one of the sources i’m reading right now is talking about the nakahara jun’nichi illustrations, and how when discussing them he talked about how he drew the women he would never be, with these highly idealized features but in extremely realistic contemporary clothing. and the author discussed how that feeling was very different from a male gaze or sexualized view, and how it made girls who saw them also see this idealized girl they could never be.

since his illustrations are foundational in establishing modern manga aesthetic, i think it’s fascinating that girls in manga are still like that… an unattainable fantasy. i just saw it in the sailor moon panel i just reblogged. something i could never be. i think that all the time. the hair, the grace, the fashion, the body, the mannerisms. it’s an image to long for, not sexually, but as something to embody within oneself.

it’s also hard not to see a lot of Gender in nakahara’s statements and how different his art was from many other men at the time who had also women as their primary artistic subject. combined with how takarazuka inspired tezuka so much, it’s really touching to see how much about modern anime and manga aesthetic we may owe to wlw, to gender non-conforming women, and, potentially, to gender non-conforming men as well.