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Recently, Kyoto Animation announced their upcoming Summer anime project, a little series called Free! about a group of high school boys who compete on a swim team. This was an extension of a Kyoto Animation commercial/animation demo/whatever you’d like to label it, in which a group of hot guys essentially got into their kickin’ swim gear and showed their abs near the pool. The concept was based on that of an honorable mention is KyoAni’s annual writing contest. The CM was an instant sensation with the Tumblr crowd; my Tumblr dashboard lit up with gifsets, fan-art and tributes to the unnamed characters (I even made one of my own for the Anime Detour WTF Contest). Crunchyroll eventually posted a petition asking KyoAni to actually produce a TV series based on the short, and it gained over 10,000 signatures (as of right now, it’s sitting at nearly 20,000, quite a feat if you ask me). It was clear that something about the imagery had set the fandom aflame (and not just in the groin area).

Whether the results of the petition were a factor in KyoAni’s decision or not will probably never be common knowledge (I suspect that this show was in production prior to the first CM), but the fact that it was featured as their upcoming Summer project was both a complete surprise to me, and not really that surprising at all. I think to completely ignore the fandom response would have been impossible; while the reactions I’ve talked about so far here have been limited to the Western parts of the anime fandom, I’m guessing that female fans from Japan probably reacted in a favorable, impassioned way as well. And yet, as an anime fan and as a woman, being an ignored member of the anime fandom is nothing new to me. I’m not even talking about fanservice specifically; entertainment in general so often portrays people like me as objects rather than subjects, side characters seen through the eyes of men, and as audience members not worth targeting.

This post contains series spoilers for Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt. Check out the series on DVD, upcoming Blu-Ray, or Funimation's streaming service.

Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt is known for flaunting its vulgarity and sexuality like a peacock attempting to woo a mate, but as a fan of the show I've noticed very little discussion about the role that romantic love plays in the show. In a series where one character keeps a sex diary making note of her conquests in the bedroom, it might seem silly to go looking for something as boring and typical and, well, mushy as heart-fluttering romance. However, it's there, buried beneath all the body fluids and filth, and its presence in show that seems to contrary to its goals is a curiosity, to say the least.

It should be news to no one that we, as humans living with other humans in the big dysfunctional family called "society," place value on human behavior, oftentimes in arbitrary ways. Sure, murder robs its victim of free will and a right-to-life, so that's right out, but there are other behaviors that don't really hurt anyone but which we've at some point deemed to be detrimental to our culture in some way. The type of consensual activities in which Panty engages throughout the series are acts which bother a lot of people; there are legions of concern trolls out there who, under the auspices of looking out for women's health, like to proclaim (loudly, frequently, and without being asked) that women engaging in sex with multiple partners is a Really Bad Thing™. Sex, they explain, is something to be enjoyed within the confines of marriage only, and primarily as a means of having TEH BAYBEEZ.

I encountered this string of tweets earlier today on my twitter feed, and though I am excited to get back to talking about Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt as soon as possible, I believe that these tweets appeared in my life so that I would have something compelling to write about today. I've blurred out the person's name in case they'd rather not reveal their identity (I know, I know, they tweeted this publicly and the internet is essentially a public place, but I prefer not to inadvertently send trolls out to bother people with whom I'm not really acquainted).

Feminism is something which I think is at the same time both public and personal. I'm of the opinion that there's not a singular "right way" to be a feminist, because society affects us all in many different ways and our responses to that will most likely be different. Speaking specifically about the example above, I believe that this person has every right to their opinion, and they're not a "bad feminist" for believing in something with which I disagree, but disagree I do.

Truth be told, I actually do agree quite a bit with the third tweet. I think that strong, compelling female characters should not be limited to one particular body or personality type, and I've become more hesitant to lay down blanket criticisms of characters based only on their character designs or how they're animated (within reason, of course). Several characters, including the most recent incarnation of Fujiko Mine and Michiko from Michiko to Hatchin, combine voluptuous, sultry looks and sexual attitudes with compelling character story arcs. That said, I think where my personal philosophy differs from this person's boils down to classification. In the first tweet, they posit that sexism and fanservice are separate and distinct subjects. My opinion, however, is that fanservice is a very specific subset of sexism, one which pulls from assumptions about default audience composition and related ideas about use and appropriation of the female form.

I'm guessing most of you won't care, but this entry contains mild spoilers for the TV series Parks and Recreation.

Thursday nights are when the anime club I've attended for eleven-some years holds its meetings, and so for one third of my life(!), most of my Thursdays have been spoken-for. This Thursday is one time where I'm glad that I've already watched all of the series we're watching in anime club, though, because I know my mind will be elsewhere, looking forward to coming home and watching the season premiere of Parks and Recreation.

I don't watch a lot of live-action American television series. It's not so much that I dislike domestic TV, but I'm so invested in anime that I have very little time left-over to spend on it. It actually took me a good three years to finally decide to commit a chunk of free time to the show, and that was after months of hearing friends and internet acquaintances alike quote the series at length and recommend it to me several times. This is essentially the same scenario which got me to pick up the "A Song of Ice and Fire" novel series, and like those books I found myself very quickly drawn in to the fandom surrounding the fictional world and characters of Parks and Recreation.

I've spent the last couple of columns talking about one half of the Anarchy Sisters, so I think it's high time that we took a closer look at the other. While I am an unapologetic Panty fan, that in no way means that I dislike Stocking!

Anarchy Stocking is much like her sister in a lot of ways. She's got a foul mouth and a bit of a nasty streak, and her opinion of the task that's laid before her as a fallen angel is similarly flippant. She's got her own sexual appetite (though she keeps that under wraps much more effectively than Panty), and she's afflicted with her own "vice" - a very strong, almost consuming affection for cookies, cakes, and other sweet confections. It's this affinity for sugar which serves as a jumping-off point for an episode that, while still highly problematic in many ways, does manage to squeak by with a fairly empowering message about crash dieting and being happy with one's body.

Episode 4A, "Diet Syndrome," begins with Stocking enjoying a slice of Whitey-White's special roll-cake. Panty arrives and begins to tease her sister, warning her that too much snacking will lead to weight gain. Stocking tells her to buzz off, but later discovers that she's gained a Kilogram. This discovery turns into an obsession as Stocking begins exercising her life away and eschewing any and all sugary foods, but no matter what she does, she can't shake the extra weight. When her efforts turn out to be for naught, Stocking flies into a rage and binges on all the Whitey-White cakes she can get her hands on, then wakes up the next morning several times her normal size. This all turns out to be the work of a ghost, whose purpose is to cause weight gain in the female citizens of Daten City. When the sisters dispatch the ghost, Stocking (and presumably the others) return to their normal sizes.

I'm taking a bit of a detour this week to talk about this video before I completely forget about it. There'll be more Panty and Stocking goodness in the upcoming weeks, I promise.

Though it's been several weeks, material from Otakon continues to trickle in bit-by-bit and a friend turned me on to this particular tidbit which I think is worth discussing here. Linked above is a recording of the "Sexism in Anime Fandom" panel, hosted by Lauren Orsini of Otaku Journalist and The Patches of The Untold Story of Altair and Vega and What About the Waifuz?. I've been on some similar panels at conventions in the past, and while I sadly do not have anyone to film them for me, these panelists discuss many of the same points that I would care to cover, albeit in more of a presentation format as opposed to the free-form discussions in which I'm usually involved. As a note, the video begins without sound due to a lack of a video recording until a few minutes in, but on-screen text presents the pertinent points until the recording starts.

Last time, after I posted my previous "Women in Anime" entry, my husband said to me, "you know, you gave a lot of reasons why people might not like Panty as much as Stocking, but not many reasons why you do like her." Perceptive as always, that man. I decided to use my time this week to talk a little bit more in-depth about what it is about Anarchy Panty that has fascinated me, before getting back to more meaty discussion about the characters and the show itself.

I think I should make it clear upfront that, while I'm a big-time Panty fan, I'm painfully aware (and perhaps simultaneously impressed) that she's a very flawed person. It's neither her rampant sexuality nor her especially foul mouth that give me pause; those, to me, are charm points. What bothers me about her are the many examples of her thoughtlessness towards other characters, especially Stocking. I don't think that there's anything wrong with being ambitious or even selfish at times, because there are times where putting one's self first is warranted. To be forever self-sacrificing is to become a doormat. Yet Panty sometimes steps on the shoulders of others to her own benefit. There are several times where she's  directly and deliberately rude to Stocking, whether that entails editing her out of their film debut or making fun of her for going on a diet. The two have a bit of a bickering, adversarial relationship, but there are times where I consider Panty to have gone beyond the simple back-and-forth arguing that defines many of their interactions.

It should go without saying that this column involves discussion of spoilers for the series Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt. If you don't want to be spoiled, go check out the series!

In my previous column on the series Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, I mentioned that it might be interesting to examine the relative popularity of the main characters of the series, and what implications that may have to the way certain kinds of characters (and, by relation, certain types of women) are perceived by the masses. Before I do, please enjoy this disclaimer: the majority of what I'm about to talk about is based on anecdotal evidence I've seen and experienced as a fan of this series. I'm sure that there will be several people chomping at the bit to refute the points I'm trying to make and explain that their personal favoritism isn't based around any sort of misogynist tendencies. I am not accusing anyone of anything here, I'm just attempting to analyze some fan reactions based on my own experience and a generalized understanding of some common societal attitudes. Please don't interpret this as finger-pointing at anyone specific, I'm not judging you!

Anyway, on with the column.

While there are lots of anime floating around out there (most of them like turds in toilet water) that I'd describe as being focused on the more sexual aspects of human nature, there are very few which actually deal with sex. Most of them are in the business of providing passive titillation to a very specific type of anime fan rather than portraying an act that quite a few (I would even venture to say most) human beings endeavor to participate in. Panty and Stocking is nearly unique in that it not only has a sexual focus, but also stars two heroines who I would personally describe as being in pursuit of their own orgasm, and are at various times even aggressively-sexual. However, the two characters are dissimilar in the ways that they carry themselves and the ways in which they pursue their, *ahem*, interests, and I've personally noticed that this seems to have a pretty large effect on their popularity relative to one-another. I'm speculating, but I believe that this discrepancy also says something interesting about the ways in which we, either consciously or unconsciously, judge women based on their perceived promiscuity.

I spent all week trying to come up with a way to begin this series. There's so much to talk about - sibling relationships, forced rivalries between women, slut-shaming, attitudes about sex in general... I could go on. There's so much that I've been having a lot of trouble honing in on the most harmonious way to tackle all the different parts that make up the over-the-top package (ahem) that is Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt. Rather than sit and wrack my brain for answers, I let my mind wander... and then recalled a thought I'd had the first time I watched the show.

The B-segment of episode two is a little meditation on fame and celebrity called "Sex and the Daten City." In it, Panty and Stocking are set to co-star in an upcoming action film. Panty has been reveling in her popularity, pulling publicity stunts and becoming a media sweetheart beloved by young and old fans alike, while Stocking has spent much less time fame "whoring" (as she likes to put it). At the premiere of the movie, the emcee asks Panty if she's excited about this being her film debut, to which she replies that it's actually her second starring role. The "art film" in which she had a prior leading role turns out to be nothing more than porn flick, and Panty and Stocking must travel the world to destroy every last copy of the tape so that Panty's good name as a rising star won't be overshadowed by her dubious past activities. In the end, though, it's Panty's thoughtless attitude which causes Stocking to re-release the video to a very appreciative audience.

I'm sure there are a lot of you who are chomping at the bit to hear my analysis of Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt (my ego would certainly like to think so). As tends to happen, though, I encountered something during the week that I thought more urgently deserved my attention. Hopefully next week I'll be able to return to my regularly-scheduled anime subject matter.

I follow quite a few feminist resources on twitter, many of them gaming-related blogs. Unfortunately, anime is still so niche that there really aren't many websites or blogs dedicated specifically to the roles of women in anime (at least that I know of; if you've got a link, feel free to leave it in the comments section and I'll be sure to check it out!), so I get my fill of geek-centric feminist commentary by reading about video games. One of those blogs is the strikingly-named Fat, Ugly or Slutty, which details the type of harassment that women receive while frequenting gaming communities. Yesterday, the blog's twitter account linked to a post on the CNN Geek-Out Blog, in which writer Joe Peacock laments what he sees as the "scourge" of non-geeky women using their sex appeal to take advantage of real, bona-fide male geeks.

Let's back this train up for a second.