On The Economist

[danalwyn]

This is old news, but I still find it amusing. My father pointed out to me that in the September 2nd edition, The Economist printed an article about how manga and anime has been picking up more and more marketing aimed at the female gender. Although I think that the article in question is not very good (and written by someone outside the relevant fandoms) I am endlessly amused that the image that they chose to represent the trend, and to accompany their leader about a game featuring a strong female lead, and their title of "Kick-ass maidens" is one of Himura Kenshin, indicating that a) he is meant to be a sex symbol that attracts female attention, or b) even highly acclaimed British editors cannot tell his gender at first sight. I tend to lean toward b), although a) is still a strong contender. Either way, I still think it's funny.

The article, for reference, is here

Comments

[silverjackal.livejournal.com]

I freely admit that I know nothing about anime, but if the editors thought that image was of a young woman they obviously overlooked something revealed (or rather *not* revealed) by the gaping shirt in the illustration: namely the absence of breasts. The caption "Well, hello boys" clearly indicates that the person who selected the illustration thought the character was a girl. Heh.