Shojo Anime History Part 3: 90s - Present

     Shojo anime continued its experimentation with genre styles and playing with gender conventions throughout the 90s and into the present day. Budgets for shows increased, and new creators got bolder and bolder with depictions of sexuality, upending gender norms and female protagonists increased exponentially. Several series debuted in the 90s, specifically Sailor Moon and Revolutionary Girl Utena. These two series often get compared to one another, but I feature them here in order to not only contrast them, but to show the diversity that just exploded in the 90s.  I picked these two series to highlight, because I consider them, not only to be most stereotypical of 90s shojo, most iconic and popular, but also among the most radical.  

    Sailor Moon features a cast of teenage girl super heroes, specifically in the magical girl trope, that protect the world from alien and demonic invaders. Their villains are female, who very often have male subordinates. Sailor Moon's love interest, Tuxedo Mask is oftentimes saved by the girls. Two of the Sailor Scouts also happen to be in a lesbian relationship, though this is not a yuri. Besides all of that, this show was marketed towards young and pre-teen girls. Radical stuff, right? This series was also a massive international juggernaut, with it playing in a ton of different countries, and featured a massively successful merchandising line. A lot of its lesbian and darker, violent content was toned down or completely cut for broadcast outside of Japan, but much of its messaging and themes surprisingly remained intact. Teenage girl media tropes, like silly crushes, high school drama and entering womanhood are both parodied and celebrated. This is a show that celebrates girlhood and entering womanhood and makes it fun and revolutionary. This is not kid-stuff, despite outward appearances or entry-level description. 

    Revolutionary Girl Utena is another 90s anime that featured strong, female protagonists, lesbianism and gay relationships that are treated just the same as heterosexual ones, gender-bending, and cross-dressing. It was a hit in Japan, but not on the same scale as Sailor Moon. It is decidedly more unconventional, with unorthodox storytelling, plot that keeps twisting, and characters that do not outright reveal their goals and intentions. This one was marketed towards and older audience, not just girls. It is hard to place in a category, as lesbianism and homosexuality are some of its main themes, yet can not be called yuri, as other elements occupy alongside. It was not at all the merchandising juggernaut that Sailor Moon was, but did also do well when broadcast in overseas markets. Check out the trailer, and try to make sense of it. You really can't initially, but you can sure appreciate its style and its radical content.  

    

    

    In picking these two shows, I wanted to show the scope of genre and style for two slightly different audiences, while both series both share heavy magical girl-esque elements. Ideas that seemed radical in the 80s and before, were not so radical in the 90s. Open homosexuality, girls saving the guys, other girls and planet Earth became 90s tropes. Is that a sign of progress and one step towards female equality and empowerment? I say yes, wholeheartedly. Watch just a few episodes from these two barrier-breaking series and you will most likely find yourself in agreement.  

    With that said, it would be difficult for me to really hone in on a few series going forward. The 90s and onwards seemed to be a watershed in female representation and ubiquity in anime. This quote from Gender, Race, Class and Media sums things up better than I can when discussing shojo anime from the 90s onward, "There was a new sensibility afoot by the 1990s and early 2000s, what had come to be labeled "postfeminism".  Can anything be learned from this? Does art imitate life, or vice-versa? Can animated media from Japan impact real-life? I don't know, but certainly this sort of representation has inspired me as a feminist, just like how it has inspired countless millions of anime fans to demand more not only in anime programming, but in real life, too. Is anime postfeminist? I would argue that a ton of it certainly is. Problematic depictions of women and girls are certainly featured in many anime series, but if one were to highlight influential, and even popular series, I think they would find a plethora of strong female leads, and progressive depictions of girls and women.   

    Check out this well-made compilation of shojo openings that show the diversity and scope of shojo anime.