InJapanese popular culture,abishōjo(Mỹ thiếu nữ,lit."beautiful girl" ),also romanized asbishojoorbishoujo,is a cute girl character.Bishōjocharacters appear ubiquitously in media includingmanga,anime,and computerized games (especially in thebishojogamegenre), and also appear in advertising and as mascots, such as formaid cafés.An attraction towardsbishōjocharacters is a key concept inotaku(manga and anime fan) subculture.
The development of thebishōjoaesthetic in manga of the early 1980s marked a departure from previous realistic styles, and the emergence of the aesthetic of "cute eroticism" (kawaii ero) andmoe.
History
editThebishōjocharacter type emerged in theloliconboom of the early 1980s, particularly in the works of manga artistHideo Azuma.[1]Azuma's characters combined the round bodies ofOsamu Tezukacharacters and the round and emotive faces ofshōjomanga.At the time, the dominant style in seinen and pornographic manga wasgekiga,a realistic style characterized by sharp angles, dark hatching, and gritty lines; in contrast, Azuma's work displayed light shading and clean, circular lines.[2]In doing so, Azuma developed "cute eroticism" (kawaii ero), a form of eroticism based on manga-style characters.[1]Lolicon(derived from "Lolita complex" ) was one of several terms referring to this expansion in cute characters in manga and anime, and a corresponding attraction to and affection for such characters. Synonyms include "two-dimensional complex"(nijigen konpurekkusu), "two-dimensional fetishism" (nijikon fechi), "two-dimensional syndrome" (nijikon shōkōgun), "cute girl syndrome" (bishōjo shōkōgun), and simply "sickness" (byōki).[3]
Several characters created byHayao Miyazakiare considered icons of thebishōjoboom, particularly Clarisse from the filmLupin III: Castle of Cagliostro(1979), Lana from the TV seriesFuture Boy Conan(1978), andNausicaäfromhis mangaand filmNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind(1984).[4]Another creator strongly associated with the boom wasRumiko Takahashi,whose characterLumfrom her mangaUrusei Yatsura(1978–1987) gained immense popularity.[5]Cultural criticHiroki Azumaidentifies Lum as a key development in fan interaction and response tobishōjocharacters:[6]
I first visited Tokyo's gathering for producers of fanzines, the Comic Market, in 1984 or 1985, and fanzines devoted to characters from manga and anime series such asUrusei Yatsura... were everywhere. The fans were responding to characters, without a doubt. Actually, to me,Urusei Yatsurais really an ancestor ofbishōjogames andmoemedia—a completely useless male character is surrounded by all these cute girl characters, including Lum, an alien girl who wears a bikini and is in love with this male character.
Features
editBishōjocharacters are typified by design elements (such as personality archetypes, clothing, and accessories) that are known and acknowledged by the audience.[7]
Media
editThis sectionneeds expansionwith: Not enough information or examples in general, especially for anime and manga. You can help byadding to it.(December 2020) |
Bishōjocharacters appear in almost all genres ofanimeandmangaand in many video games, especially indating simsandvisual novels,sometimes to get more players or simply just to make a game look good.Bishōjocharacters tend to attract males.Bishōjocharacters sometimes are the most popular female characters as most people like anime, manga, dating sims, and visual novels more when the art stands out, looks pretty, and has beautiful females.
Bishōjogames
editGames that are made with the intent of featuringbishōjocharacters are known asbishōjogames.Becausevisual novelsare considered games as well,bishōjogames also encapsulatevisual novelsmade with the intent of featuringbishōjocharacters. Althoughbishōjogames are made with a male audience in mind, they can extend to a female audience as well, such as theTouhou Project.
Confusion regarding terminology
editAlthoughbishōjois not a genre but a character design, series which predominantly feature such characters, such as harem anime andvisual novels,are sometimes informally calledbishōjoseries. The characters and works referred to by the termbishōjoare typically intended to appeal to a male audience.[8]Since one of the main draws of these series is typically the art and the attractive female characters, the term is occasionally perceived negatively, as a genre which is solely dependent on the marketability of beautiful characters rather than the actual content or plot.
The wordbishōjois sometimes confused with the similar-soundingshōjo( "girl" ) demographic, butbishōjorefers to the gender and traits of thecharactersit describes, whereasshōjorefers to the gender and age of anaudiencedemographic – manga publications, and sometimes anime, described as "shōjo"are aimed at young female audiences.
Bishōjois not to be confused withbishōnen– beautiful boy. It is also not to be confused withmoe– which is a definition for a genre of entertainment which features cute/adorable girls rather than "sexy" girls. Although elements of Moe andBishōjoare often blended together, so the two elements are closely entwined and cannot be completely separated from one another.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abGalbraith 2019,p. 31.
- ^Galbraith 2019,p. 30.
- ^Galbraith 2019,p. 54.
- ^Galbraith 2019,pp. 98–99.
- ^Galbraith 2019,pp. 107.
- ^Galbraith 2019,pp. 108–109.
- ^Nozawa, Shunsuke (2013)."Characterization".The Semiotic Review.3.
- ^Endresak, David (2006)."Girl power: Feminine motifs in Japanese popular culture".Digital Commons @ EMU:58 – via Eastern Michigan University.
Works cited
edit- Galbraith, Patrick W. (2019).Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan.Durham: Duke University Press.doi:10.2307/j.ctv1220mhm.ISBN978-1-4780-0509-4.JSTORj.ctv1220mhm.OCLC1148100778.