Norm follower or norm breaker? A study of the Manga series Ranma ½ from a gender perspective

The aim of this Master’s thesis is to examine how Ranma ½, one of the most popular Japanese Manga series, reflects the gender system in society. We have chosen to make use of two different gender theorists to determine if Ranma ½ follows the gender norms of society or not. The theoretical framework is based primarily on Yvonne Hirdman's theory of the two basic principles: the principle of dichotomy and the principle of hierarchy. Judith Butler's theory of performative gender is used as a complement. The method used is idea analysis of text with elements of image analysis. The idea analysis has helped us to get the ideas of masculinity and femininity as represented in Ranma ½. Our methodology allowed the use of a number of dimensions which were prepared after the thesis theoretical framework. The dimensions we chose to use in our analysis were the locations, tasks, properties, behaviour and status. The conclusion regarding Ranma ½ is that it both mirrors and breaks the surrounding society’s values on gender. There are parts of the series that enables you as a reader to interpret the series as norm breaking, but there are also parts that will enable us to interpret Ranma ½ the other way around, as norm following