In this article, I address some female characters which are popular on TV in Japan. It seems that they are attractive because they represent various factors of the confusion of old gender stereotypes. In this article, I will consider this positive character of the confusion in terms of (A)gender and sexuality in families in modernity, (B)tensions between cultural diversity and gender issues, (C)citizen, government, fighting and gender, (D)the positions of subject and object. And also I will try to seek theoretical and practical possibilities that animation can provide some “imaginary spaces” for psychologically repressed people to restore positive images of themselves.

In the 1990s, Japanese anime sophisticated both the visual and voice databases for character creation. These two databases usually cooperate in a complementary manner in order to construct characters in the audio-visual medium. However, there is still always the possibility that they operate inconsistently. And sometimes, a brand-new character type is born from the inconsistent and varying combinations of the visual and voice databases. An outstanding example of the phenomenon is Haruka Tenou, one of the most popular characters in the TV series Sailor Moon (1992–97). In contrast to the otaku consumption suggested by Hiroki Azuma, feminist alternative readings of the work have been activated by the “queer” Haruka and her successors. These inconsitently animated and dubbed characters have been cues for the alternative possibilities of gender and sexuality.

Early Disney heroines such as Snow White fit neatly within a patriarchal view of society in which women are confined to passive roles centered around the stereotypes of the good wife or wise mother whose skills are mainly centered around housework. These heroines seldom take the initiative to change their fates and instead are often portrayed as beautiful heroines meekly awaiting rescue by princes. On the other hand, today's Japanese animated films such as those produced by Studio Ghibli are notable for their active female roles. Yet this does not necessarily imply simply that modern Japanese screenwriters are affirming the independence of women. Upon closer examination, it is clear that especially in the films directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the female characters fit into one of two types: first, active young girls, and second, earth-goddess like "Big Mother" characters. The large gap between these two extremes is interesting in the way in which it seems to express the peculiarities of the screenwriter's views on gender roles.Here, I will examine the portrayal of gender roles in Disney films and compare them primarily with films directed by Hayao Miyazaki to arrive at an analysis of the state of gender representations in today's animated films.