Hello, Everyone! The Spring Season is officially underway and with that, I’d also like to announce that I shall be resuming my full-time duties as a blogger here at Star-Crossed Anime. And for my long-awaited homecoming, I have decided to blog the adaptation of a manga which is very near and dear to my heart: Arte. So, without further ado, let’s begin!
This week we saw Arte trying to adjust to her new life as an art apprentice. Master Leo agreeing to take Arte under her wing had come as a shock to the prominent artists of Florence and a pleasant surprise for Arte herself. But this week, she realizes that her battle has only just begun. Leo-san assigns her the task of getting together supplies to renovate the shed she has to live in, while being under his apprenticeship. So, she heads out to do just that. All the people she meets shrug her off or put her down just because she is a girl and they don’t approve of her doing things which they believe are only suitable for men. She gets disapproving looks from both men and women when they see her dragging a cart full of chopping-wood along. Seeing her struggle to carry her heavy load, one upstanding gentleman going by the name of Angelo Parker, decides to help her out. He cleans up her wounds and in a gesture of good faith, offers to help carry the wood as he realizes that a job like that was too difficult for a girl. And that’s when Arte reveals itself to give a glimpse of the story it actually intends to tell.
You see, Arte is a Feminist show. Capital ‘F’ and all. Now, HOLD ON! Don’t run off just yet!! I know the kind of reputation the F-word seems to have built up against itself. But, just hear me out here. Arte is not concerned with portraying all men as bad or evil. It’s not anti-men or anything like that. It’s just anti-sexism. And as a girl, the most frequent form of sexism that you encounter everyday actually comes not by evil men trying to put women back into their places but instead, in the form of casual, well-intentioned actions. When Angelo offers to help Arte, he thinks that he is just being chivalrous; he believes that he is doing the ‘gentlemanly’ thing. Because that’s how he’s been raised. Among sisters and a mother who all depend upon him for even the smallest of daily tasks. He believes that it is a man’s job to serve as the provider. To take care of the women around him and treat them like ladies. It’s just in his nature. But he has never realy considered the possibllity that maybe not every girl wants to be treated like a lady. Not every girl wants to have her tiniest of needs tended to, so that she can get manicures and look pretty for her man.
Just like Angelo’s father says when talking about his daughters: “If we can’t find good men to marry them to, they’ll struggle for the rest of their lives.” He says so without ever having asked what his daughters actually want for themselves. As if their opinions never even matter in the first place. And that’s what Arte intends to do, as a story. It intends to give these women a voice. It’s a reminder that this story may be about a time and a place from hundreds of years ago but the issues which were prevelant then are still relevant today. It’s just that now, many more women have learned to speak up for themselves.
The B-part of the episode saw Arte facing further difficulties in her quest to become a painter. She is refused entry into Master Danilo’s workshop for the sole reason that she is a girl. But Arte refuses to just accept such unfair treatment and back down. So, he pretends to come to a compromise. If she could carry ten clay bags to the back of the workshop, he’d allow her to paint. The moment that Arte tries to lift the first bag, she realizes the magnitude of the trial she was being made to endure. But she is stubborn. She does not want to give up just like that. Because she knows that that’s the difference between society’s treatment of men and women when we make a comparison based upon physical strength. If a man fails at a task that requires physicality, it’s because the task was too hard for one man. If a woman fails at that same task, it’s because she is a woman.
By mustering up all the strength in her body to barely lift the bag up to her waist, looking un-ladylike as can be, she appears to be the very antithesis of the stereotypes which seemed to have held women down for generations. And, in that moment, she is also a reminder of what Master Leo said and what girls & boys alike must always remember: “If you put your mind to it, you can do anything.” And for that, you can’t help but be proud of her.
With that, Arte’s story has finally begun and I can’t wait to see where it takes her next week. Hope you’ll come along for the journey!
This was a nice analysis for the episode, and don’t worry, I knew what kind of feminism you were referring to, having dealt with some of those “Tumblr feminists” myself, and I’m a girl!
I feel like I want to like this show way more than I actually do. 🙁
As much as I like “strong female characters dealing with obstacles”-type stories, if she’s just going to get told she can’t do things because she’s female every week and then prove them wrong, I can see it getting boring fast. I’ll give it one more episode because I really *want* to like this show.
I wish they would use the historical setting of the story more. Series like Vinland Saga or Princess Principal really made their historical setting come alive and feel like another time and place. Here, it feels like the characters are modern-day Japanese people (complete with bowing, etc) doing a play.
Oh, thanks Firechick! I always try my best to incorporate my own real-life experiences into my analysis instead of making them into standard reviews. Glad you liked it! ^_^
There is definitely an advantage to personalizing a review with backing it up with experience , because it shows that the show is something that succeeds in forming a good connection with its audience.
Oops, didn’t mean my last comment to be a reply to you! Sorry about that.
I understand that this is the kind of show which would leave viewers polarized. You’ll get more enjoyment out of it if you’ve yourself encountered preferential treatment or prejudice in any form. Not just on the basis of gender.
As for where the show is headed, I like to keep my analysis spoiler-free so, I think it’s best if you were to read up a few chapters ahead in the manga and see what you find 🙂
I’m female though. In a male-dominated profession to boot. I normally love series like this, and want to love this show too, but…hmm, I don’t know. It’s just not grabbing me. I really want to like it though, so I’ll wait until the third episode to make up my mind or check out the manga. Thanks for replying!
Oh, okay. Yes, maybe give it an episode or two. What I can tell you is that the episodes’ format won’t keep on repeating and the show will delve into art and the process of painting (not in as in-depth detail as Blue Period but still).
Though, yes. The series does wear its feminist themes on its sleeves. And that is something which will not change going forward.
Much like the series itself, you’re review carries the same level of sincerity when it comes to the female angle.
I think there’s probably no getting around that alot of anime…manga with historical settings…are…well going to probably still feel cartoony…and very anime.
Also, I know that its only just the trigger for the story to start, but being the absolute un-repentent Pinko I am, I do like that she abandoned her social class.
@Armitage: ywn no Leo boyfriend why live… ;m;
Thanks, Kaiser! 🙂
And well, You’re right about most anime and manga not being accurate portrayals of Historical eras. Only a handful few get it right. The Innocent Rouge manga does more justice to a French setting than Arte imo, but that’s something I can overlook in favor of the kind of story that it wants to tell.
And yes, Leo-san is such a treasure!
Oh, okay. Yes, maybe give it an episode or two. What I can tell you is that the episodes’ format won’t keep on repeating and the show will delve into art and the process of painting (not in as in-depth detail as Blue Period but still).
Though, yes. The series does wear its feminist themes on its sleeves. And that is something which will not change going forward.
I love the setting of the show, it’s something I haven’t seen since I watched Romeo no Aoi Sora a few years back. Also I like Artes energetic personality and her cute expressions, but unfortunately im not enterily sold on the show yet.
The way the author tries to tackle the feminist agenda is rather clumsy, at least in these two episodes. While being a girl was extremly hard back then, choosing to portray Arte as a noble girl clashes with the reactions she gets from society. Her family being extremly contra with her becoming an artist is of course understandable, but no one lower than her in the 16th century social hirarchy would dare to rough up and insult a lady of noble birth when she tries to become your apprentice, or wants to sketch your sculpture. They would politely decline her probaly, but offending the aristocrats she represents in these instances would damage their reputation wih their employers (who are of noble birth themselves). Of course the show doesn’t need to be 100% accurate regarding this, but it at least greatly deminished my enjoyment from these 2 episodes, breaking my immersion on multiple occasions. On another note, while (noble) females becoming offical apprentices to maestros is indeed rather unheard of, them learning to draw or becoming a quasi desciple isn’t that terrible rare amongst female aristocrats, so seeing all those exagerated reactions was kinda off putting at times (especially al those “but you’re a girl ones”).
Also as someone pointed out her behaving like a japanese person in a historical european setting is rather strange to look at.
But all that negativ stuff aside, it still manages to be entertaining enough at this moment to continue. I’m looking forward to your weekly reviews, let’s see how the show turns out the next few weeks.
Thanks for pointing out what you felt are shortcomings for the series.
It seems to loosely be based upon Artemisia Gentileschi, who was a renowned painter during the Renaissance-era. You can read up on her but I’d forewarn that it’s not a pleasant read. She too was met with great resistance and disapproval when she moved to Florence to pursue painting. She was born in Rome and her father died in her teenage years, so no one in Florence really knew that she was a noble. To them, she was just a woman vying for a man’s job. So, I feel that barring some dramatization, the series does end up representing her experience pretty aptly.
I wish I liked the show more. I am really on board with the feminist approach of any show, and that has been Arte’s most prominent factor, but damn it isn’t subtle at all. I did the count and there were roughly 27 times in this episode where someone mentions something about “being a girl” – Meaning for every minute the show feels the need to bash the message of sexism to our head at least once. I hope Arte can tone it down in later episodes because sometimes it’s just way toooo much, like this (https://starcrossedanime.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/HorribleSubs-Arte-02-360p.mkv00002.png)