im looking at anime

Adiwan · Post by **Adiwan** (?) » Tue Jan 14, 2020 2:21 pm

I've read the Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid (all what's available so far) but haven't seen the anime.
There are a lot of positive reviews and opinions about the series being wholesome and having a positive attitude.
Yeaaah. The manga had a lot of it and can be justified, however it contains a hand full of instances of problematic content.
It made me question myself.

I don't know how to handle it.

DaikatunaRevengeance · Post by **DaikatunaRevengeance** (?) » Tue Jan 14, 2020 2:24 pm

i've heard some real bad things about that

real bad

Fontra · Post by **Fontra** (?) » Tue Jan 14, 2020 2:31 pm

Never read/seen dragon maid, but my approach to problematic content is this: put it down if/when the stuff I dislike outweighs the good I get from consuming it.

Adiwan · Post by **Adiwan** (?) » Tue Jan 14, 2020 2:48 pm

These moments were very rare and brief but it was a gut punch and got almost non-existent in later chapters or very toned down.

Perpetual Motion · Post by **Perpetual Motion** (?) » Tue Jan 14, 2020 2:52 pm

From what I understand the anime tones down some of the gross stuff from the manga a lot. It still kinda skeeves me out, though

!saak · Post by **!saak** (?) » Wed Jan 15, 2020 5:06 am

I watched the adaptation of Dragonmaid when I was dumber than I am now and there were parts that worked and also parts that were

there's a queer adult main character which is like a unicorn in anime, the relationship between her and the dragonmaid is handled pretty well if kinda boilerplate, they have a cute family unit going on with a younger, adopted dragon girl--the animation is fab--I notice a KyoAni trend in my thread--there's a really nice guy friendship between the lead's coworker and a moody dragon dude.

but then you have a big boobied older dragon lady just "falling over" a young boy all the time--haha am i supposed to laugh this is kinda fucked up--, there's a love thingy going on between a young girl and the adopted dragon girl that has Implications and uuuuhhhhh

!saak · Post by **!saak** (?) » Wed Jan 15, 2020 5:09 am

how problematic something is is a personal matter and varies case-by-case I think

dropping something cuz a thing crosses a line is okay, not dropping something cuz a thing crosses someone else's line is also okay

but having a general awareness of the wider context and implications of the stories and media that you choose to experience is a healthy thing to cultivate

!saak · Post by **!saak** (?) » Wed Jan 15, 2020 5:25 am

like I noped tf out of Made in Abyss cuz of the original mangaka's uhh... sexual inclinations that surfaced in the anime, even tho it's gorgeous audiovisually

Symphogear has Stuff Going On wrt how it portrays its female characters n stuff, but saved itself for me by being uncompromisingly sincere with its queer rep and Hibike being a dumbass who just punches everything including God cuz fuck your system

Utena is like *unrolls list of problematic shit including sexual abuse, gaslighting, incest* but remains one of the most rewarding viewing experiences I've ever had

!saak · Post by **!saak** (?) » Wed Jan 15, 2020 6:00 am

!saak wrote: ↑
Wed Jan 15, 2020 5:09 am
but having a general awareness of the wider context and implications of the stories and media that you choose to experience is a healthy thing to cultivate

I should mention that there's legit and objective caveats here I think, even tho it's like "opinion" and "emotional".

cuz there's a certain kind of discourse that permeates online culture that's downright intellectually dishonest, like say CinemaSins or YouTubers gaming the algorithm by feeding on outrage over [woman is now in the MCU].

Adiwan · Post by **Adiwan** (?) » Wed Jan 15, 2020 6:24 am

I feel like that it's super hard into Japanese media because of the permeating problems that were mentioned before.
I want to widen my horizon but then the horizon stares back.
All I I wanted was "normal" content that doesn't has something deeply problematic. I'm OK with challenging content that actually discusses a problem with multiple view points.

!saak · Post by **!saak** (?) » Wed Jan 15, 2020 8:19 am

Adiwan wrote: ↑
Wed Jan 15, 2020 6:24 am
I feel like that it's super hard into Japanese media because of the permeating problems that were mentioned before.
I want to widen my horizon but then the horizon stares back.

I... hmmm...

imma go off for a bit

anime has legit issues that need to be discussed, but also I'm not a huge fan of sweeping statements about Japanese media (and culture by extension) as a whole cuz that is a Topic And A Half.

1) because I'm not that familiar with Japanese media/culture outside of anime, a handful of Discords, a few Twitters and shit's super complicated, and 2) What I am sure of is that anime / otaku culture in general is kinda to really niche in Japan and that elements are definitely frowned upon by the Japanese.

Like this is kinda going into a "oh Japan

" and "oh anime

" direction, while feminism and LGBT rights groups are most definitely a thing and there are real efforts trying to change things just like you have here in "the West" (whatever the West is beyond just an arbitrary classification of also a wildly different bunch of peoples and cultures).

There's a language barrier so whatever news about Japan you hear will have gone through multiple filters when translated and often be cast in an Anglospheric light, so to speak. And having v little more than that it's easy to project an Orientalist view on a diverse group that... yes is racist, and misogynist and lemme tell you about the Japanese people they kicked off of their land so they could build an airport that will make it convenient for me to travel to Kyoto when I go there later this year.

But like... so are "we" in a number of ways. (let me tell you about our yearly tradition of Black Pete)

I'm putting this in a really big and "fundamental" context which you may not even have intended*, but I just wanna ground level this for everyone here cuz I do wanna talk about this in a way that is conducive to something good n healthy

cuz shit's difficult and nuanced yo

*I also haven't slept so apologies if I misread your message and went off on a tangent for no reason lol

*deep breath*

All I I wanted was "normal" content that doesn't has something deeply problematic. I'm OK with challenging content that actually discusses a problem with multiple view points.

I've seen like 200+ anime by now, of which I'd say... 10 would have Bad Things.

I can prolly rec you something, what are you looking for?

Adiwan · Post by **Adiwan** (?) » Wed Jan 15, 2020 10:26 am

Oh boy... It's not that easy to define what I like.
It's easier to say what I don't like.

I don't like an overly sexual tone (skimpy, every woman has huge water melons stapled on the chest).
I can tolerate some lewdness.
I don't like hyper cuteness.
I don't like magical girl shows such as Sailor Moon.
I don't like a huge focus on fighting (though I liked it in Ranma ½ and Dragonball, less in Z).
I don't like gore.

I like a similar "old school" art style like in Ranma ½.

It's hard to define my taste.
When it comes to buying regular comics I let my guts decide and mostly it works out.

As in manga (besides the complete series of Ranma ½) I currently only own the currently re-released volumes of "Urusei Yatsura" and the first few volumes of Rumiko Takahashi's current series "Rin-Ne" and they are fine.

DaikatunaRevengeance · Post by **DaikatunaRevengeance** (?) » Wed Jan 15, 2020 10:35 am

Oh boy... It's not that easy to define what I like.
It's easier to say what I don't like.

mood

Fontra · Post by **Fontra** (?) » Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:13 am

Fontra · Post by **Fontra** (?) » Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:15 am

Though I can say my tastes tend towards medieval/dark fantasy and of course authors/creators from anywhere in the globe that work in that genre tend to be very very... bad about women

Fontra · Post by **Fontra** (?) » Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:18 am

This is what I am bombarded and/or have to expect as a result: gratuitous rape scenes and/or nazi under/overtones

Goddamn is it hard, and maybe even impossible, to find literally ANY piece of media in that genre that doesn't do this.

!saak · Post by **!saak** (?) » Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:24 am

alrighty then

Shirobako is an anime about making anime. It follows Production Assistant Miyamori Aoi through the ups and downs of anime production. It's fairly lighthearted, gives a great look at how a series is produced from A to Z and the fact that Miyamori is a PA means you get to go through aaaalll the different stages from script, to storyboard, to animation and delivery.

Haibane Renmei is a classic. It opens up with Rakka being born from a cocoon, near the seemingly idyllic town of Grie. She's greeted by a group of other women who all have wings and halos floating above their head.
Soon she grows her own and is given a halo as well.

Rakka learns that Grie, and indeed seemingly the entire country, is surrounded by a massive wall that only a mysterious group called the Toga are allowed to pass through.

It's kinda budget in its animation, but just let it unfold.

Little Witch Academia is like... okay so you said no magical girl n stuff. Technically this isn't mahou shoujo and there's no minutes long henshin sequences so dw.

The series opens up with Akko attending the prestigious Luna Nova Academy. She wants to follow her dream of becoming like her lifelong idol Shiny Chariot!
Only, society has deemed magic irrelevant, and the Academy is woefully classist and looks down on the kind of magic that Chariot would perform.

Even worse, she has seemingly very little talent for magic.

It's kind of hard to express just how smart and tightly written this series is. Bits and pieces of the world, characterization, the magic system, there are all these details big and small strewn around that add to an overall theme and the 'motto': "A Believing Heart is Your Magic"
And it does work to really explore the nooks and crannies of what it sets up.

To top it off it's all wrapped in a wonderful, magical (imma say it) presentation that is just super infectious and nice and good.

yeah we just gonna go from one tonal whiplash to the next.

NHK Ni Youkoso is a brutally honest look at depression, hikikomoris, otaku culture, trauma.
It follows Sato as he tries and fails and tries again to lift himself out of his social isolation to try to do something, anything to make his life better
It's not an easy show to watch, but worth it at how interrogates his toxic mindset, worldview, the people he comes into contact with eventually.

It manages tho to find humour, levity and most importantly humanity among it all.

---

I have like twelve other series I can throw at you but have these for now as a cross section,

DaikatunaRevengeance · Post by **DaikatunaRevengeance** (?) » Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:30 am

Shirobako sounds interesting

Adiwan · Post by **Adiwan** (?) » Wed Jan 15, 2020 11:48 am

Thanks for the recommendations.
When I get through my pile of comics that I have yet to read I'll look into these.

!saak · Post by **!saak** (?) » Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:41 am

picked this up cuz it looked neat

environments are gorgeous, tons of interesting designs in both characters and world. the golem in particular has an interesting skill that comes into great use.

writing is maybe a bit on the nose sometimes wrt how the people view humans, and it's pretty easy to where it's going with all of this, but otoh it immediately makes it clear what the stakes are
and lord knows people talk about other people like that irl

overall a really solid first showing

!saak · Post by **!saak** (?) » Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:43 am

ah fuck i just found this SoL show and it's about photography so I'm obliged by the universe to watch it

Adiwan · Post by **Adiwan** (?) » Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:06 pm

Not anime but something I want to share.

I recently gravitated to a manga with the title "Komi Can't Communicate".
Komi has a communication disability and cannot express herself (or with an unbearable effort) in public.
At school she is extremely popular because of her beauty but her timidness and stern looks give off a vibe of being an untouchable and the most self-assured person on earth. This makes her alienate and more freaked out by each encounter and even more alone.
One day Tadano, an average guy with some minor self-confidence problems, notices Komi's inner struggle and tries to understand her and tries to communicate with her and become friends along the way. All Komi wants is to make 100 friends and Tadano helps her by that.
There are only few "WTF Japan" moments in the 4 volumes that I've read so far (at this moment there are only 4 volumes released in English).

Super wholesome and I am recommending it wholeheartedly at this moment.

!saak · Post by **!saak** (?) » Fri Jan 17, 2020 6:46 pm

ive been looking to read more manga so i might pick that up then at some point

Gloomy Rube · Post by **Gloomy Rube** (?) » Fri Jan 17, 2020 8:13 pm

Adiwan wrote: ↑
Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:06 pm
Not anime but something I want to share.

I recently gravitated to a manga with the title "Komi Can't Communicate".
Komi has a communication disability and cannot express herself (or with an unbearable effort) in public.
At school she is extremely popular because of her beauty but her timidness and stern looks give off a vibe of being an untouchable and the most self-assured person on earth. This makes her alienate and more freaked out by each encounter and even more alone.
One day Tadano, an average guy with some minor self-confidence problems, notices Komi's inner struggle and tries to understand her and tries to communicate with her and become friends along the way. All Komi wants is to make 100 friends and Tadano helps her by that.
There are only few "WTF Japan" moments in the 4 volumes that I've read so far (at this moment there are only 4 volumes released in English).

Super wholesome and I am recommending it wholeheartedly at this moment.

wow our avatars are now connected, as seen here:

Gloomy Rube · Post by **Gloomy Rube** (?) » Fri Jan 17, 2020 8:14 pm

Adiwan · Post by **Adiwan** (?) » Sat Jan 18, 2020 1:14 am

I read only the official English release and I avoid scanlations. So I couldn`t recognize it because she didn`t appear yet.

Gloomy Rube · Post by **Gloomy Rube** (?) » Sat Jan 18, 2020 1:23 am

no it's from a crossover they did with the manga mine is from

Gloomy Rube · Post by **Gloomy Rube** (?) » Sat Jan 18, 2020 1:24 am

Around chapter 70 of your manga I think

Adiwan · Post by **Adiwan** (?) » Sat Jan 18, 2020 2:32 am

The latest Volume 4 of Komi Can't Communicate goes to chapter 57.

Gloomy Rube · Post by **Gloomy Rube** (?) » Sat Jan 18, 2020 2:33 am

Well there ya go, but I wouldn't be that surprised if they didn't translate it in the official version since it IS a crossover. We'll see, I guess.

!saak · Post by **!saak** (?) » Sat Jan 18, 2020 9:21 am

!saak · Post by **!saak** (?) » Sat Jan 18, 2020 9:21 am

!saak · Post by **!saak** (?) » Sat Jan 18, 2020 9:21 am

Watch Liz and the Blue Bird

!saak · Post by **!saak** (?) » Sat Jan 18, 2020 10:00 am

Aria Genisi · Post by **Aria Genisi** (?) » Sat Jan 18, 2020 9:17 pm

not gonna lie isaak but whenever i look at the title of this thread I keep reading it like it's the protagonist of Shenmue saying shit like "I'm looking for sailors"

Orange Fluffy Sheep · Post by **Orange Fluffy Sheep** (?) » Sat Jan 18, 2020 9:21 pm

Isaak would methodically examine each and every toy from a capsule machine.

!saak · Post by **!saak** (?) » Sun Jan 19, 2020 7:06 am

I see this as an absolute win

Gloomy Rube · Post by **Gloomy Rube** (?) » Mon Jan 20, 2020 5:14 am

how about a game of lucky hit

W.T. Fits · Post by **W.T. Fits** (?) » Mon Jan 20, 2020 10:08 am

Adiwan wrote: ↑
Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:06 pm
Not anime but something I want to share.

I recently gravitated to a manga with the title "Komi Can't Communicate".
Komi has a communication disability and cannot express herself (or with an unbearable effort) in public.
At school she is extremely popular because of her beauty but her timidness and stern looks give off a vibe of being an untouchable and the most self-assured person on earth. This makes her alienate and more freaked out by each encounter and even more alone.
One day Tadano, an average guy with some minor self-confidence problems, notices Komi's inner struggle and tries to understand her and tries to communicate with her and become friends along the way. All Komi wants is to make 100 friends and Tadano helps her by that.
There are only few "WTF Japan" moments in the 4 volumes that I've read so far (at this moment there are only 4 volumes released in English).

Super wholesome and I am recommending it wholeheartedly at this moment.

Seconding this recommendation.

I started reading the scanlated version, and have been snapping up the official releases of each volume as soon as they're available for my Kindle.

It is extremely wholesome and good.

W.T. Fits · Post by **W.T. Fits** (?) » Mon Jan 20, 2020 10:17 am

Part of the reason I love Komi Can't Communicate so much is because of how much I identify with Komi's struggle to express herself. That feeling of always being on the outside looking in because you want to say something, but you're not sure what to say or when to jump into a conversation, and being extremely self-conscious of how you think other people perceive you and your actions or words. So in the end, you just end up hanging back and not saying anything, because you're afraid of offending people or looking foolish.