I also want to formulate some sort of thesis about monstrous bodies and strength in shounen: how strength is directly tied to monstrosity, particularly in the villains, but how even heroic strength is frequently tied in with bodily abuse or breaking down your body to build it up again (an extended metaphor of how we build muscle?).
You could probably tie this into Western superhero comics as well; look at all the male heroes who have monstrous bodies-- Beast, Swamp Thing, the Hulk, the Thing, etc., and the relatively few female heroes who do (although they do exist, like Marrow.)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Thu, Nov. 13th, 2008 11:29 pm (UTC)I also want to formulate some sort of thesis about monstrous bodies and strength in shounen: how strength is directly tied to monstrosity, particularly in the villains, but how even heroic strength is frequently tied in with bodily abuse or breaking down your body to build it up again (an extended metaphor of how we build muscle?).
You could probably tie this into Western superhero comics as well; look at all the male heroes who have monstrous bodies-- Beast, Swamp Thing, the Hulk, the Thing, etc., and the relatively few female heroes who do (although they do exist, like Marrow.)