A feminist rant on a particular manga (Doubt)
I have started a manga which is raising all my feminist hackles. Doesn’t happen very often,* but there it is.
What is it?
Doubt. Doubt is about a very nerdy, plain girl called Ai, who after one humiliation too many, decides to transform herself. She applies to a different high school and meanwhile through strenuous diet and cosmetics and fashion make-over, becomes super hot. In her new school, she sets her eyes on the most popular guy there, Sho.
Now, in itself, while not a super-exciting concept for a manga, it doesn’t come across as super-offensive, yet, here I am ranting about it. Why?
Because it’s an equivalent of a Bratz movie. It is all about the outside, appearances, blending in.
In fact, it’s the exact opposite of such manga as Hana Yori Dango, or Peach Girl, or Wallflower (just to name the first three that came to mind) which were all about looking beyond appearances, good or bad, and being allowed to be yourself, and finding friends or boyfriend who will like you for you.
Doubt is all about just looking at appearances. Looking your best, going for the most popular guy in school just because he is hot.
In Hanadan, Makino is repeatedly portrayed as average looking. She is also much too outspoken. Yet she gives up hiding her true self, finds a core group of friends, and ends up with a guy who is richer than Croesus and who likes her because of her toughness. He falls for her, not her looks, or her pretend portrayal.
In Peach Girl, Momo has to overcome the fact that even though she looks slutty, she is not, and in Wallflower, Sunako stubbornly refuses to be anything but her scary goth self. Some people end up being fine with Makino/Momo/Sunako, others are not, but the main premise is finding what you are, not giving in to labels.
You don’t have to be a battle-ax to get my manga approval. I adore Tohru in Fruits Basket, and she is one of the gentlest souls in fiction. But Tohru is an individual. She cares about the Sohma boys because she cares for people. She is not obsessed with her looks and popularity to exclusion of everything else.
It’s not about not looking hot, either. Momo is unquestionably hot. Or, if you take the heroine of Cynical Orange (whose name escapes me), she is supposed to be very beautiful. But that’s the thing. The heroine of CO finally lets her imperfect side show to the world (she has a huge temper).
They are all people, with flaws. They don’t see the goal of being super-perfect, super-conformist as the best thing ever, and if they do, part of the manga storyline is always how to retain some individuality, or learning that you can be more than your shell.
Not so here.
Ai doesn’t have a thought in her head, no personality except for ‘I wanna be popular.’ And that is how everyone else views her, too. Sho and others like her because she is hot, plain and simple. She doesn’t demonstrate any cool traits of character, like strength of will (a la those heroines mentioned above) or bravery, or anything similar. Not even in Magical Girl genre do heroes go for the girl just because she is there. She usually is the only savior or something, but she also demonstrates positive qualities (whatever you may say about Miaka, she is portrayed as brave, cheerful, extremely good-hearted).
And the same is true about the guys. It’s just beefcake. Why does she like Sho? He is hot. He is popular. The end.
Manga guys and OTPs I care about all have something more than ‘he/she is cute.’ In Hanadan, the story is Makino discovering that despite the not-inaccurate first impression of Domyouji as a jerk, he is actually a strong guy who cares madly for her and with whom she is compatible. In Wallflower, which is all about defying labels in a lot of ways, Kyohei and Sunako are incredibly compatible (and both have been limited by their outward appearance, different as it may be). In Peach Girl, Momo ends up with her best friend, someone who might be a cute flirt, but who supports her, cares for her, and has been there for her. In Fruits Basket, Tohru goes for Kyo. You know, the hot-tempered, messed-up, boyish guy she has known for a long time, not some abstract personification of desired traits. Miaka doesn’t fall for Tamahome because he’s the hottest male she sees around (he isn’t. See Hotohori :D), but because they are compatible, he rescues her etc etc. In Cynical Orange, the heroine ends up with someone who has helped her since they were kids. In Hana Kimi, Sano is drawn to Mizuki’s adorableness and good heart, and Mizuki falls for Sano’s kindness and protective streak as much as his hot body. Even in something as fluffy/silly/girly as Kare First Love, the hero notices the heroine when she is still plain, and they grow closer gradually. Basically, in all of the above, there is a reason for liking, there is something more there than just ‘hot.’ They know each other as people, or they develop this knowledge.
So far, I find Sho not appealing in the least. Ai is all into him solely because he is hot. There is no indication of her caring if they are compatible, or any reason why she goes for him other than he is the most popular. He is an OK enough guy, but he has not done anything to win her devotion. I see no glimmer of any depth at all.
It’s a manga dedicated to the ‘go for the most popular look/person/brand, no matter what, and whether it fits you or not’ concept. I am sure plenty of teenagers and people older than that subscribe to that theory. But I personally find it pretty unappealing. Neither Sho nor Ai are likeable, nor are Ai’s goals any I can sympathize with. Climbing the popularity ladder by getting super-popular and going for the super hottie? Suppress any of your true self whatever it is? Fitting in as most important? Count me out.
Of course, I am a volume and a half in, I might change my mind later (I did with HG, ended up liking it a lot) but for now? Yikes.
* Only other two that did it were Hot Gimmick (which bugged me much less. Whatever else, it’s pretty clear that Ryoku is much more emotionally dependent on the heroine than she on him, so the balance of power is illusory) and Haou Airen which was just…even viewed as the author’s fantasy thing, pretty disgusting.
What is it?
Doubt. Doubt is about a very nerdy, plain girl called Ai, who after one humiliation too many, decides to transform herself. She applies to a different high school and meanwhile through strenuous diet and cosmetics and fashion make-over, becomes super hot. In her new school, she sets her eyes on the most popular guy there, Sho.
Now, in itself, while not a super-exciting concept for a manga, it doesn’t come across as super-offensive, yet, here I am ranting about it. Why?
Because it’s an equivalent of a Bratz movie. It is all about the outside, appearances, blending in.
In fact, it’s the exact opposite of such manga as Hana Yori Dango, or Peach Girl, or Wallflower (just to name the first three that came to mind) which were all about looking beyond appearances, good or bad, and being allowed to be yourself, and finding friends or boyfriend who will like you for you.
Doubt is all about just looking at appearances. Looking your best, going for the most popular guy in school just because he is hot.
In Hanadan, Makino is repeatedly portrayed as average looking. She is also much too outspoken. Yet she gives up hiding her true self, finds a core group of friends, and ends up with a guy who is richer than Croesus and who likes her because of her toughness. He falls for her, not her looks, or her pretend portrayal.
In Peach Girl, Momo has to overcome the fact that even though she looks slutty, she is not, and in Wallflower, Sunako stubbornly refuses to be anything but her scary goth self. Some people end up being fine with Makino/Momo/Sunako, others are not, but the main premise is finding what you are, not giving in to labels.
You don’t have to be a battle-ax to get my manga approval. I adore Tohru in Fruits Basket, and she is one of the gentlest souls in fiction. But Tohru is an individual. She cares about the Sohma boys because she cares for people. She is not obsessed with her looks and popularity to exclusion of everything else.
It’s not about not looking hot, either. Momo is unquestionably hot. Or, if you take the heroine of Cynical Orange (whose name escapes me), she is supposed to be very beautiful. But that’s the thing. The heroine of CO finally lets her imperfect side show to the world (she has a huge temper).
They are all people, with flaws. They don’t see the goal of being super-perfect, super-conformist as the best thing ever, and if they do, part of the manga storyline is always how to retain some individuality, or learning that you can be more than your shell.
Not so here.
Ai doesn’t have a thought in her head, no personality except for ‘I wanna be popular.’ And that is how everyone else views her, too. Sho and others like her because she is hot, plain and simple. She doesn’t demonstrate any cool traits of character, like strength of will (a la those heroines mentioned above) or bravery, or anything similar. Not even in Magical Girl genre do heroes go for the girl just because she is there. She usually is the only savior or something, but she also demonstrates positive qualities (whatever you may say about Miaka, she is portrayed as brave, cheerful, extremely good-hearted).
And the same is true about the guys. It’s just beefcake. Why does she like Sho? He is hot. He is popular. The end.
Manga guys and OTPs I care about all have something more than ‘he/she is cute.’ In Hanadan, the story is Makino discovering that despite the not-inaccurate first impression of Domyouji as a jerk, he is actually a strong guy who cares madly for her and with whom she is compatible. In Wallflower, which is all about defying labels in a lot of ways, Kyohei and Sunako are incredibly compatible (and both have been limited by their outward appearance, different as it may be). In Peach Girl, Momo ends up with her best friend, someone who might be a cute flirt, but who supports her, cares for her, and has been there for her. In Fruits Basket, Tohru goes for Kyo. You know, the hot-tempered, messed-up, boyish guy she has known for a long time, not some abstract personification of desired traits. Miaka doesn’t fall for Tamahome because he’s the hottest male she sees around (he isn’t. See Hotohori :D), but because they are compatible, he rescues her etc etc. In Cynical Orange, the heroine ends up with someone who has helped her since they were kids. In Hana Kimi, Sano is drawn to Mizuki’s adorableness and good heart, and Mizuki falls for Sano’s kindness and protective streak as much as his hot body. Even in something as fluffy/silly/girly as Kare First Love, the hero notices the heroine when she is still plain, and they grow closer gradually. Basically, in all of the above, there is a reason for liking, there is something more there than just ‘hot.’ They know each other as people, or they develop this knowledge.
So far, I find Sho not appealing in the least. Ai is all into him solely because he is hot. There is no indication of her caring if they are compatible, or any reason why she goes for him other than he is the most popular. He is an OK enough guy, but he has not done anything to win her devotion. I see no glimmer of any depth at all.
It’s a manga dedicated to the ‘go for the most popular look/person/brand, no matter what, and whether it fits you or not’ concept. I am sure plenty of teenagers and people older than that subscribe to that theory. But I personally find it pretty unappealing. Neither Sho nor Ai are likeable, nor are Ai’s goals any I can sympathize with. Climbing the popularity ladder by getting super-popular and going for the super hottie? Suppress any of your true self whatever it is? Fitting in as most important? Count me out.
Of course, I am a volume and a half in, I might change my mind later (I did with HG, ended up liking it a lot) but for now? Yikes.
* Only other two that did it were Hot Gimmick (which bugged me much less. Whatever else, it’s pretty clear that Ryoku is much more emotionally dependent on the heroine than she on him, so the balance of power is illusory) and Haou Airen which was just…even viewed as the author’s fantasy thing, pretty disgusting.