The Portrayal of Modern Masculinity of Shinobu Ijuuin in Haikara-san ga Tooru

Abstract

Masculinity is a male construction in a person. The masculine quality in a man does not appear as it is when he is born but is constructed by the culture. According to Schroeder, the new modern masculinity has different characteristics compared to the traditional masculinity known by most people. According to Howes, the traditional masculinity has  nine masks that men have to ‘wear’, which are the stoic mask, the athlete mask, the material mask, the sexual mask, the aggressive mask, the joker mask, the invincible mask, the know-it-all mask, dan the alpha mask. On the other side, Schroeder wrote seven characteristics of modern masculinity which can be considered as the result of taking off the masks, which are valuing self-awareness, non-conformist, not competing with each other, valuing authenticity, showing vulnerability, acting according their values, and motivated to grow. The purpose of this study is to understand the manifestation of modern masculinity reflected in the character Shinobu Ijuuin in the anime Haikara-san ga Tooru released in 2017. Based on the results of the analysis that refers to the seven characteristics of modern masculinity, it can be concluded that the male protagonist Shinobu Ijuuin is presented as a character who has characteristics of modern masculinity that are different from most depictions of men in that era.