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A Change of Japanese Jyosei Manga in the 2010s—Disappearance of Romance and the appearance of a Self
Journal of Popular Narrative
2020,
26(3), pp.123-160
DOI : 10.18856/jpn.2020.26.3.004
Publisher : The Association of Popular Narrative
Research Area : Interdisciplinary Research
DOI : 10.18856/jpn.2020.26.3.004
Publisher : The Association of Popular Narrative
Research Area : Interdisciplinary Research
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Manga develops by reflecting a change of society, reader’s needs, and their thoughts and changes of tastes, sensitively. Shojo manga and Jyosei manga also do. We can find several kinds of meaningful changes in Japanese Jyosei manga in the 2010s. The works which represent preciousness of daily life, women’s narrative and self-realization are gradually increasing. In addition, the works that deal with very touchy issues such as sex discrimination at work, sexual harassment begin to emerge. It has never been found in the manga of the former era. While this paper analyzes the social and cultural causes of these changes of the works that exclude romance and treat gender issues focusing on recent works, it examines changes of Japanese Jyosei manga in the 2010s and their meanings. I investigate the current trends of Japanese Jyosei manga in the 2010s through Umimachi Diary that represents a precious everyday life with woman-centered narrative, Metamorphose no engawa that deals with women’s story from a new perspective, Good-bye My Miniskirt that tackles gender issues. Furthermore I intensively analyze how Nagi’s Long Vacation and Darucyan, which win popularity from women in their 20s~30, represent lives and troubles of contemporary Japanese women. Nagi’s Long Vacation represents the heroine’s quest for a self throwing everything out. While Darucyan deals with self-realization, it forms of a bond of sympathy of readers by representing the heroine who suffers sexual harassment and inequal conditions very realistically. Nagi’s Long Vacation and Darucyan have something in common with portraying troubles and self-realization of the working women in their 20s based on a indigenous reality to Japanese society very realistically. However they are unusual in that it is different from the manga of the former era in dealing with heroine’s troubles and their solutions. The most distinctive changes of Jyosei manga since 2010 are that real issues surfaced with social changes. In addition, these social contradictions result from irrational discriminations and old customs of Japanese society for a long time. Manga reflects subtly the portraits of the times, their images of women, and their values. These changes of Jyosei manga also show the concerns of readers at that time, and it means that women began to be aware of the issues.
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