[Dawnstorm]

@Sexism isuue: I'm with the people who see the sexism in the ink blot here, but it's fiendishly difficult to pinpoint where it starts and stops. I agree with a lot of what relentlessflame says, too, so I'm probably best off riffing off from one of his posts:

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

In the end, if this show is "unabashedly sexist" for the reasons you outline, then I think it's a measuring stick that an awful lot (the majority?) of anime (and entertainment of all sorts) fall short of one way or another.

Yes, pretty much. The problem, here, is to figure out what "sexism" actually means. First, I don't think "male fantasies" and their portrayals are inherently sexist. They may take on that quality, in various degrees.

SAO, the way I see it, is a male gamer's fantasy. Fight for justice, save cute girls, find a girlfriend... It's pretty harmless. It doesn't make things worse for women in the real world; it doesn't make things better for women in the real world. It is what it is. A male gamer's fantasy.

The problem starts with the reception of the show: once people start to think that Asuna is some sort of admirable model of feminity, or something. She's a strong woman because she kicks ass, so to speak. See, the action girl thread in the general discussion forum (no need to go into that). If that sort of false empowerment is used to gloss over the fact (if it is a fact; it's certainly my impression) that we're dealing with a male fantasy here, then we have a problem of the sort: well, women are equal now; why are they still complaining. It's a complacency trap.

That doesn't necessarily mean that people can't dislike it or rally against it, but I'm not sure if I'd use this as the poster child.

It has to be shows like SAO, because the complacency trap. Overtly sexist shows, the poster book stuff (such as Hagure Yuusha no Aesthetica, for example) is a no-brainer. You have to point out the ninja in the shadow, not the barbarian who rushes you head on.

The thing people seem to be complaining most about is Asuna's "dis-empowerment" caused by her present situation, and if that's not particularly sexist, then I'm not sure there's a stronger argument about the rest, beyond "it could do more to give the other characters more agency" (which I don't disagree with at all, incidentally -- but perhaps that can happen after the crisis is over).

Actually, here's another problem I have with SAO's narrative strategy:

Kirito awakes, finds he's not as powerful in the real world as he was in a game, and has a moment of despair. It's an interesting situation, but it comes to nothing. Next? Re-empowerment. In a game.

It's the same with Asuna. Ah, backstory. She's part of a rich family. Arranged marriage? Interesting. Ah, but we'll hand her over to a cartoon villain, so that her backstory doesn't matter.

The show is aware of the limitations of a gamer's fantasy. It brings up the problems, and then... shoves them under the carpet. It's extremely frustrating. The show teases you with interesting possibilities and then goes, heh, fooled you! It's as if the show confuses bringing up issues with exploring them; as if it thinks bringing them up lends the show depth. It doesn't. It's a frustrating tease, if you're more interested in these possibilities than in the fantasy. If you're into the fantasy, though, bringing this up might actually get you thinking.

I'm watching SAO because it looks pretty. Nice character design and good voice acting make me like the characters. And any show profits from a Yuki Kajiura soundtrack. So it's really not a big deal for me, except when the show annoys me (with such tease moments, for example).

Moments like Asuna's "tasukete" in the cage basically make me roll my eyes because they remind me of how dull I find the story. The very same scene in a show that actually explores character (rather than bends characters around a fantasy) wouldn't annoy me. I actually like Asuna, but I don't feel for her predicament, because I have a hard time taking that cartoon villain seriously. What remains is a damsel-in-distress situation. It doesn't matter if she passively waits, or if she works on her end, because the only difference it makes is what the narrative's ideal waifu looks like. The narrative set-up and concept don't allow for a strong female main character.

The most interesting female character (to me) in SAO? The girl who takes care of the kids on level 1. (She's too periferal and thus escapes Kirito's gravity.)