Breaking the gender barrier

Hey guys, How you doin'? Let's see, I'm FINALLY finished with my art portfolio and next Monday is my portfolio presentation, and tuesday is my birthday :). I'm really exited that I'm going to show off my work to the college I really want to go to. So wish me luck! So lately I've been reading some shoujo manga. For those who don't know, Shoujo is another word for Girl, just as Shonen is another word for boy in japanese. Shoujo manga is basically manga for girls. Shoujo manga often has themes of Romance and slice-of-life. They also can go into fantasy and adventure. Shoujo manga is also characterized by a very pretty, elegant art style. One that focuses on beauty and flowing images. I'm not putting it down cause I do like shoujo manga. Like Moyocco Ano's "Sugar Sugar Rune", or Kiyoko Arai's "Beauty Pop". Shoujo manga is typically done by Female artists and Shonen manga is typically done by Male artists. I thought that was natural in the manga world, but then I realized that there are a few shoujo artist who dare to break this barrier. Nowadays I've been seeing shonen manga done by, get this, Female artists. Here are some prime examples, Rumiko Takahashi is a legendary shoujo AND shonen artist. She is known for manga that use styles from shoujo art and uses them for shonen works. Like "Urusei Yatsura", "Ranma 1/2" (yeah you thought a GUY drew that) and the super popular "Inuyasha". It blew my mind, that it was a female artist behind this boy (and girl) centered wonders. It blew my mind more when I discovered that a manga artist from Shonen Jump was rumored to be a man but was really a woman! That woman is Katsura Hoshino, most known for her super shonen manga, "D. Gray-man". The translators thought she was a man too. But he was really a she! And I look at her style now and I see slight, hints of shoujo in it, but I do like her stylized shoujo/shonen art style. I want to be that kind of artist. I want my comics to appease to both genders. I don't want to be bound by gender to only do Girly comics (no offense). I like to make a style that isn't bound by gender, which is why I'm focusing on making my girls feminine and my guys manly at the same time (see previous posts for more info). Recently I've stumbled upon a comic book who's creator broke the gender barrier for the first time.

MANGA REVIEW: Arata: the legend

Story and art by: Yuu Watase

Now for those who don't know who Yuu Watase is, Watase is a well-known Shoujo artist, most known for her works like "Absolute boyfriend", "Imadoki" and her super popular "Fushigi Yugi". "Arata: the legend" is her first Shonen comic. It's about two Arata's in two worlds. One Arata lives in one world where he is the male heir to the matriarchal Hime clan who keeps peace among the land, who usually pass down power to girls. However, Arata was born a boy and raised as a boy, until his grandma listed him as a girl when he was born and forces him to cross-dress as a girl and succeed the current matriarch to maintain balance in the land. His friend Kotoha, a nice girl, still stands by his side as his aid and friend. All goes well until Arata is caught in the middle of an attempted murder of the matriarch and is framed. In our world, Arata Hinohara is a boy starting high school who has constantly been bullied since middle school. Arata some how encounters a weird occurrence where another Arata has come from his world and the two meet and switch places. Now Arata Hinohara has come to the other Arata's world in his place and must set things right in the land. The style still has alot of shoujo in it but it's simplified and action heavy enough to be a shonen comic. The story is well written as Watase is a well known manga artist and writer. I like it because it's a different direction in Watase's work. This time the protagonist is male and the story itself is more action heavy than watase's other works. It's also a big deal that a shoujo artist has decided to do shonen work. The story though is not limited to boys as alot of girls read it also. It has less action than some other shonen works I know, so it's in between shoujo and shonen. Like a tomboy of manga. It's still a really good work. I like that it's a different direction that still holds the essence of Watase's works. Because it's hard to transition to another genre without completely changing everything about the style and way of writing. If you want to go into another direction in your work or another genre, It's good when it still has a bit of you in it. It's hard to explain. But Watase has successfully done that very thing and I applaud her for it. It almost makes me want to try something out of my league...hmmm....