New Anime Trend? ("Female-oriented" shows)

[snowdog03]

Originally Posted by Tempester

Before making a proper reply, I, too would like to see Snowdog03 properly address the question of whether he is referring to actual female-targeted anime or just anime that have a lot of female characters. It's a bit premature to start outright making conclusions here.

These anime are what to me seem Female Oriented, Let me know if you disagree.
Fruits Basket
Ghost Hunt
Hetalia
Nabari no Ou
Ouran High School Host Club
Peach Girl
Pretear
Princess Jellyfish
Romeo X Juliet
Shiki
Wallflower
Highschool of the Dead
Ikkitousen
Vampire Knight
Tokyo Underground
Hakkenden: Tōhō Hakken Ibun
Princess Tutu
Skip Beat!
Queen's Blade
Shugo Chara!
Tokyo Mew Mew
Maid Sama!
Nana

[Shyni]

That's a rather small portion (like, less than 10 percent) of TV anime from this part decade or so. Doesn't really suggest a "trend". And 10+ years is a rather long timeframe to identify trends in, anyway.

Also, Ikkitousen, High School of the Dead, and Queen's Blade? How the hell are those "female-oriented"?

[snowdog03]

It was not my intention to start a Flame thread, I am merely curious about the seemingly sudden trend in anime.
Don't get me wrong, I've been know to enjoy watching 'Slice of Life' and 'Reverse Harem' types, Miyazaki made alot of great movies that have female characters.
Spirited Away, Whisper of the Heart & Space Symphony Maetel were fun to watch even though I'm Male. Peace!

Originally Posted by Shyni

That's a rather small portion (like, less than 10 percent) of TV anime from this part decade or so. Doesn't really suggest a "trend". And 10+ years is a rather long timeframe to identify trends in, anyway.

Also, Ikkitousen, High School of the Dead, and Queen's Blade? How the hell are those "female-oriented"?

At first glance thet appear to be for females, The heros are female and quite the opposite of the wallflowers of the past.
Of course they appeal to males, Jiggly Giant Boobs and whatnot, but there is also a large female viewership for that type.

[Shyni]

"Female action heroes" does not necessarily mean "female target audience". See: Nanoha, and I guess Tomb Raider for a non-anime example

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by snowdog03

At first glance thet appear to be for females, The heros are female and quite the opposite of the wallflowers of the past.
Of course they appeal to males, Jiggly Giant Boobs and whatnot, but there is also a large female viewership for that type.

No offense but I don't think you understand what is targeted at a female audience. What you describe "the action girl" is most certainly not.

There is definitely not a new trend of female orientated shows. Shows aimed at a female audience have always been around and there is no increase in their presence.

[Akito Kinomoto]

Originally Posted by Ridwan

My taste is superior then yours.

But seriously, I get the feeling the OP doesn't know why a primarily female-cast would actually be male-centric. This isn't a case of comparing anime from now to 20 years ago; this is more like being completely alien to anime culture in general.

[Archon_Wing]

Vivid Red Operation

/thread

[snowdog03]

Originally Posted by Akito Kinomoto

But seriously, I get the feeling the OP doesn't know why a primarily female-cast would actually be male-centric. This isn't a case of comparing anime from now to 20 years ago; this is more like being completely alien to anime culture in general.

I'm not into the 'Anime Culture', It's just something I watch sometimes when I have the spare time.
I don't read the popular blogs or include it's catch phrases into my vocabulary, There are many other good shows animated and live action other than anime for me.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by snowdog03

These anime are what to me seem Female Oriented, Let me know if you disagree.

Your list includes shows that have a variety of target audiences and types of stories. Fruits Basket is a shoujo romance for teen-aged girls and young women. Nana is a josei drama for older teens and adult women. Neither of them have much of anything in common with Queen's Blade or Ikkitousen which are ecchi shows for young males.

Just because the main characters are female does not mean that the show is intended for female audiences. Often it's quite the opposite. If the female characters wear clothing that adheres to their crotches or explodes upon impact, they are not designed for women. Similarly a show like Hakuoki or Saiunkoku Monogatari which have lots of men in them are not primarily intended for male viewers.

As Kirarakim and I have both written, there are at most a couple of shows in any season primarily written for female audiences. The vast majority of shows target males, even if the cast is entirely female amd wear less-revealing outfits. Hidamari Sketch is a good example. It's based on a 4-koma strip that appears in a magazine edited for men.

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by snowdog03

These anime are what to me seem Female Oriented, Let me know if you disagree.
Fruits Basket - Female, shoujo
Ghost Hunt - book, but Female, shoujo
Hetalia - Female, shoujo
Nabari no Ou - don't know
Ouran High School Host Club - Female, shoujo
Peach Girl - Female, shoujo
Pretear - Female, shoujo
Princess Jellyfish - Female, josei (adult women)
Romeo X Juliet - don't know for sure, but probably male
Shiki - book, neither female nor male
Wallflower - Female, shoujo
Highschool of the Dead - Male
Ikkitousen - Male
Vampire Knight - Female, shoujo
Tokyo Underground - don't know
Hakkenden: Tōhō Hakken Ibun - Female, shoujo
Princess Tutu - Female, shoujo
Skip Beat! - Female, shoujo
Queen's Blade - Male
Shugo Chara! - Female, shoujo (children)
Tokyo Mew Mew - Female, shoujo
Maid Sama! - Female, shoujo
Nana - Female, josei (adult women)

Most of these shows are made for girls and young women, but I'm not sure why you think that this is a large percentage of the anime made.

Originally Posted by Shyni

That's a rather small portion (like, less than 10 percent) of TV anime from this part decade or so. Doesn't really suggest a "trend". And 10+ years is a rather long timeframe to identify trends in, anyway.

There are somewhere between 150-200 new anime made a year. A couple of dozen shows is just a tiny fraction of a fraction of a decade's output.

Originally Posted by snowdog03

I'm not into the 'Anime Culture', It's just something I watch sometimes when I have the spare time.
I don't read the popular blogs or include it's catch phrases into my vocabulary, There are many other good shows animated and live action other than anime for me.

Then for the sake of information, only a small portion of anime TV shows are made primarily for a female audience. A lot of the ones that appear to do so are actually meant for a male audience. The difference isn't going to be easy to spot for newcomers to anime - the presence of a strong female character doesn't mean anything, so just ask which a particular show fits into. I'll mark your list to give you an idea.

[Shyni]

Originally Posted by 4Tran

There are somewhere between 150-200 new anime made a year. A couple of dozen shows is just a tiny fraction of a fraction of a decade's output.

True. Doing a "series" search on Anime News Network gets over 2000 results for shows between 2002 and 2012. Although that seems to include OVAs and web-based animes. Still, counting only TV animes still gets a pretty big number.

Originally Posted by snowdog03

I'm not into the 'Anime Culture', It's just something I watch sometimes when I have the spare time.
I don't read the popular blogs or include it's catch phrases into my vocabulary, There are many other good shows animated and live action other than anime for me.

Well, you should at least try to learn more about target audiences before making claims and observations like in this thread.

[MisaoFan]

Originally Posted by snowdog03

You haven't read this forums TOS obviously or you wouldn't go around calling others names.

Actually, when I checked your profile, most of your favorites are nothing but nostalgia goggles. However, after I see the newest posts of the same thread, your taste isn't as bad as I thought, but oh well.

Just because there's a series featuring a female protagonist doesn't always mean it's for females, as others suggested. Shows that features a large quantity of female exposure is not targeted for females in the first place, same reason why some shows that feature a cast full of handsome men isn't necessarily targeted for males either. It's like you don't even care most anime demographics anyway and is overly consumed by western genres.

[snowdog03]

Originally Posted by MisaoFan

Actually, when I checked your profile, most of your favorites are nothing but nostalgia goggles. However, after I see the newest posts of the same thread, your taste isn't as bad as I thought, but oh well.

Just because there's a series featuring a female protagonist doesn't always mean it's for females, as others suggested. Shows that features a large quantity of female exposure is not targeted for females in the first place, same reason why some shows that feature a cast full of handsome men isn't necessarily targeted for males either. It's like you don't even care most anime demographics anyway and is overly consumed by western genres.

Thanks, I'll do some more research into the styles of anime.
Most of the replies to this thread have been positive and informative, Off to wiki now.

"Nostalgia Goggles", That's funny. ^_^

[Tempester]

@4Tran: Hetalia is actually a seinen manga.

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Tempester

@4Tran: Hetalia is actually a seinen manga.

Sure, but it'd be untruthful to say that the anime wasn't meant primarily for girls. Kuroko's Basketball runs in a shounen magazine, but everyone knows that it's mainly girls watching it as well.

[Akito Kinomoto]

Audience viewership does not a demographic make. Labels like shonen, seinen, ect. are the viewers they're trying to reach; who you attract isn't necessarily the same. Then again I don't object to Black Butler being run in a shonen magazine or Friendship is Magic's disturbingly high male fanbase.

Originally Posted by snowdog03

I'm not into the 'Anime Culture', It's just something I watch sometimes when I have the spare time.

And now the topic has served to inform you of such.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Wait, so what's the 'trend' that the OP noticed ? His perception of what is female oriented is clearly wrong, but what about his perception of male oriented shows?

[NoemiChan]

Originally Posted by snowdog03

Highschool of the Dead
Ikkitousen
Queen's Blade

Just for these three.. These are "for him" anime....

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Akito Kinomoto

Audience viewership does not a demographic make. Labels like shonen, seinen, ect. are the viewers they're trying to reach; who you attract isn't necessarily the same.

I'm pretty sure the Hetalia anime was trying to reach girls.

Originally Posted by Akito Kinomoto

Then again I don't object to Black Butler being run in a shonen magazine or Friendship is Magic's disturbingly high male fanbase.

Don't dis the best show of the Spring season!

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Wait, so what's the 'trend' that the OP noticed ? His perception of what is female oriented is clearly wrong, but what about his perception of male oriented shows?

Most countries have very little girl-oriented entertainment, so it's natural for a newcomer to anime to think that, with all these shows featuring girls, that there's a lot made for girls. The only thing that surprises me is that snowdog03's list has as few male-oriented shows as it does.

[Vexx]

I'm thinking we have some confused young people asking questions about anime when they don't seem to have the basic facts. Anime is still largely "for young boys" (shounen) or "for young men" (seinen). Some series are "shoujo" (for young girls") but not very many in percentage.

But even if you don't know a thing about anime -- Men trend toward liking to watch *women*, so naturally many series include or predominate with female cast members.