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Animes Created by Women

The history of anime began with the discovery of animation techniques by Japanese filmmakers in France, Germany, the United States, and Russia in the early 20th century, and animation, which could offer alternative storytelling to movies, became very popular in Japan during this period.


Animes are short/long drawings drawn in the Japanese art of drawing. And adaptations of manga in general. According to TDK, it was translated into Turkish as a "Japanese Cartoon". In Japanese, the word means "Animated Caricature."


In the 1970s, manga drawings attracted a great deal of attention around the world, and most of the drawings were used in animations; especially Osamu Tezuka has become a legend and the "God of Manga". But how much do we know about “female mangaka” and female directors in this deep-rooted culture? We have listed the manga written or directed by women for you.



YURI!!! ON ICE

Director: Sayo Yamamoto

Author: Sayo Yamamoto

Manufacturer: Mapa

Year: 2016


The biggest success of famous female anime director Sayo Yamamoto is Yuri!!! Ten ICEs.


Yuri!!! On Ice manages to portray in the most convincing and realistic way possible, one of the rare universally loved sports anime and the vastness of space and all the mental turmoil of the athletes participating in competitive ice skating competitions. It is also one of the rare anime that tells the love story between two men without BL.



LIZ T0 AOI TORI (LIZ AND THE BLUE BIRD)

Director: Naoko Yamada

Author: Rico Yoshida

Producer: Kyoto Animation, Namco Arts Band, Pony Canyon

Year: 2018


Naoko Yamada is another of the most appreciated female auteurs in the anime world.

While illustrators generally prefer exaggerated and prominent drawings in character drawings in the anime world, Naoko Yamada does the opposite by focusing on the thin body language of her characters.


The feature-length “Liz and the Blue Bird” is perhaps the best example of such an attitude. In this movie, we watch an amazing anime in which a wide variety of non-verbal emotions are expressed simply through the skillful portrayal of the characters.


Naoko Yamada is also one of Kyoto Animation's key creative heroes, and one of her works, K-On!, is one of the studio's highest-grossing productions. His feature film A Silent Voice was critically acclaimed.



FREE!

Director: Hiroku Otsumi

Author: Masahiro Yukotani

Producer: Kyoto Animation, Animation Two 2013 year


“Free!” The anime story revolves around a high school swim team and chronicles the challenges swimmers must overcome during competitions.


Like many sports anime, "free!" It's also a kind of maturity story. Throughout the series, the audience will realize how mature the main members of the swim team are when dealing with both the sport of swimming and puberty.


Also known as the "Swimming Anime", Free! is the studio's first anime to target women as an audience. Hiroko Utsumi, who was previously the assistant director of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya anime, is free! He directed the first two seasons of the series. The directors, who later took over the project for the third season and movies, could not achieve the same success as Suzumiya.



KEKKAI SENSEN (BLOOD BLOCKADE BATTLEFRONT)

Director: Rie Matsumoto

Author: Casonao Forvia

Manufacturer: Bones

Year: 2015


“Kekkai Sensen” has many movies and TV shows. Also known as Blood Blockade Battlefront in English, only one season of this series was directed by a female director and in our opinion, it is the best season of the series. Also, season one has one of the best closing themes.


Matsumoto is a director with a great knack for creating gorgeous, energetic, and visually complex scenes. All this can be seen in the most complete possible way in the ”Kekkai Sensen” series as well. The battle scenes are fast-paced and portrayed as artistically as possible by Bones Studios.


Set in a failed post-apocalyptic' New York, the series beautifully brings the supernatural to our tangible reality. The series is an anime full of spectacular battles between characters with mysterious powers and goals.


The second season is a supernatural series shot in the backdrop of New York and is very successful, but it is known that the first season, directed by Rie Matsumoto, did not come close to the glamorous passion.


SORA YORI MO TOOI BASHO (A PLACE FURTHER THAN THE UNIVERSE)

Director: Atsuko Ishizuka

Author: Joki Hanada

Producer: Madhaus

Year: 2018


A Place Further Than The Universe is the story of four girls who achieve incredible things. And Antarctica is a great place for them!


The idea of a few 'anime girls' exploring Antarctica may seem strange at first glance, but you'll agree with us when you see the development of the characters and what they've accomplished in the series. Because each of them has their own reason for embarking on this journey. It's a fun series and also very touching. Prepare the wipes for the final sections.


Atsuko Ishizuka is a director who has created a good resume for himself by signing works such as Supernatural: The Anime Series and No Game No Life. It's probably the best job he's ever done with A Place Further Than The Universe.



SAYONARA NO ASA Nİ YAKUSOKU NO HANA WO KAZAROU (MAQUIA: WHEN THE PROMISED FLOWER BLOOMS)

Director: Mari Okada

Author: Mari Okada

Producer: P.A.Works

Year: 2018


While we rarely come across female directors in anime, we come across female screenwriters more often. One of the most productive female screenwriters is Mari Okada. Okada, who has written many unique animes from Black Butler to Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, is making his directorial debut with the fantasy movie Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms.


The story of an immortal girl who adopts a human boy and remains young as the boy grows older, this anime is as powerful as Okada's other works.



LUPIN THE THIRD: THE WOMAN CALLED FUJIKO MINE

Director: Sayo Yamamoto

Writers: Marie Okada, Itsuku Miushi, Dai Sato, Shinsuke Onishi, Junji Nishimura

Manufacturer: Tiamas

Year: 2012


The Lupine series has hosted many prominent talents in the anime industry. Even Hayao Miyazaki... The series is the story of Le Pen, a cute and carefree thief who commits various robberies and always tries to be one step ahead of the police.



A SILENT VOICE

Director: Naoko Yamada

Authors: Rico Yoshida

Producer: Kyoto Animation

Year: 2016


The film, which tells the story of a character who realizes his shortcomings and seeks his individual salvation, also asks the audience thought-provoking questions about what it means to live with a mistake and what price will be paid to overcome it.


The worldwide success of "Silent Voice" also brought worldwide acclaim to Naoko Yamada.



K-ON!

Director: Naoko Yamada

Authors: Rico Yoshida

Producer: Kyoto Animation

Year: 2010


“K-on!” It's actually a casual story about cute girls doing funny things.


Still, we're dealing with a pretty well-executed series with realistic characters, a cheerful tone, and great animations. As the characters go to different places doing different things and learn a lot along the way, the story becomes a realistic and believable representation of their own lives.


Although the level of excitement in the anime is low, the "sense of progress" is among the most remarkable factors in this series, which includes a series of characters with great personality development.



MICHIKO VE HATCHIN

Director: Sayo Yamamoto

Authors: Takashi Ojita

Manufacturer: Manglob

Year: 2008


This amazing anime series by Sayo Yamamoto is a bizarre adventure story about a 'troubled' woman named Michiko Malandro who goes on a journey with her daughter Hatchin to find her ex-boyfriend. What stands out most in this anime are the bold aesthetic elements used by the actors.


The outfits Michiko wears are so stylish and different that she becomes a model among her fans. The South American atmosphere and the special soundtrack of the series, "Michiko and Hachin", give it its own artistic tone in the anime world.


At the center of the story is the connection between Michiko and Hatchin. The audience slowly sees the evolution of the relationship between the two and the challenges they face during this adventurous journey.


 

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