Never ever considered something too woke. There’s no such thing when it comes to calling out the sexualization of teen and elitism. The sexualization of teen girls is never okay, fiction or not. Media shapes perception, and if we keep romanticizing or excusing it, it becomes harder to dismantle in reality. We as women are so much more than the tired, unrealistic “big boobs and tiny waist” trope.
Even if the story has an interesting plot, it show the author clearly prioritizes catering to a male audience over respecting a female one. That kind of writing shows they don’t view women as full human beings with depth, but as objects for visual or sexual appeal. Good art or storytelling doesn’t excuse harmful portrayals it just means the author is willing to sacrifice women’s dignity for cheap attention.
Many great works written by men, like Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, or Studio Ghibli films, prove you can tell compelling stories where women are just as capable and complex as men without relying on fan service to keep people watching. The difference is respect.
this was worded so well! thank you for the vote of confidence! this subject is usually such a hot topic, so i didn’t think there would be so many people in the comment section that would agree with me. i’m definitely using your comment as a point of reference to explain how i feel about it next time!
maybe i’m too woke, but the constant sexualization of teen girls and the japanese elitism (two very common things in manga) brought this waaaay down for me. the concept of the story is very interesting, but i don’t think i want to carry on, especially if they’re going to bring in different characters with different cultural backgrounds just to fall in love with the MC and be inferior to the other characters. art is rly pretty tho!