@article{ART003198197},
author={Cho, Hanna and Lee, Hun-Yul},
title={A Comparative Study of Female Characters in Japanese Animation Movies based on the Mythology Archetype},
journal={아시아여성연구},
issn={1225-9241},
year={2025},
volume={64},
number={1},
pages={87-114}
TY - JOUR
AU - Cho, Hanna
AU - Lee, Hun-Yul
TI - A Comparative Study of Female Characters in Japanese Animation Movies based on the Mythology Archetype
JO - 아시아여성연구
PY - 2025
VL - 64
IS - 1
PB - Research Institute of Asian Women
SP - 87
EP - 114
SN - 1225-9241
AB - The purpose of this study is to analyze female characters in Japanese animation movies based on mythologic archetypes and examine how they relate to gender ideology. In addition to analyzing the mythologic archetype each character embodies, this analysis explores its relationship with genre characteristics, the visual expression of the female characters, and the reflection of time’s progress. To conduct a qualitative analysis of female characters, original Japanese animation movies with the highest admissions per director among those released in Korea between January 1, 2011, and October 31, 2023, and with admissions above the average for their category were selected. The theoretical framework is applied with a focused perspective on female archetypes that Victoria Lynn Schmidt embodied in conjunction with Greek mythological goddess characters, which follow the archetype theories of Carl Jung and the Great Mother as a primordial image of the human psyche studied by Erich Neumann. In this analysis, female characters in Japanese animation movies are found to exhibit one or more of Schmidt’s female archetypes. Over time, the number of female archetypes embodied in a single character has increased, with the rise of frequency in independent and adventurous archetypes’ appearance, showing an increase in the diversity and complexity of female characters. Differences in female archetypes represented by each character were observed depending on the animation genre. Adventurous and independent female archetypes were predominant in the fantasy genre, while protective and devoted female archetypes were in the drama and romance genres. Lastly, an analysis of the female characters’ costumes confirms that visual expressions through the costumes are closely connected to the archetype embodied in each character by reflecting each character’s inner characteristics and archetype elements. This study concludes that Japanese animation movies reflect changes in female identity over time by representing it in the film and integrating these changes into the characteristics and visual elements of the characters.
KW - Gender;Animation;Character;Mythology;Archetype
DO -
UR -
ER -
Cho, Hanna and Lee, Hun-Yul. (2025). A Comparative Study of Female Characters in Japanese Animation Movies based on the Mythology Archetype. 아시아여성연구, 64(1), 87-114.
Cho, Hanna and Lee, Hun-Yul. 2025, "A Comparative Study of Female Characters in Japanese Animation Movies based on the Mythology Archetype", 아시아여성연구, vol.64, no.1 pp.87-114.
Cho, Hanna, Lee, Hun-Yul "A Comparative Study of Female Characters in Japanese Animation Movies based on the Mythology Archetype" 아시아여성연구 64.1 pp.87-114 (2025) : 87.
Cho, Hanna, Lee, Hun-Yul. A Comparative Study of Female Characters in Japanese Animation Movies based on the Mythology Archetype. 2025; 64(1), 87-114.
Cho, Hanna and Lee, Hun-Yul. "A Comparative Study of Female Characters in Japanese Animation Movies based on the Mythology Archetype" 아시아여성연구 64, no.1 (2025) : 87-114.
Cho, Hanna; Lee, Hun-Yul. A Comparative Study of Female Characters in Japanese Animation Movies based on the Mythology Archetype. 아시아여성연구, 64(1), 87-114.
Cho, Hanna; Lee, Hun-Yul. A Comparative Study of Female Characters in Japanese Animation Movies based on the Mythology Archetype. 아시아여성연구. 2025; 64(1) 87-114.
Cho, Hanna, Lee, Hun-Yul. A Comparative Study of Female Characters in Japanese Animation Movies based on the Mythology Archetype. 2025; 64(1), 87-114.
Cho, Hanna and Lee, Hun-Yul. "A Comparative Study of Female Characters in Japanese Animation Movies based on the Mythology Archetype" 아시아여성연구 64, no.1 (2025) : 87-114.
