Anime👏 Review👏

[marweep]

Perfect Blue

What did I just watch.

Okay, so, didn’t expect this to be so dark. Reality and delusions became so intertwined, and the transitions so obscure, I too felt that I was losing my mind. I believe the last hour I have witnessed the sharp decline of someone’s mental health. At first, I thought Mima was turning real events in her life into scenes she played as an actor as a form of coping, but that’s not what happened (I don’t think anyway).

If I’m understanding correctly, Mima became traumatized by the work she took on as an upcoming actor. On top of this, people around her begin dying and she ties evidence she owns to their deaths, which adds onto her paranoia. On TOP of this, she’s being stalked, AND someone is imitating her? What did I actually just watch? And she ended up being the murderer?? Initially I was under the impression this was some internet safety psa type of movie, but then I was launched in all kinds of directions to the point I don’t know which way is up. Which, judging by the wikipedia page, was the point of this movie. Perhaps there is something to be said about innocence in the film industry, and the trials and traumas actors go through as a result. It’s certainly no secret there are incredibly screwed up things going on behind the scenes, and it’s unimaginable how unbelievably corrupt so many aspects of fame are. It seems to be both sides against a celebrity; managers and fans do not consider the mental health of their idol, instead seeing them as a moneymaker or an object on a pedestal. I’m not entirely sure if that’s even close to what Perfect Blue was getting at or if it exists strictly for the horror aspect, and I’m also not sure which approach I find more comforting. I’m just going to leave it at that and play some pokemon because I’m actually unsettled.

[emilyanimeted]

Violet Evergarden

This series was literally so good. Unfortunately, all of my classes decided to make everything due tomorrow, so with all my procrastinating i was unable to watch the entire series like i hoped. From the episodes I watched, Violet Evergarden is a deeply moving show that portrays serious topics like grief and war. Also, the aesthetic and animation style of the show is super beautiful and the music is absolutely perfect. 

From what I saw, the main character was used as a child in a catastrophic war. As a child, she was forced to kill countless people. At the end of the battle, her commander sacrificed his life to save hers, telling Violet he loves her. Throughout the rest of the series, Violet tries to find what he meant and discover what love means, as her time in the war as a child has stunted her emotional growth.

The show deals a lot with loss and is Extremely Sad sometimes, most notably in the tenth episode. Violet basically writes letters to a child from her dying mother, and the child recieves them for the next fifty years after her mother has died. This definitely helped in Violet’s growth, as she emphasized with Anne’s impending loss and cried for her after she returned from her work. This helped Violet deal with the loss of her own parental figure, who sacrificed his life for her during the war. 

The impact of war is also shown throughout the series. In the ova, Violet meets a woman who has lost her husband and a man who has lost his son to the war. She helps them write a letter that helps give them closure and move on past the effects of the war. Similarly, Violet herself is still dealing with the ramifications of wartime. During her time as a child soldier, she killed many people, and realizes that her actions had effects on many more people’s lives. She even goes so far as to ask if she deserves to live, which is definitely an issue that extends beyond the show. Many veterans also face mental health issues after going to war, and this is portrayed by this girl who is greatly emotionally impacted by her time participating in the war.

[marweep]

Extremely sad SOMETIMES? I bawled thoroughly. Probably every minute. But yeah, the aftershock of war can be just as resilient as the feelings during war, probably tenfold since the “adrenaline” is gone. Now everyone has to face the aftermath, and even in victory, it certainly doesn’t feel like winning when your loved ones are gone and you have to direct your attention elsewhere.

[marweep]

Violet Evergarden

“War is cruel. It doesn’t choose sides.” Well said, Roland. I’m not sure where to even start with this, however I do have a note for Dixie: do you enjoy my tears?

I haven’t watched the full series, but from what was assigned, I see a lot of emphasis on finding meaning and purpose for oneself, generally through providing solace to others. Violet utilizes her war background to empathize with those affected by the war as well, while at the same time working to become more than just a soldier. Growing up in a town of war veterans, I’ve seen the extreme importance of finding life after war, and just how difficult it can be. It can especially be tough without a solid support system, as we’ve seen when Violet was essentially alone in the hospital for over a hundred days. Kids have it even harder; Violet was raised for war and combat, civilian life was never a reality she lived. To then have to find a “use” for oneself, bearing the traumas of war--I couldn’t imagine it. “They never left the battlefield” can be all too real.

But on a slightly lighter but still dark note, my cartoon brain couldn’t help but compare this struggle to Steven Universe (not an anime, I know, but life changing and also has many visual anime references) (also slight spoilers ahead). Because Steven gave so much of himself to those around him, to the one cause of putting a stop to the reign of the Diamonds (alien queens), he had no more left of himself for, well, himself. Once he had accomplished his life purpose, he suffered to have an identity, and by extension to deal with the parts of himself that war had left behind (this is supposedly a kids’ show). I believe these parallels are mainly showing the struggle one has when losing the way, but that ultimately there IS life after what feels like should’ve been the end of it. Even the burdens you bear can be turned beneficial. Also I highly recommend watching Steven Universe in its entirety, it WILL change your life.

[marweep]

Sensoron

Obviously much of this manga is quite extreme, and I’m unsure if there is any truth at all to be found. 

But I do know guilting children isn’t the best way for them to develop mentally, so if there is blame being instilled in kids or shame of those before them, I see where there could be an argument, as obviously kids had no part in the past and could shoulder many psychological problems from growing up in this way.

As for the rest, this manga was very conspiratorial, ranging from fake photos to brainwashing from the west. Oddly enough, it appears the author himself is “brainwashed” by the ideals propagated during the war with a “we can do no wrong” mindset, trying to transfer the blame to Japan’s oppressors like America and China. Propaganda is propaganda, even when combating propaganda by spreading your own, it’s still propaganda. I believe there’s a fine line to walk--all parties are flawed and guilty of something, but it’s best to criticize others while having self awareness as well. This author has no self awareness, not even on a shallow level.

I’m not quite entirely sure what he was getting at by “debunking” so many photos, as if that eliminates all that happened during the war. I’d hate for someone to mention that fake or not, a war still happened and it was not good.

The kicker was when he was discussing comfort women and drew a few people shouting “It’s the Japanese army we’re talking about, of course they’d do bad things!” and he responded, hand raised, “That’s just prejudice.” I can’t with this manga.

[marweep]

Your Name

I didn’t think I would enjoy this movie so thoroughly, but it was so visually beautiful and each of the characters had such a personality that it grew on me. Initially, I thought it would be some dopey fluff movie about two people destined for each other finally meeting. And then they pulled a reverse card with the meteor in the second act, and I didn’t know WHERE to put my expectations afterward. I was actually delighted the movie took such a turn, although it spurned me to actually want them to get a happy ending. Rather than sating the viewer by having them meet sometime in the middle, or halfway between the middle and the end, they held it out much like a leading tone in music; it was frustrating all the way up until the very end when they finally gave a resolution. Although we don’t see how much the two remember of each other, it can be assumed they certainly connected considering just seeing each other’s faces had them both running miles away to find each other.

As I said earlier, this movie has much more meaning than a fluffy love story. These two characters were able to grow upon experiencing the other, despite not having physical contact or face-to-face communication. This movie really showed the importance of brushing shoulders with someone, and how much one could really change based on a passing encounter. I appreciate that they didn’t require some girlfriend/boyfriend high school relationship with hand holding and kisses to mean something to the other. It was interesting that Taki decided to write “I love you” instead of his name, as if remembering him was superficial compared to the experience and the feelings they shared. Perhaps a “smile because it happened” kind of guy. I enjoyed that that was definitely something he would do--very brash and stupid, yet somehow charming. Fantastic movie.

[marweep]

Hetalia Axis powers

This anime is full of incredible cultural jokes, half of which go way over my head. I about lost it when Greece was asleep in the first episode. Although they rely on basic country stereotypes, like Italy’s obsession with pasta and art, they do have somewhat of a point. A country’s cultural output determines much of its reception and others’ understanding of its way of functioning; art and the like shapes a country far more than its political status. I don’t have a fantastic grasp on history, especially world history that focuses on relations between world powers, but the cultural jokes were pretty funny. Austria, the birth of much of western music history, expressing his anger through piano about had me on the floor. We also see that countries with similar interests or backgrounds enjoy each other’s company when pertaining to these interests, like Italy and Austria, even when they’re at odds politically. If I’m not wrong, these were the grounds upon which Britain and America couldn’t stay angry with each other; with such cultural commonalities, it was difficult to remain completely separated, though in this case America’s history was heavily influenced by Britain. It’s crazy how ideas and art can spread and mix and be appreciated globally, so far removed from politics. It makes me an optimist wonder how badly we really need to fight.

And although I’m not adept at history, I understand enough about political attitudes to know that these jabs are pretty genius, incorporating a lot of self-aware humor like Japan’s vague answers that all amount to “no.” This show creates an incredibly light view of history through its comedy and leaving out much of the nasty stuff, while still incorporating some truth. I feel that developing this kind of comedy sets everyone on equal ground, like maybe we could all laugh at the ridiculousness of some parts and better ourselves through that. Or maybe I’m incredibly reaching.

[emilyanimeted]

True Otaku Documentary

I have attended comic con before in Tampa (and I was going to go again this summer ☹) , so I have some experience going to conventions, but this was a few years ago before I had watched any anime. Before my sister introduced me to anime this summer I honestly kind of thought it was cringy to be interested in animated shows and I was really judgemental. I definitely thought people were weird for dressing up as characters and I remember making fun of my friends in high school for watching jojo. Watching this documentary brought back some of the cringe for me because it seemed to be a lot of white people overly invested in a culture that wasn’t theirs, but it was also interesting to think about how this results in a significant amount of cultural capital for Japan.

               The point of the con mostly seemed to be to find other people with similar interests and to spend money. In the documentary, it showed a whole room that was just people selling their anime-related merch. This definitely results in a lot of economic capital for the anime creators in Japan. Similarly, I found it very interesting that Japan sends the “Kawaii Ambassadors” to different countries to “spread awareness of cool Japan” to other places. This seems like extremely overt propaganda to increase Japan’s cultural capital. It does seem to be of great benefit to Japan that people all around the world are interested in their culture and spending money on their merchandise. Less than a hundred years ago Japan was one of the bad guys in WWII and yet they have bounced back to be viewed as an important contributor to global culture. The prevalence of anime worldwide contributes to the economic and cultural capital of Japan and has helped make the island country more relevant in global affairs.

               When they all talked about what the word ‘otaku’ meant to them I was interested to see that a lot of them claimed proudly to be otaku. I was surprised that apparently in Japan ‘otaku’ can be used to describe any fan of anything. In anime and on the internet, I’ve only seen otaku used to refer to somebody who is overly obsessed with anime. I still cringe a little bit at hearing people call themselves otaku but they definitely do not see the word in the same way that I do. I wonder if the americans calling themselves otaku know about the otaku murders and how this impacted the use of the word otaku. It’s surprising that the use of otaku was so common barely more than 20 years after the murders.

               It was interesting to see how the internet has changed fans’ interaction with anime. The documentary is almost ten years old, but it still showed how otaku connected over the internet to talk about their favorite anime and meet up for anime conventions. I know now there are a lot of anime fans on twitter and other social medias. This is a way for fans to bring the simulacra of their shows into their reality in a healthy manner.

               The documentary also focused significantly on the creation of Dust Bunny’s cosplay. Although I’ve seen people in cosplay before, I never considered how much work actually goes into the creation of these costumes. It was especially interesting to me how when she won the award Dust Bunny said it made cosplaying “not a wasted hobby”. This was odd because it showed her cosplay was not just simply for the point of cosplay, and implies just looking like the character would not have been enough for her, the costume was performative and for the benefit of those around her. I think the reason the conventions and cosplay are so popular is to show others that you, too, like anime and Japanese culture and otaku can bond with others with similar interests.

               The prevalence of Japanese culture around the world is extremely beneficial to Japan, who gains shadow culture capital and economic capital. Conventions provide those with varying levels of interest in Japanese culture with a way to connect with others in a place where they feel they can be accepted.

[marweep]

First of all, a really funny observation is that our posts are nearly opposite in some ways and I think that’s hysterical.

Anyway, I don’t disagree with you on the mass amount of white people invested in an entirely separate culture. It’s quite something how this form of soft power took hold of people globally, and I had a fear there was certainly some form of appropriation going on. Learning about the Cool Japan movement that the Japanese government themselves are propelling, however, I guess it really is quite beneficial for them to extend their reach in a positive way and eliminate icky feelings of the past, which I can get behind. This is also its own culture in my eyes; mayhaps a form of hyperreal if I can dig that up again? There seems to be a heavy focus on this simulation of Japanese culture mixed with moe on top of taking place outside of Japan in America and such that this is its own form of culture. Thinking about all this right now is making my head hurt and I could be very inaccurate, but that’s what I sort of saw from this.

[marweep]

Otakumentary

Through these conventions, we are witnessing the true extent of soft power and its influence.

Interesting that many of the convention goers didn’t consider themselves otaku, though it’s established otaku don’t see themselves as such. Even coming from cosplayers, many were more into their costume designing and such, although they admitted it is a way to appreciate a favorite character through one’s own interpretation of them and create something that is theirs. It sounds like owning what isn’t real in otaku fashion to me. I’m sure not many fit the true definition, though, as I consider myself more casual but many may see me as a tad obsessed. However, I don’t think anyone would pass down the chance to cosplay as their favorite character, otaku or not. Just look at Halloween in America. I don’t want to see anyone harping on cosplayers for being any nerdier than your typical Halloween goer. I also can’t wrap my mind around the concept that people would find this weird, and it’s not because I’ve done cosplay (I wish I had the skills and money). My sister fed me cosplay content on Youtube since I was a kid (mainly Naruto) and she was even an Akatsuki member for Halloween. I suppose my interest in all of this Cool Japan culture stuff stemmed from her, yet I have never been to a convention and am rather disappointed I couldn’t take the opportunity this time around. I still get my fill through video games like Pokemon (I sometimes tune into global competitions), manga, anime, and the cosplayers that upload to Youtube (old habits die hard). The internet has been a key component of expanding these communities and keeping connections with others of the same interest, such as youtube, tumblr, writing websites, etc. The main way for me, personally, to “bring it to reality” is the last one: writing. Because writing can be done so easily from the comfort of my room in the late hours of the night, I don’t need to go to conventions to get my fill, per say. I suppose the equivalent may be doujinshi sold at these conventions, but again, I’m very cheap. I think the one thing I can’t understand about conventions and the people that invest so much in them is where exactly the money comes from in the first place. I’d be worried I would spend all my money on travel, cosplaying, and merchandise; is this where shadow cultural capital comes into play?

I do find it really wholesome that you could strike up a conversation with anyone at these get togethers. It’s an amazing feeling to find others that share your level of passion, and many others feel this same way. They’re willing to be just as weird as you, take pictures, take on personas and just weeb out.

It was incredible to see the Star Wars reenactors perform in order to raise awareness for a cause. This reminded me of AGDQ, which is a get-together of video game speed runners that stream runs and raise money for a nonprofit. This shows that seemingly “pointless” interests can have a far reach, and really can have a pay off even as direct as raising money. And speed running is an entirely separate “genre” if you will. It makes me wonder why weebs get so much flack for partaking in their interests without any obvious payoff, when so many hobbies are the same way. Sure, many can’t make careers out of what they enjoy, but there can be many benefits to pursuing such. Even the fact that so many are able to connect with other humans is reason alone; the world is a lot colder when there is no one to talk to. I’ve been there. We’ve all been there.

[avayle]

Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind

Taking place in a post apocalyptic setting where very few humans remain alive in a world dominated by nature, Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind offers substantial commentary on environmentalism and human nature relative to it.

War waged by humans destroyed the Earth long before the film takes place, and with so few humans remaining, nature started to reclaim its territory. Ravenous insects and toxic air leave humans struggling to survive in a world they created. The “Sea of Decay” spreads rapidly, swallowing up any civilization and nation it passes through.

The film has a lot to say about warfare. This entire predicament was caused by an ancient war, leading to humans becoming victims of their own frivolity. The insects are relatively peaceful until people act violently toward or around them. Even knowing that, nothing really changes. The Tolmekien army invades other nations to “unite” them into their big “peaceful” conglomerate, and the queen of that nation is still insistent on burning the Sea of Decay away, despite Obaba’s insistence that trying to end the insects rule with violence has historically lead to the world becoming rife with flames and ruin. The first Tolmekien ship crashes and burns, and everyone on it dies as the soldiers shoot the insects on its surface. When Nausicaa meets Asbel, he is about to die from trying to kill a swarm of insects that are chasing him. When she was a child, her elders kill a baby Ohm saying that humans and insects cannot exist in the same world.

In contrast to that, we have Nausicaa, a heroine who treats all life with compassion and respect. She wished to save the Ohm then as well as calmed the Ohm who chased Yupa in the beginning of the film. She calmed the insect in the Valley so her villagers didn’t have to kill it, saving them from more ruin. There is a clear theme of compassion and basic respect for life, and Miyazaki could not possibly make more clear that we have to stop destroying the world we live in for vapid reasons if we wish not to become victims by ourselves, and if we keep killing for the sake of killing, eventually nature will take back its domain in real life and consume us as well.

[marweep]

Studio Ghibli was such a fantastic means of conveying so many essential aspects of life. They do an awesome job pointing out human repercussions to our behavior, and they definitely showed us that nature will win out in the end no matter what we do. 

[marweep]

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

This has to be my favorite of Studio Ghibli’s soundtracks by far.

Nausicaa and Asbel have also captured my heart. I love their interactions, I love them as individuals, this movie is great. Nausicaa has to be one of the best protagonists I’ve witnessed conveyed through a movie. She’s a badass in the best way possible. It’s not forced, and she never takes the victim role. I usually don’t connect well with movie protagonists, whether it be they bore me or annoy me, but Nausicaa genuinely amazes me, from her connection to nature, her internal struggle with violent tendencies, to her self sacrifice in all situations while still being rational. She carries a title of power as a form of respect, not as some petty political affiliation. The villagers listen to her and are calmed by her because she leads by example and knows exactly how to treat all parties in a rocky situation. I.e. she smiles despite her own unease in order to get the hostages to follow her instructions and save them. What a character. I also appreciate that the Valley of the Wind isn’t stupid; they submitted to their invaders in order to fight another day, with plans already in mind to stop the Toxic Jungle/Sea of Decay from getting attacked.

This movie both adds in human destruction of nature and each other, which can in some cases be considered the same thing. Fighting fire with fire is only a good idea in the literal sense; if you’re not a firefighter, don’t use this strategy, especially to somehow beat nature. Or another human. The cycle of vengeance is vicious, as we see when the insects are angered and readily fight back. The Ohm are certainly a topic of great discussion as well, as they were seen as wielders of destruction by the humans for the whole movie, but turned out to be healers as well at the very end. You get out what you put in: throw in grenades, take an explosion to the face, but throw in love and you get love back.

[marweep]

Wandering Son

How insane of a world that dressing differently could bring such consequences. I’ve always wanted to watch Wandering Son, as I keep up with a lot of lgbt anime, and I’m glad I’ve finally watched it. This story focuses on two transgender kids and the differing struggles that both have to face. I’ve always found it interesting that society is far harsher on men breaking free of their boundaries and straying at all away from “masculinity.” By extension, this makes trans women face far more criticism than trans men. If I’m not mistaken, this may have to do with history; as women had to fight their way up the social ladder, society is now far more lax in whatever they may pursue. For men, however, sitting at the top meant they had nowhere to go, and therefore weren’t forced to find progress as quickly as women. Standards on the male sex have been bolted in place. Attitudes toward “masculinity” have been far too constricted as opposed to femininity, and we can see this when a woman wears pants in public compared to a man wearing a skirt. Masculine things are acceptable for all genders, yet things traditionally deemed feminine are far out of reach for those not completely girl presenting. But this applies to everyone, especially men but for trans men as well; why does femininity denote the opposite of being a man? Why do trans men have to reject all things feminine in order to be considered by society as “passing”? And why do trans women have to embrace femininity in order to be recognized as women? I’m not asking on the individual level, but the societal. It’s such that transgender people seemingly have to completely present as their gender in order to escape bullying, like how we’ve seen Nitori be bullied since her classmates knew she was born male versus Yuki who has fully transitioned and is even admired by I think Doi for being pretty. All of this conversation hurts my brain and I may have zero idea what I’m talking about, as I know this creates controversy within the trans community as well, but it’s certainly something to think about in terms of the construction of gender.

[animezoomer]

Aggretsuko

I have known about Aggretsuko since it came out, but the gimmick of her using death metal to express anger never really interested me. I’m glad this class finally made me watch it because I really enjoyed it’s commentary about the modern work force. It’s interesting that such a large corporation like Sanrio made a character that challenges the status quo. 

This show illustrates the many challenges of being a women in the corporate work setting. The first couple of episodes demonstrate the office politics and workplace discrimination within the accounting department. It’s interesting how Retsuko views her coworkers outside of her friend group with discontent. She and Fenneko dislike Tsunoda because of her suck up approach towards office politics. I feel like there’s a lot of unwritten social cues within office politics. For instance, Director Gori and Ms. Washimi have to dress and act a certain way in order to be perceived as competent. Another example would be how Retsuko is unable to report her boss’s verbal harassment of the office staff in fear of losing her job. The power balance dynamic in the office politics setting is clearly being abused throughout the show. After watching this show, workplace discrimination is still an issue many have to deal with.

[marweep]

The gimmick for sure can be a little much, but they definitely encompassed many social dynamics in the workplace. Showing this anime to the typical office worker, they could probably name a person in their life for each character. Power is huge in this anime, and I think they address its abuse pretty well, all the way down to boss complaints tied to losing one’s job.

[marweep]

Aggretsuko

I’ve watched many more episodes than assigned or necessary; I even started with some of the original series. So forgive me if I forgot the exact parts to focus on, the show was too interesting to skip through.

In regards to the reading, one main point that I hyperfocused on was the construction of gender starting at the home--how the “act” has been rehearsed since beginning stages of life. At a crucial part of a kid’s life, they are often subtly and aggressively parted into either of two overarching categories, boy or girl, and are treated differently as such. Humans have a tendency to bend toward a group they find footing in (shown in a study where people were separated into groups based on how high or low they guessed a number of dots; people literally developed kinships with fellow “dot overestimators” or “dot underestimators”). People are more likely to take to the shared interests of said group, especially kids, and voila you have the essence of gender. Not this simply. But still. The home is the beginning; in my gender class we’ve discussed that this space is feminized, while the “outside world” is masculinized. In the home, women learn to submit to men, such as wife answering to husband or sister answering to father and brother. The home is tended to by women, even in present day when a majority have jobs to juggle. On top of heavy if not primarily media and commercial influence, these behaviors carry out into the rest of an individual’s life, including the workplace.

Aggretsuko includes many aspects faced by workers both male and female, but focuses on the female experience. And these tales aren’t just horror stories--they are way too real, coming from someone who had a single working mom. The workplace is an area of power, and where there is given power, there is always manipulation and enforced inferiority. You want to complain? Or do you want to keep your job? I found Retsuko’s intermittent blood-curdling death metal screamo to be very satisfying.

[marweep]

Sailor Moon

I went into this show believing it would be a nice experience pretty woke for its time since I’ve seen a few ways it’s dealt with relationships. And I won’t deny it’s ability to deal with relationships. But my God. The pinkness.

As in the article, this show had the ambitions to reclaim femininity. There isn’t anything particularly wrong with confidence in gender identity, but I suppose there is something wrong in convincing kiddos hyperfemininity is the only way to go. By putting all their chips on one extreme to avoid another, they’re just propagating the problem further. Yes, there is nothing wrong with liking shoes, or other things deemed “weak girl products.” Putting power into characters that ogle jewelry therefore empowers jewelry, I get that.

However, so strictly barring off all alternatives drives a wedge between males and females even further. Sorry, a quick tangent but I feel like I’m in the early 2000s again with all the hannah montana and girl power merch. I’m glad to see our society for the most part getting past these pretty childish ideas. Makeup and clothes shopping isn’t only for women; interests in general shouldn’t delineate gender. By deeming something as “girl only,” this just makes the distinction between genders greater, therefore making it all the harder to reach equality. The easiest thing to do would just be to separate hobbies from gender. Sure I’m a girl but the things I like aren’t determined by that. Out of all the things I should have taken on with my “female identity,” I only adopted body image issues. And even that is a just a human thing, not girl. The media and commercialism are the main identity influencers; advertisement toward men and women are increasingly different for no reason at all, girls are backed into a corner to invest in things to gain “true” acceptance and force fed image issues in order for corporations to make mad stacks. The whole need for gender existence is just a problem honestly. Or at least making it a big deal. I’m a society hater in case you couldn’t tell.

[woolooshepherd]

Genshiken (OVA 1 & EP. 5,10,11) | 3/11/20

In Saito’s Beautiful Fighting Girl, Okada Toshi (the “Otaku King”) is quoted on his reasoning of why otaku generally don’t like being called otaku, the reasoning being that they have an “extreme dislike of being categorized by other people,” as well as an “excessive self-reflexivity.”

I feel like this is best seen in Ogiue, who was introduced in the first OVA as someone who claimed an extreme dislike for otaku, especially female otaku for liking yaoi, despite being one herself.  The negative stereotypes about otaku being strange/repulsive (among many other things) have ingrained themselves in her and manifested as an outward hate for otaku. Despite this, we see that she’s very drawn to otaku-related events and Genshiken.  It’s not that she doesn’t like being an otaku, but rather, she hates how she’s viewed by other people because of it.  (This ‘otaku-rejection’ was also seen in Sasahara, but his was more of a self-repression rather than outward hate, which he got over fairly quickly.)

Saito also mentions that an otaku has the trait of being “a person capable of finding sexual objects in fiction itself.”  This is very clearly shown throughout Genshiken, but the anime makes it also clear that its not all they’re interested in.  Even Madarame, who if I remember correctly claimed early on that he only liked 2-D, has shown interest when he’s with Saki.  Genshiken simultaneously both portrays and breaks down this stereotype.

[marweep]

It appears that the anime still wants to portray even the most otaku of otaku as humans. Otaku could be perceived as shameless and perverted, but the club has such natural interactions and most of the time are tame, bound by the reality of getting jobs and being productive. Saito mentioned that Bill Gates is either similar to or resembles an otaku that brought fiction into reality. Essentially, even otaku face very human struggles that we all do, and can be even more capable than the ordinary citizen. 

[marweep]

Genshiken p2

This second round of otakuness has blessed us with the female side of it. To my surprise, Saito noted in Beautiful Fighting Girl that about 70% of consumers of such franchises are female. I suppose that isn’t too alarming, though, as much of the fandoms found around the internet consist vastly of females, and many of the fandoms I’m in are basically dominated by them.

I about fell out of my chair when Ogiure began shipping Sasahara and Madarame. The sheer ACCURACY of the animation and fantasy dialog touched on too many BL troupes that I’ve witnessed. Yes, I have dabbled. But listen only the wholesome ones are fulfilling like the movie “Doukyuusei” or the manga/anime “No. 6″ or something of the like. I digress.

Saito explained that what makes up an otaku is the ability to see reality as fiction and jump between levels of understanding, referred to as multiple orientation based off double orientation. We witness this with Ogiure bringing fictional troupes into the real world, eyeing every interaction for clues of a relationship between the boys. She’s able to produce material to bring her fantasies into the real world, selling her dojinshi based off a work of fiction.

I also want to point out how much the boys grew; Madarame actually went outside and found a job after he graduated, albeit still stuck at the college. They’re secure in their interests and actually profiting from them by setting up at the Comic Market, contrary to the beginning of the series when they were only blowing their money at the place. The club found productivity and even converted otaku haters like Ogiure and Saki.

[elliekimono]

Genshiken

Wow, I just watched a full 20 minutes of pure awkwardness. This hurt me a little inside, I don’t know whether it’s cause I relate, or the character felt awkward, or both. At first, I was really confused by the scene of switching between the otakus and Kasukabe shopping for clothes, but it helped highlight the fact that even though they’re shopping for different things, they both have the same considerations. Kasukabe is shopping for something considered more mainstream and popular, while Sasahara is shopping for something Kasukabe considers strange, but they’re having the exact same considerations. Kasukabe might question why it’s so complicated since she might believe they’re all the same as an outsider, but they’re both just shopping for something they like. Kasukabe thinks her boyfriend is strange because he has a different set of interests as “normal guys” and strives to change him. She freaks out not on the idea of porn being in his room, but anime porn and questions his interests. However, it is simply Kousaka’s interest and a very defining feature of him. This brings up the question of whether Kasukabe is actually interested in Kousaka himself. I’d also recommend they break up too to be honest since it doesn’t seem like she accepts this crucial part of him. However, we didn’t watch the episodes in between, but seeing that Kasukabe is willing to read manga may show that she’s accepted the way her boyfriend is and is willing to learn more about it. I get Sasahara’s embarrassment though with browsing things that others aren’t, or entering places that are blatantly otaku. I struggle with the same issue of questioning if I hold a high enough level of interest as I’m scared of people like the manga club people judging Genshiken as useless fans as you can see the harsh discrimination by fans talked about in the essay. Sasahara starts to become like him, judging some of the people in the convention as not fitting the otaku stereotype based on their looks or who they’re with but gets irritated when he hears Haraguchi.

[marweep]

Yes! I agree with the parallels between otaku and your everyday shopper; an obsession with clothes is more widely accepted than with manga and the like, yet watching both parties put so much thought into their interests, they could BOTH be considered “weird.” It’s just that the norm--i.e. clothes shopping--was established first. It’s just different interests, one perhaps a bit more niche. Also, I too have no idea why Kasukabe is sticking around for so long, but maybe this is an indicator that she is willing to understand. Perhaps like some kind of “bridging opposite sides” situation.