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The List - 8 Reimagined Fairy Tales

Interesting and I kind of do remember reading a Chinese Cinderella.

I think my main issue with the Grimm's version of the fairytales is the way women are written. And you have the whole ugly people are evil, pretty people are good, etc.

zeo1fan wrote:

Kohii wrote: Black Rabbit is up so high because people overrate "Problem Children". Also, it was a weak list of candidates, other than Usagi. Now, if the list had been "Favorite bunny... girl", then Mikuru would've taken the (carrot) cake. Black Rabbit is a humorous, intelligent character. Mikuru is notably lacking in depth (and not actually a rabbit).

Lacking reading comprehension, are we? The only interesting part about Black Rabbit was the fact that Shiroyasha made it so her skirt would show as much of her legs as possible, without actually showing her panties. I thought that was very clever and funny. Other than that, zero development in that one-speed show.

Oh, it's a VERY extreme example. I'm just trying to point out that men admitting to that sort of thing might be subjected to a large variety of reactions. The whole "society teaches men to attach negative connotations to femininity" statement comes across to me as one choosing to think worse of something centered around the habits of men rather than trying to understand why it's like this. It's probably less so within the subculture that is anime, which is a niche interest in the first place, but you still get that slight stigmata that I don't think a lot of women really understand.

Or, in a lot of cases, men are just afraid that women might do so. It's generally a huge gamble, and prone to a long string of interpretations and misinterpretations.

Look, I'm not saying the things I've written are completely correct. I'm just throwing some thoughts out here in the hopes of maybe getting a bit of a perspective on this subject.

Maidenoftheredhand wrote:

Just want to point out that while Princess Tutu didn't do well at first, word of mouth actually changed that. I am pretty sure Princess Tutu was definitely a success for ADV in the end.

That's good to hear.

Princess Irene: I think you'll appreciate Snow Queen as well, then, since it's a show where the female protagonist (Gerda) heads out on a long journey to save her (male) best friend, Kai, who was taken away by the Snow Queen.

Hell, the Snow Queen herself isn't really an antagonist. She basically spirited Kai away so he wouldn't fall prey to the evil of the mirror shard, and is actively working to resolve that problem.

And yes, pedophilic Hisoka gets my vote as well.

And yes, pedophilic Hisoka gets my vote as well.

Yeah, that is a real issue with the original folklore - or at least in the versions that got recorded. The first "Little Red Riding Hood" story (France) has Red as a teen doing a striptease for a werewolf and saving herself - it was meant to be funny. Then Charles Perrault (the French equivalent of the Grimms) rewrote it as a rape allegory and the Grimm version, while allowing her to be saved, makes it so that she has to be saved by a man. So yeah, not so good on the women front.

Ah My Goddess is based on pagan Norse mythology, doesn't that count as well? I would have thought.

Mohawk52 wrote:

Ah My Goddess is based on pagan Norse mythology, doesn't that count as well? I would have thought.

I'm guessing they represent works based on actual old literal works rather than merely a representation of pantheon. Ah! My Goddess may be losely based around a set of mythological characters, but as far as I can tell, none of the stories I've seen OR read has had anything to do with any older written works of Norse mythology outside of maybe a quick callback of sorts.

So no, it probably doesn't count.

That's the earliest recorded version of "Cinderella."

Yeah, that is a real issue with the original folklore - or at least in the versions that got recorded. The first "Little Red Riding Hood" story (France) has Red as a teen doing a striptease for a werewolf and saving herself - it was meant to be funny. Then Charles Perrault (the French equivalent of the Grimms) rewrote it as a rape allegory and the Grimm version, while allowing her to be saved, makes it so that she has to be saved by a man. So yeah, not so good on the women front.

But then you have "The Robber Bridegroom" where the heroine saves herself and by exposing her evil fiance stops him from preying on more women, so there are exceptions.

(But if you really want to be horrified, look at tale type 704 - Sensitive Brides.)

Also, thank you! I like to hope my class is interesting for the students. They pay much better attention if it is...and if I'd stop teaching at 8 am, but oh well.

Northlander wrote:

Mohawk52 wrote: Ah My Goddess is based on pagan Norse mythology, doesn't that count as well? I would have thought. I'm guessing they represent works based on actual old literal works rather than merely a representation of pantheon. Ah! My Goddess may be losely based around a set of mythological characters, but as far as I can tell, none of the stories I've seen OR read has had anything to do with any older written works of Norse mythology outside of maybe a quick callback of sorts. So no, it probably doesn't count.

No less than Sailor Moon.

Mohawk52 wrote:

Northlander wrote: Mohawk52 wrote: Ah My Goddess is based on pagan Norse mythology, doesn't that count as well? I would have thought. I'm guessing they represent works based on actual old literal works rather than merely a representation of pantheon. Ah! My Goddess may be losely based around a set of mythological characters, but as far as I can tell, none of the stories I've seen OR read has had anything to do with any older written works of Norse mythology outside of maybe a quick callback of sorts. So no, it probably doesn't count. No less than Sailor Moon.

The Sailor Moon manga actually does tie itself a little more directly into greek mythology by explicitly stating that the characters are goddesses, referring to Usagi's mother as 'Selene', including Chronos as Pluto's father, etc.

Do you have any recommended physical copies of fairy tale collections that stay true to the original stories, rape allegories and all? I'd love to purchase some that haven't been edited down for content.