#like I love female characters who are multi-dimensional… they have flaws. they make themselves better. they have strengths.

[wickwrites]

Wonder Egg Priority Episode 4: Boys’ and Girls’ Suicides Do Mean Different Things (But Not in the Way the Mannequins Want You to Think!)

So, let’s talk about this for a second. After I got over my initial knee-jerk reaction, I realized I wasn’t sure how to make sense of exactly what the mannequins were arguing for here. So let me rephrase their statements to make the argumentative structure more explicit: Because men are goal-oriented and women are not, because women are emotion-oriented and men are not, and because women are impulsive and easily influenced by others’ voices and men are not, boys’ and girls’ suicides mean different things – girls are more easily “tempted” by death, and therefore, more likely to require saving when they inevitably regret their suicide. While Wonder Egg Priority, so far, seems to agree with the vague version of the mannequins’ conclusion, namely that boys’ and girl’s suicides mean different things, it refutes the gender-essentialist logic through which that conclusion was derived.

The mannequins choose a decidedly gender essentialist approach in explaining the difference between girls’ and boy’s suicides; they argue that the suicides are different because of some immutable characteristic of their mental hard wiring (in this case, impulsivity, emotionality, and influenceability). Obviously, this is a load of bull, and Wonder Egg Priority knows it. The mannequins are not exactly characters we’re supposed to trust, seeing that they’re running a business that is literally based on letting these kids put themselves in mortal danger. As faceless adult men, they parrot and possibly represent the systems that force these girls to continue to be subjected to physical and emotional trauma (it’s probably more complicated than this, but four episodes in, it’s hard to say more). So, we’re probably supposed to take what they say with great skepticism. Also, the director, Shin Wakabayashi, has recently said that in response to these lines, Neiru was originally going to object, “When it comes to their brains, boys and girls are also the same,” (which unfortunately is not exactly true and is somewhat of an oversimplification, but the sentiment is there). While that line ultimately did not make it in, Neiru does reply with a confused and somewhat indignant, “What?!”, a reaction that gets the message across.  Neiru is not a fan of gender essentialism, and as a (more) sympathetic character, we’re supposed to agree with her.

That is, the differences between boys and girls is not something inherent to their biology or character, but something constructed by culture and experience. This rejection of gender-essentialism is apparent in Wonder Egg Priority’s narrative, which takes a more sociocultural perspective on the difference between boys’ and girls’ suicides. It says, well of course boys’ and and girl’s suicides don’t mean the same thing, that’s the whole reason why we’re delving into the experiences specific to being a girl (cis or trans) or AFAB in this world – to show you how girls’ suicides are influenced by systems of oppression perpetuated by those in power (ie. the adult, in this specific anime).

And all the suicides we’ve seen up until now tie into that somehow. For instance, Koito is bullied by her female classmates who think that Sawaki is giving her special treatment. This is a narrative that comes up over and over again, in real life as well: that if a young girl is being given attention from an older man, then it’s her fault – that she must want it, or at least enjoy it somehow, and that it signifies a virtue (eg. maturity or beauty) on her part. And if Koito is actually being given such treatment by Sawaki, an adult man in a position of power over her, that is incredibly predatory. 

And we all know that child sexual abuse is something that overwhelmingly affects girls, with one out of nine experiencing it before the age of 18, as opposed to one out of 53 boys (Finkelhor et al., 2014). Regardless of whether Sawaki was actually abusing Koito or if the students only thought that he was, Koito’s trauma is ultimately the result of this romanticized “love between a young girl and adult man, but not because the man is predatory, but because the girl has some enviable virtue that makes her desirable” narrative. Similarly, in episode 2, Minami’s suicide is driven by ideas related to discipline and body image in sports, which while not necessarily specific to female and AFAB athletes, is framed in an AFAB-specific way. For instance, take the pressure on Minami to “maintain her figure”. Certainly, male athletes also face a similar pressure, but we know that AFAB and (cis and trans) female bodies are subject to closer scrutiny and criticism. We know that young girls are more likely to suffer from eating disorders. And Wonder Egg Priority situates Minami’s experience as decidedly “about” AFAB experience when her coach accuses her change of figure due to her period as a character failing on her part.

 Likewise, episode 3 delves into suicides related to “stan” culture, this fervent dedication to celebrities that is overwhelmingly associated to teenage girls. And Miwa’s story, in episode 4, explicitly shows how society responds to sexual assault. When Miwa does have the courage to speak up about her assault, she’s instantly reprimanded by basically everyone around her. Her father is fired because her abuser was an executive of his company. Her mother asks her why she couldn’t just bear with it, telling her that her abuser chose her because she was cute, as if that’s supposed to make her feel better about it. Wonder Egg Priority shows that this sort of abuse is a systemic problem, a set of rules and norms deeply engrained in a society and upheld by all adults, regardless of gender, social status, or closeness (to the victim). Wonder Egg Priority says that, yes, girls’ and boys’ suicides have different meanings, but it’s not due to some inherent difference between the two, but the hostile environment in which these girls grow up. Girls are not more easily “tempted” by death, they just have more societal bullshit to deal with.

But Wonder Egg Priority goes further than just showcasing how girls’ (and AFAB) experiences are shaped by sociocultural factors. The story also disproves the supposedly dichotomous characteristics that the mannequins use to differentiate girls and boys (i.e. influenceability/independence, impulsivity/deliberation, emotion-orientation/goal-orientation). If the mannequins are indeed correct, and that girls are just influenceable, impulsive, and emotional, you’d expect the girls in the story to be to be like such too. Except, they aren’t. Rather, they’re a mix of both/all characteristics. This show says that, certainly, girls can be suggestible, but they’re also capable of thinking for themselves. For instance, when Momoe asserts her own identity as a girl at the end of episode four, she rejects the words of those around her who insisted that she isn’t a girl. If she were as suggestible as the mannequins believe her to be, that would never have happened – she would have just continued believing that she wasn’t girl “enough”. But, she doesn’t because she is equally capable of making her own judgements. Likewise, Wonder Egg Priority shows that girls can be impulsive, but they can also be deliberate and pre-mediating. When Miwa tricks her Wonder Killer into groping her to create an opening for Momoe to defeat it, she’s not doing it out of impulse – it’s a pre-mediated and deliberate choice unto a goal. And Wonder Egg Priority continues, girls can be equally emotion oriented and goal oriented. Sure, the main girls are fighting because they have the goal of bringing their loved ones back to life, but those goals are motivated by a large range of emotions, from guilt to anger, grief, compassion, and love. 

Being emotion-driven doesn’t mean you’re not goal-driven, and vice versa. In fact, in this case, being emotional drives these girls toward their goals. In other words, none of these traits that the mannequins listed are either “girl traits” or “boy traits”. Being one does not mean you can’t be the other, even if they seem dichotomous at first. Wonder Egg Priority’s diverse cast of multi-dimensional female characters allows it to undermine the mannequins’ conceptualization of gendered roles, refuting the idea that these (or any) character traits should be consider gendered at all.

As an underdeveloped side thought, I think Wonder Egg Priority’s blurring of gendered roles is also well-reflected in its style. There’s been a lot of talk about whether Wonder Egg Priority constitutes a magical girl series, and I think that’s an interesting question deserving of its own essay. Certainly, it does follow the basic formula of the magical girl story: a teenage heroine ensemble wielding magical weapons saves the day. But it also throws out a lot of the conventions you’d expect of a magical girl story – both aesthetically and narratively. Aesthetically, it’s probably missing the component that most would consider the thing that makes an anime a magical girl anime: the full body transformation sequence, complete with the sparkles and the costume and all that. Narratively, the girls are also not really magical girl protagonist material – they’ve got a fair share of flaws, have done some pretty awful things (looking at Kawai in particular; I still love you though), and aren’t exactly the endlessly self-sacrificing heroines you’d expect from a typical magical girl story. On the other hand, the anime also borrows a lot from shonen battle anime. We get these dynamic, well choreographed action sequences full of horror and gore, the focus on the importance of camaraderie between allies (or “nakama”, as shonen anime would call it) exemplified through all the bonding between the main girls during their downtime, and in the necessary co-operation to bring down the Wonder Killers. That said, this anime is not a shonen; the characters, types of conflicts, and themes are quite different from those that you’d find in a typical shonen. The bleeding together of the shonen genre and the magical girl genre, at the very least (and I say this because I think it does way more than just that), reflects Wonder Egg Priority’s interest in rebelling against conventional narratives about girlhood and gender.

#wonder egg priority #wonder egg priority analysis #wep #w.writing #my writing #anime analysis #analysis #anime #w.analysis

[piccolina-mina]

I cannot speak for anyone else, and I'm not trying to. I can only speak for myself as an observer and a friend. And sometimes I feel really bad for bisexual fans, especially the bisexual men who are out, open, or quietly observing, and still active in the RNM fandom.

There used to be many bisexual men who shared their thoughts, but a few I remember left fandom. There are many women, but it still comes with a pressure and expectation to only appreciate specific parts of the series or face erasure if they don't comply.

It must be gratifying to have a strong bisexual character let alone a male character like Michael. You don't see it often at all. Bi characters are rare and bi men are like unicorns on TV, and how they are represented can vary. But one thing that has been consistent and obvious is that Michael is a character Carina has invested in a lot.

A lot of effort and care goes into how he's portrayed as a bisexual man. She seems very in tune and careful with how she wants to depict that, for better and worse, and sometimes at the expense of other aspects of the show that require sensitivity, awareness, and care too.

And I have seen how important that is to many bisexual fans but particularly bi men. But I can only imagine how difficult it has to be when you're seeing your representation onscreen -- you're seeing yourself reflected -- and you constantly see it regarded as "bad bi rep" usually over trivial things.

Michael is confident, out, unapologetic. He has an interesting story of presumably when he realized he was bisexual. He has those moments of insecurity, but he's consistent. And he's never treated as less than or not "manly" or anything like that by the majority of the characters -- the important characters.

His Bisexuality is never treated like a character flaw by the others.

His friends, acquaintances, siblings, and love interests don't look down on him for being bisexual. It's not the sole thing that drives his arc, or the only reason he's "relevant." He's a multi-dimensional character who happens to be bisexual instead of "the token bisexual character."

It seems pretty damn awesome.

But sometimes I imagine it has to be hard to see all of these factors and then see the frequent takes that he's "poor bi rep."

And it has to be invalidating that only one of his relationships matters and the other one is constantly torn apart.

Isn't that part of the "pick a side" frustration bisexuals face way too often? Why unwittingly perpetuate it so much?

Isn't the whole idea supposed to be that both of these relationships are valid and meaningful in different ways, and that's OK?

On the show you have Alex and Maria, and neither of them make Michael feel like crap because he's bisexual. Alex doesn't treat him like he's less queer for dating and sleeping with women. He doesn't shame him (something that has been known to happen with some popular queer ships like Calzona on Grey's Anatomy, for example) for being bi.

Any of the issues they have, have absolutely nothing to do with Michael's sexuality. That has to be refreshing.

And Maria doesn't judge Michael for being bisexual either. All fandoms as a whole, in general, tend to fetishize and/or love mlm ships, but as we know, irl wlw are fetishized and revered more, usually by straight men who think a woman's bisexuality is for their sexual pleasure, gratification or chance to have a threesome.

In real life, it's obviously difficult for bi men dating etc. For every Maria, there's a woman who only thinks she's a "beard" or pitstop until her bi lover is gay, or feels insecure that she can't give him something someone else can, or a plethora of other misconceptions and ignorance.

But Maria isn't like that. None of the drama surrounding her relationship with Michael had anything to do with him being bisexual. It was never about the parts of who he slept with, but her relationship with who he slept with.

And to hit home that Michael being bisexual didn't make him less desirable or attractive to her, they kissed after the truth came out. And they both enjoyed it.

People hate that and tear it apart, but I imagine that was also something important to show.

And then, fandom, fandom from all walks of life and different genders and sexualities find this bisexual character attractive and desirable.

It has to be messed up as a bi male fan to see part of the fandom, a great deal of them straight women be shamed or ridiculed or referred to as homophobic for liking Michael and Maria.

It has to be messed up for bi female fans to have their sexuality completely invalidated because they like miluca. To be called homophobic or biphobia despite being bi themselves for liking Miluca.

Or to have their love of this ship and this representation that is important to them reduced to them just wanting to self-insert with Michael (I mean, hey, what if it's about self-inserting with Maria? Because that's what a hell of a lot of queer miluca fans are thinking about).

Or to have them criticized for it if that's the case, but it's widely accepted that bisexual and straight fans can thirst over the two men just fine.

What is wrong about thirsting after one or both parties of miluca in equal measure as one would Malex? And doing it with them as a couple rather than individually? Why is that only an option with them separate but not with them together as it is with Malex?

Like, a (so far) straight female character is criticized for having feelings for this bisexual man and straight female fans are criticized for liking miluca, or hell, self-inserting with miluca, and finding this male character, who happens to be bisexual, attractive and sexy.

Bi female fans are criticized for liking miluca or self-inserting either way with Maria and Michael. Their sexuality is always questioned for enjoying this ship as if they're somehow less queer for enjoying it.

No one ever considers that they're enjoying the hell out of thirsting over Maria via this relationship. It IS Maria after all.

Michael is hot. Maria is stunning. Only one of these relationships is giving queer miluca fans Maria, right? Why is enjoying that via their relationship not an acceptable option? For bi fans of any gender? For straight fans?

To Maria, to the fans of the miluca ship, Michael's bisexuality doesn't matter or make him less than, or less attractive. He's accepted and cared about and desired.

And some people read that as latching on to a straight presenting ship and thus being inherently homophobic and biphobic, instead of seeing, and appreciating, and enjoying that there are no qualms, no judgment, no prejudice, no second guessing about shipping a presumably straight woman with a bisexual man.

His sexuality never hinders him from being shipped with anyone. It never stops him from being desired. It doesn't stop fans from enjoying and self-inserting either. He didn't stop being viable when it was revealed that he was bisexual.

And if people can see that and respond that way to a character they love, then maybe it breaks the stigma about dating, falling in love with or sleeping with bisexual men. Maybe people can apply that to real life too.

And that's the power of representation in media, and how influential it can be. That's something special and important too.

It's not something that happens easily, and like with any disenfranchised group, experiences are always different. It's not always the same for bi men versus bi women. Intersectionality comes into play. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that just a basic understand of people and their experiences.

Ironically, both experiences by both male and female bi fans are being invalidated and/or erased here often when it comes to this, which is very unfortunate and sad to see.

I mean, I can't shake the concept of someone's experience battling being rejected or invalidated, and then watching something where someone like you isn't being rejected or invalidated for their sexuality, and many of the viewers and fans aren't rejecting or invalidating this character's sexuality ... but then seeing some of those fans are rejected and invalidated for enjoying one or both of this characters' relationships. 🤔

Their acceptance, not tolerance, their acceptance of bisexuality is rejected and criticized. It doesn't make sense.

And yeah, it's a love triangle. But it's a love triangle between a bi man, a gay man, and a woman. Something you do not see often at all. And sexuality isn't the root of the tension or conflict. Nowhere. Not once.

It's played out like any other love triangle. It's normalized because the whole point is that bisexual people being attracted to more then one gender is normal.

They're subjected to the same things as everyone else, including love to hate love triangles.

I don't know. This isn't even in response to anything specific, it's just, sometimes, I really sympathize for the bisexual fans and friends, and I really feel bad for the bi men in the RNM fandom who thoroughly enjoy having this representation and enjoy both relationships and the depiction of what it's like having feelings for two different people for different reasons who then see parts of that which they appreciate and make them feel seen always ripped apart so often.

Man, it must feel like A LOT sometimes.

But again, I'm not presuming to know how anyone feels, and I certainly can't speak for them, but I would be lying if I said it didn't cross my mind on occasion.

#it's a lot to see and a lot to hear so i know it's a lot to experience #like damn ... sometimes different perspectives on this are not considered at all #roswell new mexico #anyway ... carry on i guess #don't forget to spell my name right when you bash me *finger guns* #rnm discourse #rnm notoriety #rnm fandom fkery

[the-gal-in-the-greenblue-armor]

So apparently it’s Shaman King’s 20th anniversary. Which means I’ve been thinking about the series for several days and need to type out my thoughts about it otherwise I’m going to be stuck in this brain hole for the next 2 weeks until another series briefly distracts me.

I’m going to throw this under a “read more” and be warned that I may touch on some mild to slightly spicy spoilers.

I just want to start this short essay off by stating that Shaman King is one of my all time favourite manga series. It was one of the first 4kids anime I watched on Saturday mornings when I was like...8 and was the second manga series I rediscovered when I was 13 (the first was One Piece) and the first series I finished (sort off since the series has 2 endings but I’ll cover that later). It’s one of the few manga series where I periodically reread from start to finish every few years and whenever I finish reading it think “Man, I love this”. 

Is the series perfect? No, there are some obvious flaws in the mangaka’s design of one of the main characters (who’s African-American) and the Patch Tribe (a fictional North American Indigenous Tribe that’s hella VITAL to the plot). The characters themselves are good multi-dimensional beings, but how they’re drawn would definitely not have flown had the series been released in modern day. 

However, the series has a lot going for it in terms of its characters and the reoccurring themes in the narrative. So let’s dive in shall we?

The Main Characters:

1. Asakura Yoh is the main protagonist of the series. Like many shounen protagonists, his dream is to essentially become the greatest “x” ever. In this series that title is the “Shaman King”, who is basically a god-like figure who has beaten all the other “world’s greatest” shamans in this massive tournament that takes place once every 500 years. However, our boy Yoh deviates from other shounen protagonists because his initial motivation is that he’s lazy and figures out that if he becomes the Shaman King, he won’t have to work and can just “chill out” for the rest of his life. His later motivation comes into play when he sees all the crazy folks fighting in the tournament and thinks “yikes, probably shouldn’t let these people be given this ultimate cosmic power”. 

What’s most interesting about this protagonist is while he is undoubtedly a “good” person, he seems to fall under the category of “neutral”. Despite his grand ambition, he wouldn’t be considered an “ambitious” person. Heck, when he meets someone that has a better reason for becoming the Shaman King he almost quits on the spot. He’s content to just go with the flow and see where it spits him out in life. Practically nothing fazes him and his easy-going nature unnerves his uptight allies and foes. However his greatest strength is his single core belief that “anyone who can see spirits can’t be all bad” and that philosophy allows him to befriend pretty much every character in the series, “good” and “bad”.

2. Kyoyama Anna is Yoh’s fiance and one of my all time favourite female characters. She would sell you for a corn chip and stab you without warning. She’s tough and straightforward and terrifies every character who meets her. Yoh promised her that if he becomes Shaman King she’ll be taken care of for the rest of her life and dammit she’s wants that good life. So she acts like his coach and puts him through her “torture training” because if it were up to him he would nap all day. Despite her clear personality differences with Yoh, they genuinely love each other and trust and respect each other. There’s no drama between them and I live for that good relationship goals.

(Note, the next few characters are going to have shorter descriptions because spoilers and I can’t NOT talk about them because I love them) 

3. Oyamada Manta is Yoh’s best friend. He can see spirits but isn’t a Shaman. He’s a nerd that freaks out pretty easily but as he becomes closer with Yoh, he becomes braver. He’s kind of used for exposition since he’s not from a shaman family or background. Probably cannot legally say fuck.

4. Tao Ren: antagonist turned protagonist. Goes through some incredible character development and redemption without completely compromising the core of his character. Acts somewhat as Yoh’s rival. Arrogant and hot-headed with a snarky attitude. Would order a single black coffee with a car full of kids at a McDonald’s drive through.

5. Horohoro Usui: lovable idiot but also hecking strong and goes from 0 to 100 real quick if you fuck with him. From the Ainu tribe (Northern Japanese Indigenous Tribe). Loves nature and snowboarding. 

6. Lyserg Diethel: a relatively level-headed British boy who is out for revenge against the guy who killed his parents. Definitely a “looks like a cinnamon bun but will actually kill you”. Has a conflicting friendship with Yoh as their personal philosophies don’t match up at all. 

7. Chocolove McDonald: an African American shaman. As previously stated, his character design didn’t really age well. The mangaka drew him with big lips and a big nose. In the North American manga, he’s somewhat censored (they downplayed the lip thing but erasing the lines between his lips and the rest of his face. Looks a little bit better but still a bit yikes). Initially introduced as a comic relief character but once you get into his backstory and as the story progresses, he’s a pretty grounded character who’s just trying to make up for the awful stuff he’s done. Out of the 5 main male characters, he’s formally stated to be the strongest and most well-balanced out of all of them. He’s a character that I love more with every reread.

Main antagonists:

Hao: Introduced once the Shaman Fight starts. A bit sadistic and playful. Has reincarnated himself twice trying to become the Shaman King. Has killed tons of characters without remorse. Doesn’t really care about anyone and wants to kill off humanity because he hates humans. 

The X-Laws: an extremist group formed with the sole goal of taking down Hao. To them, justice is absolute. They don’t believe in second chances or redemption. Their goal is for their leader to become Shaman King, kill Hao, and purge the world of “evil”. The main protagonists don’t like this group AT ALL.

Reoccurring themes:

Consequences: One of my favourite things about this manga is that every action has a consequence and no character is safe. Character was redeemed? Too bad, their past is coming for them and doesn’t care that they’re a good guy now. Got revenge on another group? Well that other group is coming for you to get revenge for your revenge. As Yoh states: Violence only brings about more violence. 

Forgiveness: this series is big on characters learning to forgive themselves for what they’ve done or forgiving others for not living up to their expectations. Forgiveness plays a large role in almost every character’s development. 

Mortality: In a series about ghosts and death, this theme was inevitable. What is interesting is that at the end game of the series, the main characters mourn the fact that they’ve become desensitized to the casual violence of their new lives and that they can continue to fight even after watching their friend be brutally murdered in front of them without pausing to take it in. 

Other cool things:

Shaman King has two endings: the original ending and the true ending. The original ending is a cliffhanger for when the magazine that was publishing it went under and the mangaka had to quickly wrap up the series because he wasn’t sure if he’d get the chance to actually finish it. The true ending was when another publishing company picked up the series a few years later, which allowed the creator to publish the last 15-ish chapters and write the intended ending he’d been working on.

There are 2 versions of the series: the original and the redraw. The original version treats readers to the manga’s visual transformation from beginning to end. The style of chapter 1 is drastically different from that of the last chapter. This is the version you’d find in the North America releases. The second version is the redraw. The mangaka redrew the entire series in his polished art style from start to finish, to my knowledge little was changed plot wise.

This essay kind of went a bit all over the place but the bottom line is that I love this series. I love its weird integration of philosophy and religion from around the world. I love it’s visual transformation. I love that the characters are flawed and can’t be truly placed in the traditional shounen character tropes. I love that the female characters aren’t over-sexualized. I love that the series blurs the line between what’s good and bad. And I love how the plot unfolds and keeps me coming back to reread it and fall in love all over again.

I love Shaman King.

#the daily life of emily #this is hecking long but I have a lot of feelings #shaman king