Anime with Gender Role Reversals

Are you tired of watching folk tales and fairy tales? Did you know that aside from these kinds of movie styles, there are still a lot more that a film maker can do to promote his work? In today's Digital Age, a film maker can take an animal as a human, talking and doing things like a real human and a human as an animal. But how about the Flip of one or more male roles to the women and female roles to the men, does it fit? Is it an issue?

According to an article Gender Flip, sometimes the remake of a work may involve Gender Flips, which may be due to societal changes on the Sliding Scale of Gender Inequality that would allow a formerly-male to be an Action Girl instead. Occasionally, the Gender Flip occurs with a work that's already in development wherein due to the actor's sudden unavailability, it is the women who is given the role of men. The results can be particularly interesting in these cases, as the written role may be almost completely unchanged. 

I think these kinds of scenario is a challenge for both men and women because they're going to face and do something which they are not fond of doing. For me there is no negative issues about it because it sometimes make a viewer laugh. As a viewer, we became open to what is happening around and we are given new ideas which are uncommon. 

Absolute Boyfriend (Riiko)

This anime features a female protagonist forced by the events of the series to choose between two or more equally appealing suitors, in a gender-reversed version of the Harem Anime scenario. In this anime, the protagonist named Riiko is very oblivious to love which is in opposite of the traditional women who are very careful and self-conscious.

Shakugan no Shana (Shana)

This is a story of a high school student named Sakai Yuuji who was saved by a sword-wielding girl in black attire with flaming red eyes and hair that burns like embers of which she calles herself a"Flame Haze" who hunts the "Guze no Tomogara", creatures from another world. This anime features the female protagonists named Shana as a warrior who protects the male protagonist Yuuji from all evils which is not the usual set-up. Normally, It is the guy who saves a girl. But in this anime, its reversed.

Mai-HiME (Tate Yuuichi)

The only masculine male protagonist in this anime, is constantly frustrated by the fact that he is completely helpless compared to all the girls despite his kendo skills. This anime features Tate Yuuichi as someone who is weak despite his abilities which somewhat pulling the traditional view on man in the society downward.

Cardcaptor Sakura (Yukito)

This anime featured Yukito as a man who acts too weak and quiet compared to Sakura's brother Touya and Sakura itself. 

Fate/stay night (Saber)

Saber is a strong young woman who doesn't care about her gender. She is also determined and courageous in achieving her objective as a warrior. She has a stubborn personality and appears to become very uncomfortable whenever she is treated as a girl. This anime featured Saber as someone who acts as a man and not as a woman who serves as the protector of the male protagonist named Shiro Emiya. This attribute of her is normally of men.

Ah! My Goddess (Urd)

Urd is very impulsive. Her impulsiveness often makes her act first without fully considering the consequences. She is quite short tempered for a goddess, and is rather easy to irritate and anger. As a Goddess, she doesn't care about her sexy suits. She is very open and proud of her sexuality, evidenced by her provocative dress. Her first appearance to Keiichi Morisato was through a semi-pornographic video.

For me, having a movie or anime with gender reversals is not much of an issue because at the end of the day, the satisfaction of the viewers is what matters. All of these anime depicts gender reversals which is the opposite of the traditional culture. Although these are in opposite of what are really the practices, it still does give us a view of what is currently happening in the Philippine society on women and men wherein there are working moms and stay-at-home dads.