Blogger is currently experiencing an issue with previously-posted comments disappearing. About two-thirds of the previously-posted comments on my blog are gone, or are otherwise somehow not viewable at the moment.
I want readers of this blog to be aware that I did not delete these comments. Hopefully Blogger can fix the problem and the comments will be reinstated. I appreciate everyone who reads this blog and takes the time to comment.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!
Uh... Looks like Sanzo had a little too much sake. ;)Regular content-driven posts return next week. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Your Big Eyes Are Scaring Me
When I first got into anime, I wondered why ostensibly Japanese characters seemed to look more Western or Caucasian than Asian. (Although a character with eyes one-third the size of their face and with green hair probably couldn't be called Western either - or even recognizably human. ;)) The explanation I was least comfortable coming up with was that the Japanese were envious of Western features. But that still wouldn't explain the extreme prevalence of characters who were drawn that way.
As defined by the terrifyingly addictive TV Tropes website, mukokuseki means the use of ambiguous racial features in anime. (The word apparently means, "stateless.") According to the article, this actually began with Osamu Tezuka's work, which in turn had been inspired by Disney (the original purveyor of big-eyed characters - whether they be Caucasian, other race, or cute animals).
Does the use of big eyes, round-looking eyes or Western-appearing features indicate a kind of racial self-aversion or self-loathing on the part of the Japanese? I think that's extremely doubtful.
The "big eye" syndrome in anime, I think, is actually meant to show the innocence or youthfulness of the character. You see big eyes most often on characters who are children or teenagers, or animal characters. "Big eye," therefore, doesn't necessarily mean "round" or Western eye. Or you will see anime in which all or nearly all of the characters have big eyes - in which case, it's simply the character design for that particular anime series.
(What I really take issue with is when the male adult character is shown with realistic-sized eyes, but the female adult character has the same big eyes as the child characters. But the implications behind that have to do with sexism - not racism.)
The wild hair colors and hairstyles often seen in anime, I would think are simply because they can. In a country where nearly everyone has similar eye and hair coloring, I think manga and anime artists are just mixing it up for the fun of it. The style in Tokyo a few years ago was neon-colored hair, so it looks like everyone over there got a little bored. ;)
Something else I've noticed is that there is often a Japanese-looking character in an anime where everyone else looks mukokuseki. It's as if the Japanese want to have at least one character who undeniably looks like them, so they'll put in at least one (and it's inevitably a character who is attractive, powerful, sexy or some other positive attribute) that looks identifiably Japanese: with slanted eyes, high cheekbones, and black or dark hair (where the surrounding characters have lighter hair). Sasuke in Naruto is one example. Others would include Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist:
There's Uryuu Ishida from Bleach:
And Kunimitsu Tezuka from The Prince of Tennis:
Sasuke is Naruto's eternal rival; Roy Mustang is Edward Elric's sometimes mentor/sometimes antagonist; Ishida is a rival (of sorts) to Bleach protagonist Ichigo; and Tezuka is the silent, macho captain of the tennis club. They're all very memorable, stand-out type characters, and they all definitely look Japanese.
There are other ways in which the mukokuseki issue arises in manga and anime, but I think the bottom line main issue is whether it is racist or not, particularly in the sense of the Japanese self-view. I don't think it is, but the point remains a debatable one.
And really, the Japanese don't need to look outside of themselves for models for human attractiveness. The homegrown variety of bishonen does just fine, thank you. Lest one think that manga and anime artists have to draw Japanese bishonen because none exist on native soil:
The three Japanese actors above are reminders that real life trumps animation anytime. Lucky for us girls!
As defined by the terrifyingly addictive TV Tropes website, mukokuseki means the use of ambiguous racial features in anime. (The word apparently means, "stateless.") According to the article, this actually began with Osamu Tezuka's work, which in turn had been inspired by Disney (the original purveyor of big-eyed characters - whether they be Caucasian, other race, or cute animals).
Does the use of big eyes, round-looking eyes or Western-appearing features indicate a kind of racial self-aversion or self-loathing on the part of the Japanese? I think that's extremely doubtful.
The "big eye" syndrome in anime, I think, is actually meant to show the innocence or youthfulness of the character. You see big eyes most often on characters who are children or teenagers, or animal characters. "Big eye," therefore, doesn't necessarily mean "round" or Western eye. Or you will see anime in which all or nearly all of the characters have big eyes - in which case, it's simply the character design for that particular anime series.
(What I really take issue with is when the male adult character is shown with realistic-sized eyes, but the female adult character has the same big eyes as the child characters. But the implications behind that have to do with sexism - not racism.)
The wild hair colors and hairstyles often seen in anime, I would think are simply because they can. In a country where nearly everyone has similar eye and hair coloring, I think manga and anime artists are just mixing it up for the fun of it. The style in Tokyo a few years ago was neon-colored hair, so it looks like everyone over there got a little bored. ;)
Something else I've noticed is that there is often a Japanese-looking character in an anime where everyone else looks mukokuseki. It's as if the Japanese want to have at least one character who undeniably looks like them, so they'll put in at least one (and it's inevitably a character who is attractive, powerful, sexy or some other positive attribute) that looks identifiably Japanese: with slanted eyes, high cheekbones, and black or dark hair (where the surrounding characters have lighter hair). Sasuke in Naruto is one example. Others would include Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist:
There's Uryuu Ishida from Bleach:
And Kunimitsu Tezuka from The Prince of Tennis:
Sasuke is Naruto's eternal rival; Roy Mustang is Edward Elric's sometimes mentor/sometimes antagonist; Ishida is a rival (of sorts) to Bleach protagonist Ichigo; and Tezuka is the silent, macho captain of the tennis club. They're all very memorable, stand-out type characters, and they all definitely look Japanese.
There are other ways in which the mukokuseki issue arises in manga and anime, but I think the bottom line main issue is whether it is racist or not, particularly in the sense of the Japanese self-view. I don't think it is, but the point remains a debatable one.
And really, the Japanese don't need to look outside of themselves for models for human attractiveness. The homegrown variety of bishonen does just fine, thank you. Lest one think that manga and anime artists have to draw Japanese bishonen because none exist on native soil:
The three Japanese actors above are reminders that real life trumps animation anytime. Lucky for us girls!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Hikikomori Nation
In one of Hidekaz Himaruya's Hetalia: Axis Powers comic strips, entitled "Black Ships Have Come," Japan is portrayed as a hikikomori, a person who chooses to shut himself inside his home and not deal with the outside world.
The strip, of course, refers to what is called the "opening of Japan" in 1853, when American naval commander Commodore Perry arrived with his black ships, demanding that Japan start trading with other nations.
In the world of Hetalia, this is shown as Kiku Honda - the personification of the country of Japan - reacting to Alfred F. Jones' (America's) arrival in his country thusly:
Later, still terrified, Japan can only think of ruses to get America to go home:
When nothing works, Japan - with great resignation - finally opens up and begins to trade with other nations.
But I sometimes wonder how much Japan has really opened that door. Since becoming an anime and manga fan, one of the things that has struck me about Japanese society and culture is how insular it is. On the surface, the Japanese have absorbed all kinds of outside influences: American movies and pop music style, English (or Engrish) words everywhere, curry and spaghetti and kaki for dessert. But Japan still seems like 127 million people who are all part of a single (and possibly - dyfunctional) family. They understand each other - but to outsiders, they are a closed book.
This is a nation that believed that avoiding contact with the outside world for 200 years was a good idea - until one day, near Tokyo Bay, black ships arrived with big, enormous guns. (I can just see it now - the Japanese generals standing at the harbor, looking at those big guns and saying: "Oh.")
They had no answer for such weaponry. Their response was to start modernizing their weapons and methods of manufacture. And they went off to war with China, Russia, then China again; until WWII began - and we all know what happened then.
Since the end of WWII - and the effective end of Japanese militarism - it's Japan's economy that has been the focus. From the 1960s through the early 1980s their economy was the envy of the industrialized world; but it has been stagnant for years since then. One reason might be the rigid corporate structure, with its salaryman workaholism and hidebound gender roles (i.e., women employees as "tea ladies," seen as only working until they can get married and have children). In today's globalizing world, their corporations appear to be too bound by traditions that don't carry over effectively to a changing international business environment.
One could argue that individual countries have the right to be monocultures and to maintain myopic, insular business models. Japan is still the second largest economy in the world and has achieved much to be justifiably proud of. But Japan only has 40 percent food self-sufficiency and 100 percent dependency on outside sources for energy (i.e., oil). Such facts dictate that flexibility, openness to outside ideas and willingness to do whatever pragmatically works to reinvigorate one's economy should take precedence over clinging stubbornly to "the way we've always done it."
I see China and India sending their young to be educated and work overseas, and returning home with experience in different business models - and I worry about Japan. Their 'postwar miracle' days are long behind them, and their birth rate is falling at an alarming pace. Not only their prosperity, but their people are literally disappearing. I fear that as Japan continues to restrict immigration, maintain old dinosaur ways of doing business, and operate as a severely gender-stratified society that China and the other Asian nations are eating Japan's lunch. That island-nation mentality still remains; and the image of Japan as hikikomori, playing video games and surfing the net with his door firmly shut while the outside world undergoes enormous social and business changes, is troubling.
There may be hope yet for a change of outlook. As a cheery America shares with Japan:
The world is more interconnected now and no country - particularly not energy-dependent Japan - could in reality isolate itself from the world these days. But the image of little Kiku slamming that door still resonates.
Translated panels from http://aph.starry-sky.com.
The strip, of course, refers to what is called the "opening of Japan" in 1853, when American naval commander Commodore Perry arrived with his black ships, demanding that Japan start trading with other nations.
In the world of Hetalia, this is shown as Kiku Honda - the personification of the country of Japan - reacting to Alfred F. Jones' (America's) arrival in his country thusly:
Later, still terrified, Japan can only think of ruses to get America to go home:
When nothing works, Japan - with great resignation - finally opens up and begins to trade with other nations.
But I sometimes wonder how much Japan has really opened that door. Since becoming an anime and manga fan, one of the things that has struck me about Japanese society and culture is how insular it is. On the surface, the Japanese have absorbed all kinds of outside influences: American movies and pop music style, English (or Engrish) words everywhere, curry and spaghetti and kaki for dessert. But Japan still seems like 127 million people who are all part of a single (and possibly - dyfunctional) family. They understand each other - but to outsiders, they are a closed book.
This is a nation that believed that avoiding contact with the outside world for 200 years was a good idea - until one day, near Tokyo Bay, black ships arrived with big, enormous guns. (I can just see it now - the Japanese generals standing at the harbor, looking at those big guns and saying: "Oh.")
They had no answer for such weaponry. Their response was to start modernizing their weapons and methods of manufacture. And they went off to war with China, Russia, then China again; until WWII began - and we all know what happened then.
Since the end of WWII - and the effective end of Japanese militarism - it's Japan's economy that has been the focus. From the 1960s through the early 1980s their economy was the envy of the industrialized world; but it has been stagnant for years since then. One reason might be the rigid corporate structure, with its salaryman workaholism and hidebound gender roles (i.e., women employees as "tea ladies," seen as only working until they can get married and have children). In today's globalizing world, their corporations appear to be too bound by traditions that don't carry over effectively to a changing international business environment.
One could argue that individual countries have the right to be monocultures and to maintain myopic, insular business models. Japan is still the second largest economy in the world and has achieved much to be justifiably proud of. But Japan only has 40 percent food self-sufficiency and 100 percent dependency on outside sources for energy (i.e., oil). Such facts dictate that flexibility, openness to outside ideas and willingness to do whatever pragmatically works to reinvigorate one's economy should take precedence over clinging stubbornly to "the way we've always done it."
I see China and India sending their young to be educated and work overseas, and returning home with experience in different business models - and I worry about Japan. Their 'postwar miracle' days are long behind them, and their birth rate is falling at an alarming pace. Not only their prosperity, but their people are literally disappearing. I fear that as Japan continues to restrict immigration, maintain old dinosaur ways of doing business, and operate as a severely gender-stratified society that China and the other Asian nations are eating Japan's lunch. That island-nation mentality still remains; and the image of Japan as hikikomori, playing video games and surfing the net with his door firmly shut while the outside world undergoes enormous social and business changes, is troubling.
There may be hope yet for a change of outlook. As a cheery America shares with Japan:
The world is more interconnected now and no country - particularly not energy-dependent Japan - could in reality isolate itself from the world these days. But the image of little Kiku slamming that door still resonates.
Translated panels from http://aph.starry-sky.com.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
In Defense of Fan Fiction
In a recent community college class I took on creating comics and graphic novels, somehow the subject of fan fiction came up. One student said he didn’t know why people would choose to write fan fiction instead of coming up with their own original stories and characters.
I raised my hand to respond to this. I said that fan fiction is a special case; that it has value on its own apart from being based on someone else’s original characters and story universe. In the end, I don’t know if I made my point very convincingly or not (I suspect not), but I thought it was something that needed to be said.
There are a lot of misconceptions about fan fiction. Yes, there is a lot of bad writing in fan fiction, and beginner's writing, and 14-year-olds writing fiction for the first time, and other things that aren't necessarily pretty to look at. There are fanfics that exist just to present sexual scenarios and smut scenes, which I see nothing wrong with - as they have their place. There are also mediocre and middling stories, and stories that are pretty decent to read. And then there are the stories that simply blow you away.
I read one of those recently. It was set in the Prince of Tennis universe and featured the characters after high school graduation. The main character, Ryoma Echizen, has become an international tennis star, and returns home to
This story was masterfully written. The writer of this work – whatever her real name may be – is a professional writer in every sense of the word, from crafting the storyline to building dramatic tension, and drawing out the suspense as to the mystery behind the catastrophic changes to the lives of the three broken characters – Tezuka, Fuji and Oishi – in such a way that I literally could not stop reading until I had finished it.
Now – does the fact that this piece is fan fiction mean that it isn’t a “real” or legitimate piece of writing? That actually leads to a better question: what is fan fiction for? Why do people write it, and why do people read it? What is everyone getting out of this?
It’s certainly not money. Technically, it’s a violation of the license holders’ rights to publish unauthorized stories using their characters and universe, so not only can you not sell it, but you pretty much have to remain forever anonymous as the writer of it. So there go fame (or even simple name recognition) and money as reasons for this.
What do the writers get out of it? I think it has to do with being inspired by the characters and the setting, so much so that you want to create stories in that universe and then share those stories with others who also love them. It’s a form of connecting with others of like mind and heart.
I suppose it’s easy to mock, but when you’re a fan, you’re a fan. You love the story and the characters – and love is love is love, no matter what the object of love may be. It’s all about the love.
As a reader of fan fiction, what I get out of it are continuing experiences with characters and a story universe that I’ve come to love. The manga series will end, the anime series will end, but fan fiction – if enough people love the characters – can go on forever.
It’s also about freedom. Fan fiction, with its (admittedly, sometimes regrettable) absence of standards, can be a testing ground not only for beginning writers but for more experienced writers to try things out, to create new settings or a whole new way of looking at the characters, almost to the point of it becoming a fresh, original creation. There are “AU” (alternative universe) stories in which, say, Naruto and Sasuke aren’t ninjas anymore but rock stars in modern-day
The story that then gets written is what it is – and can be judged on its merits just as any completely original work of fiction. In reading a mainstream novel, if it’s well-written, there’s a connection created between the author and the reader, a real and authentic moment of intimacy as the reader turns pages in her armchair late at night. It is no different and no less the case for fan fiction, and that’s what both the fanfic writer and fanfic reader “get” out of the whole enterprise of fan fiction: that moment of connection between two people, the writer and the reader, who will never meet but who share a moment of intimacy and connection in the middle of the night.
I have had as many of these moments of intimacy while reading fan fiction as I have reading mainstream fiction. Fan fiction is not a lesser form of fiction writing, not if it evokes the same feelings as good “original” writing does.
I’m a writer of original fiction and non-fiction, and I will be a reader of fan fiction for life. Because in reading it, I connect with characters I love, and with others who love them too.
It’s all about the love.
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