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I think it is funny that you feel vaguely familiar with the anime, that sort of deja vu is what the plot and ending is kind of based on right? The red string thing is also something I noticed during the movie, while I didn't have the interpretation that it is a love thing, I have seen visuals of red string tying people together, I do think it is a clever use of the high school uniform troupes that pervade anime. It is interesting to hear the different perspective of someone who liked the movie, coming from someone who wasn't overly invested in it. While I do agree the movie is visually stunning, I wonder if most of your enjoyment stemmed from the main romance and interactions between the two? I feel like so little of the move focused on this (literally, as only like 2 minutes of this hour and a half movie featured both on screen at the same time). I don't know, as much as I want to fall in love with the most popular anime movie ever, I feel like maybe this is an example of people just being different (or maybe me just being stubborn). Hopefully I will rewatch it in another year or two and like it by then.

Your Name

I have the feeling like I've watched this anime before or perhaps I've seen clips of it online but it feels vaguely familiar to me. Your Name tells the story of highschool students Taki and Mitsuha who swap bodies and have to navigate each other's lives.

So this movie follows the classic city and country swap that many films harp upon and eventually leads to an appreciation for a simpler life in the country or what one has had before. But an emphasis is especially placed on the protection of Mitsuha's rural village which has lost some of its meaning to her as she wishes to move to the city. This idea reminded me of the concept of gemeinschaft that we learned earlier in this course. But now in Your Name, the community is threatened and in need of saving.

The ending of this anime brought me to tears. After all that time spent trying to find Mitsuha and even going to far as to help save her village, one that he originally had no connection to, he lost Mitsuha. Taki had no obligation to help Mitsuha but chose to anyways when he woke up in her body the day the town needed to be evacuated. ALSO HIM WRITING I LOVE YOU ON HER HAND?!!!?!!!! Ugh, that broke me, I knew I wasn't safe just yet ending this course without another anime bringing me to tears.

While the body swapping troupe is not a new one for me and I'm certain for a lot of people, this movie is so beautifully animated and it's plot takes such a turn that makes for a wonderfully unique anime. The red ribbon Mitsuha gives Taki reminds me of the red string theory, that lovers are connected by a metaphorical red string and are destined to meet. Even after both of them lose their memories they still manage to run into each other sometime in the far future.

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You know I haven't really put a great deal of thought into just who this show is intended for. Hetalia initially began as a series of online comics, which inherently have the audience of whoever is interested. To me in that environment it is easier to appeal to the history nerds and people that like anime (a group which sounds small at first, but I think does apply to a good amount of people). However when you produce a TV show, obviously there are quotas to be met and expectations to fill. I agree that this is not a show that should be shown to children and be the sole interpretation you view of WW2, I think if you view it as an adult with the understanding that it is inherently biased and not meant to be taken seriously, then you can understand it better. However, I'm not sure how much of this show was actually consumed by adults like this.

Hetalia: Axis Powers | Themes of Media & Nationalism

The Plot Of The Anime

Hetalia: Axis Powers is a anime that takes on nationalistic and political topics and turn it into a satirical animation. In each short episodes, we can see that the nations and political groups are represented as human characters (anthropomorphized countries), where we can see the interactions of each nation through their stereotypical personalities and status, which I personally believe is genius way of retelling stories of historical events towards the broad and younger audience without incorporating much distressing or graphical content. Moreover, each short episodes are commonly themed around major world events like WWI and WWII, however it does expand into minor or fictional interactions between the characters.

The Issue In Question

Visual media, especially these anime episodes, represent a powerful narrative regarding nationalism and the cultural identities for each nation, as seen reflected from our real world's history and events. However, they are mainly expressed through stereotypes, which may not represent the nation or can differ from other nation's perspective as stereotypes are very subjective. Like I said, visual media itself is a very powerful medium to persuade (rhetoric) or bring in knowledge to their targeted audience (knowledge = power), through exaggerated expressions and art style choices. In this anime, the stereotypes are represented in a very exaggerated way, while making the show comedically and entertaining, can misrepresent the entire nation and its people in the real world. For example, Italy the character is represented as very sensitive, while Germany is represented as serious and aggressive. While an average viewer relates to these stereotypes, it doesn't actually represent all of the nation's population and can further push those stereotypical standards. The visual rhetoric element additionally can be powerful in ways to persuade people in a way propaganda does, using exaggerated elements to falsely favor people in serious real world situations.

The Issue Addressed In Japan & Beyond

Visual rhetorics and media have long been used to convince people to support or participate in nationalistic goals, however through creativity and exaggeration, it can also leak some misinformation of traits from specific nations or political groups to pull more power in from the people to those organizations or nations sending these media. One notable example is from Germany during WWII, where they would hand out visual rhetorics in forms of cartoons, portraying other countries like the United States as "corrupt" while displaying themselves as the more powerful and trustable nation. The visuals in propaganda are usually fantasized through body proportions and special added effects to bring in additional meanings, often for exaggeration.

On the other hand, visual media such as Hetalia can be beneficial to teach people in the real world about each country and culture, as well as the interactions in a less graphic way. However, the false representations and stereotypes are still relativity common in order to persuade the audience about what the country's identity is and their reason for their motives in historical events.

My Personal Takes

Today, I am very influenced by the media from around the world, whether that be social media, films, or the news. Social media would probably be one of the most influential, especially political memes that I happen to keep stumble into. The creators usually create exaggeration and stereotypes based on the government and the so called daily lives of the people in order to create comedically effects as well as to send a deeper meaning about their society, typically harsh like China or North Korea. All of this would shape how I perceive other countries and it does show how powerful media like Hetalia can be when they represent a real world country through their own stereotypes.

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Hetalia

I like history, and I like history based media. I know this anime is controversial, as obviously whenever you are depicting any country doing literally anything you have to be careful. However I feel like this is a work that I inherently can not and will not take seriously. I mean, I don't want to say the dreaded 'Its just a joke', but literally this is a show in which large countries are portrayed as anime boys. I mean come on. While I do believe it is possible there is hateful rhetoric somewhere in the show, and maybe the producers of it were in some way prejudice, it is hard to know what is and isn't meant to be taken seriously. I feel if we close off criticizing and making fun of each other, than that will support natural barriers between us. Of course, a single country's entire culture and population can not be depicted into one character, and while maybe some countries could get offended at their representation, I feel Japan leaves itself wide open for being made fun of since they are the ones who produced a show as ridiculous as this.

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Your Name

I have a bit of a personal connection with this one, though I'd imagine with this essentially being the face of anime movies as a whole (just shy of 'spirited away') that everyone remembers when they first watched it. However my experience wasn't as positive as a lot of people's. Prior to watching this, I had already seen A Silent Voice, and in random anime discussions with a group of my friends, one of them mentioned 'Your Name is better'. Now this wasn't meant to be confrontational, just that this friend of mine really really likes Your Name. I hadn't seen it yet, but combined with that and how popular this movie is, I think I had impossible expectations going in. When googling stuff for this post as well, I found out that coincidentally people tend to compare these movies all the time, it seems like the subreddits are sick of it. I suppose just since they're popular and from 2016. It was a decent movie but to me I wasn't particularly blown away. Maybe like a 6/10 or 7/10 (ASV is like 9/10 or 10/10 for me). I think part of it was that when I first watched it, I watched the movie with a friend of mine in their dorm, and we both made a lot of jokes about it and were tearing into plot points that didn't make sense, which started out more as friends having fun than just hating on the movie with intent, but still lowered my opinion of it. Perhaps it was also me frequently comparing it to ASV since my friend (who I should specify I have high respect for their opinions, they've shown me many shows and games that are among my favorites) loved it so much and said it was better than ASV. I suppose my main criticism is that for how important the bonds between our 2 MCs is supposed to be, it hardly feels very real (particularly during the climax scene of them being on top of the mountain, I think we're supposed to be overly emotional with their encounter but I wasn't super invested in it). Maybe if they cut out some scenes of him playing with her boobs in favor of more interaction between them it'd be better (obviously some of this statement is in jest). I think I was just supposed to walk away with more wonder than I did, though many of the scenes are breathtaking, like with the eventual meteor shower (a good last sight I suppose for the town, morbid)

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Nausica of the valley of the wind

unrelated, but I quite like the character designs in this move. There's a lot of weird and cool designs.

being an activist for the environment is difficult now more than ever in a post industrial revolution society. It can be hard to justify making the actions that help the Earth on a small scale day by day. Why should I have to use the gross paper straws when there are 8 billion people on earth who aren't? Your actions can feel so insignificant, as there is only so much you can change on your own. I suppose however that any action is better than none. If you can be the change you want to see in the world, it is possible that others will want to emulate you. Maybe you won't have a big impact, but maybe you posting about your actions online will inspire Taylor Swift to stop taking a jet wherever she wants every darn day (that would certainly save Earth for a couple more years alone). Nausica in this sense is a representation of that; the strength and persistence of the human spirit to never give up on what matters, even if it may seem hopeless.

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The End of Evangelion

thank god it is over, huh? To me it says a lot that the series needed an additional movie to explain what the hell happened in the show, and offer an alternative ending that is slightly less stupid, but I digress. I remember when I first finished the show and was initially pissed, one of my friends who likes Eva told me to watch this movie, and that my opinion on it wasn't valid until I watch it. "from now on you're on your own. You have to make your own decisions" "No, I can't do it. I'm worthless. I don't deserve to pilot an Eva" I'm sure we can relate to what Shinji is going through during this scene and the series as a whole, but ultimately Misato is right. Giving up and hating yourself is the most selfish thing you can do. Every person has the ability to, if they put in the work, change the world for the better, even if that only means making one other person's life better, or making a million people's lives better. By closing in and telling yourself that you can't achieve anything and you don't deserve the blessings you have received, you are denying the opportunities god has given you, and you won't have the will to go out into the world and improve yourself and others, much like how Shinji doesn't have the will to pilot the Eva and save everyone. Ultimately, I will be putting Evangelion behind me once more. Not to be crude, but this series still feels to me like the writers had their heads far too up their own asses trying to make something artsy and profound for the sake of it. Of course however, this is ultimately my opinion and perspective. There are lots of pretentious, abstract, and daring media I can respect, but Evangelion is not for me.

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Evangelion (part 2)

Ok, now for my grievances. The plot completely fumbles at the end. This show is impossible to watch without googling for plot summaries and browsing reddit posts, wikis dedicated to the show, and youtube videos explaining what the hell the ending was and what the meaning of it all was. Now, I really do tend to like media that has extensive lore and backstories, like I could easily watch videos about unexplained Five Nights at Freddy's stories or something like that, but the difference I think with Evangelion is that you can't piece together the story by yourself just from watching it alone. With FNAF, all the details are in the games themselves and you can come up with conclusions on your own (at least you used to be able to), versus Evangelion you have no idea what happened to cause the ending, and what the whole point was just from watching it. That is until you google it and find out stuff and mass extinctions, ancient aliens, sea scrolls and all sorts of other convoluted stuff. If you don't do outside research you will have no idea what the reveal of "adam" at the end of episode 24 is supposed to mean, and even with context its still hard to understand episodes 25 and 26. The show's story ultimately feels pointless. I know the ultimate goal is to end with Shinji getting some form of self confidence, but what is the point if to get there everyone including Shinji needs to die? If the show ends with everyone becoming a collective conscious and the villains 'winning', why does individuality matter? Is the message just 'don't be sad'? Additionally, there are so many plot points I feel they completely drop the ball on. I knew prior to watching that episode 18 is supposed to be the 'sad' one, which really makes everyone that watches depressed. In that episode, Shinji is unwillingly forced to kill his friend by the hands of his father, and when I first saw the Eva killing his friend slowly while Shinji can only watch in horror, I really was moved. For a brief second I thought this is what people who like Evangelion were affected by. That is until the end of the episode where it is shown that his friend lived... What the hell was the point? At that point in watching, I knew this show was never going to actually double down on its messages and would just continue to be a series of events happening for no reason. All tension was completely lost when he lived. I found out recently that the creator's intent was for him to die, but the publishing company didn't want that from a show targeting a 'younger audience'. I don't want to ramble on too much more, but some other things that were dumb were; Asuka's backstory is explained entirely just in episode 25. Prior to, she is just an annoying average tsundere. Even with being exposed to Asuka's backstory, she doesn't learn her lesson, since everyone is dead at that point there can't be a scene where she realizes her mistakes or is shown to be kind to other people. Rei secretly being a clone is a dumb plot point that doesn't do anything. The creator of the show themself just said the Christian Imagery and allusions were solely just because 'they're cool'. Reassuring that the show has no actual substance or goals other than to just be cool and have an interesting atmosphere, which I suppose it achieves Evangelion is just dumb. It feels like I'm supposed to have had some profound impact after watching it but to me it falls flat on its face.

Congratulations.

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Neon Genesis Evangelion (Pt. 1)

I do not like Evangelion. Perhaps it was a result of me placing really high expectations on it prior to watching it for the first time (which was around a year ago), since this show has arguably the largest and most vocal cult following of any anime, and has a reputation for leaving people depressed by the end. I'm fine with mecha and robot shows, as I love Code Geass, and while I don't normally care for fight scenes or ones with robots, as long as the characters are good I will like it. I remember prior to watching it I saw a random youtube comment that said "Asuka is my favorite character in fiction" or something along those lines, and I've felt similarly passionate about characters from anime before (Aigis from Persona 3!) so held my head high for the series, particularly when it starts pretty slow and repetitive with each episode following a usual format of finding an angel then trying to come up with some way to defeat it. Upon finishing the show though, I was pretty mad. I understood why the show has the reputation of being sad and all, but I really don't think it earned it. Before I tear into it, I will give one thing I like about it; I really like the atmosphere and art of the show. The art is really high quality, and it can have a really unique vibe to it that I don't think has been captured since, with scenes like the Eva unit eating the angel at the end of one of the latter half episodes to the sunset being disturbing and really memorable. The angels themselves are mysterious and alluring, and it definitely feels like there is some greater mystery or significance to the conflicts that pervade the series.

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Xenoblade Chronicles 2

I grew up with the first Xenoblade funnily enough. I am a big fan of large 100 hour JRPG epics, and this was my first exposure to one that I experienced not too long after moving to Florida when I was around 10 to 11 years old. It was probably my first mature video game or really first mature piece of media in general that I got really invested into. I can probably attribute it partially to my love of the Persona franchise, a similar set of long mature JRPGs. That being said, I am well aware of the sequel's reputation. When the game first came out, the first thing people took to was the character designs. Even to this day, I think it is reasonable to conclude that Pyra is the most well known character from Xenoblade, even surpassing Shulk, the protagonist of the first game (both even got into Super Smash Bros!), and this almost entirely ironic, as most of the criticism this game gets is pointed towards her chest size. No real way of avoiding saying that huh. I wanted to tell that story because when the game first came out, I had the console to play it and obviously the first game meant a lot to me, but even in my young 12 year old brain I was too embarrassed to ask my mom for the game, as even know among the first thing you see when you google about xenoblade are people poking fun at the 'mature' character designs. Nonetheless these memories all came rushing back to me upon seeing the module being about 'objectification - xenoblade chronicles 2'. That being said, thank god this is about objectification with regards to nature, so hopefully no discussions about Pyra will be had. As for actually talking about the topic at hand, I do think it is interesting to think about this quote from the article provided in class; "no species has destroyed the habitat of so many other species" in regards to humans. It makes me wonder that, I don't think humans are any more unethical or opportunistic than other animals, so I think the only factor that could affect this is that simply humans are the most intelligent. This makes me think though, are intelligent beings eventually doomed to do harm? Obviously not all, but does having the opportunity ultimately lead to destruction in many cases? Partially related, but many serial killers tend to be very smart people. I think that intelligence could create a natural barrier between you and other beings.

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Im surprised and at the same time not surprised both of our blog posts eventually involved My little pony, for very different reasons nonetheless. I definitely can relate to being an american and turning to various japanese media for fulfillment. It started with Japanese music (They have really good Jazz Fusion and guitarists), but I've been affected with many great examples of storytelling, likely more profound than most/any I've gotten from the western world. Similarly, I think personalization as you described is an important aspect of it too. I've had the thought before that because anime and similar media aren't real, physical depictions, that it is easier to insert themselves into it. For example, my profile picture on here and half of my other social media is of Makoto Yuki from Persona 3, but It would feel weird having like Ryan Gosling as my profile picture. Not to get too far into the philosophy of anime pfps here, but I do think that Japanese media can serve as inspiration for what people want to be like in their own lives, there are studies suggesting people behave in alignment with what their pfp suggests of themselves. If we think about music too, music is the background to our lives. There are many songs that when I hear them, can tie back to specific moments in my life. People I think tend to be outward with their love of japanese media and embrace being otaku's because of the value that has been associated with that media in their lives.

Conventionsss

When it comes to Japanese culture, “True Otaku: The Documentary,” holds a good encompassing synopsis of what tends to be endorsed within westernized conventions. Specifically, we can recognize how influential American society has been on the makeup of subgenres within the otaku community. The documentary takes a deep dive into the creative minds and process behind interpretations of anime with respect to their fandoms: cosplays, clubs, and fan services. Conventions act as a sanction for which these aspects can be expressed within a safe environment, while also serving as a way for fandom culture to cultivate into a larger-than-life atmosphere. Nicole, the host, analyzes these depictions of identity in retrospect to the Japanese-oriented group of otakus as a way to obtain an understanding of this diverse group. 

To further investigate this central idea, Nicole provides an essential question that is discussed in the contents of our own class, “What is an otaku?” The responses following this question tend to deviate greatly between a multitude of people. However, one core definition given included an individual who partakes in Japanese pop-culture to find a sense of community with those that share similar interests to them. In terms of our lecture definitions, this desire to connect with others utilizing the fandom world falls in line with the societal concept of “animalization.” This results from the lack of a grand narrative, a nationalistic idea that centers on finding a purpose for existence through working towards a utopian society, which creates a common goal for a set of people that derive from the same past. Thus, without this grand narrative people now seek a feeling of wholeness through a pack mentality of animalization. To feel as though they are making a difference and are contributing to their future they turn to hobbies like conventions where they can come together as one. It is interesting to recognize how Americans, in order to complete that animalization, turn towards Japanese culture and regard it as a way to feel fulfilled in their lives.  

Additionally, the otaku community finds soundness through the personalization of the work they are consuming. This is notable through customizing anime and manga to center around their intepretations, which is seen especially in the concept of cosplays. Artists and fans alike devote time to creating costumes of characters to engage with the work to feel as both the producer and user of what they are indulging in. Thus, allows them to demonstrate the appeal of being an otaku.  

Consequently, the intense soft powers of Japan are established and effectively aids their economic systems by advancing their reaches of anime and manga towards western outlooks. These soft powers also extend to the marketing of the Lolita style, which is mentioned in the documentary. In my opinion, the Lolita genre of Japanese pop-culture isn’t totally affiliated with anime or manga, yet there tends to be a blurred line where fans tend to regard this style as a characteristic of certain anime. Moreover, Lolita is consistently depicted throughout the convention just because of its usage in Japan as a whole, and not necessarily due to its participation in created works.  

When it comes to my own interactions with otakus, I would classify the majority of otakus as pretty mild, which is also important to mention as otakus tend to disassociate themselves from actually ever enacting the sexual scenarios normally associated with them. I will say I am against people who fetishize gay relationships as to fantasize what it would be like in that position. It is quite harmful for the LGBTQ+ community and falsifies the correlation of gender, sex, and sexualization in gay relationships. Besides that, I have contributed to the otaku community by cosplaying as Misa Amane from Death Note and a female version of Monokuma from Danganronpa. Some of my friends have cosplayed Misato Katsuragi from NGE and Yumeko Jabami from Kakegurui, which is fun to witness their creative process and the pictures they take from their productions. I think that participating in Japanese pop-culture is a nice experience and I hope to go to a convention in the future, especially after their overview through the documentary.  

Me as Twilight Sparkle from "My Little Pony"

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Conventions, and my experience with Fandoms

haven't ever been to a convention before (though funny story, I was walking through a building in Baltimore in 2019 and accidentally wondered into bronycon, I was confused why someone asked me who my favorite pony was), but I have been an observer and participant in multiple fandoms online. The one I've chosen to detail for this was the Persona fandom for the series of video games.

When I was visiting my friend at FSU, I found out that there was a club there that met weekly to play the fighting game associated with the franchise. That has been my only experience talking to other fans in person, but online I've engaged in discussions in places like Discord occasionally.

It is very interesting discussing things online with people, and it serves as a vessel to view human behavior. The first thing that comes to mind is that there seems to be a sort of hivemind opinion and consensus on the games; that Persona 3 has the best story, 4 the best cast and 5 the best gameplay. This idea, while it sounds simple, pervades the whole community. As such, it can be difficult to discuss things that go against that idea, like criticizing characters from the 4th game. Another interesting thing is that Persona is known for having many fans that haven't actually 'played the games'. One time, I was trying to discuss my thoughts on flaws of a character from 4, when someone began arguing with me, and then later on I ascertained that they hadn't played the game. While this doesn't invalidate their opinion, I do think it can be hard to develop an opinion on an 80+ hour long piece of media without experiencing it yourself, and have such passionate opinions on it. It seems strange (It is occurring to me now that this experience may not be entirely academic, but I do think it is an interesting phenomenon to discuss, I believe the internet has crafted a lot of people into commenting on and reaching conclusions about things they haven't experienced just to fit it or be respected).

Another interesting experience I've had is not engaging in discussions explaining why people like something from the games. I get a lot of youtube videos in my recommended with titles like "Why x game is underrated" Where x will be a game I like, but I never watch videos talking about fandoms I enjoy anymore. I think fandoms can get into closed circle discussions about why their thing is the best thing ever and why the world needs to know. Of course, I am not innocent to wearing my personality on my sleeve occasionally and wanting the world to know why Yes is the best band and Persona 3 the greatest video game, but I no longer am patient enough to hear other people talk about things I like. I feel like if I like it, then I know why I like it. However, I do think its funny that I got a video titled something like "Persona 3 is a trainwreck of a game", and of course I was more compelled to click on that then a video arguing the opposite, and I finished the whole video and loved it! Even though P3 still means the world to me (FES, not reload btw), I sat through and agreed with half of their points and experiences, though that video is actually well known within the fandom, and is very hated and the creator has had all their opinions and content invalidated because it doesn't align with the norm. I remember someone made like a 5 hour video dissecting why the video was wrong (the original was like 30 minutes), which I think is sad because like I said I enjoyed the video and I think it is beneficial to hear people that disagree with you and hear them out. That I think makes you appreciate the media more than if you only consumed content explaining why the thing you like is great (especially since we live in an age now when most people form their opinions solely of what they read, particularly online.)

People say if you like something to avoid the fandom, which you know, can be hard to disagree with sometime. I think if you look past the bad and are true to yourself and your beliefs, it can obviously be very enjoyable and special to be a part of a group of other people and enjoy a piece of media with other people rather than always doing it alone.

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Aggretsuko

We live in a society Im sure many people my age will like and relate to Retusko's plights, I enjoyed the show quite a bit. One detail I noticed was the dear character physically glows and sparkles in every scene, in reflection to her 'perfect pretty girl' attitude. The same effect is done on another character from a show called Saiki K I've seen before that acts pretty similar and it makes every scene they're in pretty funny. I also love how Fenneko's expression never changes, always in a sort of half smile. Overall I know what the show is going for. On one hand it is about general disgruntled life and the daily grind, but there are glimpses of it being geared towards women; with the two 'higher up' women commenting how they can't be seen showing weakness at work, and with team players being seen as weak and going to lose the rat race.

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Wandering Son

Solid show, I think it will mean more for different people and those who can relate to the struggles depicted. Is what I was thinking at first but good lord the internet as usual provides rabbit holes for anything. I was googling the name of the show to find a picture to copy and paste for the blog, and it brought up several online discussions of people arguing about it. I suppose that is only natural given the inherent controversial ideas present, I think people pro-trans will be very vocal and those against will also be naturally vocal. My thoughts? probably best left outside the class. this was an interesting watch, I had never heard of it prior to this class so I'm curious about it's reputation outside of online *passionate (for lack of a better term* circles.

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Sailor Moon

I normally try to avoid shows with more than 3 seasons and a million episodes, couldn't escape it here I guess, however I am mildly interested to watch more. I enjoyed the show, and felt it was very cozy, as the 90s art style was warm and the dialogue felt like something I would've watched as a kid (which makes sense, for other people this was likely their pokemon or yugioh for me).

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I like the way you describe it as "episode 9 could have been episode 4", this is one of my biggest gripes with most anime I've watched, is that many I feel tend to not make much progress. Either there is filler, or it just feels like nothing important story wise happened. Most of my favorite anime I've seen I can describe as every episode either being important, or at the very least being worthy watches with enjoyable character moments. I did also notice the shopping scene you are describing, In episode 2 I believe, the guy with glasses rings his manga up at the counter, and when the friend tries to ask about it and if he has enough money, another friend states how he puts his merchandise first before his needs. While I can respect the dedication, it is interesting how the people in fandoms often wear their personality on their sleeves, and will entrust much of their identity and reason of living into a piece of media.

Genshiken- Analysis

If I am being honest, this was one of the harder anime to watch from our modules. At first, I was even considering if I had somehow clicked on the wrong show because its premise as a whole was a little shocking to me. I thought that there was something that I was missing or an idea that I just wasn’t grasping thoroughly, but then I realized, “No, that is the whole show.” It is also to be mentioned that from the skip from Episode 3 to Episode 9 I felt as though I didn’t miss out on anything. Episode 9 could have been Episode 4, and I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. Besides my personal commentary on this anime, I do believe that the creator was making an intentional message with the weirdness of the characters and plotline depicted in each episode. 

I first noticed this with the absurdly long titles of each episode. This made me critically think about what the driving theme was that the author was attempting to portray through the juxtaposition between a comedic anime and titles that appeared to be intricately created. One of the realizations I had, specifically with the shopping scenes, is there is a constant theme of consumerism. That the mainstream “otaku” will even go so far as to forfeit his own basic necessities as to obtain manga and anime. In this case, dojinshi, hentai games, and lewd depictions of women seem to be the forefront of their purchases. Thus, definitely setting the stage for what the rest of the season is going to look like. Additionally, the contrast between the visual art club’s and Saki’s spendings does dwell the question of whether the visual art club’s purchases are all that outrageous. This is considering the fact that their items do satisfy their happiness similar to how Saki’s clothes fulfill hers. However, I do want to recognize that I believe the anime is making a commentary on the idea of consumption as a whole and spending excess money on products is deplorable.

Another theme I realized, most notably in episode 9, was the idea of the simulacra and how it affects Madarame with his interactions, or lack thereof, with Saki. The entirety of episode 9 just follows the internalized fear Madarame holds with attempting to converse with a girl that happens to be in his club’s room with him at the same time. It was honestly kind of painful to watch at times, but it did really emphasize how much he lacks communication skills. Also, in times of panic he acts scenes out in his head of possible scenarios the conversation could lead to utilizing game-oriented sequences. This illustrates just how hyperreal his world is and how real life to him is just representations of representations instead of recognizing his physical contribution to society.  

In my personal opinion, this anime can definitely depict certain aspects of the real world. However, in my experience, it isn’t something that I have come into contact with myself, so I can’t really elaborate on how these social situations have impacted my own life.  

[nswor]

Genshiken (Part 2)

Continuing on ideas from part 1, I think a good theme to associate with this show is that of broad "acceptance". While most characters at the beginning are shown to be pervs and losers, the show does humanize them throughout, and shows the group doing normal activities and squabbling like normal friends do. The group accepts more people from varied backgrounds that like different things, and people (particularly Saki) grow to enjoy different things they might not have before. Season 2 opens by again replicating this with a new character, then they fight because the group and her don't understand each other, before slowly becoming more friendly. Another funny thing is that this season really goes into the depths of fandom 'creativity' (and depravity), where season 2 episode 5 is almost entirely a borderline fanfiction, as the girl imagines scenes in which two other male characters get into a romance after seeing one glimpse of them being close. I'm sure many of us are familiar with online shipping, and this is a pretty funny parody about how almost all of this imagination and episode stemmed from one single interaction, much like how fanfiction writers will be quick to pair up characters so long as they breath the same air as each other. Overall I think I liked season 2 more than the first, I'm not sure if it was better, but it felt like an easier watch. My favorite part of fiction in general is all things characters, and I think this show did a decent job of establishing its characters and giving them enjoyable interactions.

[nswor]

Genshiken (Part1)

Our topic here is clearly about otaku culture and the perception of the general anime fandom, so it is interesting that the club room in the very first episode is shown to be in the dark depths of some secluded alley way. It feels like a reflection of how anime, and more in general people who take appreciation of media franchises seriously, is treated as some thing only for outcasts and nerds who only hang out with their fellow nerds (though in a comedic sense the show plays to this as all the guys are immediately shown to be pervs). On the same note I find it interesting how a sort of vested shame is felt by these people too, as the boy in the beginning doesn't want to join Genshiken seemingly because he feels 'above it'. He was outed as being a (euphemistically) anime 'enjoyer', but he still is hesitant to join the club, as it could lower his social image and make him one of the outcast. The greater negative perception of anime is so widespread that it is even taken to heart by people that may disagree or be a part of the fandom. I know I can relate to being shameful of things I like because of negative perception of the fandom, for example some of my favorite video games like Undertale and the Persona series have infamous fanbases that bring down the games' reputation and can make it hard to find people to talk about them outside of finding groups that are already in the know. As for my general enjoyment, around this era is definitely my favorite for anime. The 'polished but still retaining some rough edge charm' art that pervaded mid to late 2000s anime is aesthetically pleasing and generally what I turn to for art direction and inspiration. The dynamic between Kousaka and Saki of one being 'normal' and weirded out by everything he and the club does while the other is completely oblivious and seemingly innocent hearted is pretty comedic. Outside of that though I'm not overly big into more slice of life shows and wasn't overly impressed, not a negative experience though.