What is a 'shojo'? Week 5 & 6

Anime is a term often used to refer to animated productions from Japan which also features computer based and hand drawn animation. Anime is primarily distributed in Japan but there are some that leave the Japanese shores which include those that were created by Miyazaki. Most famous of these include ‘Mononoke’ and ‘Spirited Away’ which both share similaraties such as the archetype character in anime known as ‘shojo’. A ‘shojo’ is a young female protaganist and is very popular in anime.

‘Shojo’ can easily be translated to ‘little female’ and is a term that is used to describe young females that are usually between the age of 12 and 13. Furthermore, the term ‘shojo’ is used to highlight the transitional period that the character is going through as well as the growing pains that comes with maturing from a girl to a woman. It creates magical stories and those that are in a stark contrast to anime that highlight darkness in sci-fi and wartime plots (Cavallaro, 2006).

In Miyazaki’s anime, the ‘shojo’ plays major roles and are given added characteristics. Classic ‘shojo’ characters have often been described as being passive and one who sits and waits for the story to unfold whereas Miyaki’s heroines portray courage, remain active throughout the story and dares to delve further in any adventure (Cavallaro, 2006). Furthermore, Miyazaki attempts to use other attributes to portray feminine features in his characters such as placing them in situations that invoke specific actions that a woman would do. This is highlighted in the anime Monoke, when the audience is first introduced to San who has a bloodstained face. On first glance, the audience is shown that she is a strong character but also the nurturing aspect of her character by helping the God Wolf and sucking out the bad blood in it’s system (Miyazaki, 2006).

When an anime has a strong ‘shojo’ character presence it becomes known as a ‘shojo anime’ and is largely intended for young females. However, the audience for this type of anime is heavily consumed by male adults (Cavallaro, 2006).

Reference

Cavallaro, D. (2006). The animé art of Hayao Miyazaki (p. 11). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co.

Miyazaki, H. (Director). (2006). Princess Mononoke. Tokyo: Studio Ghibli Productions.