InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "It either is or it isn't"

the escaped logician (cadence) wrote,
@ 2009-01-23 10:38:00

Rec me things!
...Hey guys! This is a rec me new things to read/watch/play post!

Anime, manga, video game, TV show, movie, book. Anything, really, although if it's a video game it might take me longer to get to it. ^^; Doesn't have to be new. Just give me some stuff I might like!

The only criteria I am imposing for this is that it must have:

1) Multiple interesting female characters.
Not a smattering of female side characters. Not one who is The Love Interest. Not one woman among the half-dozen protagonists/antagonists. Multiple interesting female characters. In equal proportion to the male characters would be ideal.

2) Interesting m/f relationships.
Not necessarily romantic. Maybe they're partners, working together. Or maybe they're friends. Or rivals. Or something twisted and broken. Or maybe it is romantic, but in a real and unique way rather than Hollywood!heteronormative. I am flexible. And again, multiple sets of relationships wouldn't hurt.

Note that I am not saying that things that don't meet these criteria can't be good; I know they can. But anything about which the question "Are there any women at all?" can be reasonably asked (which I think I have heard about, like. three canons I was considering, lately) is turning me off horribly right now. (Even if the answer is "Yes! ...A few.") So.

...I will start things off by once again reccing Soul Eater. ^_^;

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mitsuhachi
2009-01-23 01:34 pm UTC (link)

You might enjoy Wagaya no O-inari-sama. The main character is a kitsune, so she switches gender, but usually wears a female form, guarding a pair of brothers (high-school and elementary aged) because she loved their mother. There's also a sentinel-miko, who's one of those character types that is super-competent and awesome in battle, and then fumbles around awkwardly in normal life; It's one of my favorite archetypes, and you don't usually see it in a female, which is kind of cool, though I don't know how you feel about that. There's a recurring non-human adversary/side character I can't tell you a lot about because it's spoilery, but she's kind of adorable and awesome and sometimes evil and a really alien mindset that you might like. <3 There's also the prerequisite school-girl-with-a-crush, who isn't my favorite, but isn't that bad all things considered, either. Also, apropos of nothing, there is a baby fox. Who is kind of toxic levels of cute.

It's not very shippy (though the kitsune and the boy's dad have some interesting undertones, imo), and is usually pretty light and fluffy, but it's funny and cute and I think you'd like it.

Also, it's super-old and you may (probably?) have already read it, but on the off-chance you haven't? Tolkien's works might interest you. Galadriel runs her own kingdom, and in the silmarillion you get to see her tell the gods and the heroes of her homeland to fuck off, pretty much, and runs off to start it up herself with her lover. Arwen and her grandmother (great-grandmother?) Luthien both defy their people and their families to go off and have adventures and rule kingdoms with their mortal lovers. But particularly, I think you'd enjoy Eowen in the Two Towers and Return of the King, and her relationship with Aragorn, the way she wants him in a romantic sense, somewhat, but mostly she wants him to be her general, to go and fight and win glory and follow him into battle and yeah. She's kind of fabulous.

I'd rec digital devil saga, but I'm pretty sure you've played it?

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	sheffiesharpe 2009-01-23 01:58 pm UTC (link)
	A thousand seconds to the Tolkien rec, just because it's all awesome. And a few more books: Sacred Country and The Colour by Rose Tremain Ahab's Wife and Sherlock in Love by Sena Jeter Naslund (Reply to this) (Parent)

regicidaldwarf
2009-01-23 02:25 pm UTC (link)

So, after reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy I tried to read the Silmarillion. And I was running into the problem where it was so incredibly dense I could only get maybe a third of the way through it, because I would come back and realize I couldn't remember anything from the past entire chapter.
To be fair I was in 7th grade at the time and it might go easier if I tried again now, but I feel like I should say that I couldn't get through it.

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	mitsuhachi 2009-01-23 02:27 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah. I've heard a lot of people say that. And the diction isn't for everyone. But I love it. shrug YMMV (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

regicidaldwarf
2009-01-23 02:31 pm UTC (link)

It wasn't even so much the diction! It was more the massive amounts of detail that were absolutely overwhelming - especially the huge genealogy lists that I couldn't possibly remember because everyone's name was exactly the same. ^^;

I'm not trying to tell anyone not to read it though, just saying why I personally had trouble with it. And yes, a lot of it all comes down to personal taste.

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cadence
2009-01-23 02:48 pm UTC (link)

It sounds like Wagaya no O-inari-sama has some character types that I can go either way on, depending on the treatment, but I am sure it can be interesting.

As for Tolkien, I've actually only read Fellowship of the Ring, and that took me approximately forever to get through for other reasons (admittedly I was reading it in high school), but it was my understanding that he has his some of his own issues with the treatment of women? Much of which can be attributed to the time period, but still. Basically what I am trying to avoid with the "multiple" requirement here is the... exceptionalist one badass female among a bunch of men trope? I'd really like less "look look women can do things too occasionally ha" and more just... natural interactions, like people have, even when they're women.

Also aha, I have... started a playthrough of DDS, but at this point I am so spoiled for and overexposed to it that I'm having trouble making progress. >_>;

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