Since I did the women of Naruto before, I decided to look at the women of One Piece by Eiichiro Oda, and, boy, is there a difference. It’s not that One Piece has perfect women, but the issues aren’t in their stories. So let’s head for the Grand Line and see what’s there.
Read MoreI’m happy to be among the winners of Mirror World 2020 Anthology Contest for my story “Songs and Superstitions.” For everyone who liked “A Cure for Homesickness,” Krem and Max return for a fun adventure in the tunnels of Krem’s home colony.
Footsteps in the Dark is out for purchase and includes my story “Waking the Monster.” Check it out at Amazon or buy directly from Flame Tree Press.
Last time, I talked about the problems inherent in the Kishimoto’s writing of women in Naruto. Today, I’ll be looking at an aspect that is closely tied to that problem: relationships. Since many of the female characters’ stories are based on romantic relationships, the two problems can’t be separated. Most of the relationships are either horribly unbalanced or downright toxic and that’s dangerous for both boys and girls who enjoy the series. No matter how much I like the series, this cannot be overlooked.
How women are presented in stories, especially stories geared to boys, is very important. Having almost all the women fall into stereotypical characters or plots reinforces those stereotypes, so it’s important to examine the problems in female characters. Kishimoto fails across the board in creating the compelling, independent women in the manga Naruto.
Non-spoilery review: Overall The Rise of Skywalker is a fun, action-filled movie that I’d be happy to re-watch, and unlike The Last Jedi, all the different story lines are meaningful to the overall movie. It’s obvious how much they wanted to eliminate almost all character and plot developments from The Last Jedi in order to return to the plan J. J. Abrams had for the series, and that not only muddles the trilogy as a whole but also makes The Last Jedi feel even more an anomaly that doesn’t belong. Lastly, it’s sad that a Carrie Fisher wasn’t able to finish shooting, because the scenes she should have been in are obvious and lesser for the fact she wasn’t there. I can also see where the plot might have gone with her and wish we could have had that movie instead.
Admit it, you’d totally watch a show called The Adventures of Baby Yoda and Space Dad. If you haven’t guessed yet, there will be minor spoilers for The Mandalorian.