The Girl at the Center of the World: Gender, Genre, and Remediation in Bishōjo Media Works.

The essay analyzes the origins of the shojo, the symbol of femininity in Japanese anime and manga works, and examines how the shojo's gazing eyes work to address the viewer or make demands as portrayed in "The Garden of Sinners," a collection of theatrical films. The films reveal how a woman's gaze can be misinterpreted, and how the paradigm of bishojo, referring to young and pretty girls, can complicate the female character with an ambiguous sexuality, neither female or male, but wields power.