Reflections on the translation of gender in Perfect Blue, an anime film by Kon Satoshi

Abstract

Perfect Blue (1997) is an anime (Japanese animation) film directed by Kon Satoshi. The film revolves around a female idol (a pop star) named Mima who quits her career as an idol to become an actress, and how she gradually loses her mind. This article presents anime as an important pop culture phenomenon with a massive influence worldwide. This article examines the gender stereotypes promulgated by this phenomenon and proposes a different reading of the work of Kon by comparing how the gender roles are portrayed in the different versions: The Japanese original and its yakuwarigo or "scripted speech" (Kinsui and Yamakido 2015) and the US English subtitles and dubbing. Methodologically, the analysis relies on close observation of the use of the Japanese first and second person pronouns and sentence-final particles in the characters' language, since "the use of these features is known to be highly gender-dependent" (Hiramoto 2013: 55). The study comes to important conclusions regarding gender portrayals in audiovisual translation. ResumenPerfect Blue (1997) es un film de anime (animación japonesa) dirigido por Kon Satoshi. Este film gira alrededor de una idol (una estrella pop) llamada Mima, quien decide terminar su carrera como idol para convertirse en una actriz y el subsiguiente declive mental que Mima sufre. Este artículo trata el anime como un fenómeno cultural pop con enorme influencia alrededor del mundo y analiza los estereotipos de género promulgados por ese fenómeno, además de proponer una lectura diferente de la obra de Kon. Se examina cómo los diferentes roles de género se exhiben en las diferentes versiones: en el original japonés y su yakuwarigo o «discurso guionado» (Kinsui y Yamakido 2015) y en las traducciones al inglés estadounidense. La metodología se basa en la observación Recibido /

Disasters and gender in Japanese anime films: Makoto Shinkai’sYour NameandWeathering with You

“…In Japanese anime and films, academics notice the conventional stereotypical portrayal of gender and also the more diverse and complicated depictions. 藤田 (1996), 因 (2013) and Josephy (2017) demonstrate that Japanese anime and films propagated stereotypes of gender, such as the women's norms imposed by hegemonic masculinity in Japanese society. In contrast, Saito (2014) presents that "The magical girl" anime genre reflects the changes in gender concepts in Japan.…”

“…Western societies' understandings and expectations of gender make heterosexuality normalised in Hollywood disaster films, and genders beyond binary are invisible or almost absent (McKinnon, 2017(McKinnon, , 2022. There are traditional and stereotypical but also different and inclusive depictions of gender within Japanese anime and disaster films (藤田, 1996;因, 2013;Josephy, 2017). Anime has the potential to provide more "imaginative, playful and more transgressive" alternative portrayals of nonbinary genders, queers and LGBT as a unique art form (Grossman, 2002, p. 4).…”

“…From the standpoint of ecofeminism, the male and female protagonists' unequal experiences during disasters in the two films are simply determined by their gender. Furthermore, Mitsuha is not brave enough to go against her father until the film's end, which shows hegemonic masculinity and patriarchy in Japanese society (Josephy, 2017). Hina is highly passive and feminine in the film narratives (especially when facing disasters); these are also stereotypical depictions of female roles and norms in Japanese anime and films (Josephy, 2017;Yoshida, 2008;藤田, 1996;因, 2013).…”

“…Furthermore, Mitsuha is not brave enough to go against her father until the film's end, which shows hegemonic masculinity and patriarchy in Japanese society (Josephy, 2017). Hina is highly passive and feminine in the film narratives (especially when facing disasters); these are also stereotypical depictions of female roles and norms in Japanese anime and films (Josephy, 2017;Yoshida, 2008;藤田, 1996;因, 2013). The traditional female figures in Japanese anime, (disaster) films and gender expectations in Japanese society would explain the similar feminine female protagonists in the two films.…”