N.B. Please bear in mind that I use sweeping (and I mean sweeping) generalisations in this post. Japanese manga is varied and awesome and you can think of any topic under the sun and they will have written a manga about it - and several ones you would never have even thought of. This post deals with mainly mainstream manga - the pulp fiction stuff if you like. But to all those who have never read any before - I truly, truly recommend it. It can be beautiful, sad, moving, hilarious, psychedelic, awful and gentle all in one sitting. it is like watching a film in stills and they have a genuine gift for using landscape as emotional/ mental references. Plus, some of the stuff is so insane that you read going 'this is just....mental. how could anyone possibly read this?' And you keep reading it out of sheer incredulity and before you know it, you've read the first volume, put your coat on and walked to the bookstore to demand why they haven't stocked the next one.
But I digress, onwards to the actual post now...
I read a lot of manga - and I mean A LOT. Possibly I am what they call an otaku in Japan, or perhaps I am not quite worthy to receive that title just yet. In any case, I read a lot and I read everything.
I admit that I am fond of the romance stuff (cheese galore!) but recently, or perhaps it has just resurfaced in me, I grow sick of the same stuff over and over. You know, 'bad boy turns good with right girl', 'he's cold and mean but really, he loves me', 'he's a manipulative bastard but it's all for my own good'. I know I am generalising here (as some of the stuff that's out there is genuinely brilliant romantic stuff or just plain CUTE and fun to read) but a lot of it goes like this.
And the girls in them - the whiny, over-dependant, spineless girls. Oh my God do they make me ANGRY! Stop crying, grow a backbone - smack him! Arrgh! (Ahem, my Essex roots showing there somewhat).
So, for a while, I have moved away from the more romantic manga and decided to switch to Shounen - boys manga. Which normally I don't go for - what with them usually revolving around blood/gore, giant robots and big tits. Not that I have anything against robots and fisticuffs - they're just not my cup of tea.
But I fancied a change so off I went.
They are AMAZING! Totally ludicrous and completely hilarious! Samurai! Aliens! Bishies! Fans! Fisticuffs! MONOLOGUES! (all rolled into one in the case of Gintama - an anime and manga - both totally worth seeing) People getting thrown through walls, people getting punched, people going through tables, people being stabbed and beaten down but still heroically getting back up to defend their friends!
They are awesome. And the best bit about them is the women. Yes, they are all scantily dressed with short skirts and big tits (unless they are spooky looking little girls) and choose the oddest moments to become bashful. And sometimes yes, you get the typical DID (Damsel in Distress) but most of them are totally badass, utterly ruthless, cold hearted, violent, occasionally psychopathic and amazing.
Not ones for hiding in a corner sobbing, these girls will walk right over you in their determination to chop the bad guy into bits first. Yes, these girls are gun toting, sword wielding, giant robot making maniacs and, in my opinion, a strong candidate for roles models for future female world leaders. Although I would advise wearing slightly more clothing. And if you are going to be doing a lot of high kicks - perhaps shorts rather than skirts would be a better choice.
So, if anyone else is getting a little tired of the typical romance heroine, I, perhaps a bit bizarrely, recommend reading some Shounen manga for a truly hardcore female lead.
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