Thoughts and challenges in writing
Apr. 15th, 2015 09:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bjornwildeThis is mostly me thinking out loud and trying to get a few things down for potentially playing Izana. Spoilers for Knights of Sidonia are likely, so I'm including a cut. As well, my rambling will focus on the culture presented in the anime (i.e. a fictional Japanese culture) and speculations on writing a transgendered gender neutral character. If I screw up and offend in this, I apologize now. (Sorry, gender neutral is a better term for the character than transgender).
OK, first up the culture.
Do I present her name as Izana Shinatose, as in the English dub, or Shinatose Izana as in the original anime and manga? Going with the more traditional form of putting the family name first has potential to cause confusion in characters not used to Japanese culture, which could be amusing to play with. Izana strikes me as being polite enough not to correct people mistakingly calling them Shinatose. I base this on one character in the anime insisting on calling them Mr. Izana; though the person in question was trying to get the affections of the male lead and saw Izana as a threat, thus using Mr. in order to reduce the threat.
The next thing to consider is how much of Japanese culture do I emulate? The anime is set 2,000 year from now, in a space ship that hasn't been on Earth, or other culture, for a 1,000 years. Cultural shift is bound to have happened, so I think I will pick a few things (such as honorifics or body language) and follow how the characters in the anime act otherwise. For instance, there is not a lot of bowing, even to superior officers.
The anime also doesn't show any hint of religion. Not once does a character mention god or gods, not even as curses when scared or fighting. There is one scene where Izana and Nagate (the male lead) are shown paying respects in something that looks an awful lot like a temple, but there are no idols or a shine in evidence, and there are funeral traditions. This is leading me to think the culture honors their dead/ancestors but doesn't believe in god(s).
Next up, writing someonetransgender gender neutral or a third gender.
This is proving more challenging than I thought. I have to keep rereading and rewriting things, as "she" keeps slipping in. I blame the fact Izana develops breasts after falling in love with Nagate in the later manga books. They and them just seem awkward to me, as I tend to think of the pronouns as plural. I know this is not the case and it is just me fighting the habit. I do wish English has gender neutral terms.
I am nervous about the future of writing romance for Izana. It's nothing I have planned, but something I feel I owe the character to consider. I think I am just going to keep my ear open for Izana and if they tell me they are attracted to another character, then will I be sure to see if Izana feels a homosexual attration for them or a hetero attraction, and adjust things accordingly. It's the only way I can think of honestly working with the potential she has to emulate male or female sexual characteristics and not make her heteronormative, as the anime and manga do. I mean, why have a third gender if you are just going to make them female?
OK, first up the culture.
Do I present her name as Izana Shinatose, as in the English dub, or Shinatose Izana as in the original anime and manga? Going with the more traditional form of putting the family name first has potential to cause confusion in characters not used to Japanese culture, which could be amusing to play with. Izana strikes me as being polite enough not to correct people mistakingly calling them Shinatose. I base this on one character in the anime insisting on calling them Mr. Izana; though the person in question was trying to get the affections of the male lead and saw Izana as a threat, thus using Mr. in order to reduce the threat.
The next thing to consider is how much of Japanese culture do I emulate? The anime is set 2,000 year from now, in a space ship that hasn't been on Earth, or other culture, for a 1,000 years. Cultural shift is bound to have happened, so I think I will pick a few things (such as honorifics or body language) and follow how the characters in the anime act otherwise. For instance, there is not a lot of bowing, even to superior officers.
The anime also doesn't show any hint of religion. Not once does a character mention god or gods, not even as curses when scared or fighting. There is one scene where Izana and Nagate (the male lead) are shown paying respects in something that looks an awful lot like a temple, but there are no idols or a shine in evidence, and there are funeral traditions. This is leading me to think the culture honors their dead/ancestors but doesn't believe in god(s).
Next up, writing someone
This is proving more challenging than I thought. I have to keep rereading and rewriting things, as "she" keeps slipping in. I blame the fact Izana develops breasts after falling in love with Nagate in the later manga books. They and them just seem awkward to me, as I tend to think of the pronouns as plural. I know this is not the case and it is just me fighting the habit. I do wish English has gender neutral terms.
I am nervous about the future of writing romance for Izana. It's nothing I have planned, but something I feel I owe the character to consider. I think I am just going to keep my ear open for Izana and if they tell me they are attracted to another character, then will I be sure to see if Izana feels a homosexual attration for them or a hetero attraction, and adjust things accordingly. It's the only way I can think of honestly working with the potential she has to emulate male or female sexual characteristics and not make her heteronormative, as the anime and manga do. I mean, why have a third gender if you are just going to make them female?
