marge simpson anime is a graphic zine by Soolagna Majumdar. Subtitled The Liberation of Marjorie Bouvier, it's a wordless exploration into the mind of Marge Simpson - yes, that Marge Simpson - as she comes to terms with her sexuality and her dissatisfaction with her marriage.
It can be read online on Tumblr
, or can be bought as a zine at the author's Storenvy.
marge simpson anime provides examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Homer's routine choking of Bart is treated as a source of tension in the family, implied to be a major contributing factor to Marge's dissatisfaction with her marriage.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: The story focuses on Marge's loneliness and her dissatisfaction with her marriage, eventually leading to her and Homer getting divorced. On top of that, she was in love with Maude and took Maude's death worse than in canon.
- Adaptational Sexuality: Whereas Marge is heterosexual in the show and in a loving relationship with Homer, the comic has her fall out of love with Homer and get into a romantic relationship with Maude (until her death) and by the end, Manjula, both of whom were also straight in the show.
- Art Shift: The zine is mostly in a realistic, painterly style, but occasionally changes to a style more similar to the original show whenever Marge is reflecting on her life.
- Dark Fic: The zine focuses on Marge's character and loneliness without the humor or levity of the cartoon.
- Dead Sparks: Marge feels this way with Homer. She's lonely without any friends and without a spouse that's there for her. Pages 7 through 12 heavily imply that they have a falling out and finally divorce, with Homer moving out and Marge getting custody of the children.
- Distant Finale: The final page shows Marge and her kids several years in the future.
- Never Trust a Title: The comic doesn't have much, if anything, to do with anime. Most of the art isn't animesque either.
- Plot-Triggering Death: Maude's death serves as the trigger for Marge's journey into self-discovery.
- Promoted to Love Interest: Marge's amicable but seldom seen friendship with Maude is turned romantic.
- Second Love:
- Maude is this to Marge. She did love Homer, but she's long since fallen out of love with him.
- Manjula counts as Marge's Third Love after Maude's death. They're shown happily together in the epilogue.
- Sympathetic Adulterer: Marge briefly cheats on Homer with Maude before the latter's death, having long since lost any attraction to Homer she once felt.
