Post-Shōjo: Women in Josei Manga after 2010

Abstract

This article focuses on the portrayal of women protagonists in josei manga, a genre for adult women in the 2010s. Unlike traditional otaku's consumption of characters—especially attributes, in josei manga produced by and for women consumers, the focus of creation and consumption is on the "small narratives," that is, the relationships between characters—a dynamic balance with tension. In analyzing toshishita manga as an example of josei manga, I will discuss the construction of relationships by combining the gender display theory. Toshishita manga reflects the gender dynamic of women overtaking men in the characters' interaction, and to some extent interrupts social gender expectations and stereotypes. "Toshishita," a forbidden relationship that emphasizes the age gap, suggests the presence of the censorious gaze of the society, which offers Japanese women the possibility of subversion of everyday life and patriarchal norms, thus giving legitimacy to establish a new gender order.