Animated sitcoms have a complex relationship with time. These are worlds where a character can remain 10 years old from 1989 to nowadays (as is the case for Bart Simpson in The Simpsons), a pregnancy can last seven television seasons…
Queer/ing Animation
Stronger Than You: Garnet as Queer Icon
by Jake Pitre • April 17, 2017 • 1 Comment
But I am even more than the two of them. Everything they care about is what I am. I am their fury. I am their patience. I am a conversation. “Stronger Than You”, Garnet (Estelle) I have a Garnet…
The Politics of Representation
by Lorelei Pepi • March 20, 2017 • 5 Comments
All history can be considered a form of revisionism. There is overwhelming political power associated with those that have had the privilege of crafting historical narratives for their own purposes. The warped representation of the minority, including lesbian and gay…
A Roundtable on Yuri!!! on Ice (Part 3)
by Jacqueline Ristola • January 16, 2017 • 4 Comments
Yuri!!! on Ice is a 2016 anime that has captured a global audience through its beautifully choreographed animation, a strong emotional story, and compelling gay representation. Animation Studies 2.0 blog contributors Jacqueline Ristola, Mihaela Mihailova, Caitlin Casiello, and Evelyn Hielkema…
A Roundtable on Yuri!!! on Ice (Part 2)
by Jacqueline Ristola • January 9, 2017 • 0 Comments
Yuri!!! on Ice is a 2016 anime that has captured a global audience through its beautifully choreographed animation, a strong emotional story, and compelling gay representation. Animation Studies 2.0 blog contributors Jacqueline Ristola, Mihaela Mihailova, Caitlin Casiello, and Evelyn Hielkema came together…
A Roundtable on Yuri!!! on Ice (Part 1)
by Jacqueline Ristola • January 2, 2017 • 0 Comments
Yuri!!! on Ice is a 2016 anime that has captured a global audience through its beautifully choreographed animation, a strong emotional story, and compelling gay representation. Animation Studies 2.0 blog contributors Jacqueline Ristola, Mihaela Mihailova, Caitlin Casiello, and Evelyn Hielkema came together…
Gaps in the Ice: Queer Subtext and Fandom Text in Yuri!!! on Ice
by Catilin Casiello • December 26, 2016 • 14 Comments
Yuri!!! on Ice, undoubtedly the breakout hit of the Fall 2016 TV anime season, follows the dramatic comeback of figure skater Katsuki Yūri and his relationship with his hero and coach Victor Nikiforov. In English-speaking fandom, where political concerns about…
The Revolutionary Potential of Lesbian Love in Yuri Kuma Arashi
by Jacqueline Ristola • December 19, 2016 • 0 Comments
The work of anime director Kunihiko Ikuhara is not only known for being deeply symbolic, but also for having outstanding representations of lesbians in anime. This is significant because LGBT visibility is quite low in Japan. Gay marriage, for instance,…
“Trans”formers: Reading the Rescue Bots
by Nichola Dobson • December 15, 2016 • 3 Comments
I’ve written here before about some of the children’s animation which my son consumes and, as he gets older (he’s almost 5), we all become exposed to more sophisticated shows aimed at older children. Thankfully, many of these shows are…
#GiveElsaAGirlfriend and the Importance of Mainstream Queer Cartoons
by Bethan Jones • December 12, 2016 • 1 Comment
In fan studies, we often talk about fans being ‘poachers’ of texts (Jenkins 1992). Fans, we argue, lift bits and pieces from texts and create their own works: Sherlock becomes a detective in a high school; Edward and Bella become billionaire…