Between Wonderful in the dungeon‘s wild cat girl Izutsumi and The pharmacist’s diaries‘ weirdo poison taster Mao Mao, I definitely thrive on current wave of chaotic little anime gremlin girls.
It is very common for shonen anime to feature highly sexualized female characters. Yes, there are exceptions, but it’s so common that close-ups of breasts and panty shots almost become background noise. So it’s so damn satisfying to see characters who might otherwise fit into those tropes do a complete 180 that are completely non-sexual – and in fact disgusting.
Izutsumi and Mao Mao aren’t the only characters to ever fit the bill, but watching the two shows back to back really tickled my fancy, kicking off the summer anime season with a growl. They join the canon of freaky Gremlin girls Skip and loafer‘s Mitsumi, an ambitious but totally clumsy and rather cringe-worthy high school student; the trio of aspiring animators at the center of Keep your hands off Eizouken!; And Ouran High School host club‘s Haruhi, the tired scholarship student who tolerates all the extravagant nonsense of the host club.
Image: Science Saru/Crunchyroll
None of these characters are designed in a traditionally ‘sexy’ way; in fact, they are aggressively unsexy. They become little weirdos, enjoying their interests and ambitions without thinking about being attractive or giving in to their crushes (and in Mitsumi and Haruhi’s case, that’s exactly what gets their love interests’ attention!). It’s a vindication for weird girls everywhere!
Izutsumi and Mao Mao adopt the trope of the slice-of-life genre into fantasy and historical settings, where female characters typically suffer from hypersexualization.
In the fantasy world of Wonderful in the dungeon, none of the female characters are really sexualized. But Izutsumi stands out because she is in every other show would become a sexpot. Izutsumi is a cat girl, but not in the traditional way sexy feline person way. She doesn’t purr at other characters or flick her tail seductively. And she has no logic-defying cleavage. Even as she strips naked in front of the group as they all enjoy a makeshift sauna, her body is remarkably desexualized. Instead, her actions like a wild cat: she is distrustful, angry and shall claw your eyes out if you get too close. She slowly learns to trust the group, but like a stray cat you leave food for in your backyard, it will be on her terms.
Image: Trigger/Netflix
The courtesans and concubines who live there The pharmacist’s diaries‘ Imperial China is made up of women who very specifically use their sexuality to make a living in one way or another. However, Mao Mao is a pharmacist who Loves to try new drugs and poisons. She tests them on herself, which means her arms are connected to the results of her experiments. Nothing makes her happier than rare medicinal herbs and ingredients (except maybe poison). When she’s not absolutely wild, she’s cold and calculating, an analytical mastermind who must shift gears from medical mysteries to political machinations. Anyway, she doesn’t care if she’s sexy or likable, even if the handsome eunuch Jinshi flirts with her.
Izutsumi, Mao Mao and the rest of these grimy anime girls are just the refreshing splash of water I needed. Wonderful in the dungeon wraps up this week, and The pharmacist’s diaries ended in March, but I’m going to take this crazy little chaos demon energy with me into the summer. There’s no need to look good in a bikini if my beach plans involve running along the shoreline and pretending to be a sandpiper. Mao Mao would be proud.