Some women enjoy watching cartoons, some enjoy makeup, and there are those who love music. But the women in this article find peace and joy in watching anime. However, how does misogyny affect their viewing experience?
“I avoid the ecchi genre completely” – Anita*, 24
I enjoy watching light-hearted, funny anime in the comfort of my home. My current favourite is “Attack on Titan”, mostly because I enjoy fight scenes just as much. Honestly, I’ll watch any anime as long as it is interesting, but I avoid the ecchi genre completely. Not only have I heard really bad things about the fanatics of the genre, I can’t bring myself to sit through the way the Japanese writers depict women. It is very weird and predatory. Why are you and your fans sexualising children?
“I love talking about anime with women” – Comfort*, 23
I love watching anime with complex characters, but the moment I notice even the slightest hint of misogyny or a female character being objectified, I drop it. That’s why I stopped watching “Seven Deadly Sins”. There was just too much going on. When I first got into watching anime and started tweeting about it, men kept questioning my interest and insinuating that I wouldn’t enjoy it simply because I am a woman. I get so engrossed in conversations about anime that I really enjoy that I don’t always catch the issues in the moment, but once I do, I address them then and there. They’ll often backpedal and say it’s not what I think it is, but I know and understand these microaggressions when I see them.
That said, I still tweet and talk about whatever anime I like. I don’t engage much with the wider community, but I love talking about anime with women. They understand the tropes that often go over the male viewers’ heads.
“I wish they’d stopped sexualising cosplayers” – Fatima*, 20
I like watching dark psychological anime with plot twists and animation that leave me thinking for days. But it’s rare to find anime that doesn’t objectify women. It’s almost a theme for them to portray women as naive and helpless. When I decide to watch anyway, I do my best to focus just on the plot. That’s why I like “Attack on Titan”. The plot is tight, everyone’s a badass, and no one’s being objectified for sexual relief.
I hate the objectification of women so much. As someone who cosplays for a living, it is something I have had to deal with continuously. Men I’ve never met send me explicit messages, telling me what they’d like to do with me in cosplay. I found out that as a goth girl and cosplayer, I’m a fantasy to them. They don’t see us as human beings but as experiences. I just wish they’d stop sexualising cosplayers.
“I don’t want to deal with people questioning things I enjoy” – Jane*, 23
I really like shonen anime. The whole idea of the protagonist with a grand goal, facing enemies, growing stronger, and the power of friendship? Inject it directly into my veins. Unfortunately, with some shonen, you’re deep into a show, and the next thing they’ll drop is a bit or a gag that was intentionally added to please male fans. It adds nothing to the plot, just random sexualisation or nudity. There’s this anime called “Fire Force”, it has a character whose clothes are always “accidentally” falling or ripping. Why? Who asked for that? Honestly, I don’t expect morality from the media we consume, so there are some things I just roll my eyes and overlook, but it gets to a point.
I try not to interact with the community online. I prefer staying in my bubble. The few times I’ve tried, I’ve had men quiz me on what anime I’ve watched. Why? I don’t want to deal with people questioning the things I like. And the random mansplaining that follows? No, thanks. I’d rather talk anime with close friends. I have an anime-themed pouch, and men often come up to ask about it. But my first reaction is scepticism. The conversation always leads to a lecture or an impromptu quiz.
“You have to filter the rubbish in your search” – Fola*, 25
I try hard to avoid misogynistic themes and tropes, but a lot of anime is geared towards the male audience, and they love pandering unnecessary sexual things like showing panties or huge bulbous breasts jiggling forever, or even little girl characters in revealing clothes. Once I see a show has any of these things, I log out. Despite the prevalence of this, however, there are shows that are animated amazingly and don’t rely on the rubbish. You just have to find them, and finding them is also not that difficult. You have to filter the rubbish in your search. There are articles, forums, and lists where people ask and give similar recommendations. Sometimes, you can even tell from the poster whether a show will be full of nonsense.
I wish there were more women I could talk to about anime. Because with men? It’s like they’re vetting you or competing with you. “Oh, you’re a babe, that’s why you’re saying that,” “You can’t really like anime, which ones have you watched?” And then they proceed to name the most basic anime in all of existence. Or, they start asking you to list all the anime you’ve watched so they can tell you how it is “basic, entry-level anime.” Sometimes, I hit back by listing anime even their dads have never heard of, not to prove anything, but to shut them up. Then I’ll go, “Oh, you don’t know it? Wow, I thought you said you watched a lot of anime.” The look on their faces gives me joy.
“Him being male and misogynistic means we wouldn’t see certain anime the same way” – Winifred*, 20
I wasn’t always a feminist, but I’ve always had common sense. Even then, some anime spooked me. Since becoming “woke,” I can’t tolerate misogynistic anime anymore. In fact, I just dropped “Fire Force” because of this.
I love anime a lot and was once very active in an anime community. And not to toot my own horn, but an educational post I made went viral and helped them gain over 100 new members. But one of the moderators turned out to be misogynistic. I blocked him, which meant I was automatically removed from the community. That’s when it hit me: him being male and misogynistic means we’d never see certain anime the same way. His view will always be clouded by his bias.
“Personal messages get very sexual quickly most times because of the characters I cosplay” – Halima*, 20
I cosplay a lot of big-breasted characters. Most of the time, people are respectful at cons and in the comment section of my posts. But in my DMs? Different story. Personal messages get very sexual quickly. Once, a guy offered me a million naira to have sex with him in one of my cosplays. He was a scammer, obviously, but omo. It would be nice to meet other female anime fans. Maybe then, my DMs would rest.
“I’ve never tried to impress a man in my life” – Yinka*, 23
I love anime because there is something for everyone. If you’re in the mood for romance or to watch small children beat up grown men, there’s something for you to watch and immerse yourself in. What I don’t like is when I talk about my love for anime, and there’s a man in my comment section asking, “What’s his name?” Why are you insinuating that I am dedicating hours of my day, every day, to impress a man? I have never tried to impress a man in my life. Why would I want to start now? And why would I spend almost a whole year watching over a thousand episodes of “One Piece” just to do that? Am I unemployed?
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