Animation Conference 2026
Gender representations in Anime
Overview
While Japanese animation has faced criticism for expressions influenced by traditional gender norms—particularly in its portrayal of young women—it frequently challenges these conventions as well. This lecture explores the evolution of male and female hero archetypes from the 1960s to the present day, examining them within the context of changing social conditions.
Speakers
Yokohama National University, Professor
Akiko Sugawa-Shimada
Akiko Sugawa-Shimada, PhD, specializes in visual culture and fan studies. Her publication includes: Girls and Magic (2013, the 2014 Japan Society of Animation Studies Award), 2.5-¬ dimensional Culture (2021), Mechademia: Second Arc vol. 15.2, “2.5D Culture,” joined as guest editor (2023), Introduction to the 2.5D Studies (2024), Cambridge Companion to Manga and Anime (2024) and Music and Contents Tourism (forthcoming). She has been involved in the projects: a research project “Women in Japanese Animation,” and “WIA-J” to aim to promote diversity in the Japanese animation industry.
Professor, Aichi University of the Arts Faculty of Art
Akira Arimochi
He served as a visiting researcher at the Estonian Academy of Arts for two years starting in 2012, and in 2019, he obtained a Ph.D. on Pritt Pärn from the Tokyo University of the Arts. He presented his research at Animafest Scanner, an international symposium for contemporary animation studies (2024, 2026). He will be speaking at the international symposium "Surrealism Anime," which will be held in Kyoto on November 22 and 23 this year. Furthermore, he presents animation under the artist name ALIMO. Recently, his work Juxtaposed LAND (2023)—a mixture of everyday life, allegory, and philosophy produced with the cooperation of the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Saudi Arabia)—premiered at the World Festival of Animated Film Animafest Zagreb (2023).