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Through examples including Cinderella and Tezuka Osamu’s Princess Knight (Ribbon no Kishi), the material contrasts passive ideal femininity in the 1950s with more active “girl heroes,” showing how metamorphosis can express agency, freedom, and shifting expectations of girls in Japanese society.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/girls-metamorphosis-anime-and-gender-in-japan/138382/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/girls-metamorphosis-anime-and-gender-in-japan/138382.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Liam","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-22","2026-08-23",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":44},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What does “henshin” mean and how is it connected to metamorphosis in the lecture?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"“Henshin” literally means “changing shape,” referring to transformation into another form or self. The lecture treats it as a way to examine how characters reflect ideal images for girls of their time.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why does the lecture call the term “heroine” problematic?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"“Heroine” is derived from “hero” by adding a feminine suffix, positioning it in relation to a male counterpart and implying subordinate agency. The lecture contrasts this with independent “girl heroes.”",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How are ideal images of girls and women compared in the 1950s examples?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"In the 1950s, American ideals for girls are framed as passive, while Japanese ideals are linked to more active girl characters. The lecture also notes that Tezuka’s conclusions emphasize marriage as women’s happiness through the “Good Wife and Wise Mother” ideal.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},138382,1787480322,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":44,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":129,"read_time":41},8796095461564,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Girls’“Metamorphosis” : Anime and Gender in Japan (Kirihara , Kenshin)  \n【001】 Hello Everyone. I am KIRIHARA Kenshin, Professor in the Department of Japanese Culture. I specialize in the cultural and intellectual history of modern and contemporary Japan.  \n【002】 Today, we will consider henshin. The word “henshin” literally means “changing shape.”“Hen” means changing, and “shin” means shape. In other words, it refers to transformation or metamorphosis. For example:  \n【003】 This is a henshin scene from the latest Pretty Cure series, Star Detective Pretty Cure!.  \n【004】 Today, we will think about metamorphosis of girls in Japanese manga and anime and what this can tell us about changes in gender representation in Japanese society.“Henshin” or“Metamorphosis” means becoming someone different from who you are now. In other words, through metamorphosis, a person can become the self they hope to be. In that sense, the form a character takes after metamorphosis can be seen as an ideal image for girls of that time. Today, we will explore how these ideal images have changed over time. Before taking up the main subject….  \n【005】 What Is Gender?  \n【006】 Gender is socially and culturally constructed. It is not a biological difference, but asocial one. For example;  \n【007】 We often use or heard words like \"feminine\" and \"masculine.\" However, what is considered \"feminine\" or \"masculine\" changes across time, cultures, and societies.  \n【008】 For example, in pre-modern Japan, adult women blackened their teeth. This custom is called ohaguro, or tooth blackening. The blacker the teeth, the more beautiful and feminine a woman was considered to be.Of course, modern Japanese women do not blacken their teeth. Today, white teeth are generally considered more attractive.  \n【009】 In this way, gender is a socially constructed distinction between the sexes.  \n【010】 Today, we will think about gender in Japan through manga and anime.  \n【011】 Female characters in manga, anime, and other stories are often called heroines. Among them, there is a heroine who is often seen as an ideal figure for young girls.  \n【012】 Who is this? Of course, it is not this old witch. Who is this?  \n【013】 She is Cinderella, one of the most famous Disney princesses. This movie was released in 1950. I am sure that many people admire her. However, please take a moment to rethink her character. If this old witch had not existed, Cinderella would not have been able to wear this  \nbeautiful dress, ride in a pumpkin carriage, or go to the castle. Of course, she would not have been able to dance with the prince. She did not act on her own. In other words, she was a passive woman. This can also be seen in the theme song.  \n【014】  \n【015】 Cinderella sang:\"Have faith in your dreams, and someday / your rainbow will come smiling through. / No matter how your heart is grieving, / if you keep on believing, / the dream that you wish will come true.\" In the end, she did not act on her own. Rather, she was a woman who simply waited for a prince on a white horse. So like this. She was  \n【016】 a Dreaming Princess.  \n【017】 To begin with, the term “heroine” itself is problematic in certain ways.  \n【018】 The reason for this is that the term \"heroine\" is derived from the masculine noun \"hero\"by adding the feminine suffix \"-ine.\" Just as \"Kaiserin\" (empress) corresponds to \"Kaiser\"(emperor) in German, it is a concept that exists only in relation to a male counterpart, in a subordinate position. In that sense, a heroine can be described as a figure who is subordinate to, or accompanies, the hero, and thus lacks a significant degree of agency. In contrast, female protagonists who act independently are referred to as \"girl heroes,\" and today we will focus on these girl heroes.  \n【019】 In 1950s, when Cinderella was released, the ideal woman for American girls was a passive one.  \nJapan in the 1950s  \n【020】 And then, in the same period, what was the ideal image for Japanese girls?  \n【021】 Girls fought actively—ju","cbCaiiTsQHfujvwp","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiiTsQHfujvwp","pdf",221422,12,"English","# Introduction\n## Henshin as transformation\n# What Is Gender?\n## Gender as social and cultural construction\n## Examples of gendered norms\n# Gender in Japan through Manga and Anime\n## Heroine vs girl heroes\n## Cinderella and passive femininity\n# Princess Knight and the ideal of freedom\n## Girl heroes and agency\n## Marriage and the “Good Wife, Wise Mother” ideal","[{\"question\":\"What does “henshin” mean and how is it connected to metamorphosis in the lecture?\",\"answer\":\"“Henshin” literally means “changing shape,” referring to transformation into another form or self. The lecture treats it as a way to examine how characters reflect ideal images for girls of their time.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the lecture call the term “heroine” problematic?\",\"answer\":\"“Heroine” is derived from “hero” by adding a feminine suffix, positioning it in relation to a male counterpart and implying subordinate agency. The lecture contrasts this with independent “girl heroes.”\"},{\"question\":\"How are ideal images of girls and women compared in the 1950s examples?\",\"answer\":\"In the 1950s, American ideals for girls are framed as passive, while Japanese ideals are linked to more active girl characters. The lecture also notes that Tezuka’s conclusions emphasize marriage as women’s happiness through the “Good Wife and Wise Mother” ideal.\"}]","Girls’“Metamorphosis” - Anime and Gender in Japan | PDF"]