I don't find the show nearly as sexist as most television, mainly because the male characters are just as weak as the female. For example:
Renji has a mammoth chip on his shoulder, is cripplingly insecure, chases the respect and acceptance of others and cares far too much about the rules and mores of Soul Society. It takes Ichigo to wake him up to himself and what he really wants, but he still crucially never wins a fight.
Byakuya ties himself in an emotional knot because of two unrealistic promises he's made to three dead people. He's a prisoner of his own interpretation of the rules of Soul Society and he never sets out his stall for what he wants, all the while lying to himself about why he's doing it so he can look himself in the mirror.
Zaraki Kenpachi may appear to be the unbeatable superbad, but most of his fights are won before any blows land. He beats his opponent psychologically, which is how he loses to Ichigo when Ichigo demonstrates he has something that Kednpachi has convinced himself that he doesn't want through bluster and reaction. The Zanpakuto is the strength of a Shinihami's soul, the source of their power, and somehow Kenpachi is so at odds with himself that his own sword refuses to disclose to him. His loneliness is his undoing, he knows it, and he breaks down like a lost little boy.
Chad is Ichigo's supposed right hand man, fights shoulder to shoulder with his friend, back to back. They'll always fight for the other. The pain he feels when he realises that his friend just doesn't seem to need him any more propels many of his later actions.
You mention childishness, but I would say that's one quality evenly spread out amongst the entire cast. They all have aspects of themselves that are grounded in idiotic teenager territory.
By contrast:
We've got Inoue constantly banging on about how weak she is
I've written a lot on Orihime upthread. It's worth noting that while she does bang on about how weak she is, her actions give lie to this. You can seldom take these characters at face value in what they say about themselves. Inoue is just very insecure, weak she certainly isn't.
Hinamori's fawning over Aizen
Which is something that he's created in her using arguably the most powerful Zanpakuto we've encountered thus far. The tragedy of Hinamori is that he's used her strength against her, her actions themselves are that of an extraordinarily strong person who has been driven mad by magic. Kira doesn't have nearly so much of an excuse as Gin's Lieutenant (although you could argue that they've been subject to the same hypnosis, he hasn't had it to nearly the same extent), but I don't see him referenced as a *weak* character.
Ururu (no matter how powerful she turns out to be) is freakishly subservient and spineless.
We still know practically nothing about Ururu... all we know is there is much more to her than meets the eye. There's something very, very nasty in there waiting to come out. I wouldn't like to judge her until all the facts are in.
Yachiru is portrayed as being ubercute and, well, a cheerleader?
Yachiru is Bleach's own Daigoro. Everything hint we've had about her is that she's terrifyingly powerful, we just haven't seen her fight yet. She's the 11th's Lieutenant over Ikkaku, and this cannot be seen to be one of Kenpachi's affectations. I think her power level is likely to be close to that of her captain's.
Nemu (Mayuri's lieutenant)... well... she's a fucking nightmare for feminism isn't she?
Not fully, because she isn't a woman in the conventional sense. Yes, it would have been refreshing to see the same character in a male body, but perhaps the subtext of domestic violence in the relationship wouldn't have been nearly as clear. And it's worth noting that when Mayuri isn't around she has no problem in rebelling against him.
Not that I'm saying that Bleach doesn't have its sexist elements, because it clearly does. However it's often a lot more complicated than just that, and it's refreshingly honest about it for the most part. You could argue that the entire of the Soul Society arc is just about the rescue of the princess from the high tower... but I think that's doing Rukia a rather large injustice as a character. She's not just some passive prize for the hero, she's a friend and comrade who has changed their lives pretty much solely through her strength of character.
Ultimately Bleach is the archetypal boy's own adventure. You're going to have sexist elements in that. But compared to most texts of its type I'd say it's pretty even handed. Feminist it ain't, but there are far easier and less slippery targets. |
