11th November 2010

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Sexism in Japan (Bakuman)

When the first volume of the hit Shonen Jump series, Bakuman, was released here in America, reviewers seemed to be taking a note on the issue of sexism in the story. Some have argued that the female characters are treated as if they have no personality. They either are just objects or treated with disdain. The anime version of Bakuman (which debuted this Fall) also has gotten some people talking about sexism in the series. I find this interesting because, honestly, Japan is a sexist country to begin with.

For those unfamiliar with the series, Bakuman is a story about two young men, Moritaka Mashiro & Akito Takagi, and their dreams of being mangakas (Japanese for “comic artists”) & having one of their works become a hit anime series. They currently work together under the pen name, Muto Ashirogi, for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen JUMP magazine. Moritaka is in love with a girl named Miho Azuki. They both made promises to each other that they would marry when their dreams come true (with him being a mangaka and her being a voice actor). One of Mashiro’s goals is to have Azuki voice the anime version of one of his series. Akito is married to a girl named Kaya Miyoshi, who seems to have no real aspirations in life. There are two other important female characters, Aiko Iwase & Ko Aoki, who are also in the manga business and trying to make it big as mangakas. Both have interacted with Akito in the past and had romantic crushes on him.

So, what’s the problem? Azuki is supposedly treated as a “goal” for Moritaka. His ultimate goal is to marry her & have her voice one of his series when it becomes an anime adaptation. Although Azuki doesn’t seem to mind, it seems Moritaka isn’t too worried about her feelings & problems. Regarding Kaya, she stated that her only goal is to support Muto Ashirogi and her husband. Kaya has no other ambitions to be more than just a housewife. As for the other two female characters, Aoki & Iwase, they are both criticized for stepping into a “man’s world” (the world of shonen manga). Aoki tries to bring a shojo story into Shonen JUMP and gets put down for that. There is one instance where she couldn’t finish a story and has her assistants finish it for her. Iwase is an overachiever who wants to prove everyone wrong, including Akito, who rejected her back in middle school, for being too “book-smart”. She went from being a brilliant novel writer to being a mangaka. In essence, she downgraded herself out of jealousy towards a guy.

The issue of sexism lies inside the male ego when it comes to power. Japan is a country that’s patriarchal. Women generally do not get many opportunities in terms of work & advancement in society. Although the country has gotten a little bit better over the years in terms of treating females with some sort of respect, it still doesn’t change the fact that Japan is still behind in terms of “equal rights for women”. You can say that this is one of the bad sides of cultural relativism.

What happens when the male ego mixes itself with power? An article by Dr. Chris O’Bayne states that men tend to be extremely temperamental and want to look good in front of others. They’re driven by testosterone. Men have a need to flex their muscles and tend not to be emotionally attached to those who they may view as inferior to them. This ties into Japan and the “corporate culture” it imposes on its residents. Men are supposed to be all business & serious when women aren’t.

Now, I bet you’re wondering if I think Bakuman is sexist towards women. To a certain degree, yes. Bakuman does reflect how most Japanese men feel about women. When Akito rejects Iwase, it seems like he doesn’t want to be around women who seem to be all-knowing. When Iwase becomes a mangaka writer for JUMP, she feels that she needs to try super-hard and that freaks out the JUMP editors. Not many guys like expressive women in Japan. As stated earlier, Aoki can’t seem to do things on her own without help. She is also treated as a “love goal” for another mangaka in the story, Kazuya Hiramaru. In the latest chapter of Bakuman (Chapter 108), both Aoki & Iwase are called “Miss JUMPs” by Shinta Fukuda in a rude manner. It could be a joke, but the tone made it sound that Fukuda doesn’t like them being there. The series tends to focus a little too much on the dreams of men. Then again, what shonen series doesn’t? I like to know what your thoughts about this, especially Bakuman fans.

You can argue that a lot of anime/manga series are guilty of sexism, not just Bakuman. So, why bash Bakuman? Is it because the series is realistic & perhaps blatant to a point about what could happen in everyday life? Is it wrong to teach young boys about reality? Another thing is that the creators (Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata) are the same people behind Death Note, where the women were portrayed as exploitable to a huge extent. You have to assume that their views on women could be carried over into their next work. Though Bakuman isn’t as bad as Death Note, with regards to sexism.

I still find Bakuman to be a good series and I highly recommend it. It’s an interesting look at the manga industry. However, the series does look down at women at certain points. Who can you blame? Japanese society as a whole perhaps? After all, Japan is a country that comes up with games like this (NSFW) to entertain people.

The solution is simple: don’t feed the male ego with power or you might get bad results. However, given Japan’s roots, this solution will not be easily implemented. The one consolation out of all this is that Japan’s crime rate is pretty low compared to most countries. There aren’t a lot of serious sex-related crimes against women over there.

Things seem to even out in the end, don’t they?

Tagged: animebakumancultural relativismgenderjapanjapanese culturemale psychologymangamensexismshonenshonen jumpwomenpsychology