When I look at certain cheesecake-oriented American comics such as Lady Death, Vampirella, and Taboo, I find that they bother me in a way that fanservicey manga, anime, etc. do not. It’s something I haven’t entirely figured out why, but there’s an inkling somewhere in my mind that tells me to head a certain direction. This post is the exploration of that feeling.
Before I start though, I’m going to have to point out that the images used in this post may be considered not work-safe. Careful!
The first step in my thought process is that I find nothing wrong with the inherent concept of comics filled with ladies with large breasts, wide hips, and the convenient angles to show them off. In this instance, the comparison also has little to do with the desire to see them as respectable female characters. This is not an indictment or defense of fanservice.
Also important is that this not about “Character X” being hotter than “Character Y,” or even “Japan > America.”
So then, what about manga which actively objectifies, and possibly even degrades the female characters in it? This could be pornographic, this could be just simple T&A. When I think about it though, while I might object to certain elements in titles such as Ikkitousen or Queen’s Blade, the way in which they bothers me is still not the same as the way those American titles seems to do so.
In all instances, they’re about powerful female characters who end up having skin exposed in the most efficient (or perhaps inefficient) manners possible. The difference, I’m starting to feel, is that while Ikkitousen and Queen’s Blade place their female characters in actively compromising positions, there seem to be no illusions as to what it is they’re doing. They are fully understood as degraded characters with primarily physical appeal, and I’m fine with that on a certain level. With the American characters above though, I find that there’s this weird, coy game that they’re playing with their readers, trying to give an odd significance to the characters’ actions. They seem to carry this potential to be interpreted by readers as legitimate examples of strong female characters because of how their own comics advertise them as such.
I suggest going back to that first image of Lady Death fighting Vampirella and enlarging it to see the dialogue. I think their “banter” says it all.
Queen’s Blade will treat women as objects and hardly pretend that it’s doing otherwise (even the premise itself is decidedly flimsy), but Lady Death acts to some extent like it’s showcasing this strong, respectable, and well-developed character when it really isn’t. I think that difference may be the source of my discomfort in regards to the latter title and its kin. Maybe? I’m still not entirely sure if I’m down the right path.
A small conversation with one David Brothers brought up the counter-example of Highschool of the Dead, notably the character of Saeko, who is shown as a strong fighter but also has the camera linger all over her. I still don’t think this is quite the same (though perhaps more similar than Ikkitousen), but it might be good to think about as well.
OGIUE MANIAX 
The Ameican comic I keep hearing about regarding fanservice AND female characterization is Empowered. I haven’t had a chance to read that, so I don’t know how it stacks up to its reputation.
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I have my own pet theories on these things, but just want to say 2 points.
1. When I read:
I almost double-took, because it is actually what I would write (or in this case, read): “the way those American titties seems to do so.” Except you actually wrote “the way those American titles seems to do so,” which is the SDS style I’ve grown to know.
2. The whole “empowerment” thing, to me, is also a fetish (like small lips and big eyes or bondage or whatever). It also double as kind of a grain of salt in which people can then take their cheesecake seriously. Kind of like how some people can’t get it on unless the mood is right. In anime and manga, they do forego this largely, but I think that is more due to the constraints of form. Anyway, I just want to say that I share this weird feeling that you have been trying to describe about this kind of fanservice. In fact I would say I react very negatively when people try to pass off characters like Vampirella or Lady Death as examples of female empowerment. Or, for that matter, Saeko Busujima.
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The pretense is what disturbs you. It is the difference between a thief demanding your money, and someone asking for a bribe but calling it a “service fee.”
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Empowered walks a fine line between parodying fanservice and reveling in it. However, Adam Warren. the creator of Empowered, does wear his anime/manga influenced roots on his sleeve. I feel that is why he can get away with it.
I think that manga and anime, are also able to walk this fine line a little more naturally than domestic fare. I also think that Western creators are torn between indulging in fanservice and then, fearing criticism, they play the “strong empowered female” card to deflect it.
This dishonesty manifests itself within the created work and may bring about this discomfort you talk about.
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Actually for me the difference is the more realistic depiction of faces in the American one. I just can’t take the girl in the anime picture seriously. There’s a certain amount of separation from me that makes me very aware it’s just a drawing for the sake of showing large breasts and nothing more. The other is just a touch too realistic for me to dismiss the image as easily.
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One looks like a cartoon and the other like a picture of a porn star.
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The anime picture-girl looks like an adult’s body crafted onto a child’s face. The American version is an adult’s body crafted onto an adult.
I find the first to be more f-ed up.
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What on earth is Vampirella even doing in that first image?
You may find this of interest, regarding “strong female characters”:
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=311
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cuando ella ace kendo maltrata la pi
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I’ve been reading your post a few times, but there’s something that bugs me: are you saying that characters that serve a lot of their time as cheesecake such as the aforementioned Lady Death and Vampirella or which the camera likes to gaze all over cannot be or become strong female characters as well? Can’t both things go side to side?
I remember you made a post about sexualized female characters having strong characterization so what is the difference between this and the above? Is it really the “pretense” that western sexualized female characters pass themselves off as strong female characters? Is there an insinuation saying that they are doomed to stay shallow characters?
May you enlighten me on the matter, please?
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I certainly think it’s possible for a character to be sexualized and to still have a display of will to be considered a strong character. An important distinction to make is that I’m not against western comics’ sexualized female characters in general, but more specifically the Lady Death/Vampirella-types as they are shown.
Overall, I think while pretense is a factor (as I talk about), it’s more the pretense of those characters in combination with the visual presentation; it’s not just that they’re wearing skimpy outfits, but that the whole thing comes across as rather disingenuous through their dialogue, through their body language. Because of this, I feel like a character such as Lady Death only shows that they’re “powerful,” that they’ve been endowed a higher power level by the story. They don’t really show the inner will needed to really be considered strong that I would attribute to, say, Anna in Godannar, who is a character chock-full of sexualization.
Maybe it’s possible for them to be turned into stronger characters, but I think it would require a good deal of work on building their personalities and development in a way that doesn’t come across as simply a strange male domination fantasy. That can still exist to an extent maybe, but I feel like it defines their characters far too much.
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So female characters showing their “strength” in a female domination fantasy way solely for the purpose of arousing the readers doesn’t necessarily mean they are strong, i.e. the inner will, resolve and all the stuff you talked in your old posts, is that it? Yeah I can understand that.
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