I don't really have a firm opinion on what you had to say, but this video got me thinking, and that's the important part. Introspection is universally important yet often people have a problem in being honest with themselves because of what they were taught as children. Bit odd I saw no Cutey Honey here, pretty sure she was at the forefront of the sexual objectification of magical girls.
Well I did mention her in an early draft of this video but I had to trim it down to keep it focused. And yes one could very easily expand this into the entire history of sexualization of magical girls and it would be 3 hours long and even then still inexhaustive.
Well this is unexpected lol Honestly I wish more channels would make legit analysis videos of this anime. The crossover between thematic and sexual admiration of fans that it calls out deserves a deeper dive. Predictably though, very few people are willing to touch this with a 10 foot pole in a unironic manner.
Look even as some one on the Sexy Magical Gal Pal side of things, i find this response...ignoring the Feminist elephant in the room Even as a horny defender, trying to pull a reverse shame of "nuh uh, anti-horny is the REAL magical girl villain" is just very tone deaf the entire iceberg of Female Sexualization in Girls Media not just academic, but more and more main stream femininity period. Fronting Otaku's self agency to fantasy erases the identity of the largest critics: Western Female consumers of young girl media, and has framed through the ubiquity of Male Gaze Theory to the point that "Sexual Objectification" has become just "Sexuality IS objectication". Period. While i wont get so much deeper into the on-going nuance of feminist theory, absently presenting "Heteronormativity" is EXACTLY the target of controversy when many significant Feminist frameworks are built on never having agency in bodily or even representativity in media. As enough of said for playing devil advocate- or in this case Mahou Shoujo Villainess, i do think you bit off more to chew than knowing the social predicament, and defaulting to Otaku/Sexual free of shame kinda ignores y'now, female consumer consent (and yes they are way WAY to puritanically cliqueish, its how many a Mothers FOR children movements have historically been made through US history, if not more Anglo developed)
Yeah Clear does need to check his Male Privilege in how he presents himself as an authority on this genre. Considering he's one of those who thinks the 90s Anime is superior to the Manga and Crystal when it is criticized by many precisely for being a Woman's Manga adapted by Men. And those Upskirt shots are part of that, they don't happen in the Manga.
Growing up I was always "the tall girl" and got bullied for it. I looked up to Sailor Jupiter, she made me feel strong and brave and much better about my height. Seeing her and similar characters, who can be so empowering and inspiring for young women (their target audience!), reduced to their supposed sex appeal and spoken about from such a male-centric point of view feels so weird.
@@starcrossedsheep They don't need to be mutually exclusive. As a Trans Feminine person Fapping to the characters I also want to Be has been a vital part of my Self Discovery. Makoto is also one of those for me.
@@Kuudere-Kun Yes and I'm a lesbian so I also understand that aspect. It certainly can be a nuanced and conflicting topic and I don't believe I implied otherwise.
@@starcrossedsheep Agreed. I kinda wish more Prominent Anitubers had chosen do go on this Hill for Prisma Illya rather this show which I enjoyed but I don't think I'll be returning to much.
Uohtena? Uutena? What we are allowed to talk about, what is acceptable, what is not taboo and what dictates these things will always be frustrating. I appreciate your candid approach to this subject. The whole joke of “rule 34” from decades ago is that anything that can be sexualize will be sexualize. If fiction is not a safe space to explore these themes I guess the answer is just to repress it because that leads to a morally healthy and upstanding human being. 10/10, would crank my hog again.
Honestly never understood why so many people worry about fictional characters when it comes to this topic but are fine with them being killed in multiple ways in various media. If you can’t sort out fiction from reality then you should see a therapist
It's because fictional media affects how one sees reality. If you spend a lot of time ensconcing yourself in a certain kind of media, you will unconsciously come to see what you see as being representative of reality, and that will influence your actions. It's especially true of pornographic content.
@@lovelyname117 that is the same thing that has been said about video games and violence as well as the satanic scare of D&D or a number of others that have no real scientific evidence. Just because I enjoy playing FPS games doesn’t mean I am going to do something similar in reality. Fiction is fiction regardless of the topic.
@@lovelyname117if you’re a child who has difficulty separating reality from fiction, sure. But study after study gas shown the influence of media on one’s perception of reality wanes with age.
@@leafbladie I've seen studies that show the opposite, so it seems we're at an impasse there. Given that, we can go back to the ancient Greeks. Plato, for example, talked about the corruptive influence of poetry on the minds of the people. If the poets depict the Greek gods as doing things like kidnapping and raping little boys, then the people might see that as being moral.
After a long time of watching already-finished series, this was the first anime I saw as it was currently airing. And I had very simmilar thoughts on the go! A friend of mine recommended it to me, because we both share the same... interests, and I was pleasantly surprised from the very first episode because of the little details. Like how, if this was a normal magical girl show, Utena would be a background character that is already working for the evil team but Magenta's genuine appreciation for her invisible actions like watering the school plants would trigger her eventual redemption arc. So yes, these sort of details and story beats let the audience know that this show knows what is talking about. Watching it was such a pleasant experience. It was also the first anime I ever saw with a friend, like, in the same room. We'd visit each other's houses with the purpose of watching this show, together. Honestly, that was very cool, too. Both of us thought the forced lesbian sex scene was sweet as hell.
Glad to see more people approaching this anime I hope more do. Unfortunately there amount of reviews and reactions to it are quite small because people all act like they get the plague if they talk about it. (Yet are all find reacting to and talking about way more fucked up shit like jobless reincarnation)
when i watched gushing over magical girls i was kind of impressed how many of the tropes it followed in episode before all of the porn..... i mean utena wakes up to see the mascot and thinks that the battle against tres magia was a dream. there's a transformation sequence. the tres magia have precure looking designs. despite all of the porn, gushing over magical girls was pretty good
I haven't watched the show, but this review was interesting. Have no issue with you orvothers liking it. But I am disappointed with your attempted joke of calling anime "Chinese cartoons". I get that there are people that lump all of East Asia together, but cmon, be better than that.
It's a deep lore reference. Up until Pokemon in 1998, all anime was called "Chinese porno cartoons" by outsiders. Calling anime "Chinese Cartoons" is a joke on this ignorance.
@@GELTONZ I'm aware, hence my comment about the "joke", but as someone that's been a fan of anime since the 80s, it's off-putting. (especially when one is making a critical examination of a show like this) at least the "Japanimation" pejorative is more accurate and less overtly racist. If the whole thing had been tongue-in-cheek then it wouldn't have stuck out. But as a comment in what is mostly a sincere and serious discussion it feels off. But that's just my opinion.
Absolute thumbs up for this. Gushing Over Magical Girls is worthy of a lot more analysis because on one hand it is INCREDIBLY...what's the word? Risque? Not PC? Ah! Problematic. But on the other hand it's so enthralling. I just saw "Explanation Point" do a video on this as well where he ties himself into a knot to try and come up with some kind of way to make himself feel not guilty over watching this show but still feel okay giving people crap over Goblin Slayer and it's kinda fascinating. I've also seen multiple people say that they hate the show because it's so good and they feel so bad for liking it. Me? I like anime BECAUSE it pushes boundaries and does "not okay" things! I LIKE that it explores controversial topics! So complaining about character age gaps and depictions of sexuality is just...stupid to me. They're drawings and the fact that they ARE drawings makes them the perfect medium to explore such topics! I once had someone say "You guys would support Cuties if it was anime" and well...YES! I WOULD! It SHOULD have been, even! The PROBLEM with THAT particular piece of media is that it involved actual real children. You wanna tell that same story but with drawings, it would be MUCH more okay! Also, kudos to Explanation Point for briefly realizing that Gushing Over Magical Girls is literally ABOUT enjoying "problematic" content, so perhaps there's even a bit of camaraderie between the viewer and Utena. This show is absolutely worthy of analysis. I'm gonna try my best to do one myself but we'll see if I can be un-lazy long enough to pull it off.
ALERT SEPHIROTH MENTIONED (I've read the Manga and when it gets animated peak will be more peak) always great analysis may more people watch this show so I can see THE THINGS
Thank you for this. ♡ Utena has sky rocketed to being one of my absolute favorite anime- the duality of magical girls and their inherent sexualty is just ♡ magical. Plus, its a fantastic example of the guilt/shame sadists often feel. Imma go re-watch it :3
You are setting yourself up to fail here by not even acknowledging the "they are underanged" elephant in the room. You shouldn't assume the the Pro-Loli arguments are already known to your audience when you haven't made a video on that yet.
Exactly. Not to say you cannot do a mahou shoujo story that's also about adolescent awakening to kinky desires etc. but this show is straight up sexualizing 12- to 14-year olds which I think shouldn't be encouraged for a plethora of reasons.
@@sakuraadachigaming It will get people fantasizing about touching children, yes, even if they never act on it. And that's pretty bad in itself. Have you ever looked up the studies on what porn does to the brain?
Yea buddy I really enjoy your videos, but saying that show is okay is not okay. All art should exist, but some art shouldn’t be popularized or platformed. Enjoy what you want, but this show is soft core pxrn.
yes ecchi is softcore porn. i think it’s funny how you censored that word. it just shows how people are so unwilling to talk about sex or sexual themes in media in a mature way
I do not agree, at all. Adults MUST make art that you won't necessarily understand. You dont if you conclude it's soft porn. I am not into these shows yet there was a spark of genius in it that sold it for me, way outside of your porn obsessed brain that prevents you from seeing it. Something unique we won't see once the censor overlords have their ways and decide what ADULTS should and shouldnt see.
@Johnamekin i agree. i think it’s sad how people are allowing their corporate overlords to censor whatever they feel like. people are already censoring themselves. it’s only a matter of time until this censorship starts affecting our personal lives
I don't really have a firm opinion on what you had to say, but this video got me thinking, and that's the important part. Introspection is universally important yet often people have a problem in being honest with themselves because of what they were taught as children. Bit odd I saw no Cutey Honey here, pretty sure she was at the forefront of the sexual objectification of magical girls.
Well I did mention her in an early draft of this video but I had to trim it down to keep it focused.
And yes one could very easily expand this into the entire history of sexualization of magical girls and it would be 3 hours long and even then still inexhaustive.
@@clearandsweet Marvelous Melmo says "Hi."
(Seriously, Osamu Tezuka's transformation fetish is FLAGRANT and I love it.)
@@GELTONZ the exact line I cut when pruning it down: "You can go back to Marvelous Melmo, Creamy Mami and Cutie Honey."
Well this is unexpected lol
Honestly I wish more channels would make legit analysis videos of this anime. The crossover between thematic and sexual admiration of fans that it calls out deserves a deeper dive. Predictably though, very few people are willing to touch this with a 10 foot pole in a unironic manner.
Look even as some one on the Sexy Magical Gal Pal side of things, i find this response...ignoring the Feminist elephant in the room
Even as a horny defender, trying to pull a reverse shame of "nuh uh, anti-horny is the REAL magical girl villain" is just very tone deaf the entire iceberg of Female Sexualization in Girls Media not just academic, but more and more main stream femininity period.
Fronting Otaku's self agency to fantasy erases the identity of the largest critics: Western Female consumers of young girl media, and has framed through the ubiquity of Male Gaze Theory to the point that "Sexual Objectification" has become just "Sexuality IS objectication". Period.
While i wont get so much deeper into the on-going nuance of feminist theory, absently presenting "Heteronormativity" is EXACTLY the target of controversy when many significant Feminist frameworks are built on never having agency in bodily or even representativity in media.
As enough of said for playing devil advocate- or in this case Mahou Shoujo Villainess, i do think you bit off more to chew than knowing the social predicament, and defaulting to Otaku/Sexual free of shame kinda ignores y'now, female consumer consent (and yes they are way WAY to puritanically cliqueish, its how many a Mothers FOR children movements have historically been made through US history, if not more Anglo developed)
Yeah Clear does need to check his Male Privilege in how he presents himself as an authority on this genre. Considering he's one of those who thinks the 90s Anime is superior to the Manga and Crystal when it is criticized by many precisely for being a Woman's Manga adapted by Men. And those Upskirt shots are part of that, they don't happen in the Manga.
Growing up I was always "the tall girl" and got bullied for it. I looked up to Sailor Jupiter, she made me feel strong and brave and much better about my height. Seeing her and similar characters, who can be so empowering and inspiring for young women (their target audience!), reduced to their supposed sex appeal and spoken about from such a male-centric point of view feels so weird.
@@starcrossedsheep They don't need to be mutually exclusive. As a Trans Feminine person Fapping to the characters I also want to Be has been a vital part of my Self Discovery.
Makoto is also one of those for me.
@@Kuudere-Kun Yes and I'm a lesbian so I also understand that aspect. It certainly can be a nuanced and conflicting topic and I don't believe I implied otherwise.
@@starcrossedsheep Agreed.
I kinda wish more Prominent Anitubers had chosen do go on this Hill for Prisma Illya rather this show which I enjoyed but I don't think I'll be returning to much.
Uohtena? Uutena?
What we are allowed to talk about, what is acceptable, what is not taboo and what dictates these things will always be frustrating. I appreciate your candid approach to this subject. The whole joke of “rule 34” from decades ago is that anything that can be sexualize will be sexualize. If fiction is not a safe space to explore these themes I guess the answer is just to repress it because that leads to a morally healthy and upstanding human being.
10/10, would crank my hog again.
Honestly never understood why so many people worry about fictional characters when it comes to this topic but are fine with them being killed in multiple ways in various media. If you can’t sort out fiction from reality then you should see a therapist
Gore and mutilation? That's fine.
Female nipple? That's haram. Oh the American mind
It's because fictional media affects how one sees reality.
If you spend a lot of time ensconcing yourself in a certain kind of media, you will unconsciously come to see what you see as being representative of reality, and that will influence your actions.
It's especially true of pornographic content.
@@lovelyname117 that is the same thing that has been said about video games and violence as well as the satanic scare of D&D or a number of others that have no real scientific evidence. Just because I enjoy playing FPS games doesn’t mean I am going to do something similar in reality. Fiction is fiction regardless of the topic.
@@lovelyname117if you’re a child who has difficulty separating reality from fiction, sure. But study after study gas shown the influence of media on one’s perception of reality wanes with age.
@@leafbladie I've seen studies that show the opposite, so it seems we're at an impasse there.
Given that, we can go back to the ancient Greeks. Plato, for example, talked about the corruptive influence of poetry on the minds of the people. If the poets depict the Greek gods as doing things like kidnapping and raping little boys, then the people might see that as being moral.
Amazing vid!
Sorry to hear about those burned bridges, but glad it’s not affecting you all that much.
After a long time of watching already-finished series, this was the first anime I saw as it was currently airing. And I had very simmilar thoughts on the go! A friend of mine recommended it to me, because we both share the same... interests, and I was pleasantly surprised from the very first episode because of the little details. Like how, if this was a normal magical girl show, Utena would be a background character that is already working for the evil team but Magenta's genuine appreciation for her invisible actions like watering the school plants would trigger her eventual redemption arc.
So yes, these sort of details and story beats let the audience know that this show knows what is talking about. Watching it was such a pleasant experience.
It was also the first anime I ever saw with a friend, like, in the same room. We'd visit each other's houses with the purpose of watching this show, together. Honestly, that was very cool, too. Both of us thought the forced lesbian sex scene was sweet as hell.
Can anyone recommend animes that are similar or have a similar art style?
Dude i really enjoy watching this show im already 6 episodes in. 😂
Finally, New an interesting video in the Anime community
I absolutely loved gushing over magical girls . Hoping for a North American blu ray release and a season 2
link to song that starts at 4:26? almost certain I’ve heard that song somewhere
Editor says "My Loyalty (Chillstep)"
@@clearandsweet I knew it! I actually added this song to one of my playlists recently. Great choice and also props on the very daring video
Glad to see more people approaching this anime I hope more do. Unfortunately there amount of reviews and reactions to it are quite small because people all act like they get the plague if they talk about it.
(Yet are all find reacting to and talking about way more fucked up shit like jobless reincarnation)
when i watched gushing over magical girls i was kind of impressed how many of the tropes it followed in episode before all of the porn..... i mean utena wakes up to see the mascot and thinks that the battle against tres magia was a dream. there's a transformation sequence. the tres magia have precure looking designs. despite all of the porn, gushing over magical girls was pretty good
I haven't watched the show, but this review was interesting. Have no issue with you orvothers liking it. But I am disappointed with your attempted joke of calling anime "Chinese cartoons". I get that there are people that lump all of East Asia together, but cmon, be better than that.
It's a deep lore reference. Up until Pokemon in 1998, all anime was called "Chinese porno cartoons" by outsiders. Calling anime "Chinese Cartoons" is a joke on this ignorance.
@@GELTONZ I'm aware, hence my comment about the "joke", but as someone that's been a fan of anime since the 80s, it's off-putting. (especially when one is making a critical examination of a show like this) at least the "Japanimation" pejorative is more accurate and less overtly racist. If the whole thing had been tongue-in-cheek then it wouldn't have stuck out. But as a comment in what is mostly a sincere and serious discussion it feels off. But that's just my opinion.
Absolute thumbs up for this. Gushing Over Magical Girls is worthy of a lot more analysis because on one hand it is INCREDIBLY...what's the word? Risque? Not PC? Ah! Problematic. But on the other hand it's so enthralling. I just saw "Explanation Point" do a video on this as well where he ties himself into a knot to try and come up with some kind of way to make himself feel not guilty over watching this show but still feel okay giving people crap over Goblin Slayer and it's kinda fascinating. I've also seen multiple people say that they hate the show because it's so good and they feel so bad for liking it.
Me? I like anime BECAUSE it pushes boundaries and does "not okay" things! I LIKE that it explores controversial topics! So complaining about character age gaps and depictions of sexuality is just...stupid to me. They're drawings and the fact that they ARE drawings makes them the perfect medium to explore such topics! I once had someone say "You guys would support Cuties if it was anime" and well...YES! I WOULD! It SHOULD have been, even! The PROBLEM with THAT particular piece of media is that it involved actual real children. You wanna tell that same story but with drawings, it would be MUCH more okay!
Also, kudos to Explanation Point for briefly realizing that Gushing Over Magical Girls is literally ABOUT enjoying "problematic" content, so perhaps there's even a bit of camaraderie between the viewer and Utena. This show is absolutely worthy of analysis. I'm gonna try my best to do one myself but we'll see if I can be un-lazy long enough to pull it off.
Normie bait. Anime isn't even that edgy to get cancelled over
ALERT SEPHIROTH MENTIONED (I've read the Manga and when it gets animated peak will be more peak) always great analysis may more people watch this show so I can see THE THINGS
Thank you for this. ♡
Utena has sky rocketed to being one of my absolute favorite anime- the duality of magical girls and their inherent sexualty is just ♡ magical. Plus, its a fantastic example of the guilt/shame sadists often feel.
Imma go re-watch it :3
Thank you, you're doing the lord's work.
Omg that ending 😂
Hilarious how all anime characters have to be over 18 so twitter Karens don’t lose their minds over fictional characters…
You are setting yourself up to fail here by not even acknowledging the "they are underanged" elephant in the room. You shouldn't assume the the Pro-Loli arguments are already known to your audience when you haven't made a video on that yet.
Yeah...very convenient that he neglects to mention how these characters are all middle schoolers
@@starcrossedsheep It does change that I agree with his position, but it's an adequate defense of the show to ignore the real main issue.
You have a school days pfp saying this
@@mysmallnoman I did not imply I was the Anti's side.
Most of the characters in the show are in middle school.
Exactly. Not to say you cannot do a mahou shoujo story that's also about adolescent awakening to kinky desires etc. but this show is straight up sexualizing 12- to 14-year olds which I think shouldn't be encouraged for a plethora of reasons.
they are not real so there is no problem
@@sakuraadachigaming Two words: moral corruption.
@lovelyname117 what does that mean? people are going to watch this anime and think it’s ok to touch kids?
@@sakuraadachigaming It will get people fantasizing about touching children, yes, even if they never act on it. And that's pretty bad in itself.
Have you ever looked up the studies on what porn does to the brain?
Yea buddy I really enjoy your videos, but saying that show is okay is not okay. All art should exist, but some art shouldn’t be popularized or platformed. Enjoy what you want, but this show is soft core pxrn.
yes ecchi is softcore porn. i think it’s funny how you censored that word. it just shows how people are so unwilling to talk about sex or sexual themes in media in a mature way
I do not agree, at all. Adults MUST make art that you won't necessarily understand. You dont if you conclude it's soft porn. I am not into these shows yet there was a spark of genius in it that sold it for me, way outside of your porn obsessed brain that prevents you from seeing it. Something unique we won't see once the censor overlords have their ways and decide what ADULTS should and shouldnt see.
@Johnamekin i agree. i think it’s sad how people are allowing their corporate overlords to censor whatever they feel like. people are already censoring themselves. it’s only a matter of time until this censorship starts affecting our personal lives
"all art should exist you just cant talk about the things you like at all if they are making me uncomfy ;c"