The aestheticization — dare I say fetishization — of female pain reaffirms the conditions that made girls sad in the first place. Simply put, the Sad Girl reeks of complacency.

When someone mentions “shojo anime,” most people think of sparkling romances, school days, blushing protagonists navigating first loves, or gentler fantasy worlds, with the leading exceptions being ...

No anime embodies this rule more than Claymore, as, despite its immense potential, the anime adaptation failed to do the entire manga justice. Written and illustrated by Norihiro Yagi (who also ...