In the Clear Moonlit Dusk
Episodes 1-2
by Caitlin Moore,
How would you rate episode 1 of
In the Clear Moonlit Dusk ?
Community score: 3.9
How would you rate episode 2 of
In the Clear Moonlit Dusk ?
Community score: 3.7
By the end of the quarter, you should have a good working understanding of the story of In the Clear Moonlit Dusk, the motivations of the characters, and its place within shoujo manga. Using that knowledge, you will be able to think about and come to your own conclusions about whether Yoi's desire to be perceived as more feminine reinforces regressive beliefs about gendered behavior, or if the series presents a more nuanced exploration of feminine and masculine presentation. Where will it fall? I don't know! We're exploring it together.
The key to reading a shoujo manga is to find the tensions. Shoujo manga tends to focus on more personal, intimate stories, romance or otherwise; even in grand epics, the camera tends to focus in on the interpersonal and interior. For In the Clear Moonlit Dusk, at least one tension is obvious: the tension between Yoi's androgynous presentation and her desire to be seen as beautiful and feminine. Due to her “handsome” rather than beautiful features, she tends to draw other girls who describe her as “princelike,” when, as a heterosexual girl, she seeks to attract a boy who treats her as a princess.
There is an unintentional tension, however, in the character design and animation. The adaptation by East Fish Studio is rather unfortunate, in that it lacks nuanced character animation and expressions. Did you notice how characters rarely move their mouths and the rest of their bodies at the same time? In the scene where Yoi and Ichimura are lying in bed together, there is no sense of the weight of her body against his, or vice versa. The aforementioned tension comes from the fact that other than her haircut, there is little about Yoi that looks masculine, or even androgynous. She has a heart-shaped face with a narrow chin and large eyes, and her body type is slender, but with thin shoulders and a small waist-to-hip ratio.
Discussion question: Shoujo tends to have lower animation quality because it's more focused on dialogue than action. In what ways does this hinder the growth of shoujo anime in today's industry? And is this true, or does stiff animation hinder storytelling in character-driven series?
Let us highlight another source of tension: Yoi and Ichimura's relationship. Ichimura calls Yoi beautiful when he first meets her, and proceeds to pursue her romantically. However, Yoi finds herself trying to hold him at arm's length. Ichimura, however, regularly pushes at her boundaries, such as princess-carrying her in the park after the two of them fend off a would-be robber, or crawling into the nurse's office bed with her when she has a fever. Despite his rather aggressive approach, he promises never to cross a line and violate her. Yoi must, therefore, constantly renegotiate the line between what is permissible and what is a true violation of her boundaries as he pushes her out of her comfort zone.
While Yoi's supposed androgyny has left her without romantic experience, Ichimura has a reputation as a playboy. However, his previous entanglements appear to have lacked real emotional connection. While he is experienced physically, he too puts up barriers between himself and others to conceal that he comes from a wealthy family. He expresses interest in Yoi, who represents a break from the typical for him. His friends chortle about how it's odd that he's attracted to a girl who looks like a boy, but her androgyny fascinates and draws him in. In an unusually frank expression of sexuality for this early in a shoujo story, he expresses curiosity about what she might look like with her clothes off.
His blatantly sexual interest is not the only unusual occurrence in these episodes. In your school romance, characters date either after a long courtship or a period of brief but intense attraction. While Ichimura says that his feelings for Yoi may be close to love, Yoi does not (yet) appear to reciprocate. If anything, she's put off by his aggressive advances. However, at the end of the episode, she agrees to date him, “just to try it out.” And here we have new sources of tension: the difference in intensity between Yoi and Ichimura's feelings, and how she is thrown off-balance by his aggressive flirtation against her own reservations.
Discussion questions: Is Ichimura's pushing at Yoi's boundaries part of him treating her like a girl? Is having boys and men ignore one's bodily autonomy an inherent element of women's experiences?
That's the end of this week's class! Your homework: find three shoujo manga where a masculine lead feels pressured to act more feminine. That pressure may be internal or external. Thanks for coming, and see you next week!
Rating:
In the Clear Moonlit Dusk is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
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