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Sep 3, 2021
Love Me for Who I Am is a manga wherein queer characters question and explore their gender identities and sexualities in a cute, light story.
[At time of writing this, the 5th volume of Love Me for Who I Am has not been released in the U.S. so I have only read through vol. 4.]
As a fan of queer anime and manga (being a queer person myself), I was shocked to find out about a manga with a non-binary protagonist--let alone a character the author actually names as such. Knowing very little about the title, I decided to pick it up and make up my
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own mind about it. It was extremely refreshing to read a manga story with a respectful, accurate (albeit simplistic) understanding of LGBTQ+ identities. Other than main character Mogumo, a non-binary high school student, the cast also includes characters who are trans, gay, and questioning (along with some of the best allies I've seen in Japanese media).
Characters respect each other on their own journeys of self-discovery, and give clear explanations of different queer identities through the dialogue. Don't expect advanced queer theory, but it's definitely a step in the right direction in a medium often lacking on this front. You can tell the mangaka really means well in his treatment of these characters and their queerness.
Some of the characters in the story are confident in their queer identities (some trans characters are boldly and proudly so) while others, like Mogumo, face much uncertainty and heartache about their identities at first. [You may have your own opinions of how this was handled--but it resonated with me, anyway. I'm new to being queer and still questioning my own gender identity at the time of writing this, so this story met me where I'm at.] This story also brings up some of the challenges trans and non-binary individuals can face with dating in high school, especially in a mostly homophobic and transphobic environment.
There are some stereotypical straightforward depictions of transphobia in this story, but also plenty of characters willing to learn more and be allies, which was heartwarming. There are too many sob stories in media showing queer suffering and tragedy, so I always appreciate more lighthearted narratives like this just celebrating cute queer characters. The plot isn't anything too gripping or groundbreaking, but it's satisfying to see a "standard anime story" with a mostly LGBTQ+ cast.
Some may take issue with the moe art style, with the characters looking on the young side. I personally thought the character designs were cute and charming, and never came across as patronizing or fetishizing of the characters in any way. While some manga and anime do fetishize trans or crossdressing characters, I'm happy to report that this is not one of them.
To my knowledge, the mangaka is not queer, and looking into his previous body of work was at first a bit disheartening (you can look into this if you wish). However, on further contemplation, I realized that it was encouraging that a sienen mangaka without previous experience writing queer manga could create something as socially aware and meaningful as this.
Perhaps this story fell on deaf ears in its original sienen magazine, but I do at least hope it helped some (whether in the original Japanese or the English translation) realize/understand their own queerness, or to better understand the queer people in their lives.
I think this manga is a great step forward toward what I hope to be a more inclusive trend in Japanese media. This book is a must-read for fans of queer manga/anime, especially those who are recently out or still questioning.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Aug 22, 2021
While this film is a groundbreaking masterpiece of the cyberpunk subgenre, its treatment of Major Motoko Kusanagi's character undermines and sullies the important themes of the story.
I really enjoyed watching Ghost in the Shell. The animation is astoundingly beautiful--especially the backgrounds, which alone give a sense of presence to this strange, futuristic world. A montage showing different sights of the city ending with a shot of mannequins in the store window was one of my favorite scenes in the film. The music, too, is gorgeous. I've listened to the soundtrack several times before seeing this, and it was delightful to see where my favorite tracks
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appeared in the movie. The juxtaposition of tribal instruments and vocals with the futuristic setting is brilliant and fitting.
The plot is very high concept at times, but I believe I was able to follow along for the most part and pick up the bigger themes. It was confusing at times though, and hard to pay attention. Many of the important plot points and world-building lore was enacted in scenes with men in suits simply talking back and forth--or in scenes with dismembered topless cyborg women that make it hard to pay attention to the dialogue. Which brings me to my biggest gripe with Ghost in the Shell.
The biggest theme of the film is what it means to be human, and, conversely, what it means to be INhuman. Protagonist Motoko Kusanagi is a human mind inside a completely synthetic body, so the state of her humanity is called into question throughout the film. Despite all the work Ghost in the Shell puts in to humanize Kusanagi, the film actively strips away her humanity by continuously objectifying her. The two only major female characters in the film spent more time completely nude than not, and both bodies are violently dismembered before the end of the film in ways that seem disturbingly gratuitous. The interesting thing about nudity is it can be used to humanize or dehumanize in film, and I think the latter is more true about this movie. If male cyborgs (such as Batou) had been also treated in this manner, being shown in any state of undress, the argument could be made that the film were making a different statement, showing just how much the cyborgs look like "us". But even coming so close to self-awareness in the main theme of this movie, Ghost in the Shell still only dehumanizes female bodies, falling into the same societal failures that the film seems to be critiquing. (The aforementioned lingering shot of the store window mannequins seemed to make this connection). Perhaps I shouldn't be expecting so much from a 90s sienen anime, but Motoko deserves better.
Motoko is an incredibly interesting and compelling character. A scene wherein she discusses her humanity with Batou in an elevator and another where she swims in the sea out of fondness for diving are two of my favorite scenes of the film. These scenes actively paint a picture of her humanity, and happen to be two scenes where she's fully clothed. The film is definitely building an argument for her humanity, and its a shame that the same film tears her humanity down in the aforementioned ways.
So if I were to change anything about this film...
Kusanagi does not have to be nude so much, especially in combat. (There's really no reason for this other than fan service--the cloaking technology she uses in the film while nude is also used by a man who's fully clothed; clearly this is not a requirement for the use of this tech.)
OR on the other hand, intentional objectification of male as well as female-appearing cyborg bodies would feel less like one-sided fan service and better support the main theme of the film, showing how human their bodies are instead of taking away from just the female characters' humanity.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 19, 2021
No thanks
[Spoiler-free]
I really enjoyed the first season. But in S2, the fetishization of violence against women and sexual abuse of minors brought down a season already plagued by a convoluted plot and continuity problems. This season takes the show too deep into the realm of distaste.
It is disturbing to think that after ditching the manga's storyline, this is the original story the creators wanted to tell. One female character is maimed, repeatedly beaten, stripped and humiliated over the course of the story in ways that seem to be used as fan service. Later revelations in the story cannot justify or undo these kinds of
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actions. This season also dives into themes of sexual abuse of children, but also includes lingering sensual shots of minors in various states of undress. The subject matter coupled with this fetishizing point of view is troubling, to say the least.
Episodes 2–4 were my favorite (despite being filler episodes), as they had nothing to do with Alois and the aforementioned issues. I've read some reviews that say this season is an AU, and I'm more than happy to not consider this season canon.
I’ve heard Book of Circus is better, so I hope season 3 will rid me of the bad taste in my mouth that this season left me with.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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