Gender Swap! My First Anime Experience

TheBigN covers the compelling topic of gender in anime that I had a lovely time reading. However, it has been a while since I have considered gender roles as it applies to anime, if I have done it at all. Reading his piece enticed me to share my first anime experience of a surprising turn of gender expectations that I had of a certain character.

The character, Nuriko, from Fushigi Yuugi was my first encounter with what many on imageboards refer to as a “trap.” In other words, Nuriko had all the characteristics, mannerisms, reactions, etc. of a woman, but was discovered by Miaka to be a man. What makes this experience unique is that Fushigi Yuugi was the very first anime subtitled anime series that I watched in its entirety — I was just getting started in anime back then.

When I found out that Nuriko was a man, I was pleasantly surprised to be honest. I did not take this as an “OMG IT’S A TRAP/DO NOT WANT!” moment. I “embraced” this as what TheBigN states as “something extra, something awesome, something cool, something hot, something etc.” Nuriko became all the more fascinating and lovable as a character to me because he chose to gain an all-encompassing understanding of the feminine persona so that his twin sister could live on through him. And yet, he retained the body of a male out of necessity. What an amazing burden to carry, I thought. Though Tamahome was a great character model that I compared to myself, Nuriko had my heart from the start.

A few more gender encounters of a similar tone have crossed my path through the many years I have been watching anime. To be honest, I was all the more inclined to watch the following series because I felt a strong tugging of curiosity to see how these characters would live and survive in their respective predicaments. Megumi Amatsuka from Tenshi Na Konamaiki (Cheeky Angel), Mizuho Miyanokouji from Otome Wa Boku Ni Koishiteru, and even Saber from Fate/Stay Night are a few characters that I am inherently drawn to that struggle inwardly (and sometimes outwardly) with their own gender expectations, while, on the outside, having to broadcast a contradicting physique to society.

I suppose the fact that I have experienced some of this struggle in reality does allow me to be more accepting and open towards anime characters who just want to be who they are on the inside without having to be subjected, and possibly rejected, by “traditional” societal standards. To answer TheBigN’s question about “what’s traditional,” as it applies to gender expectations, what I believe it comes down to is two possible viewpoints that can be loosely compared to how family traditions are established and passed down through the ages:

• 1) What an individual has come to discover and be taught by society as traditional for themselves is what, ultimately, becomes traditional [for that individual alone].
• 2) What an individual’s beliefs and values are shaped by from a young age, and then built upon as they become thinkers, will determine what becomes traditional.

Super Mario Galaxy

Yeah, yeah. Another Super Mario game with another spiffy title (like sunshine…accept now it’s cooler. ). Accept this one lets you play with a wiimote AND fly around in a bumblebee costume (that just put it at the top of my “To-Get” list).

It’s going to be awesome and it’s going to start up the unique list of Nintendo brand games that have been long awaited by every Wii owner in the world. (other than Metroid) Although it’s going to be awesome I can’t help but worry about how it’s going to stack up with Halo 3 (coming out in just a few weeks, Sept. 25th) even if Halo 3’s going to be released a couple months before hand. And these VG sales really start getting fierce once winter and the holiday season start coming around. Most of you are probably thinking “Meh, Halo has a legion of FPS enthusiasts kissing it’s toes and will most likely be sold out for months on end” This will probably be true but a blogger can dream can’t they? (Anyway the bumblebee costume has got to count for something.)

Other than talking about boring sales in the market I guess I’ll give a summary of the new game(and no this time there isn’t a giant paintbrush >_>). Okay, it starts out with Peach getting kidnapped into space by some unidentified creature, Mario starts another rigorous journey to save the princess. As he travels he explores through bizarre planets of all shapes and sizes (and now his triple jump should be nothing compared to what “close-to-zero” gravity should give him) he’ll also come with an array of new moves from slashing, pointing, poking, etc. with the Wiimote. That is all that I can give you right now on the game. I’ll either A. Update with another post later or B. let you figure it out by spending your precious money on the game.