Anime Thread #3: You Can (Not) Repost

[CesarAugustus]

That’s an amazing eva reference

The anime I am watching right now is Akane ga Kill is pretty good but with a typical action storyline and some fan service.

It appears to me that yuri forms of anime seem to be heavily influenced by lesbian romantic relationships.

Do think you it’s to normalize the LBTGQ movement in Japan by showing Japanese youth that it is an acceptable behavior.

Also I felt that Attack on Titan was overrated as an anime overall along with Sword Art Online?

In the recent two years in this (and other) anime threads there has been some discussions about yuri.

Yes, these type of series contribute to the normalization of homosexuality.

Speaking of Attack on Titan, some time ago, a staff member from the anime production confirmed the presence of a lesbian couple.

Basically, a lot of series have some or other problem, for example, fanservice and nudity, or yuri adnd yaoi, etc. Some of the series you mentioned (SAO, Akame ga Kill) and the one that this thread title references have some of these problems too.

Because of that, is better to read before watching a series. Now, there are various blogs that cover each episode form a given series, making content warnings, and there are sites like anidb, baka updates and tvtropes that can be heplful with that.

God bless you!

 

[CesarAugustus]

Speaking of One Punch Man, in the second or third episode there is a character that is basically a girl in body paint, so there is a warning about that. Also, some of her dialogue is rather vulgar. I’ve read that there is an homosexual character in the manga, but I don’t know if is going to appear in the part that the anime is going to cover.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

Welp, I’m finally finished watching Kami-Sama Hajimemashita Season Two. Maybe now, I can finish watching Sound: Euphonium.

I honestly didn’t think I’d like any ‘new’ shows, but I like these two, and Shiro Bako. It doesn’t seem like One Punch Man is for me, so thanks for the warning.

 

[ironchapman]

In the recent two years in this (and other) anime threads there has been some discussions about yuri.

Yes, these type of series contribute to the normalization of homosexuality.

Speaking of Attack on Titan, some time ago, a staff member from the anime production confirmed the presence of a lesbian couple.

Basically, a lot of series have some or other problem, for example, fanservice and nudity, or yuri adnd yaoi, etc. Some of the series you mentioned (SAO, Akame ga Kill) and the one that this thread title references have some of these problems too.

Because of that, is better to read before watching a series. Now, there are various blogs that cover each episode form a given series, making content warnings, and there are sites like anidb, baka updates and tvtropes that can be heplful with that.

God bless you!

As far as yuri and LGBTQ stuff go, I wouldn’t rule out working for the normalization of homosexuality at this point, but at the same time, I think you’re looking at this through the prism of what’s happening in the West.

Vaguely (or perhaps not so vague) homosexual feelings during puberty are seen as something many teens just go through and work themselves out of as they mature in Japan. This is partially due to the very reserved nature of opposite sex communication relative to communication between peers of the same sex. There’s also an aspect of exploring one’s sexuality. It’s seen as something that happens and people typically grow out of. Obviously, many anime and manga play up this aspect for people who are into that stuff, but out homosexuality of the kind that exists in the West, especially among adults, is still something of a taboo or laughing matter (which is why lesbian or gay stalkers are usually joke characters) in Japan.

This differs greatly from the traditional Christian and Western beliefs, but we’re dealing with a culture that does not have a firm grounding in those values.

Make no mistake, there are plenty of people who would like to change that to the way it has become in the West, but they still aren’t terribly influential at this point, including among anime/manga fans.

 

[CesarAugustus]

As far as yuri and LGBTQ stuff go, I wouldn’t rule out working for the normalization of homosexuality at this point, but at the same time, I think you’re looking at this through the prism of what’s happening in the West.

Vaguely (or perhaps not so vague) homosexual feelings during puberty are seen as something many teens just go through and work themselves out of as they mature in Japan. This is partially due to the very reserved nature of opposite sex communication relative to communication between peers of the same sex. There’s also an aspect of exploring one’s sexuality. It’s seen as something that happens and people typically grow out of. Obviously, many anime and manga play up this aspect for people who are into that stuff, but out homosexuality of the kind that exists in the West, especially among adults, is still something of a taboo or laughing matter (which is why lesbian or gay stalkers are usually joke characters) in Japan.

This differs greatly from the traditional Christian and Western beliefs, but we’re dealing with a culture that does not have a firm grounding in those values.

Make no mistake, there are plenty of people who would like to change that to the way it has become in the West, but they still aren’t terribly influential at this point, including among anime/manga fans.

I’ve read about that, but recently, they are featuring more of these types of content, and not only as comedy or for villains, as was more common years ago.

Still, among the western fandom, yuri and yaoi have a sizeable following, also, while is possible that indoctrination isn’t exactly in the minds of some authors, the effect on some viewers is works like that.

God bless you.

 

[Tenofovir]

Any My Neighbour Totoro fans here?

Well I came across a rather dark story theory behind the movie.

You may not want to watch these links if you don’t want to spoil the film for yourself in terms of possible darker undertones it may have:

English explanation:
youtube.com/watch?v=6K-lwHYR0j4
Japanese discussion (in English):
youtube.com/watch?v=Uo4rOGd3Z54
Some related stuff:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayama_Incident

Now Studio Ghibli has denied any connections and anything more ominous or tragic going on in this film.

Who Totoro is and what other elements of the film represent are here:
nausicaa.net/miyazaki/totoro/faq.html

What is more obvious and more likely, and confirmed by Miyazaki (who has quite socially conservative views) himself, is the dark undertone behind Spirited Away. Which arguably is a good thing to point out too.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

No way will I read those links, especially since Studio Ghibli denies whatever it may be, especially as I am a huge fan of almost the entire Miyazaki/Ghibli catalogue.

 

[Tenofovir]

Do think you it’s to normalize the LBTGQ movement in Japan by showing Japanese youth that it is an acceptable behavior.

Also I felt that Attack on Titan was overrated as an anime overall along with Sword Art Online?

I think there are several reasons for yuri in anime.

One is to keep male characters away. Most fans (and these are usually shy males) want to be the center of attention for the girls in anime and so having male main characters and even romantic interests would be a negative. The introduction of crushes from girl to girl perspective then does not become as threatening because at heart the viewer believes the girl is still a girl who would probably choose him.

To go with above, it’s a plot device to introduce the shy otaku likes girl but can’t tell her. Often the yuri character is too shy to admit anything to the other girl. Yet romantic (and here it’s usually mildly romantic - think crush level stuff without any sexual stuff) themes are explored.
The otaku viewer gets to see emotional displays which he may not be able to see in real life because of his negative social status with women.

Girl-girl relationships usually shown in most of these shows (shows like A Certain Scientific Railgun, Is the Order a Rabbit, Yuki Yuuna etc) are very tame. They border on admiration or comic relief and they’re most often one sided and unrequited with the other character either being oblivious or reacting VERY negatively to any advances. In Railgun this leads to an inevitable reaction of anger and a violent slap down.

In some anime which are more perverted I would think yuri is there for more kinky reasons but again without any male characters to upset the otaku’s fantasy.

All in all I don’t think most of these anime are about making Japan more lesbian friendly. These are often niche shows and they’re not mainstream.

Now there has been a mainstream show made about a lesbian couple in Japan, of the live action variety and Japanese Lesbian groups have criticised it because it seemed to (according to them) focus too much on the romance/libido aspect of the relationship thereby in their view perpetuating that lesbians should be seen through that type of lens. They wanted more every day ordinary stuff. It’s still a big thing though compared to Western shows where lesbianism and homosexuality is more openly presented in TV shows.

 

[Tenofovir]

No way will I read those links, especially since Studio Ghibli denies whatever it may be, especially as I am a huge fan of almost the entire Miyazaki/Ghibli catalogue.

Yeah.

I do think the Totoro urban legend connection is way off. It’s reading coincidence into a story and as per the one link, one Japanese commentator said that Miyazaki does not think that far ahead when constructing his films and Ghibli gives explanations for things as per the FAQ link or cost cutting.

Spirited Away has a more social commentary inspiration which on the whole seems to be positive because Miyazaki actually criticises one possible undertone of the film.

 

[jilly4ski]

Happy New Year everyone!

Anyone watching anything good?

I am watching Beautiful Bones. It is great so far. It is sort of like Bones the TV show, but she works with the police in a more unofficial manner. The style and story telling remind me a lot of Ghost Hunt (which I loved) but without the supernatural elements. It is definitely a mature adult show. It is graphic (death) and deals with pretty adult themes. (Death, crime, suicide (but in a good way), and other topics). I am only 5 episodes in so that all I can vouch for.

The second half of Snow White with the Red Hair is supposed to start soon, I am excited for that.

I watched two of the new shows for last season (?). The Chivalry of a failed knight and Asterisk War. I wouldn’t really recommend either of them. They were essentially the same story: Pink(red?) haired Tsundre princess with a male character that seems substandard but has amazing hidden powers. They fight and then become friends. Other female (and some male and adult) characters are introduced for some harem overtones. In Chivalry, the character clearly chooses the female, so the the harem is mostly shut out, Asterisk is more vague and more of a harem. They have to fight in dangerous tournament style fights to reach whatever their goal is, and each run into obstacles etc. Blah, blah, blah, standard tropes, etc. Of the two, I though Chivalry was better executed, the story seemed slightly fuller and more meaningful. Asterisk, built this extensive background world, but it was almost meaningless to the story. Both used extensive female nudity to “capture” its audience. I thought Chivalry seemed to lay off the nudity for a while, but then brought it back full force (when they thought they were losing their audience?), Asterisk has some almost every episode But they are so similar, I am having trouble keeping them separate in my head.

So they were rather mediocre, mindless, harem shows with too much nudity.

 

[Tenofovir]

For budding (and other animators) Live2D has a sale on their Cubism Editor Pro/animator package. Just leaving this here since we had at least one graphic designer person who followed this thread

It’s on sale until Jan 31 for $240, down from $1,200. Live2D is a system which allows one to animate 2D drawings easily without having to create 3D models and they look just like 2D models … there are already some Japanese games and a few anime using it.

They have a free version and a trial version available too but the sale version is the full pro version. Maybe one day we’d see a nice non perverted Christian friendly anime / game come from this

live2d.com/en/about/whats_live2d

 

[Tenofovir]

Happy New Year everyone!

Anyone watching anything good?

I am watching Beautiful Bones. It is great so far. It is sort of like Bones the TV show, but she works with the police in a more unofficial manner. The style and story telling remind me a lot of Ghost Hunt (which I loved) but without the supernatural elements. It is definitely a mature adult show. It is graphic (death) and deals with pretty adult themes. (Death, crime, suicide (but in a good way), and other topics). I am only 5 episodes in so that all I can vouch for.

The second half of Snow White with the Red Hair is supposed to start soon, I am excited for that.

I watched two of the new shows for last season (?). The Chivalry of a failed knight and Asterisk War. I wouldn’t really recommend either of them. They were essentially the same story: Pink(red?) haired Tsundre princess with a male character that seems substandard but has amazing hidden powers. They fight and then become friends. Other female (and some male and adult) characters are introduced for some harem overtones. In Chivalry, the character clearly chooses the female, so the the harem is mostly shut out, Asterisk is more vague and more of a harem. They have to fight in dangerous tournament style fights to reach whatever their goal is, and each run into obstacles etc. Blah, blah, blah, standard tropes, etc. Of the two, I though Chivalry was better executed, the story seemed slightly fuller and more meaningful. Asterisk, built this extensive background world, but it was almost meaningless to the story. Both used extensive female nudity to “capture” its audience. I thought Chivalry seemed to lay off the nudity for a while, but then brought it back full force (when they thought they were losing their audience?), Asterisk has some almost every episode But they are so similar, I am having trouble keeping them separate in my head.

So they were rather mediocre, mindless, harem shows with too much nudity.

While I agree that the nudity fanservice is present in Asterisk to some degree most of the series was above board. Still (some of) the characters are cute and well drawn and the opening song is one of my favourites. I even imported the Japanese CD. It’s performed by Maaya Sakamoto.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

Finished Hibike! Euphonium. I really enjoyed it, especially the music and the ‘Fab Four’ leads. And Sensei’s character.

I haven’t started back in on Snow Whitel but Askerisk and Chivalry sound like neither is for me.

 

[Tenofovir]

Finished Hibike! Euphonium. I really enjoyed it, especially the music and the ‘Fab Four’ leads. And Sensei’s character.

I haven’t started back in on Snow Whitel but Askerisk and Chivalry sound like neither is for me.

Both Asterisk and its clone are not particular bad fan service anime. They’re not above average in that department.

However,
Haruchika may be more your cup of tea.

And of course Sora No Method - coming to Bluray / DVD in North America, soon.

 

[jilly4ski]

Both Asterisk and its clone are not particular bad fan service anime. They’re not above average in that department.

However,
Haruchika may be more your cup of tea.

And of course Sora No Method - coming to Bluray / DVD in North America, soon.

You are probably right, I have just been spoiled lately watching good anime, that doesn’t use too much fan service. If you can get over that, they are fun, pretty mindless animes. They were nice time diversions at the time.

 

[CesarAugustus]

You are probably right, I have just been spoiled lately watching good anime, that doesn’t use too much fan service. If you can get over that, they are fun, pretty mindless animes. They were nice time diversions at the time.

What do you mean by nudity in these series?

There are many definitions some sites use. Uncensored? topless?

I think that if is these two definitions, these shows would be definitely not recommendable.

Regarding Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, the series looks very interesting.

God bless you!

 

[CesarAugustus]

Both Asterisk and its clone are not particular bad fan service anime. They’re not above average in that department.

However,
Haruchika may be more your cup of tea.

And of course Sora No Method - coming to Bluray / DVD in North America, soon.

Haruchika?

I thought it was going to be good, but reading how the first ep. ended, with the possible romantic triangle, and the male protagonist being bisexual, I decided to not watch it.

God bless you!

 

[CesarAugustus]

Finished Hibike! Euphonium. I really enjoyed it, especially the music and the ‘Fab Four’ leads. And Sensei’s character.

I haven’t started back in on Snow Whitel but Askerisk and Chivalry sound like neither is for me.

What did you though of the relationship between Kumiko and Reina?

Friendship? possible romantic undertones? I remember the discussions when episode 8 aired and people arguing about that.

God bless you!

 

[jilly4ski]

What do you mean by nudity in these series?

There are many definitions some sites use. Uncensored? topless?

I think that if is these two definitions, these shows would be definitely not recommendable.

Regarding Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, the series looks very interesting.

God bless you!

Everything was “censored” but some of it was everything but… They were pretty heavy in the beginning and then the fan service dropped off a bit, contained in the obligatory fan service episode midway through to keep the audiences attention. But there was one particularly bad episode, in I think “Failed knight,” where the female character gets fever and then they get caught out in a storm and take shelter, where then the boy has to remove her clothing (because it is wet). It is pretty bad, to redeem it a little bit, the boy takes the opportunity to explain to the girl that they will not have sex until they are married (or at least declared/engaged), as part of his moral code, then the fan service almost disappears. In asterisk, there is more panty flashing and heaving bosoms, generally, with the almost nude scenes spread out more, to changing rooms and one harem character’s shower scene. That is why I do not particularly recommend the series, and the fact that they weren’t particularly well done, just typical harems, or almost harems, fighting school shows, with lots of common tropes. But some people more easily move past fan service, than I do, and it is censored (hair, steam, clothing, well placed bystander or foliage). Without the fan service, they are pretty mediocre animes, but somewhat fun, time wasters.

Shirayuki, is awesome, I was so glad to see the animation clean up a bit as the first season when on, and I hope it continues at the higher standard. I read the manga of that one, so it was fun to see it animated.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

What did you though of the relationship between Kumiko and Reina?

Friendship? possible romantic undertones? I remember the discussions when episode 8 aired and people arguing about that.

God bless you!

If you were looking hard for something bad, I suppose you could see it.

I saw it as passion awakened toward music, toward being serious about goals…don’t want to really post spoilers, but Kumiko starts out as a rather sullen girl, and ends up with something to strive for.

On ep 3 of Shirayuki. Love it!