerful leader if she allowed her true age to show … permitting the reserve of chakra to be used for more pragmatic demands.
One of the most gripping manga/anime of 2015-2016 is Erased. However, this beautiful show also struggles with the older woman. In Erased, the adult protagonist’s mother features heavily into the show. As a result of her youthful appearance, she is frequently mistaken for his sister. It is the protagonist who reveals that he believes she has a pact with the yokai (demons). His un-aging mother becomes somewhat problematic when multiple timelines reveal a variety of extraordinary trauma … some of which should have take a toll on her appearance. And by failing to depict this, the narrative suffers.
Other shows to be addressed include One Piece and Assassination Classroom.
About the presenterErica Joan Dymond
Film scholar