History UsefulNotes / GenderAndJapaneseLanguage

* ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'': Ryuunosuke Fujinami has been raised to be a man amongst men -- handsome, tough, and aggressive. Too bad ''she's'' against the idea. However, her father's training has been so thorough that she can't help but slide into the masculine role... a conflict personified when she angrily protests "''Ore wa ONNA da!''" -- i.e. "''I'm a WOMAN!''", using the most masculine construction possible.
In an anime episode where Lum finds herself traveling between several alternate dimensions, she finds one where everybody is a polar opposite of their original forms. Thus, Ryuunosuke is now a boy, wearing a girl's uniform, and tearfully proclaims "''Atashi wa otoko yo!''", a very feminine way of saying "I am a man!"\\

* In ''Manga/KOn'', with the exception of using the gender-neutral pronoun ''watashi'' to refer to herself, Ritsu Tainaka utilizes quite masculine Japanese in her speech patterns (e.g., using the ''yagaru'' suffix when she's annoyed, ending sentences with the informal suffixes ''-e'', ''-n'', ''-da'', and ''-daro''; and never using feminine suffixes such as ''ne'' and ''wa''). She does use feminine pronouns from time to time, but it's usually when she's being sarcastic and/or tries to play innocent after having been accused of something ("Who, me?")
** When she has to play the part of [[Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet Juliet]] in the school play, she's forced to use feminine speech patterns. But then she continues to speak that way even backstage, gets very flustered when she realizes it, and claims that she was still in character.

** In an anime episode where Lum finds herself traveling between several alternate dimensions, she finds one where everybody is a polar opposite of their original forms. Thus, Ryuunosuke is now a boy, wearing a girl's uniform, and tearfully proclaims "''Atashi wa Otoko yo!''", a very feminine way of saying "I am a man!"

There are, of course, exceptions to these general rules, with actual usage varying somewhat between different dialects, situations, and speakers. However, in media, a character speaking in a manner that does not traditionally fit their sex adds a different dimension to him or her that non-Japanese speakers would miss.

* In ''Manga/KOn'', with the exception of using the gender-neutral pronoun ''watashi'' to refer to herself, Ritsu Tainaka utilizes quite masculine Japanese in her speech patterns (e.g., using the ''yagaru'' suffix when she's annoyed, ending sentences with the informal suffixes ''-e'', -n'', ''-da'', and ''-daro''; and never using feminine suffixes such as ''ne'' and ''wa''). She does use feminine pronouns from time to time, but it's usually when she's being sarcastic and/or tries to play innocent after having been accused of something ("Who, me?")

** The titular character finishes his sentences with "''dattaba'''yo'''''", while his mother finishes her sentences with "''datteba'''ne'''''". This fits with the feminine and masculine; otherwise they basically talk the exact same way.