Untitled

[mcdouble28]

Your Name

I watched this movie a while ago, but I completely forgot the plot until now. I was not disappointed rewatching it though, because this is a pretty good movie. The animation is beautiful especially during the comet scene.  

Even though there were some sad scenes, such as Mitsuha's town getting hit by the comet, and Taki learning she died, there will still some funny moments to balance it out. Seeing them interact with each other's friends was very funny, especially when Mitsuha didn't know which pronouns to use or when she got Taki a date with his crush. 

I think it’s also interesting how the characters are able to help each other. When Taki makes Mitsuha act more confident and “masculine”, she attracts a lot of attention and has both boys and girls confessing to her. When Mitsuha makes Taki act more kind and “feminine”, she gets his crush to notice him more. 

In Your Name, we see that the two main characters Taki and Mitsuha are influenced by unknown forces, that allow them to switch bodies. They find happiness living each other's lives until one day it stops. Taki learns that Mitsuha died when a comet struck her town three years ago. 

In the readings we are introduced to force relations by Foucault, the idea that power originates from within society and your relationships with people. We see that Taki and Mitsuha so desperately want to change their lives that they are able to switch. Foucault also points out that no one is able to control this force. Even though Taki is able to rewrite the past and save Mitsuha and her town, both still forget each other's names.  

I do relate to the characters in Your Name. The grass is always greener on the other side, and we always want something that we don't have. I see a bit of myself in both Taki and Mitsuha in the fact that they want to change their lives, but don't know how until they switch bodies. 

[spburns1]

Hetalia

I came to understand that the figures are meant to be anthropomorphic representations of the many nations that were prominent players in world politics. In summary, Hetalia is a humorous, symbolic account of the First and Second World Wars, along with a few other major political occurrences, such as the American Revolution and Japan's openness to international trade (or, as one American character puts it, "Now you're rockin' with your c*** out!"). Cultural corruption occurs when America and Japan become close to one another. Every country is represented by a character, and some may ask if Hetalia is racist due to its many stereotyped qualities. But if a single person is selected to symbolize a whole nation.

Hetalia is a comedy and caricature that looks at political and historical subjects from a Japanese point of view. Slightly satirizing World War II and other historical events, the series personifies countries like Italy, Germany, and Japan. It provides a less aggressive approach for Japanese viewers to interact with the historical significance of their own nation. The way that other countries, including Japan, are portrayed might encourage viewers to consider national identity and historical memory in more complex ways. The show has the danger of oversimplifying intricate historical narratives, which may not always be sensitive or accurate in the past. Hetalia addresses nationalism and cultural prejudices on a global scale. Hetalia strikes a chord with me personally because it skillfully combines comedy with weighty historical subjects. It serves as a helpful reminder to viewers of the intricacy of international relations and the value of comprehending other points of view. The amusing yet thought-provoking depiction of history promotes an investigation into the ways in which nations see themselves and one another.

[mcdouble28]

Hi I agree that Hetalia is able to cover serious topics in a way that is informative, but fun. While it does cover the events of Word War Two, and make light of the countries actions, at least the fans are aware of what they are supporting. It's also interesting that the series was created by a Japanese person, because he's one of the characters that is mocked the most.

[mcdouble28]

Hetalia

This anime was definitely something. Was it entertaining? Yes. Did I understand it? Most definitely not. I'm not entirely sure what point the show was trying to make, but I'll do my best to relate it the themes of the module. 

I've actually watched this show before. I only watched a couple episodes, but my friend made me watch it with her in middle school. 

Fortunately, I was able to understand most of the political references in this show. I did think the show was informative in how it showed the historical events of World War Two and World One War in a cute and entertaining way. 

The assigned readings discussed the mindset of the Hetalia fandom. I think it's interesting how such a polarizing show can have a huge fanbase. I think that is because the Hetalia fandom is self-aware about how the show has its flaws. They know that Germany was not a nice guy that took care of his friend Italy, but that he committed genocide, and numerous other war crimes. In fact, each cute character has done their fair share of atrocities. They also realize that not every country is like its stereotypes. In the show every character is an accumulation of its generalization. I mean, Italy's first word was literally pasta. The U.S can't find anything on a map, and Japan carries around a sword and has stereotypical music play when he enters. 

I would not say that this anime was relatable, but it was interesting to see how the United States was portrayed. Honestly, it makes me not want to uphold stereotypes as it’s embarrassing to always be portrayed as stupidly confident American. Whenever I’m on social media, I always see how other people love to say how ignorant Americans are and that our education system sucks. 

[mochicrackersss]

Blog Post - Your Name ᯓᡣ𐭩‧₊˚ ⊹

The movie Your Name is so recognizable within anime communities and is vastly known for its beautiful animation and endearing story. So why the hell have I not watched it until this class??? I knew for years this film would be right up my alley, and I loved watching similar movies like Suzume, Belle, and Weathering with You in the past. I even know the famous end-credit scene where Mitsuha and Taki reunite on the staircase years later. So I think I'm just insane or something, I don't know lol.

The movie was super cute, especially with its time-traveling Freaky Friday-like plot. I found the main characters endearing, with their struggles and embarrassment to live as the opposite sex. I liked how eventually, the two of them began to enjoy each other's lives and even helped save it. And I always enjoy a story that mentions the concept of the "red thread," or "Musubi" in the movie. The idea is that everything in the world is connected by time and place. Especially your soulmates, platonically or romantically, are all tied to your body by an unseeable thread until you find them is super fascinating to me. It felt similar to the anime, Kamisama Kiss, where the human girl Nanami and the fox spirit Tomoe were bound to fall in love again across every lifetime.

I will add that this movie surprisingly was an in-depth commentary on gender performance. A scene that stood out to me was when Taki, in Mitsuha's body, kicked a desk to stop the school bullies from talking behind her back. Everything that normal Mitsuha has done, being nice to them, staying quiet, and not bringing anything up, is stereotypically considered a "feminine" reaction to bullying. Your Name tells us that being feminine isn't the solution, and to stop someone from bullying you, the victim has to reject them in a "masculine" way (i.e. kicking your desk or getting into a fight). Of course, this isn't 100% true in reality, but the concept behind it is seen in the real world. Women have been taught for generations to bottle up their problems and not cause a scene so they aren't a nuisance, so some close-minded people believe only being a man or being masculine will get things done.

[mcdouble28]

Hi, you're so right Your Name is really similar to Kamisama kiss. As soon as I the red string of fate in this movie, I knew exactly what it meant. I also like how you tied their relationship to gender performance. I agree that while this movie feels more conservative in it's small town idealism, it it pretty modern in it's ideas of gender performance. We see that when Taki and Misuha embrace characteristics of the opposite sex, they are able to solve their problems.

[dillonmorse-ufl]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2

This is a game I've always been meaning to try but never got around to. I knew absolutely nothing about the actual story, I'd only seen the cast of characters. And even though I knew from the lecture page that it took place on a destroyed Earth, I was still surprised by just how much it relates to the environmental messages and readings we've been assigned. I didn't expect the story to go where it did, and I found it very interesting that the nature these characters have been living in is actually entirely man-made.

Much like in Nausicaa, humans (and one human in particular, Klaus) had a terrible effect on the world. But in the case of Xenoblade, that effect is so severe that there was no world left. Nature could not heal itself over time like it did in Nausicaa and it was entirely up to human-made nano-machines to fix things and recreate nature. But maybe it makes more sense to simply say "recreate the world" instead of recreating nature specifically, because the point I get from this game when also thinking about our assigned reading is that humanity is nature. Humanity is not something that acts on nature but within it, a part of it. Humanity is nature and not only needed saving just as much as the trees and plants and animals that we commonly think of separately from humans as nature, but deserved it just as much, too.

I tend to see media portray humanity as simply the destroyers of nature and not just nature of a different kind, so I really liked this games take on it, and despite seeing basically the entire story now, it makes me want to go back and play it myself to really appreciate this world that humanity fought so hard to save.

[mcdouble28]

Hi I agree that Xenoblade had a unique take to the relationship between humans and nature. In media we often see humans destroyed nature, with the lesson being to let it grow by itself. This is not the case in Xenoblade as the environment needs the help of humans to grow. I think it was helpful to watch Nausicaa right before Xenoblade so we could compare different solutions.

[mcdouble28]

Xenoblade 2

It's hard to view just the cutscenes from a game without actively participating in the gameplay itself. While I wasn’t entirely bored watching the cutscenes from Xenoblade, I just didn’t feel a personal connection like I would with  a show or a movie. A story heavy game like Xenoblade needs fights and side quests to balance it out.  

We start out the game with a brief history lesson. It’s revealed that humanity used to live in the world tree, surrounding by bountiful nature living with a care. But, they were forced to live on titans in the cloud sea. At the end of the game, we find out that a human Klaus destroyed the past world in an attempt to rewrite humanity. He believed that humans had made too many mistakes and ruined the environment. Klaus destroyed everything and rebuilt it using technology. 

What’s interesting about Xenoblade as opposed to Nausicaa is that this new environment is dependent on humans to rebuild itself. Because Klaus virtually wiped everything out of existence, real nature no longer existed. That meant that Klaus had to rebuild an environment dependent on humans. He introduced a cycle where cores turned to blades, which turned to titans, and then returned to the Earth. This way the environment could slowly rebuild itself.  

One point I wonder about is why Klaus would make blades so powerful. If he was worried about humans destroying the environment again then he shouldn’t have given them access to the blades, instead made a different system. It’s not only humans that have too much power, it’s the blades themselves. We see Malos fight independently and even claim that he wants to destroy the whole world.  

I am able to relate to Xenoblade. While in the beginning Rex comes off as a typical protagonist, through the cutscenes we are able to see his vulnerability and shortcomings. I think in the last cutscene with Pneuma that Rex is the most relatable as he wants to be selfish and join her, but respects her decision instead. 

[hayleyrainbowprincess]

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was a movie I actually enjoyed watching and thought it had a good moral message. It is a Studio Ghibli creation so that could also be why. 

It is really interesting to see how the people in the film, besides Nausicaä, believe that the Earth and its resources are for THEIR use. They also like to get rid of any obstacle that they find within the environment. Nausicaä, however, is the complete opposite! She sees the world in such a different light. She believes that we should respect nature and work in harmony with it, not forcing it to work for us. 

Nausicaä does have her flaws though. After her father is murdered, she has a lot of anger within and she does end up killing someone. She immediately regrets it, but it’s something she cannot take back. She puts this rage she is filled with aside so she can help the people. I think this was a really important characteristic and action to see Nausicaä make. I feel like in most films this would have been the beginning of her villain arc. However, she decides that this isn’t her and she needs to put the others before her emotions. This is such a brave and strong move. 

Personally, I do not see myself with the instrumentalist perspective that is displayed by some of the people in the film. I think nature is something that humans take too much advantage of everyday and it will definitely be our demise if we keep it up. 

I really enjoyed this movie as I think it takes an important stance on nature and human impact. Most, if not all, destruction is caused by humans. I think this shows that we should respect the environment we are very fortunate to have. I would for sure recommend this movie to people as I find it very fascinating and honestly a good warning sign to possible future endeavors.

[mcdouble28]

Hi I definitely didn't consider that her father's murder could have caused Nausicaa to become spiteful. It's really impressive that she was able to put aside the pain of her father's murder to try and help the people of the valley. I think that this was a turning point in the movie, as she realized she needed to set aside her feelings to prevent conflict. For the rest of the movie she puts other first, bearing their pain and even sacrificing herself for the greater good.

[mcdouble28]

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

I really enjoyed this movie. It’s one of my favorites from Studio Ghibli. Nausicaa’s character is really well done, and she always tries to do the right thing even if it puts her life in danger. 

The most obvious commentary on human influence on the environment is the poison jungle. We learn that the jungle itself is not poisonous, only the soil because of years of human pollution. Everyone spent so long fearing the jungle and the insects inside of it, that they didn’t even try to understand how they could fix it.  

The Tolmekians represent the greed of society. They drain the valley of their resources and want to kill the remaining insects as well. Instead of taking a more peaceful approach like Nausicaa and gently guiding the insects back to the jungle, they try to blow them up and eradicate them. The only ones that don't try to use nature are the people of the Valley of the Wind. I think this situation is comparable to demand of natural resources in the present. We tear down trees, mine coal, and contribute to global warming. If anything, people today can be compared to the Tolmekians. 

Another point I’d like to make is that the Tolmekians try to use nature to fight nature. When the Ohms swarm the valley of the wind, they send the earth demon to fight them. The Pejites are just as bad. They hung an injured baby Ohm to direct its family to attack the valley.  

Overall, I think the message of the movie is that, even if we have done terrible things to the environment, there’s still a chance to make things right. We see this through Nausicaa as she earns the trust of the insects of jungle and actively works to prevent human interference. Nausicaa urges people to leave the environment alone. 

I do find Nausicaa relatable. She cares about the environment and tries to help those around her. I may not be fighting off invaders or flying through the sky on a glider, but I do try to do small things that help the environment.

[pari-patel]

End of Evangelion Blog Post

This was kinda sad to watch. I can tell it was the fear of isolation, nature of human consciousness and the yearn for an identity that was prevalent throughout this entire anime. While continuing to address pressures of societal expectations, the film delved more so into Shinji’s internal conflicts where society s now portrayed as a place in which individuals must explore tensions between personal desires and collective responsibilities. In his case, it is his queer masculinity vs his hegemonic one. Audiences worldwide reflect on their lives and shape their struggles accordingly. The fear of losing oneself is something all individuals struggle with while simultaneously trying to create a human connection with others in such an interconnected world.

As someone who is dictated at times with the fear of rejection, this anime hit home. It invites me to introspect into my life and the way I go about creating human connections and learning more and more about myself too. The emotional and psychological depth to this film was very clearly and properly explored in my opinion. It makes me wonder where I should start in attacking my barriers to better embrace and welcome genuine connections into my life. It is no surprise by now that Shinji’s character challenges notions of masculinity by embodying a vulnerable and emotional personality. This complexity contrasts with rigid gender norms and we see that all Shinji wants is to be accepted and embraced for who he is. You know it’s bad when he starts behaving in a hegemonic way that can get him accepted, but it goes against his morals and character. The ending made me happy, and I am glad to see his character develop throughout this all as it brought him to life in a way. He was able to come to terms with himself and with society which is all he had ever yearned for.

[mcdouble28]

Hi you definitely perceived this in a more positive light than I did. It's interesting how you described that Shinji was able to come to terms with himself. We often see him being bullied for acting differently than others. In the movie I believe there was less acceptance because Asuka was still there at the end to call him disgusting and judge his queer masculinity. Nevertheless, both versions still gave Shinji character development.

[mcdouble28]

End of Evangelion

After watching the tv series Evangelion I thought watching this movie would give me more clarity on what happened. In the show there were lots of plot points I didn't understand, which was made worse by the episodes we skipped. Unfortunately, even though we were given more context, I was left even more confused by the End of Evangelion.

On a more positive note the animation was really high quality and the fight scenes were cool, especially Asuka's fight against the angels. You can see the vision that the show wasn't able to fulfill in the last two episodes of the show.

End of Evangelion covers the events right after Shinji killed Kaworu. What I liked about the movie vs the show is that we were able to get more context and see the perspectives of everyone disappearing, instead of just Shinji. 

There were several differences between the show and the movie. I honestly prefer the characters the way they were in the show, rather than the movie. Everyone just seemed like the worse versions of themselves, especially Shinji. Maybe it was on purpose because the world was falling apart, but many characters were missing the redeeming qualities they had in the show. The endings were also vastly different. In the show everyone was turned into a collective consciousness, while in the movie both Asuka and Shinji survive.

Up until now I viewed Shinji as slightly pitiful, but still understandable in some ways. However, after watching this movie I can’t help but dislike Shinji. He is too dependent on other people and honestly a creep. I mean the opening hospital scene says it all. Like in part two, I think this is another example of Shinji trying to prove his hegemonic masculinity. This again fails and throughout the movie we see him relying on everyone else to solve his problems. I mean he literally was begging Asuka to help him when she was unconscious. He also had to be dragged by Misato and she got shot because he took too long. And, when Asuka woke up she literally had to solo all the angels because Shinji was sitting there feeling sorry for himself. He was only enraged once he thought Atsuka died, when if he literally had helped her in the first place, she would have been fine. Shinji wasn't the only creepy questionable character though. Misato literally kissed Shinji, and it wasn't a motherly kiss. It was quite passionate considering she was kissing A MINOR.

I did not find this movie relatable at all. It was all over the place and too extreme to be comparable to any real life situation I've been in.

[theanimetedworld]

Neon Genesis Evangelion part 2

I actually enjoyed the second part of Neon Genesis Evangelion more than the first, as it had a little bit more action and overall excitement. However, I found it very confusing to continue watching the series while not watching every individual episode. I kind of felt like I was missing something at all times. The second part of Neon Genesis Evangelion, beginning with episode 8 introduces the viewers to Asuka, the new pilot of Evangelion Unit-02. Asuka’s introduction, in my opinion, shows the shift in tone and story of this series as her personality is completely different from the other main characters Rei and Shinji. Rei and Shinji are both very nervous and reserved people while Asuka is very brash and confident in everything that she does. I believe that Asuka’s personality is not who she actually is on the inside, but who she has learned to become due to her traumatic childhood. This is a great example of a real world issue of trauma and how it affects everyone it comes in contact with differently as some may decide to shrivel up, losing their confidence while others may become incredibly confident like Asuka. Asuka is also different from Rei, Shinji, and the other characters in this anime due to her nationality. While basically every other character is fully Japanese, Asuka is actually German. While this could be a contributing factor to both her personality and feeling like an outsider, I do not know if I believe that. I think that her nationality is just something that is a part of her rather than something that could actually define her. Overall, I think that this anime was really interesting but I am not sure if it is something that I would die to watch again. I did really enjoy it though.

[mcdouble28]

Hi I agree that Asuka's character contrasts Rei and Shinji. In some ways she can be viewed as a more masculine parallel that highlights Shinji's queer masculinity. Asuka's character was also used to move the plot along as she often made decisions or insulted people without a second thought. I also agree that each of the children's personalities were based on their environments. I think Asuka was able to have more of a strong personality because she became a pilot at a younger age than Shinji.

[mcdouble28]

Neon Genesis Evangelion Part Two

There’s a lot to unwrap for part two. I’m starting to feel bad for Shinji. Shinju desperately seeks validation from the people around him in the only way that he knows possible. It’s clear that he feels his only value is through piloting the EVA. 

We also see Shinji start to fit in more along the lines of hegemonic masculinity as he tries to find himself. He gets extremely cocky, challenging Asuka and saying that he can handle being the team leader. Shinji even mentions that fighting is a man’s job. His brashness almost gets him killed. 

While it is hard to theorize what EVAs actually are without seeing all of the episodes, I do think that Shinji’s EVA is connected to his mother. When he is trapped inside of the angel’s shadow, his mother saves him. There are also many references back to Shinji’s mother through the show that are too frequent to ignore.  

With each episode, Shinji seems to spiral more and more into endless pit of self-hate and anxiety. It’s only when Kaworu is introduced that we see Shinji start to open up more. Kaworu is the first person that appears to want to show Shinji unconditional love with nothing in return. That, however, is short lived as we learn Kaworu is an angel, and Shinji eventually kills him. As you can probably guess, that has an even more negative impact on his mental health. 

It’s in episode 26 that we finally see Shinji realize that he is worthy of existing. All of his negative internalized thoughts about others hating him, suddenly turn into his friends and colleagues congratulating him. I think that this change represents Shinji finally accepting himself as he is and realizing that he doesn’t have to perform perfectly to society’s expectations.  

While I argued that Shinji was relatable in my last response, I’m going to take the opposite approach here. Shinji faces a lot of criticism for his queer masculinity, something that I have never had to deal with. While everyone has their anxieties, Shinji’s internalized problems stem from years of isolation. This is not something the average person can relate to. 

[emilato]

ℕ𝕖𝕠𝕟 𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕤 𝔼𝕧𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕟 ℙ𝕥.𝟙

I can't believe I am finally watching this show. I swear to god everyone I've met has watched and is a fan, so now I can see what the hype is about. The four episodes for part one were decent and laid out the plot. However, I am a bit apprehensive about moving forward. I have seen some off-putting clips of NGE online. I also have seen other students' (who have finished watching) suspicious and concerned comments about NGE. So it's safe to say that moving forward, I am definitely bracing for impact. Throughout the 4 episodes for part one, ideas of masculinity can be applied. 

The first part of Neon Genesis Evangelion follows the 14-year-old Shinji Ikari, who is called to the city of Tokyo 3 by his father, Gendo Ikari. Shinji's father is the director of the military agency Nerv, and due to a stubborn and dangerous Angel, Gendo pushes Shinji to pilot one of their Evangelion bio machines unit 01. From the gecko, we can tell that Shinji isn't your typical male main character. He doesn't display traditional traits of masculinity and instead displays more of a queer masculinity. Normally in mecha animes, the lead male characters are expected to participate in fighting, war, and violence. They portray bravery and display physical and mental strength. However, when pressured to pilot unit 01, Shinji breaks down and refuses. Shinji only gives in once he sees Rei's weakened state. Even when finally in unit 01, Shinji is overwhelmed and doesn't put up a fight. Moving forward within the show, Shinji continues to display his queer masculinity when he dismisses his classmate's taunting about Rei. Shinji can be looking over at Rei, wondering why she is by herself; however, his classmates ask if he is looking at Rei sexually, which he isn't. This shows that Shinji fails to perform the typical traits tied to hegemonic masculinity. Unfortunately, Shinji's queer masculinity doesn't go unnoticed, and throughout the episodes, people make comments on his gender performance. 

Overall, I am eager to watch more episodes and get into the nitty-gritty of everything. I am also interested to see how Shinji grows and develops throughout, if he does at all. 

[mcdouble28]

Hi I definitely agree that Shinji matches the queer masculinity qualities mentioned in the readings. Misato and his friend's definitely comment on his actions and always assume he's viewing something as sexual, even when he's just trying to exist. I'm sure as we see more interactions between Shinji and his father we'll see different perspectives on masculinity.

[mcdouble28]

Neon Genesis Evangelion Part 1

It’s been a while since I’ve watched Neon Genesis Evangelion. I will admit the first time I watched it I thought it was boring but watching it again I saw more themes that I missed before. Overall, I thought it was pretty good and the opening song is still fun to listen to. 

At the start we see the juxtaposition between Shinji and Misato’s personalities. Misato comes of as confident and bold, while Shinji comes of as awkward and shy. He is more reserved and is very in tune with his emotions. When you compare him to his father who is masculine (not in a good way), he seems more feminine. Now this is not a bad thing, nor does it take away from Shinji’s “masculinity” but I don't think he has the traditional personality of a thirteen year old boy. In media you often see young boys wanting to fight, thinking war is cool, but that's not the case for Shinji. Shinji also is viewed as weird when he isn't sexually attracted to Rei. This can be compared to the readings and the idea of queer masculinity.

I HATE Shinji’s dad. He is so cold and standoffish to his own son. He only cares about Shinji when he learns he has the potential to pilot an EVA. Shinji’s dad was also about to sent Rei out to fight when she was hospitalized. She could barely stand and he wanted her to save the world. 

I do find Shinji relatable. While this whole Mecha situation is kind of bizarre, I can relate to how Shinji gets scared to do things and how he doesn’t always succeed. Even though he ended up winning the fight against the Angel, Shinji got pummeled at first. He isn’t a perfect protagonist, and he even runs away when things get difficult. I want to think that if I was ever in a situation like this I would be calm and collected, but in reality I would probably act exactly like him. 

[jimmyanimeblog]

Module 10: Convention Post

Anime fandoms have the special ability to create an environment where fans are able to feel empowered and have a sense of belonging. These fandoms are usually small and local due to it not being widely popular and accepted within many societies. To combat this issue however, there are annual conventions hosted where these anime fandoms from all over the world come together to express their fan productivity and feelings about their favorite anime or Japanese culture in general. Although I’ve never been to an anime convention, I can clearly see why it has become so popular amongst many fandoms. From watching the documentaries on these anime conventions and what it means to be a “True Otaku”, conventions play a major part into helping bring people together, providing opportunities for fans to meet their favorite anime or Japanese content creators, and allowing people to expand their knowledge on different perspectives of anime and Japanese culture.

Anime fans are often seen as odd and not socially “normal” in which they are sometimes discriminated against for their fondness of anime due to the way that they dress and act. Anime Fandom conventions allow people to come together and create a sense of community where their feelings are accepted and welcomed. These anime conventions don’t limit themselves to just physical connections, there is a vast network of anime fans within the online community where people from all over the country are able to express their feelings through the internet at any time. Some examples of these online anime networks may include anime blogs, social media, anime specific websites, etc.  Another way that anime conventions allow people to express their love for anime is by allowing fans to cosplay their favorite characters. Through cosplay, people are able to show their creativity and passion for their favorite anime characters. In addition to this, fans can draw attention to themselves where other fans may come up to them and ask them for a picture with their cosplay costumes. Fans often enjoy the attention because naturally humans enjoy attention which enables them to have a passion for cosplaying.

After getting the opportunity to watch these conventions through the documentaries, I can relate to how fandoms create a sense of community. Although I don’t participate in many anime fandoms, participating in football fandoms are overall really similar where I feel a sense of belonging where people are able to come together to support a common team.

Anime conventions not only allow fans to come together, they also often feature panels and workshops where fans get the opportunity to meet industry professionals, voice actors, or creators of their favorite anime or Japanese content, offering insights into the anime world. These workshops might cover anything from drawing and animation techniques to voice acting. Anime fans really get to immerse themselves into the anime world where they learn about the behind the scenes of how their favorite anime came to be. Fans get to learn about the creative processes behind their favorite shows and movies, upcoming releases that are coming up, and the cultural context behind a particular anime. Fans also learn to understand how anime is perceived and enjoyed around the world, and how different cultures interpret and engage with Japanese media. I feel like this provides anime fans with an experience where they get to connect to their favorite anime or Japanese content on a whole new level.

All in all, anime conventions are an incredible way for fans to come together to create a community, meet creators of their favorite anime or Japanese content, and broaden their knowledge about the anime industry overall. Anime conventions play a major role in giving fans the opportunity to express their fan productivity and love for anime. These anime conventions emphasize the point that being an otaku means so much more than just being an anime fan.

[mcdouble28]

Hi I like your point on how conventions foster a sense of community. Some cosplayers might have a hard time meeting people with similar interests, but at a convention you know you won't be judged and that you are surrounded by likeminded people. This documentary did a great job of showing what a convention was like even if you had never been to one before. I also thought it was funny how they mentioned the cosplayers were attention seekers. I know stereotypically cosplayers are often labelled as being shy, but that couldn't be further from the truth from what was shown.

[mcdouble28]

Convention

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend a convention, so I watched the documentary instead. While I wasn't able to make my own memories at a convention, it was interesting to see the differing perspectives of the different cosplayers. 

I will say that this documentary focused more on the cosplay aspect of conventions than I thought it would. Nonetheless, I have always been curious about the cosplay creation process, so it was an informative watch.  

One important point I got from watching the documentary, was the different ways that convention goers defined the word otaku. Some had never heard the term before, while others felt a special connection to otaku as it was part of their identity. I had always thought that the term otaku was just someone who was really into Japanese culture, especially manga or anime, but now I know that the definition can be different depending on who you ask. 

The documentary also made me realize how I was much more involved with fandom than I thought. I was able to recognize a lot of the cosplays even though the video was from 2012. Even though I have never been to convention and don't consider myself an active member of an fandoms, I'm still a fan. From what I understood from the video a fandom is more of a group of people that get together and discuss common interests or media, whereas a fan is a individual. I think generally, it's hard to actively say you're part of fandom. This point was covered in the documentary, but there's a sort of stigma about "geeking out" about certain interests in public. That's why so many people enjoy conventions because they can meet likeminded people without judgement. You could tell that everyone in the video was having a lot of fun and was able to be themselves. 

I also did not realize how harsh the cosplay judges were. I was shocked when they told Iris that they scored feminine cosplays with stuff like dresses or lace higher. This really tied in with the themes from this module about gender performance. Why should the masculinity or femininity of a costume have any impact on whether they win the cosplay competition or not? This is also terrible because people go to conventions to have fun and be accepted, but then some have their costumes looked down upon. Being judged is one of the reasons I’ve always been afraid to cosplay.  

It was cool to see Iris’ design process. I always knew that making a cosplay was hard work, but I hadn’t considered the research process. It was cool how thrifty and self-sufficient Iris was, and it’s awesome how she is able to make such cool cosplays.  

The convention also served as a place for others to experiment with gender identity. The Princess Peach cosplayer mentioned to the interviewer that she doesn’t normally dress this femininely as she works for the air force. I imagine that she has to dress in uniform, so she probably has to dress more masculine. Her Princess Peach cosplay allowed her to try and see if she if she liked dressing differently than she normally does.  

While there wasn’t much other talk about gender identity in the documentary besides the points I’ve mentioned I can see how cosplay gives people a chance to be something they can’t on a day to day basis. Cosplayers can opt to cover their face, completely change it with makeup, and try on different wigs to become someone else. Even if it’s just for a day they get to experience being a character that they admire, regardless of gender.  

[davidfahim]

Wandering Son

Just like most animes we have seen in this class, this was my first time viewing Wandering Son. I had never heard anything about this anime so I was not too sure what to expect. Wandering Son is about two characters named Nitori and Takatsuki and their journey for self-discovery through gender identity. From the first episode, we see Nitori who is a biological male, yearning to wear female clothing. Now, we do not actually know if he wants to identify as a female but for the sake of simplicity, we will assume this to be true. We also see Takatsuki, a biological female, who has successfully started wearing male clothes and has been somewhat accepted by other people. Nitori sees Takatsuki as an inspiration and uses what Takatsuki has done as motivation to start wearing female clothes.

The main idea that I wanted to focus on in this blog post was the idea of transgenderism in Wandering Son. We see that Nitori is afraid to express himself because he is worried about what all his peers will think of him. I wanted to point out the fact that I have always found cross-dressing to be a very interesting subject because I have always wondered why wearing a skirt is seen as feminine or why only men are shirtless at the beaches here. I think that Wandering Son showed this idea because we see that Nitori wants to wear a skirt and this means he is cross-dressing since he is wearing "female clothes."

All that being said, I have never actually experienced anything like this in my own life. I have always been fine wearing male clothing and have never questioned my gender or identity in that sense. For those reasons, I was not able to personally relate to the anime although I do realize that these are present issues in today's societies. In the end, I would not recommend this to someone who is just starting to watch anime and I would give it a 4/10.

[mcdouble28]

Hi! I agree that this show was not my favorite, but it does make you think about gender and identity. I think your point on clothing was interesting. It's true there are different standards for how men and women dress. I never really thought how people dress to go to the beach. It is a little weird that it's ok for men to be shirtless, but if women are shirtless it's sexualized.