This seems to be an issue that crops up in any anime related medium. I'm not saying that every single anime presents this problem, but it's certainly prevalent enough to consider it an anime staple. I'm guessing most of you have watched a few anime features where you had trouble deciding if a character is a guy or a girl. It's happened to the best of us!
I should do some research on this. How is it that this happens all the time in anime? It's almost like the anime industry is playing a joke on us. They like to draw at least one character that could pass for a guy or girl, they give them a voice that's tough to decipher and label them with a gender neutral name. With this happening time and time again, I can't help but think that it's done on purpose!
I don't know about you, but this kind of annoys me! I like to know the sex of a character before a series gets going. Depending on what the sex is, I'll feel differently about the character. If a guy gets punched in the face and punches back, I don't bat an eyelash. If a woman got punched in the face and fought back, I'd want the woman-beater to get what's coming to him! This is just one example of where I believe knowing the sex of a character is important.
No matter what, this seems to be a staple of the anime industry that is going to continue on forever. We'll always have to play the guessing game with a handful of characters, until that one clue comes in that tips us off one way or another. Until then, we can all feel uneasy for being attracted to a character that ends up being the opposite of what we like!
LOL, RMC, what if it's a little young boy getting punched, then? Wouldn't you feel sorry for him? ^3^
ReplyDeleteAnyways, just so you know, the reason(or, One of the reasons) a lot of Male characters looks like Girls, is cuz' it's popular with the Male audience. There called 'Traps',which apparantly Guys love. ^^
Also, there's even a Yaoi Hentai anime where the Characters are Uber-Girly, and it's aimed for Males, even though it's Yaoi. ^^
Just so you know (if you read this). Personally, i like it when you can't tell, but i don't know why~<3
Yeah I usually go with my gut instinct and if I find out later I was wrong, I'm like, "Obviously they drew the character like x gender so it's not my fault."
ReplyDeleteWhat about when the character apparently has his own gender? Hideyoshi from Baka to Test to Shokanju, anyone? Watch season 1, episode 6 for slightly more specific details, and the whole show for more on Hideyoshi's gender as portrayed to various characters. Or read the light novel or the manga.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at Penguindrum if you want to see some androgynous-looking guys. Family of two brothers and a sister looks like all sisters
ReplyDeleteThough i must say Penguindrum was the first time i experienced that confusion for some time. Usually (because of teh boobz) they're kind of explicit about this sort of thing
I think its so people don't show unwanted sympathy to a character the creators didn't wwant that person to have.
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