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this is my blog, a cool blog for my JPT 1311 class.

[lafufucrashout]

Your Name. & Hetalia: Peace and Cringe

I really enjoyed Your Name.; as I watched it, I didn’t really take any political message, but I don’t think I was really looking for one. The story and the visuals were nice, and I felt like I was taking a break from class. As I reflect on my viewing now, that feeling of taking a break is still the message that I’m getting. Maybe it’s because I’m burning out for the semester, but I genuinely felt like that was the point of the movie. The characters switch places with each other, taking breaks from their own lives and seeing new perspectives on the world, the city, and the countryside. Even after all the work they do to save the town, their memories fade like they’re getting away from it, completely unburdened by what they went through. In the end, they are even eventually reunited. I understand the points made in the lecture about gender and how the movie is very conservative. Maybe it just isn’t relevant enough of a topic in the movie for my brain to care to talk about, though, because, much like the characters in the movie, I keep forgetting what I’m looking for.

Hetalia, on the other hand, was not a good watch. I was in elementary school when this show was popular, and my sister (5 years my elder) was super into anime. When this show was popular, she was all over it. I still remember her shipping Germany x Italy, and gushing about it all the time. She’s still into anime to this day, and she is one of the reasons I took this class, even though I’ve never personally been into anime. Memory lane out of the way, when I saw Hetalia on the list of anime to watch at the beginning of the semester, a part of my soul died. After watching it, my consensus is that it obviously has some incredibly offensive tropes and stereotypes, and the show’s portrayal of a kind and cutesy World War II-era Germany is so far beyond a weird, deeply messed-up take. Honestly, though, I remember what the world was like when this show was coming out, and this was one of the less offensive pieces of media from the time. Overall, I found Hetalia to be just as weird, cringe, and offensive as I remember it from my elementary school days. I feel blessed never to have to disgrace my eyes with this show’s presence again.

Finally, RIP to my 2 Crunchyroll free trials.

[bradenmmiller]

Hello lafufucrashout! I thought your ideas about Your Name and Hetalia: Axis Powers were great. I also really enjoyed Your Name, and thought it was a great anime to relax in the final module of this course. I loved how you brought up the idea of forgetting what you are looking for. I too, struggled to really think about what I was looking for in this film. But, I also thought the film was very interesting, and a great dive into, as the lectures said, the tactical polyvalence of discourse and force relations within society. As for Hetalia: Axis Powers, I thought your ideas were very interesting. I too think some of the stereotypes and representations in this anime are off-putting and weird, and too far removed from the actual countries to be labeled as representations (instead, they could be simulations, as they have a sign but little reference to the signified). Maybe the anime wanted its viewers to take it in a comical manner, but that is still hard to do when the representations related to real people living in these real countries. But, I suppose the best thing to do is to take the anime in a light-hearted and nonserious way. Overall, I loved your response to both these anime. Thanks lafufucrashout!

[bradenmmiller]

Your Name, Hetalia: Axis Powers, and Sensoron.

This module was a deep dive into nationalism, shared culture, and the influences on nationalism as a device for contemporary societies. Overall, I believe these two anime, Your Name and Hetalia: Axis Powers, and the manga Sensoron intersected with this deep dive very interestingly, in a way which will allow me to more critically examine future media I consume.

I'd like to start with Your Name. I thought this anime was one of the most beautiful I have watched so far in this class. It had great visuals, animation, and overall a plot I thought was fun to watch. The main thing that resonated with me while watching Your Name was gender identity between the two protagonists as they were switching bodies. It felt to me that the anime was almost a critique of masculine and feminine identities, as when the two protagonists did switch bodies their actions were portrayed as comical in the other's body. But this comical performance in my mind was also the critique for normative gender roles, and almost a dive into gender performance, that is, gender is not something someone is, but rather is something one does. After watching the lecture video and learning of tactical polyvalence of discourses, I now recognized the anime in that fashion, that Your Name had a tactical polyvalence of discourses over the concept of gender identity.

Secondly, Hetalia: Axis Powers was definitely a more comedic approach to expressing ideas. For starters, while watching this anime, the first thought that came to my mind was how these boys were exaggerating some stereotypes of different nations. The most prevalent notion that came from this idea was the fact that this exaggeration of stereotypes delegated nations into one singular set of expressions, and that, in my opinion, did not truly represent the people living in such nations. But, it also expressed these exaggerations in a light-hearted, not very condescending manner. And so, I was conflicted in watching Hetalia: Axis Powers. I did not know whether to laugh or question at what I was watching. Overall, I thought it was a light-hearted anime at heart, an anime that to have a good time watching, one cannot take too seriously.

Finally, the manga Sensoron definitely lived up to the warning placed before opening the manga. It definitely was a right-winged, nationalist manga that fully embraced and emphasized these beliefs. These ideas stood out to me like a sore thumb, and, after watching the lecture video for this manga, I now not only recognize some of these beliefs that I missed in my first viewing of the manga, but I also have learned some rhetorics I have never been exposed to before, and will be able to recognize such rhetorics for the future. Overall, the ideas in this anime were questionable. Seeing how it expresses the questionable ideas was the learning experience most helpful for me from this manga.

Overall, a good module.

[lafufucrashout]

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind & Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Humanity Kills, Nature Heals

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was gorgeous. It felt realistic yet whimsical, and dark yet optimistic. One thing that stood out to me in the film was the idea of humankind stepping back to let nature heal itself. The depiction of how Princess Nausicaä sets about to persuade the different kingdoms to join in this cause is already very touching and beautiful, but the cause itself does ring true to life. Back in 2020, during the height of the lockdowns across the world, I remember we got to see this idea of nature healing itself play out in real time. Wild animals roamed the streets, unafraid of human contact or cars for the first time in decades. Dolphins could even be seen in the Venice canals in 2021 as the water cleared up due to less boat traffic. 

Beyond just the COVID era, this is the general idea of population plateaus and mass extinction events. Even invasive species, which have unlimited access to food, no natural predators, and should theoretically be allowed to continue growing and growing, will eventually reach a population plateau. This is nature’s way of stopping invasive species. Oftentimes, when these species become dominant over the planet, there are mass extinction events, as seen multiple times with the dinosaurs. Humans, at this point, are unlikely to face a mass extinction event caused by nature on Earth due to mankind’s ever-evolving technology and adaptability to change. The most likely way we will go extinct is at our own hands, as seen in both Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. We are our own biggest threat, and once we face our self-inflicted mass extinction event, nature will be the only thing left to salvage what little, if anything, remains of Earth, wildlife, and humanity. With nature taking the wheel out of our hands, though, I feel comfortable with the idea that the world will be okay.

[bradenmmiller]

Hello lafufucrashout! Yes, I entirely agree with you that Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind was beautiful. I honestly thought that this anime felt like some of the best and some of the worst of both nature and humanity from our world. What I mean is it highlighted both nature's beauty, yet also the consequences of negative human actions on such nature. I also loved your anecdote about Covid-19 and the presence of wild animals in places that they have normally not been seen in for a long time. I agree that this really emphasizes the idea of nature healing without human interaction. With no more humans, the natural world is intrinsically able to heal itself, the exact message seen in Nausicaa. Additionally, I enjoyed reading your ideas about invasive species and plateau events. Humans, with their advancements of technology, are not only increasing the population plateau with greater access to food and medicine, but are also mitigating the effects of natural disasters or other natural events. Finally, I loved your closing about extinction being less likely to be caused by nature but more likely to be caused by humanity themselves, reflecting both Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Thanks lafufucrashout!

[bradenmmiller]

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Xenoblade Chronicles 2

To begin, I will refer to Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind as just Nausicaa and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 as just Xenoblade, so as to keep reading this a bit easier. I believe that both Nausicaa and Xenoblade were fantastic pieces of media. I enjoyed watching Nausicaa and watching the cutscenes of the game Xenoblade. Both provided great commentaries on post-apocalyptic ecofiction, and what humanity would do in these two different worlds. Like the lectures stated, the most prevalent idea that formed for me when watching the two pieces of media was the contrast between humanity's involvement in recovering these environments.

Nausicaa was a dive into the deep end for me. Directed by Miyazaki Hayao, who was also the director of Spirited Away (one of my favorite anime we have watched so far in this class), this anime was another fantastic watch. I believe it was also animated in full animation, a style that I love due to the facial expressions and emphasis on negative space you can portray unlike limited animation. I also thought the anime itself was great as well. The contrast between nature and humans was thoroughly exemplified. I believe this can relate to my life as well. As an individual who has always loved nature, I can confidently say that Nausicaa and its ideas of post-apocalyptic humans and nature related to me personally. There were a number of aspects of this anime that stood out to me when watching it. Most notably, the revelation where Nausicaa identified the toxic jungle, or the "Sea of Decay", as actually a cleansing process stood out to me the most. I believe this scene embodies the overall message this anime is attempting to forward, that being, in my opinion, nature is sympathetic towards humans, neutral almost. Nature does not retaliate to the harshness of humanity's actions, instead, it only maintain itself. That is, nature does not want revenge or retribution for its degradation, only life. I believe this contrast between nature and humans is thoroughly shown throughout the anime and through the anime's message, that being humans should stop harming nature and just let is heal itself.

Secondly, as for Xenoblade, this anime was polarly opposite in its ideas compared to Nausicaa. It was set in a similar universe (post-apocalyptic eco-fiction), but it had one key difference. This difference was highlighted when Elysium was revealed as not a paradise, and instead lifeless. Nature was completely destroyed, not just diminished as it was in Nausicaa. There was no opportunity to just let nature heal itself because there was no nature. I believe this anime really gets into the hypothetical scenario of what would happen if humanity degrades nature so much that it is fully gone? Relative to Nausicaa, Xenoblade, in my opinion, asks the question of whether nature is actually able to heal itself, and then presents the outcome of what would happen if nature was not able to heal itself, with its solution being that humans must intervene (Klaus creating the new system to rebuild the planet).

Overall, both anime relate to the real world, that is, that Nausicaa suggests we should let nature be to let it heal itself, and Xenoblade suggests that humans should instead have an active role in mitigating environmental damage and in healing nature. I believe that both apply to modern societies. There are many arguments in favor of both methods to environmental prosperity, and both hold their merits in helping nature. Examples of each would be national parks and conservation areas, which would represent letting nature be, and then human efforts to clean up land and marine habitats of litter, which would represent active involvement to help the environment.

Both of these pieces of media were great anime to watch, and I enjoyed them.

[bamboo-sticks-are-cool]

Neon Genesis Evangelion / The End of Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion confused me quite a bit. The animation looked like limited animation but it was still pretty interesting to observe, yet the plot did not make sense to me. I feel like it was left semi-unclear why only the protagonist could fly the Eva, or at least it was made to seem like only he could, but then other children show up who are also pilots. Also, I was wondering why the commander would put his son up to the task seeing how bad the other Eva pilot was hurt in recent trials. I also did not understand why the father and son were not acting like family but were distant and hateful to an extent. I would have liked to see what that had to do with the show, but I did appreciate that that interaction reminded me of how independent kids can become when their parents aren’t constantly around; kids can become mature if given the opportunity. The characters being naked in front of each other was also made out to be normal, but I find it is not reflective of society at all where a practical stranger wouldn’t be tolerated to just walk into another person's house and be naked or see the home owner naked. Ultimately, the anime had an ending where the protagonist embraced his queer masculinity, which was a nice touch contrasting how poorly he would think and speak of himself before the final episodes. His self loathing was indeed a mirror to society showing how many despise themselves when really we are all accepted and have to simply learn to accept that love. It was truly a beautiful and heartwarming message to all, especially the young viewers. 

For The End, there was a lot more resistance with the protagonist to accept himself. His self degradation was so much that I almost didn’t feel sorry for him but rather just wanted to get on with the film. I feel like his aggression towards hating himself just made the world seem more hateful than it actually was, and his problems were made bigger through his negative perspective. The ending was a bit different from the original series, where there was not so much of a happy resolution either because although there was a somewhat loving embrace with Asuka, everything went back to the way it was after and nothing had really changed. With all despair and fighting, I wish there was more emphasis on resolution within the show to reflect the ups and downs of a day in the real life.

[bradenmmiller]

Hello bamboo-sticks-are-cool. Yes, I agree with you as well in my confusion on the events actually taking place in the anime. I was kind of puzzled as to the pilots of the Eva, and why it seemed like Shinji was the only able person then it turns out other children could. I also agree with you on the explicit parts of this show. It does leave a little bit of a weird taste in my mouth to see the comfortability of characters in being naked to each other. Finally, I liked how you addressed the different endings of the show and the movie. I also agree the resolution of the movie was kind of ambiguous and lacked resolution. The movie also had, in my opinion, weird events, such as the masturbation event. I was a little surprised to see that in the movie, but I suppose it could be taken as Shinji's final desperate attempt to conform to hegemonic masculinity, and failing. Yet, it still did leave a weird taste in my mouth. Overall, I loved your analysis, thanks bamboo-sticks-are-cool!

[bradenmmiller]

Neon Genesis Evangelion / The End of Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion and the subsequent movie Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion were very interesting, and yet emotional, watches. I believe that this show and movie were almost personal to me, and had a lot of ideas that applied to myself in my life.

To begin, I'd like to talk about Neon Genesis Evangelion. Neon Genesis Evangelion was, in at least the ending, more optimistic. It presented Shinji as a man who embodies a queer masculinity. And this queer masculinity, presented throughout Neon Genesis Evangelion with Shinji refusing revenge, not objectifying women, and embodying a more passive personality really resonated with me and my life. Throughout my life, I have always struggled with representations of strong male characters. In many movies and shows I have seen male characters, protagonists or otherwise, represented as strong, resilient, able to battle and fight their way through anything. And yet, this representation always bothered me in some way. In every piece of media I have watched that I have enjoyed, I have been able to relate to at least some of the characters. But I never really resonate with any strong, tough, almost violent character presented in media. I'd like to use a real world example: one of my favorite series is How to Train Your Dragon. Hiccup, the protagonist, is not strong. He is not tough, nor is he violent. In every problem or dillemna that he faces, he believe in trying to talk to the antagonist, only resorting to violence as a last resort I believe that's why I resonate with Shinji. I see Hiccup in him, and moreso, I see myself, one who does not want violence or does not really accept these hegemonic masculine representations seen in media.

This leads into my The End of Evangelion analysis. In my personal opinion, I actually like the ending to the show better than the ending in The End of Evangelion. The End of Evangelion is way more broad. It is ambiguous to the future, suggesting that maybe queer masculinity can find a place in the future, but this queer masculinity will still face discrimination, rejection, and internal conflict. There is less resolution to the main plot in the Neon Genesis Evangelion show, that is, Shinji's struggle with his queer masculinity, and finding a place in society for his authentic queer masculinity. The End of Evangelion presents an ending with little to no place for such queer masculinity, leaving the resolution more hopeless. Now, in my opinion, hopeless resolutions are not always bad. Take The Avengers: Infinity War, for example. I thought that was also an amazing movie. But this closing feels hollow, as if the ambiguity would make up for the lack of resolution. Just my thoughts.

Overall, still an amazing anime, however, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching both the show and the movie.

[bamboo-sticks-are-cool]

Convention Post

I have never been to any manga or anime convention necessarily, but I have had the pleasure of meeting other otaku and discussing our experiences together was a memorable experience for me. Personally, I believe that cosplaying in particular is a very fun thing; it reminds me of Halloween but in a much lighter sense as it has all the fun of dressing up but it is more based around one’s fandom interests and in when meeting up with other cosplayers or at events where otaku go to to meet up there’s a lot of people with similar interests. I am particularly fond of those cosplayers who use their abilities, whether that be costume making, makeup, acting, martial arts etc, in order to help out a good cause. As seen in part 2 of the documentary, some otaku preform for hospitals and other worthy causes. Cosplaying in this case becomes something more than just an individual portraying a character, it becomes as close as one can get to an interaction between a fan and the character themselves. 

Cosplaying is also a very intricate process and activity as it can require much attention to detail and preparation in order to portray the character as best as one can, yet, on the other hand, it is not necessary to be so strict with costumes and acting as one can be cosplaying just for the fun of it and to feel involved in events and such. I once had put together a costume for Halloween as I had not bought all the pieces and I was really eager to portray a certain character; putting that costume together with the clothing and even some anime character aspects like cat ears was difficult, so I can only imagine how difficult and all the attention that is required to complete a cosplaying costume. This notion, in my opinion, very well portrays the passion of otaku and cosplayers as no matter what the event or occasion, to dress up and involve oneself in such activities requires so much preparation and once more passion.

As a fan of anime, I really enjoy meeting other anime fans and otaku because whenever I do there is always a sense of belonging and community in that interaction. No matter what interests one person, it all always comes back to anime and that is something that I believe all otaku can appreciate. Anime and manga fans share a passion for their interests like no one else, and when I have gotten to talk to others about anime, they always respond back to me with the same high and happy energy that I give to them in the first place. I like feeling relatable to others, and as a fan, I feel that this feeling can be achieved not just through the characters I love to watch but also through my fellow audience who immerse themselves in the world of anime and manga and cosplay too. The social interactions that occur when talking with otaku are so lively and they make being a fan that much more special and fun. These interactions also are a part of identity formation for many otaku and fans including myself as it heightens the sense of community and togetherness one may feel with others who also appreciate many aspects of Japanese culture. It can even bring many people from opposite sides of the country together, and highlight key similarities that unite them. I think it’s beautiful that all cultures can come together and appreciate the Japanese culture which has so much to offer and share just like any other culture. 

[bradenmmiller]

Hello bamboo-sticks-are-cool! I loved your post about Japanese otaku and their cosplaying, and how this cosplaying demonstrates the passion these otaku commit to their communities. I thoroughly enjoyed your analysis on this and the documentary we had to watch. I myself have also never been to any conventions before, therefore, in watching the True Otaku documentary, I was really moved into seeing just how much dedication and passion the otaku put into their fandom. I believe that these otaku are able to not only form their identities in attending these conventions, but also allow themselves to express their interest and enjoy characters of anime. I also loved your analysis of cosplay. The individuals, both in the True Otaku documentary and outside of it, dedicate themselves to a passionate representation of the characters they enjoy, and I believe that is an extraordinary aspect of not only these otaku communities, but also other communities that cosplay. Additionally, I loved your discussion about meeting other otaku and discussing your interest with them. Around them, you feel you are truly who you want to be, and form an identity that you share with the people around you. There is a sense of community when meeting other people that you can resonate with, and I believe that also applies to me and meeting people I share an interest with as well. Overall, a fantastic analysis, and I enjoyed reading your convention post.

[bradenmmiller]

Convention Post: Board Gaming, Video Gaming, and Community

I thought I'd preface this post by stating I have never been to an anime convention nor any convention in my life, although I have always dreamed of going to one, as I will discuss later in this post. Additionally, I know some friends who have been to a convention, and have watched a number of video and documentaries on conventions I have aspired to attend. I'd like to take a deep dive into such aspirations and relate these aspirations to the documentary True Otaku.

One of the best parts of my life has been board gaming. Not only have I grown up within a household with a variety of different board games, but we have consistently had family board game nights, as well as board game nights with other friends and extended family. It has been a major part of my life. To playing Battleship, a game of mostly luck when I was around 5, to graduating to Sorry and Monopoly when I was 7 or 8, to getting into more advanced games with my friends more recently - all have been great experiences, and have reinforced one dream of mine to attend a board gaming convention. I believe this to be a dream of mine due to the personal documentaries I have watched on some of my favorite categories of board games, and actual specific favorite board games. Gen Con and Pax Unplugged have been board gaming conventions that have fueled my immense interest in board gaming, and Clocktower Con is a convention dedicated to my favorite board game of all time, Blood on the Clocktower. To see other otaku in the documentary True Otaku value coming to an anime convention as much as I value wanting to go to a board gaming convention puts into perspective the communities of fandom that exist around me. There are many shadow cultural communities that I have never experienced before, and more importantly, if I had heard of them, held a predisposition that these communities were different and niche. But, to see just how much they value their fandom and conventions, and to see the otaku enjoying themselves and truly being themselves when immersed inside their fandom, just how I can truly be myself when immersed within board game nights with my family or friends or aspiring to go to a board game convention, is an immense revelation.

The second aspects of the documentary I want to talk about is cosplaying, and how that relates to my aspiration of video games and their conventions. In my more recent years, I have been exposed to video gaming as a way to connect with my friends when we cannot physically be in person with each other. This contact is something I value, and sharing a video game experience with my friends is something I have developed a large love for. From this, I have found and enjoyed many video games through my time spent with friends, but one of the ones that has stuck out to me the most is Valorant. Not only is Valorant a fun game, but the experience with friends is even more fun. Transitioning to cosplay, I have watched many videos of Riot Games conventions (the makers of Valorant), and have seen just how much work cosplayers put into making their outfits exceptional. This relates to the Otaku documentary. Throughout part 2, I was able to see otaku and their work they put into modeling the characters they love. It reminded me of my own love for some of the characters in Valorant, and just how much work some fans of Valorant also put into their own costumes. Just look at this cosplay of Omen, a figure that is not supposed to be human, and how much work was put into modeling the character!

And here is the actual in-game character:

(Here is the link to the reddit post of the cosplay I found):

Seeing the immense work put into the otaku cosplay of their interest allowed me to internalize otaku communities, some of which I have never heard of. Here is a cosplay from the documentary I particularly enjoyed, just because it looks really cool:

Ultimately, both board games and video games have been integral parts of my life. Seeing the otaku dedicate themselves to their fandom was very cool to see. Overall, the dive into the conventions and cosplay otaku attended and did, and how these conventions and cosplay intertwined with my interests was, in my opinion, a revelation about just how much individuals can dedicate and immerse themselves within their communities. It did not matter how niche they were, because they enjoyed it, just how I enjoy my board games and video games.

[eternaljourneyinsignia]

Exploring feminism and gender identity through anime

Watching these animes I really felt like we were addressing very different things. While I know that the concept was the idea of gender identity, I feel like the discussion of feminism versus the discussion of gender identity concerning transgender are such different topics, I need to address them separately.  

Sailor Moon for me was very nostalgic as I remember watching this in middle school in the mornings before my school day started. Back in this time I was watching it for purely entertainment purposes, so it was very interesting to watch this from a different perspective. Sailor Moon demonstrates some very cliche female archetypal concepts here. In the episodes here we watch we see Usagi cry very easily, especially when confronted with conflict. The episode about women wanting to lose weight felt like nails on a chalkboard it was so cliche. Even with “girl power”, Usagi still has to be saved by Tuxedo Mask in the one episode, continuing this masculine/feminine distinction and expected roles. It was also mentioned how Sailor Moon transforms into this sexualized version of herself. I particularly like the thought process in the lecture about why young women would identify with it when it’s so sexualized and geared towards men. I feel like Professor Smith made a fantastic point in discussing sexual identity as well as the regression into Usagi’s normal schoolgirl appearance and age. As I did in fact watch this in middle school that probably was one of the things that appealed to me. At that age, with puberty and the current society we live in, your physical appearance holds a lot of importance. Sailor Moon transforming is almost like the ugly duckling into the swan. I think it’s something a lot of young women could relate to, the wanting to skip past puberty and all those awkward years, straight to this attractive and outwardly appearing confident young woman.  Aggretsuko continued with these expected gender roles with a great sense of humor attached. I really enjoyed this animation, and I identified with it quite a bit, particularly the times where you have such pent-up rage you just want to scream. I feel like perhaps death metal karaoke would be an extremely healthy coping mechanism for your frustrations.  

Regarding Wandering Son, I thought that it did a great job showing some of the struggles that transgender youth do in fact deal with. I thought it was very interesting the difference portrayed between a young woman wearing boy’s clothes versus a young man wearing girl's clothes. One of my absolute favorite parts was when Nitori was walking with her dad and her dad simply said, “Maybe we got it wrong”. Nitori had been afraid that her dad would be angry like her sister and here with a very simple statement Nitori’s dad showed an understanding and acceptance that I don’t believe many children who struggle with gender identity receive. It was a welcome contrast to see her dad’s acceptance in the face of her school mate's rejection.  

[bradenmmiller]

Hello eternaljourneyinsignia! I thought your response to the three anime we had to watch was great! I particularly enjoyed hearing about your thoughts on Sailor Moon. I myself also thought that Sailor Moon commented and emphasized a third wave feminism ideology, such that women gain their power through their feminine aspects. I also loved your analysis of puberty of young women, that is, that young women wanting to skip past the awkward years and obtain a confident persona as soon as possible. I also loved your analysis on Wandering Son. I also thought that this anime was different to Sailor Moon, and instead of emphasizing an empowerment through feminine aspects, instead it looked into what happens when someone wants to perform what society sees as the opposite gender. Additionally, this anime showed us what it was like to see people hold a disdain for Nitori when she tries to perform her gender, and some accept her for performing her gender, like you said with her father. Overall, a great analysis. Thanks eternaljourneyinsignia!

[bradenmmiller]

Sailor Moon, Aggretsuko, and Wandering Son

Sailor Moon, Aggretsuko, and Wandering Son were likely the most eye opening anime I have watched thus far in this course. Not only do I believe each different anime touches on a different aspect of gender identity and gender performativity, but I also believe that these anime had wholly different methods for presenting their commentaries on such contemporary issues. As such, I would like to talk about these overall tropes as they relate to the anime themselves.

First, Sailor Moon, in my opinion, was the anime emphasizing a key term defined in our lectures, girl power. In watching Sailor Moon, I found it to be very representative of the female stereotype, that is, the representation of who a woman is in the context of third wave feminism. In whole, Sailor Moon had moments that idealized what some young women may want during their adolescence, to have control over their upbringing. Moments where Usagi would regress into crying or worry about her appearance or weight were very cliche. And overall, growing up with a sister, I got to relate Sailor Moon to some moments I have had with my sister. My sister has, at times, worried about her appearance or her weight. In the context of Sailor Moon, I also saw other aspects of Third Wave Feminism being represented, that is, when the magical items of Usagi and her friends become their weapons and sources of strength. Ultimately, Sailor Moon was an anime that really related to the idea of girl power, to use the characteristics of women as their sources of power to save the world.

As for Aggretsuko and Wandering Son, in my opinion, I believe both these anime critiqued a normality for gender, that is, both critiqued the monolithic gender ideology that society has constructed. What stood out to me in both these anime was the feeling that the individuals struggling with their gender identity were performing their gender wrong. Their inner identity was, at its core, erroneous. Because of this, characters took action to try to remedy what they felt as an erroneous identity, to perform their gender not constrained to historical and societal boundaries but to what they wanted to be themselves. No example serves this better than in Wandering Son, when Nitori gradually begins experimenting with feminine gender presentation. But societal expects monolithic gender performance. When Nitori was outside of this expectation, they shamed her, such as when Nitori's sister openly expresses disgust at Nitori for wearing feminine clothes. It is society representing a disdain for impurity, that there are defined gender roles and one must perform within these roles. If one does not, then open shame or disgust is warranted, according to society.

Overall, great anime as well :).

[stardustsunnyshine]

Genshiken: Fantasy vs. Reality

Rating:

I did not remotely enjoy anything about this anime at all. I was uncomfortable with the topic and images present in Genshiken. This anime is not suitable for children or minors due to the explicit nature of this anime. The are many photos and media depicted in the show that contains nudity and sexual connotations that are not suitable for minors.

Reflections:

I understand that Genshiken was bringing awareness to otaku culture in Japan. It was meant to bring acceptance to otaku culture; the characters become content in realizing that they share a common interest with others.The show surrounded a club that was based on otaku culture. However, I first thought the club would be about cool anime or video games, but it was quite the opposite. Many of the characters enjoyed consuming sexual explicit drawings of anime characters and creating fantasies about them. Genshiken explored the sexuality of the characters based on their media consumption. However, its use was quite harmful and predatory.

I was quite uncomfortable with idea that many of the male characters were sexually attracted to characters that are supposed to be minors. I get that otaku culture normalizes that because its fiction and their interest and behaviors toward fiction does not necessarily translate to real life. That still does not hide the fact that grown men are sexually attracted to sexually explicit content of women that represent children. Again, I understand that these drawings are fiction and do not represent reality or real people, but what is stopping these fantasies from becoming reality. In my opinion based on how the male character are into these explicit images is borderline pedophilia.

If you watch crime shows like Law&Order SVU or Criminal Minds, many of the unsubs have pedophilia fantasies of children and women. The unsubs enjoy consuming content that is violent and sexual explicit and even create fantasies like many of the characters in Genshiken. Many of the unsubs have kidnapped real people to dress them up like fictional characters to fulfill their disturbing fantasies. What is stopping the characters in Genshiken from loosing sight of reality and enacting their fantasies.

I was also very uncomfortable with excessive amount sexual content and the normalization of it. It was normal for these characters to play disturbing games where they could sexually assault characters that were children. The female characters were just as bad as the male characters, they created same-sex fantasies about their friends and drew pictures of them. I was especially disturb about this, because the male characters in Genshiken fantasized about fictional anime girls, but the female characters made fantasies about real life people. The behavior that the female characters had made it seem that they fetishized same-sex relationships.

In all I would not watch Genshiken again or would recommend it to anyone.

[bradenmmiller]

Hello stardustsunnyshine! I loved your analysis, and most definitely agree with it. I did not enjoy parts of this show, and I think that this show had parts that did not model the definition of otaku from Saito Tamaki. Otaku, according to Tamaki, are supposed to analytically and emotionally distance themselves from anime characters, having an awareness that their characters are fantasy. But, many times during the show this line was crossed. I did not like this line crossing, and it left a taste in my mouth that was sour. I also agree with the excessive sexual content and its normalization. For a show to be good, let alone an anime, I believe it shouldn't display a vulgar amount of sexual content. And Genshika displayed normalized sexual assault, which was very weird of a show. I had an idea that this show would be stereotypical of the perception that otaku are "weird", but I thought it would critique that stereotype. Even though at times it showed how characters would "fit in" in the anime club, it still did not critique the stereotype, and at times even reinforced it.

Thanks stardustsunnyshine!

[bradenmmiller]

Genshiken

Genshiken was an anime that provided a relevant feel even with my expectations and suspicions. Before watching the show, I was expecting stereotypical or exaggerated storylines. After the show, these exaggerated storylines were true. However, the anime did offer a self-actualizing approach into the Otaku Japanese fandom. Overall, I feel like the anime provided a glimpse into what it felt to be in a more niche community, even with its somewhat less than appropriate method of visualizing storylines, a glimpse I have never seen in any other form of media I have watched.

One aspect of Genshiken that originally stood out to me was the early episodes of the anime, more specifially with Sasahara. Sasahara was hesitant with being open about identifying as an otaku. I believe this struggle resonates with me as well. Throughout my life, I have struggled with openly identifying as some things, with one of these things being my love for board games. There are stereotypes about being a person who likes board games, just how for Sasahara there are stereotypes about being a person who identifies as an otaku, and being "too into" something.

Another aspect of Genshiken that stood out to me was Hato's character. I believe that Hato, when he cross-dresses to feel comfortable with himself, resonates with many people, including myself. He had an inner conflict, which many people have, however his struggle through this inner conflict and his decision to feel comfortable with himself was very personal. I hold on to a belief that it is imperative for individuals to feel comfortable with themselves and ignore the viewpoints of others on them. So, when I watched this, this belief was the first idea that I had for this in the anime.

Ultimately, I believe this anime showed the main theme of Genshiken, with that being negotiating your identity and feeling comfortable with yourself. It did this though an otaku fan club of anime. The characters, in joining this fan club, were able to feel more comfortable with themselves. However, I still get a weird taste in my mouth watching the anime. It just felt stereotypical, and exaggerated the tropes some had about otaku and their actions and mentalities. Even though they were able to express themselves and feel more comfortable at times, this expression was sometimes not needed, in my opinion. Characters pushed personal boundaries and sometimes did not hold up to Azuma Hiroki's database theory, that otaku can gain enjoyment from remixing media elements in a postmodern era yet still have emotional distance.

Overall, a different kind of anime. Decent, but still a weird aftertaste.

[lleytond]

Thoughts on Naruto / Wolf Children / A Silent Voice

After watching Naruto, Wolf Children, and A Silent Voice, discrimination was the common theme brought to attention.

In the anime Naruto, a young child is portrayed as an outcast who is rejected by society. Naruto’s desire to be accepted and well respected by those around him drove him to change to fit society's view of someone praiseworthy. This resonated with me and most likely many others. As children we often do anything we can to try and fit in and ‘belong’. Personally, in the past I have changed how I act around certain people just to feel accepted. This change through discriminatory means represented in Naruto can be reflected in our own world today. Social exclusion exists all over the world in forms of bullying. Bullying is often overlooked, and this is made apparent not only in Naruto, but the two other anime I will be analyzing.

Wolf Children also dealt with the theme of discrimination but approaches it in a different way. Both Yuki and Ame are able to choose to represent the more human or wolf side of their self. In this anime, having a split ethnicity forced them to adopt one side and embrace it. This anime looks at the duality of split ethnicities. Yuki decides to embrace her human side and become a part of what would be seen as normal. Ame on the other hand, adopts his wolf side and escapes a society full of discrimination. I think that this suggests the importance of finding oneself's belonging and purpose. I was able to relate to this anime because I have decided to adopt more of my American side to fit into society rather than embracing my Jamaican side, which has a vastly different culture.

Lastly, A Silent Voice was able to portray discrimination in a way that is very common in the real world. This anime deals with young children specifically Shoya bullying a deaf girl named Shouko. A Silent Voice points out the lack of care and awareness of adults when it comes to bullying in discriminatory behavior. As the movie progressed, Shoya realized the weight of his actions and decided to make up for his wrongdoings. Shoya created a small community that accepted Shouko for who she is. This anime takes a different path than Narutowhen it comes to dealing with discrimination. A Silent Voice highlights how it is the responsibility of society to change and accept those who are seen as ‘different’. I think the reason why we don’t learn a lot about Shouko, is so that her character seems more static to reinforce the idea that it’s the community’s responsibility to change. Whereas in Naruto, Naruto is forced to change himself and fit what the community views as acceptable. I was able to relate to Shoya, because his character shows that our actions have consequences, but we can still redeem ourselves. I find myself making mistakes at times that not only harm others, but myself too. Even so, I am still able to learn from these mistakes and find redemption.

[bradenmmiller]

Hello lleytond! I loved your response to Naruto, Wolf Children, and A Silent Voice and their common theme of discrimination! I definitely agree that A Silent Voice presented the idea that is up to the society to change for the individuals who have been discriminated against. One part of your response that resonated with me was your analysis of Wolf Children and how that related to you leaning more towards your American side rather than your Jamaican side of culture. I find it very interesting just how much Wolf Children can relate to real individuals and how these individuals, like you, must grapple between two separate identities, where society is not structured in a way for you, or the children in Wolf Children, to balance both of them. I also think Wolf Children comments on another aspect of these discriminated against individuals, that is, finding and creating safe places for them to live in. This resonates with me particularly, as my group of friends is very much like me, but outside of this group, it is hard to act the same as I would be within this group. Ultimately, what I am saying is, you and others in society sometimes may have to change their behaviors, demeanors, and even identities to fit in throughout the different places we find ourselves in in society. I also loved your analysis of Naruto, and how he himself had to change to his society around him, just like how some individuals in school feel they have to change to the people they have around them.

Overall, a great analysis, and I loved reading it.

[bradenmmiller]

Naruto, Wolf Children, and A Silent Voice

Naruto, Wolf Children, and A Silent Voice were all three fantastic anime. Being a person who has never really watched any anime before, Naruto was one of the few anime that I had heard about and let alone received recommendations to watch before. Now, getting the chance to not only watch Naruto but also watch both movies Wolf Children and A Silent Voice, I am blown away by their characters, stories, and commentaries on discrimination.

I believe each of these three anime present different perspectives on the social issue of discrimination. Naruto is unchanging, conservative in its thoughts and approaches to discrimination. Naruto is presented as a socially rejected young boy. He is born as a human host to the nine-tailed fox, an entity which attached the Hidden Leaf Village before Naruto was born. Now, he lives in the Hidden Leaf Village, and many adults are scared and afraid of Naruto due to his unchangeable condition. I believe this reflects a lot of what many children experience growing up. Throughout contemporary society, in many schools and classrooms across Japan and other nations, children may be born with physical deformities, disabilities, or other conditions which are seen as abnormal, and yet these conditions are unchangeable. Naruto presents its version of a solution to these thoughts on unchangeable conditions: to overcome them yourselves, and change yourself to better fit into society. It is up to you to change, accept, and assimilate into majority culture, not up to society to do that for you.

Wolf Children presents a different solution to this issue. Again, we are presented with two children who are born with physical conditions from birth, of which these conditions cannot be changed. However, instead of presenting the idea that individuals must change, Wolf Children instead illustrates a different ideology, one where indivdiuals should look to seek out and create safe spaces for individuals with unchangeable physical conditions. In Wolf Children, Hana seeks out a rural village to find a safe space for her children to find their identities. I believe this mirrors many societal institutions we have in place today. There are many interest groups, communities, and safe spaces, both physical and online, that are able to accept individuals who posses physical or mental conditions. But, as I was watching the anime, I kept grappling with the idea of whether these individuals would be fully safe and accepted outside of these safe places. Is society able to accept people with these conditions, or is it instead just these few programs that are able to accept these individuals, still having little to no impact throughout the rest of society?

Finally, watching A Silent Voice presented an idea unlike Naruto or Wolf Children, while also being the most heartbreaking of the two anime. When Ishida attempted to change, to transform past his prior actions and atone for what he did through his past, I believe that was the commentary A Silent Voice was trying to champion for this anime. Ishida was apologizing and trying to change for the victims of discrimination, unlike Naruto where the the burden of change falls on the victims of discrimination or Wolf Children where victims of discrimination must seek safe spaces. Instead, Ishido, in my opinion, was a representation of society. To stop the cycle of violence and hatred, society can only look to accept the victims of discrimination for who they are. Ultimately, A Silent Voice brought the most optimistic perspective on discrimination, and represents commentary on a new ideology for modern societies to address discrimination. Overall, I also just liked this anime the most out of all the three, and it was a fun, yet emotional, movie to watch.

[lemonadesport]

Blog Post - Shin Sekai Yori

Shin Sekai Yori is an anime that has a lot of moving parts, at least in my opinion. I almost want to compare it to Psycho Pass when the plot gets to discuss about the human surveillance aspect. Instead of weaponized technology, societies are being careful as fear takes over. It is no secret that we see some sort of power struggle in the anime - which is why the children are constantly under watch. This exact theme actually relates to Arai's article regarding Japan's "wild child" character complex.These youngsters are considered "unstable" as they are rebelling against traditional societal standards. Thus, the older generations have created systems to keep everyone in check. Behavior that is seemingly devious or acting away from what has been written will be punished. So what do we get from this type of policing? Lack of diversity, individuality, and the retreat of freedom of expression. Sounds familiar? The sybil system did the same thing by assuming a civilian's future - all based on color hues and scores by the way. Now, I understand that in Shin Sekai Yori, we are dealing with powers and children and people are attempting to keep peace. But old ways do not fit new generations, it will eventually come undone. And this is a global issue here to, expression and truth. If the powers that be continue to keep watch and try to keep everything tightly knit and folded, the wild children will break through. This fear has got to be resolved or it will control our humane connections. Zahn's article also demonstrates the reality of having technology as surveillance, and anyways there are costly flaws. Bias is just one and its one that has the potential to break up relationships and end lives. Because remember what historical events you feed the algorithm is what it will use to determine it's next move. It eliminates human compassion, no second chances. History and what has happened has to be taught. I have a personal touch to this as well. You know for the longest time I thought that African Americans were enslaved by people with lighter skin, by the "whites". Not until, it came out that there own people sold them out for money and riches. So this right here shows ignorance can blind a person. Teaching truth and showing how to properly be a part of society can save lives and help build future generations.

[bradenmmiller]

Hello lemonadesport! I thought your introspection into Shin Sekai Yori and its connections to our assigned readings was really well written. I loved how you analyzed the mentality that old ways may not fit new generations, and the impacts this mentality has on present day society. I loved this analysis, and also think that the events in Shin Sekai Yori present this mentality in an extrapolated sense. In Shin Sekai Yori, society is attempted to be held together by eliminating any child who does not adhere to "what is normal." Deviation from this normalcy is punished by death, with the ultimate goal of creating individuals with no sense of wrong. I believe this parallels to our own society. While we do not have potentially destructive telekinetic powers, we also are increasingly getting access to more and more destructive items and apparatuses. What will happen if potential Wild Child get their hands on these destructive means, especially with the idea that some of these means have duel purposes, and serve us in meaningful ways in society? I believe Shin Sekai Yori shows us this idea in an exaggerated sense, one where the Wild Child fear has become very prominent, and rooting out any antisociality with vast amounts of surveillance is of upmost importance.

Overall, a great response. I loved reading it!

[bradenmmiller]

Shin Sekai Yori

Shin Sekai Yori was, in my opinion, a different yet intriguingly similar anime to the previous anime watched in this class, Pscyho-Pass. I believe that Shin Sekai Yori was a fun watch, and presented a number of parallels to modern society in its own way.

Shin Sekai Yori stood out to me due to its takes on a futuristic, exaggerated form of society. One aspect of this was during the childhood of the group of 5. During this time, two classmates were taken away from Saki's class, and, common between both these two classmates, they were struggling and exhibited antisocial personality traits. Now, this stood out to me due to not only my personal life and growing up through school, but also due to the lives that many other individuals face as they progress through their childhoods. When I was young, I did not like to branch out - I stayed within my small circle of friends. This potential antisocial personality has trailed with me through my upbringing. What intrigued me from Shin Sekai Yori was the elimination of any child who was deemed as even slightly antisocial. There was no reform system, there was no therapy, and there was no help for these children. They were just taken away. I believe this parallels to one aspect of society that some have said needs to be looked at - struggling individuals. As a society, disciplining individuals is integral to shaping them to be members of society. However, it is inevitable that some will "slip through the cracks." And I believe this presents two options. One, where we as a society, in addition to disciplining ourselves, try to afford help to these struggling individuals with the possibility that help may not reach and/or aid some of these people. Or two, where the fear of a Wild Child becomes more prominent, and we turn to more absolute discipline (whether it be through the world of Psycho-Pass, where we employ panopticism, and internalize an always present yet never verifiable gaze of power to discipline ourselves, or we imagine the world of Shin Sekai Yori, where surveillance is mostly present, and with it these struggling individuals are killed upon any notice of deviation from normalcy from any surveillance method).

The second and last aspect I want to quickly touch on is Shin Sekai Yori's connection to the Wild Child reading. As I was watching Shin Sekai Yori, I believe it presented a great extrapolation of option two and the potential exaggeration of the fear of the Wild Child, a child that, due to unknown reasons, goes out of control. I believe that the surveillance methods used to monitor the children of Shin Sekai Yori are a reflection of the methods used to try to make children "knowable" once again. The surveillance in Shin Sekai Yori attempts to make the children legible by power, so that any deviation from it results in any child's immediate elimination. This parallels to the teachers, instructors, guidance counselors, and services in place in our own society that attempt to make children legible, with the primary purpose of trying to monitor and detect and Wild Children for the protection of society as a whole (mirroring the protection of Saki's society).

Overall, it was also a great watch.

[eternaljourneyinsignia]

The panopticon of Psycho-Pass

Psycho Pass definitely had a darker theme than some of the other animes I have previously watched. I think it really highlighted some of the disadvantages of a high-tech society, particularly when the tech is focused on people. In our modern world where so many advancements are made, almost daily, it’s a good reminder that not all advancements are advantageous.  

I feel that many of us can relate to the feeling of being judged without being able to do anything about it. Most commonly we are judged on our appearances; however, there are many different factors that can come into play. A good example would be social media; most people don’t post every aspect of their lives. Social media often serves as a highlight reel, where we pick and choose what we want to highlight. A big part of the decision-making process on what to post comes from what you feel others will think about it. Will this reflect poorly on you in some way?  

I think the assigned readings were very pertinent to Psycho Pass. The reading on Machine Bias with it’s prejudice was very similar to that of the prejudice seen in the anime. One of the key points in the anime was people who were judged to have a higher propensity for crime, and who would be punished. Why not perpetuate the crime when you will be punished for it anyway? This is not a foreign concept in our society. If you are going to be punished for an offense, it’s not uncommon to go ahead and add to it. For example if you’re going to get a write up at work, why not call out, it’s just another offense to stack. Or in school if you’re going to get detention because the teacher thinks you talk too much, perhaps you might mouth off to the teacher, because you’re already going to get punished. This is part of why society has tried to move away from a pounitive approach and more towards a rewards system. Get rewarded for doing things the “right” way. Benthams’s concept of panopticon is perfectly shown in Psycho Pass. Society is under perpetual supervision without any break in the visibility of the supervision; therefore, they are constantly under guard. 

[bradenmmiller]

Hello eternaljourneyinsignia! I loved your response on Psycho-Pass and the implications of the Sibyl system's perfect form of panopticism. I wholeheartedly agree than Bentham's concept of a panopticon is shown in Psycho-Pass through the Sibyl System. The Sibyl System is all encompassing, and possesses the character traits required for panopticism: the power of the Sibyl System is exhaustive, permanent, visible, yet the gaze of the system is unverifiable. I also loved your analysis of social media and its relation to the Sibyl System. People are often judged too quickly, and when the Sibyl System judges individuals in such a quick manner, condensing their morality and criminality down to a single number, is it not just an exaggerated form of judgement taking place in society and online already? Finally, I also thought the same on the relationship between Machine Bias and Psycho Pass. Machine Bias presents us with what a real form of this crime coefficient would be - a risk assessment score. Then, individuals in criminal trials are judged based on this risk assessment score, promised not to be gauged solely based on it, yet it is increasingly revealed bias may be taking place.

Overall, I loved your analysis and your commentaries on Psycho-Pass and how it relates to our assigned readings.