aka What is an ojou? And why do I like them?

So I have started leaning into being "the ojou lover." But a lot of people don't even know what an ojou is! Or if they've engaged with a bit of anime, maybe they're vaguely familiar with some of the most obvious examples. As someone who is a particularly large fan of this archetype, I thought I'd write up a little explainer on the subject. This isn't meant to be definitive, and I definitely welcome people challening or expanding my ideas! But as a fan I've thought about it a fair amount, which is something.

This ended up getting pretty long, so here's the TLDR...an ojou character is generally one whose privileged upbringing leads to them being more refined and expressing themselves in a marked way (often but not always more humble/formal), and often socially separate from their peers. There are bratty ojous (generally antagonists), nice ojous (general supporting characters), and powerful ojous (an exception, but a very fun one).

I spent way too much time on this @_@

Ok, onto the fuller explanation...

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In Japanese, お嬢様 (ojousama) is a term of respect for someone else's daughter, with connotations of high class or nobility. It can also be used as a second person pronoun by butlers or service types--or in jest or even sarcasm (though that will often take the diminutive お嬢ちゃん (ojouchan) or just お嬢 (ojou), eg the name of this account). While my Japanese is decent at this point, I don't know the etymology of the world (I should spend some time on that!), I can only speak to how it is used in contemporary media

For people who haven't thought about this as much as I have (eg literally everyone), if they have an idea what an "ojou" is, usually they will think of a character like this

This is Nanami from Revolutionary Girl Utena, a classic ojou (shamefully, I still need to watch Utena :X), and often who people people first think of (at least, anime fans near me in age). So what defines this kind of ojou? Well, besides the over the top "ohohoho!" laugh, it is generally: being rich, being arrogant, and often being the enemy. In a lot of media, ojous were generally antagonists, a single person embodying entreched power structures and all that. The privilege of wealth bent towards their own petty needs.

Another characteristics that is often associated with ojous is "drills" (or ringlets). This is Sernia from Ladies vs Butlers, an ecchi comedy which, among friends, I will admit to being very fond of. And look at those drills!

This is the same dynamic we see with a lot of tropes...a trope is established then it becomes reinforcing, until there are really absurd examples as they push the tropes further and further, and play with the form of them, divorced of substance (or both, of course). I love them all!!!

Here's Mami from Madoka Magica, who has a very recognizably "ojou" aspect. But Mami is important here because she is not an antagonist! So what is she? She's kind, refined, courteous, cultured.

There are a lot of ojous like this, some more recognizably "ojou" than others. One of the first ojous to make me question more deeply what makes an ojou is Shiraishi from A Place Further than the Universe. A lot of what you might assume an ojou needs to be, well, an "ojou" eg nobility, or the scion of a wealthy family...but Shiraishi isn't. She isn't a princess, she's a child star. But she has the "vibes" of an ojou. But what is that vibe?

Well, similar to Mami, she is refined, and holds herself and presents herself in a more formal, more graceful way. Importantly, she is also "marked" compared to her peers...more formal (which comes up in the show), and also quite lonely. This gets at something else that I think brings a lot of different ojous together: privilege, and how that affects their relationships to others.

Privilege cuts both ways. Whether the character is evil or nice, the ojou's privilege often sets them apart from others. Their mannerisms (and often manner of speech, which is much more marked in Japanese) marks them as different. Different in a way that I think their peers would see as "better" in that "nobility is better than the plebes," but also is generally socially isolating. Ojou characters often are depicted as lonely, having highly controlled lives and never being given the chance to make friends.

Characters like this abound, and once you recognize the archetype, you realize it's actually super common. I recently finished D4DJ and the character Rei is this to a t, almost comically so...many shows will play up just how out of touch these characters are to comic effect: Rei is excited to eat instant curry, because she's only ever eaten food cooked by her family's personal chef.

Because they are often set apart from society, ojous are often not just refined, but restrained or shy. They're often painfully aware of how abnormal they are, and it can give them a bit of a complex, at the very least shyness. Akira Ono from Hi Score Girl is a good example of this...she doesn't speak through the entire show!

Of course, some nice ojous are still members of the nobility! Sophia from Hamefura is a great example. She is a noble, and she is refined and restrained (in fact, very shy). But it isn't being a noble that defines her...it is her mannerisms, and her ways of relating to others. For an ojou, being a noble or coming from a super rich family is incidental, they're just ways of establishing the character's particular source of privilege, why this character speaks in a marked way, why this character is different in this particular way.

So ojous can be cruel, bratty princesses...or they can be refined, noble, nice. But is that all? It isn't! This is my favorite example of an ojou that breaks the mold a bit, and helped give the final piece in my ojou ontology: Satsuki from Kill la Kill

Satsuki doesn't talk like an ojou. She doesn't look like an ojou. What does she represent? She is an ojou who knows the power that she has and is absolutely unafraid to wield it. She has that in common with the evil ojous, except instead of coming across as bratty and petty and often descending into self-parody, Satsuki is deadly serious, with global ambitions. That is to say, for most ojous, they benefit from and are grown up in the trappings of privilege...but instead of flaunting that, it is in fact the mark of their upbringing that they are particularly humble and refined (which ironically is what marks them!). Satsuki has the privilege, but doesn't bother to hide behind formality and humility. Why? Because she can and will kick your ass, that's why! (or have an underling do it--none of us are worth her time)

For me, this forms the core types of ojous I see most often. The bratty, antagonistic ojou; the nice, refined ojou; the powerful ojou. Any given character can draw from parts of these...and of course, ultimately, ojou is a vibe. "You know it when you see it." But when you see enough of them, you start to draw collections like this

But to me, I think the key is that ojous have a particular relationship to power, to privilege, and to their peers. They have privilege, but how do they use it? They've also generally received superior education and refinement, though of course it's now possible to have characters now who have an ojou vibe without an ojou background (though surveying the ojous that I've seen, the vast majority come from wealth and power in some form).

And even within one type, there can be a lot of variation! There are two ojous within the Idolm@ster franchise, Takane Shijou and Ranko (from Cinderella Girls). Takane has more of a classic ojou vibe...seems to be some sort of royalty or at least a very rich family, speaks in a refined way. The show gives her a mysterious vibe, so we never learn too much about her (sadly!! she's great)

Ok, I can't mention my beloved Takane without including this video. A musical interlude

In Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls we instead have Ranko. I think she is a very interesting example of an ojou, if she even counts...because she has some characteristics, but not others. Namely, she has the drills, and she definitely stands a bit apart from the rest...her way of speech, though, is super over the top. I mean many ojous speak in a more refined way, using a level of formal speech that is definitely marked. But she goes much, much farther. I think she counts as an ojou, though she represents how a trope evolves as it establishes itself and creators begin to play with the trope. In this case, leaning more into a gothic lolita vibe

Another interesting example is Victorique from Gosick. She definitely looks like an ojou, she has the hair, the noble bearing...but she doesn't speak in keigo. In fact, she speaks in a very direct, imperious way; she's a bit reminiscent of Satsuki in this regard. Which also can make sense: the nobility think of themselves as above, right? So they can also speak in an otherwise disrespectful way, as if everyone they're talking to is a servant. Most ojous I've talked about here, though, speak in a more formal and humble way...I suppose to them, the mark of privilege is not having to ask privilege. Why use something so vulgar as speech to express your dominance over someone, when you have wealth, privilege, refinement, etc? As an aside, there's actually a pretty interesting history to the way in which ojous typically speak in anime, but I think that's a topic for another thread...

As I've argued thus far, being an ojou is a vibe that is based in certain dynamics which then are expressed in various characteristics. Ranko from Akiba Maid War is an interesting example. I do not think she is an ojou...but she does have a bit of an ojou vibe. She speaks in formal keigo and has an extremely confident, assured gaze. While I think there is an argument to be made that she is not quite an ojou (though I am leaning towards letting her into the club), she has that sense of refinement and of "being separate" that mark a lot of ojous.

On the surface it makes sense that someone trying hard to be a maid would speak in the formal and stiff way that she does, but none of the other maids do...so in fact it establishes her as different, and gives her a bearing very different from pretty much anyone in the show. Ojou!!

At this point I can't talk about ojous without briefly bringing up VNs. Visual novels are great, it's a wonderful medium and I'm sad not to have played more...I have a hand injury (RSI) that makes all that clicking impossible. A big motivator for me pushing literacy in Japanese is so I can play VNs on auto mode (for the parts that don't have voice acting). Sigh. RSI really sucks. Regardless, there is a somewhat famous VN called Hoshiori Yume Mirai with a character named Misa. I wouldn't say she has the best route, but I loved her...because she is an ojou. She doesn't come from a privileged background, she isn't a noble or the scion of a powerful family...she's just sort of like that. And she's great. Honestly there are a lot of great ojous in VNs, sigh, RSI is the worst. Regardless, as with anything, sometimes media will simply draw on the form of an ojou. The trope is so established that you don't need some privileged backstory to have an ojou--they can simply talk and act a certain way and, well, they're an ojou.

So that is my spiel on ojous. I should emphasize here that for me personally, the way they speak is a big part of it. I have no idea how that comes across in English becuase I only really started getting into this after I learned enough Japanese to engage with Japanese media entirely in Japanese.

I've always loved sort of...more formal or more archaic forms of address. I love how characters speak in Chinese fantasy, and I love all of the stylized ways that characters speak in anime, ojous and otherwise. Ojous definitely count, using a more formal register (how formal depends on the character but almost always more formal than peers), using more formal versions of specifics words, and generally speaking with a heightened level of politeness.

Which gets into why I, personally, like ojous. I don't have as clear of a framework for this, honestly. "Because I do!" isn't very satisfying, but that's a part of it. But I think that the way I am drawn to that sense of nobility and privilege. I've always enjoyed fantasy depictions of nobility (part of why I've enjoyed Chinese fantasy so much!), and the ojou archetype plays off of that.

It's a versatile archetype that can support a lot of different types of characters, but all of them rooted in characteristics that I particularly enjoy. And often they have Japanese voice actors that I find very pleasing to the ear. Also, as someone who is sort of dealing with transness, ojous have served as a big point of reflection on feminininity and what it means to me. I appreciate their confidence and refinement, and can identify with that sense of being "apart" from their peers, while always holding themselves to a different, more refined standard (that sound pretentious, and growing up I definitely could be!). There are a number of characters in the post that I've had that sense of intense yearning to be.

I want to emphasize that I welcome critique, and if you have any feedback on what I've written, I'd love to hear it. Or if you found anything interesting and want to hear me expand on it etc, I'd be excited to do so. I think it should be obvious by now how much I like this archetype lol. If only there were more time in the day...

So to close out the post, I thought I'd include a smattering of other ojous I like!

Sayaka from Bloom Into You. In story some people even joke that she is an ojou, and went an "ojou middle school", meaning a private, all girls school that might also serve as a finishing school. In fact, such schools were a classic setting for early yuri stories, which Bloom Into You has to be referencing (and in fact some of those stories have classic ojous...I really need to watch Maria Watches Over Us)

Kaguya from Kaguya-sama is definitely an ojou. She is a mix of bratty and refined, part antagonist, and part love interest. The show plays with archetypes in a fun way, but she has all of the trappings of a classic ojou

お可愛いこと...

Mugi from K-on! is a very popular character. Sadly, a lot of alt-right types online like her...but I have resolved that I'm not going to give anime to the right wing, and I certainly won't give up Mugi! A classic high school anime nice ojou. Scion of a rich family, a bit out of touch...but kind, fun, and always down for tea time!

Reiko from Shomin Sample is a fun example...this is a stupid ecchi harem comedy, but it takes places in an ojou school. It is full of extremely naive, extremely cute ojous who are completely out of touch with reality, and Reiko is the best of them. It's a stupid show that's also very funny and I love it

Yumeko from Kakegurui I think is another one of those interesting cases where you have a character who has a lot of ojou trappings (refined mannerisms and speech, a sense of being privileged and apart), but a bit subverted. To me, she's a great example of how the trope can be used smartly to create space for interesting characters

Kyousougiga, a rather unique and beautiful anime, has two ojou characters, each a bit different. Yase is an ojou of the most classic mold--which is intentional, given her own relationship to her "humanity" (and her "monstrosity" as a demon)

Yase's mother, Koto, also has a very ojou vibe. There is sort of an overlap of ojou vibes with how mothers or older, powerful women are portrayed in anime...but suffice it to say, Koto speaks in a refined way, holds herself with dignity, and has that sense of privilege and apartness. And just look at that hime cut!

Picatrix from Warau Arsnotoria Sun is an archetypal ojou. Refined, almost certainly nobility of some sort...she expresses herself in a more elegant, more "feminine" way which marks her from her peers. As an aside, this was such a weird show...almost post-modern in its refusal to have a plot. Charming in a way, instead of cute girls doing cute things, it was cute girls doing...nothing. Such an odd show. But such a great ojou!

Code Geass is chock full of all types of princesses and ojous, in fact it has characters of each of the archetypes mentioned above! But I choose Leila, my personal favorite, from the Akito the Exiled OVA. Kind but strong, she uses her privilege to destroy her own privilege and to try and bring change to the world. An ojou's ojou!

Hyouka is a masterpiece of art direction, and Chitanda is such a great ojou! She's a good example of the types of ojous generally seen in more grounded shows, especially taking place in high school settings. The child of a wealthy and important local family, she is refined and steeped in local culture...while also dealing with the expectations that her family demands of her. 気になります！！！！！！

A lot of VN adaptations have ojous, probably because VNs have a lot of ojous. Walkure Romanze's Celia is an example of an ojou who doesn't have the speech patterns, or at least, her speech is a bit atypical. Why? Because she is a senpai in a position of power, so she doesn't use humble speech. But she does speech in a marked, more refined way (unlike Satsuki and Victorique, who are generally just very direct and rude). I want to find more characters that speak like that, because I love it. And just look at those beautiful curls!

The same show also had a minor character, Bertille, who was much more in the "bratty antagonist" vein. A fun constrast to the strong (but with a heart of gold!) Celia, though largely a punchline in this ecchi harem comedy (though ultimately she has a pretty wholesome arc with the main crew)

Shine Post blew me away with the quality of its character arcs and writing. It also is a nice last anime to go with, since it had an interesting dichotomy. One of the characters, Rio, has an "ojousama" stage persona, referring to herself as Rio-sama in the vein of the more powerful type of ojou mentioned above. But ironically, her character isn't really very ojou-ish. But there is another character who is!

Kyouka isn't "an ojou" in universe like Rio is (at least on stage), but she has all of the mannerisms of an ojou. And is a good example of how shows can utilize trappings of the archetype without it "meaning" anything. Kyouka's background isn't really part of the show, nor is anything particularly "ojou"ish. But she definitely holds herself in an ojou-ish way. Hopefully by now you know what that means! Also, I have to say, if you're at all curious about idol anime, Shine Post is a fantastic entry. It's very grounded and character driven

I'm always looking for more ojous...I have a giant list of anime to watch, but am down for suggestions. I'm particularly interested in manga, or better yet, in non Japanese media. If you can think of any media in any medium that you think has a character that you'd call an "ojou," I'd love to know! (though Chinese media would be particularly amazing)

you might call this my "magnum ojoupus"