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Originally Posted by CrowKenobi
I don't know if "superwomen" really is the right term. TVTropes uses " Action Girl" and has a separate page that analyzes it.  |
Okay, let's go for that then... though I'm still not sure if it's quite right.
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Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama
...I've actually come to jokingly apply the term to a type of female character that I feel we're seeing a lot more of lately and am not sure fits directly under the original definition of moe which as I recall has something to do with the feeling of wanting to protect something innocent.
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I think all of the characters listed have some degree of "innocence" to them, even if they are sort of "action heroes" a lot of the time. This is certainly the case, for example, with characters like Kuroyukihime or Asuna. So I think these characters are still often designed to produce "moe" feelings in the male audience. Perhaps you could say that there's a certain type of "moe" that revolves around "characters you'd want as a little sister", and another type that's "characters you'd want as your girlfriend/wife" (and of course, the amount of fan polls about those very two things are neverending).
As for the "sexist" question... I am assuming that the reason this accusation happens for "moe" characters in the first place is because it's felt that they exist as little more than a shell of traits (both physical and personality traits) to be fawned over by the male characters in the shows and the male audience perhaps by proxy. In other words, it's sexist because they're just objects and not "people" (or even fully-developed characters). But I think part of the problem in that regard may be because shounen stories generally revolve strongly around the male protagonist, so all of the female characters exist in context of that protagonist. So even if a female character is strong and capable, they'll inevitably be intertwined somehow in the protagonist's web. So it could be seen as if the female characters have little real value as a character except as they relate to the male lead. I suppose, as wontaek keeps alluding to, the "sexualization" and fanservice do not help if the goal is to not present them as simple objects.
So in the end, I'm not sure how much of a difference this makes. I think the character in my avatar, Corticarte, arguably fits into this category too, but, despite being a terribly powerful fighter in-universe, she: a) requires the male lead to act, b) is the primary love interest for the male lead in her story, and c) is certainly the "victim" of a lot of exploitative character marketing (resulting goods I have dutifully bought, being the sucker that I am!). Probably sexist, yes, though I suppose one might consider there to be varying degrees. I do think that, in spite of it all, Corticarte is an interesting character set in an interesting story and story universe, and is not just an "object" in my view.
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Originally Posted by wontaek
Whatever the name, the fact is that in many recent anime series, there are plenty of scenes that seems to be more about presenting female characters as sexual objects instead of furthering the plot or delving deeper in to consciousness of the characters.
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I will say, though, just to be clear, this is definitely not something limited to "recent anime series". This has been the case for decades. I'm not trying to say that makes it right, only that I don't really think this particular aspect is a recent trend.