I made a tweet about a year ago about how Touken Ranbu really set the stage for joseimuke media to get going, but I started thinking about how for a couple of years before that, we already had anime paving that path as well.
I think TouRabu likely was the turning point when things switched over to games, but about two years before that, the success of the first season of the Utapri anime in 2011 ushered in a wave of series with an ensemble cast of male characters largely created for a female audience
Prior to that, most of the series that were hugely popular with women were not necessarily made FOR them in a demographic sense; there were a lot of very popular Jump series (Reborn comes to mind), or mecha series like Gundam that have historically had a lot of female fans
After Utapri came series like K, Karneval, Brothers Conflict, and most famously, Free. Free particularly stood out because was a completely new* IP as well as KyoAni’s first foray into this new trend of anime series, and it was a huge hit starting from the small trailer they had
(*While it is technically the sequel to the light novel, they were released around the same time, so it was “new” in the eyes of the audience)
This provided a nice little entry for browser and mobile games to continue the trend. In fact, I remember the appeal of Boyfriend (Beta) for me being that there were some characters voiced by VAs from Free who looked...quite similar...
(Yes, he has the same voice actor)
It was all so neat at the time because it was the first time these series were being made explicitly for this demographic, instead of a large female fanbase being a “happy accident” of sorts. It was really an exciting time that led to where we are now, I feel.
Anyway, if you want to see the thread that came before this one, it’s here:
(I really like thinking back on everything that has happened...)
I’ve been thinking about the key to continuing creative pursuits, and I think it’s a combo of:
-Enjoyment
-Healthy critique from those you trust
-A desire to see it to the end
And most importantly:
-A completely unreasonable part of you that thinks you can do anything
Enjoyment is easy. It’s what gets you through the door, and ultimately why you do it in the first place. It should generally be fun, though it may not ALWAYS be fun.
Critique is important, but you don’t have to take it unsolicited from any and everyone. And you shouldn’t, really. You can’t please everyone, and that’s fine. So instead, find someone whose feedback really counts for you, and comes from a good place.
And here is a thread of the Katanashu story. It's the full story, so this will be long. Enjoy!
The Katanashu are a top-secret special task force created by the capital to manage the yokai of Hikagemachi. Their main job is to oversee the gate between the human realm and the town of Hikagemachi, where yokai reside.
Hikagemachi is a town that mirrors the human realm. As such, it isn’t rare for humans to accidentally wander into it. It is the Katanashu’s duty to find any humans who have wandered into Hikagemachi and manipulate their memories before returning them back where they came from.