7. How Women’s Manga Has Performed the Image of ASIAs, Globally and Locally

Asia was an untouchable arena for many mangakas of shōjo manga in the 1970s, said Keiko Takemiya, one of the leading mangakas who led shōjo manga at that time. Shōjo manga seems to have maintained the farthest distance among other genres of manga from the concept of Asia—even now, owing to its appearance, which is often called the shōjo manga style. Although the narrative portrays Asia, it just betrays its setting by making every ideal character Western with long legs, round eyes, and blond curly hair. However, it is also true that the number of works dealing with Asia has increased and now there are many works considered as masterpieces in the history of shōjo manga. As Gayatori C. Spivak remarks, Asia is not a place, yet the name is laden with history and cultural politics that it cannot produce a naturalized homogeneous “identity.” This chapter will explore Asian images that shōjo manga has historically employed as a genre, considering how they exclude and include Asia with the concept of the global and the local.