225), a popular infantile slang word ‘nyan nyan suru’ (to meow meow) is referred to as sex. Shinobu suggests that over-emphasising the female body ‘position nullif her position as a character… the female has been forcibly made ‘sexual’ ( ibid.).Īlong with her cat ‘paw’ pose, Yumeko speaks with nyan employing a feline sound at the end of each sentence. However, in my opinion, throughout this series, the female characters are controlled and ridiculed to a higher degree when turned into a ‘pet’.Īrt historian Ikeda Shinobu has often discussed how women’s bodies are sexually depicted, and the way in which certain characteristics/poses are used to ‘create an object of sexual pleasure for the gaze of the male viewer’ (2003, p.g. But whilst the story clearly states then when someone becomes demoted they become a ‘pet’, in this particular cartoon men and women are distinguished as either ‘doggies’ or ‘kittens’. During a particular episode, Yumeko loses a bet and therefore she new becomes a ‘pet’. Yumeko is positioned in a cat-like provocative pose, wearing a tag that reads ‘pet’ which is undeniably derogatory as the character is portrayed to have no importance but to satisfy the male viewers. The figure above shows how she is positioned her body posed, her face possessing a slight blush and her expression one of innocent or sly seductiveness, appealing to the hetero male gaze. Her breasts are pronounced and her school uniform is extremely short which accentuates her figure.
Yumeko Jabami has large eyes, she acts cute with a cheerful attitude.
However, this unusual thrill anime turned sour for me when I saw how many of these female characters morph into the same gendered trope of being just a ‘body’. With many popular anime cartoons base around male protagonists and female characters mostly seen as secondary, Kakegurui differed from this with more than half of the main characters being female. The reason I was drawn to this anime was not only because of this unusual theme of high school students and gambling but mainly because of the amount of female characters having a presence within this particular anime. The main protagonist is a transfer student called Yumeko Jabami who on the first encounter acts cheerful, but who is, in fact, a compulsive gambler who likes the thrill of betting. But if you lose, and find yourself in debt, you are classified as a ‘pet’ – a slave. Students freely bet and gamble during school hours and if you win, you receive connections and popularity. As such, the school’s hierarchy is not based around the normal academic or sports-related performances, but instead, your ability is marked by your performance at gambling. Kakegurui is set in a high-school for children of wealthy and influential people.
#KAKEGURUI EPISODE 3 WIKIA SERIES#
Kakegurui is a Japanese manga series by Homura Kawamoto and illustrated by Toru Naomura which was later adapted into an anime series in 2017.
0 kommentar(er)
