Forum - View topicAkane Analyzes (Spoilerific).
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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Hataraki Man might make a good subject for a discussion of patriarchy as well.
I was disturbed by Haruhi's molestation of Mikuru when I first watched the show, and still am whenever I rewatch those scenes. (The Playboy bunny cosplay has the same flavor, though at least Haruhi herself wears the costume, too.) I had only been watching anime for a short while, and most of what I had seen were classic dramas like Monster and Junni Kokuki. Haruhi was one of the first shows I watched in fansubs, and I was a bit shocked by how blasé the other characters were. From time to time I'll read things that suggest that boob-grabbing is something girls do. I'll let the female members speak to this, though given the tone of her comments, I'd guess Akane herself would not agree. |
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Keichitsu0305
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Well the scene (and first six episodes) certainly did its job of making Haruhi look like a total asshole with no one, not even Kyon to a point, actually like her. I might finish it since Haruhi is such a respected show.
I like when female characters aren't just the nice or shy or tomboy types and have an agency that allows them to be more proactive in a story. Even if the character is manipulitive, if written well I could end up liking them. But, all Haruhi did in those few episodes was make me realize that if she didn't have God powers, then no one would tolerate her. Which reeked of the whole "I wanna be the special snowflake" character that I have no time for. Great analysis and parallel to the people perverted lesbian stereotype which also pops up randomly. Super off topic but, I don't understand the point of that gag. Example: for no reason, in the Noragami Aragoto OVA Kofuku randomly and briefly gropes Hiyori in the hot springs. Is it a cultural thing or a random gag that has been ingrained in pop culture? |
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Akane the Catgirl
Posts: 1091 Location: LA, Baby! |
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Thank you all for commenting!
@nobahn Well, it is where I'm living now. For most of my life, however, I've lived in America, where Hanukkah is given more importance due to Christmas usually being held around the same time. So, there's your answer. Happy holidays! @yuna49 Oh, man, I haven't seen Hataraki Man yet! It's on my list, but until I brush up more on my Japanese, I probably won't watch it any time soon. It looks interesting! I'm watching Monster right now, though. Good stuff! @keichitsu0305 As someone who's read the first novel, I can say that if you've seen the first arc, you've read the book. (I'll probably talk about Haruhi from an adaptation standpoint sometime next year.) Honestly, just read the book. The story works better in a textual medium than a visual one. I should talk about my feelings on the Skinship Grope trope that the two of you above mentioned. As I have been a professional woman all my life, and as someone whose interests include studying Japanese culture, I'm pretty sure that the boob thing was invented by yuri-fans who like the idea of girls ~doing it~ but still want their waifus to be pure and innocent. So as far as I know, it's having your cake and eating it too. There are a few exceptions, but the general norm is that Skinship Groping is Not A Thing That Usually Happens. |
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Keichitsu0305
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Thanks for the reply! Yeah, I never hated the series I'll admit Kyon, Yuki, and Itsuki have strucked my interest but perhaps reading the light novels will be faster for me to understand the importance of the Haruhi franchise. Definitely curious how everything plays out with some of the later arcs.
Ah, so the whole boob grab thing really is just an anime/manga only gag. Good, it would be really awkward visiting a Japanese hot spring and having to sheild myself from grabby random teenage girls. 
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yuna49
Posts: 3804 |
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It streams legally on Viewster in some regions, though not the US. I don't know about Israel. The original Arienai fansub by our friend samuelp is available in the usual locations. He's also responsible for the Viewster version. |
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GeminiDS85
Posts: 391 |
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While boob grabbing is commonly used as a gag in manga/anime and it certainly is not something you would see at a public onsen/sento, the act does have some truth behind it. As Japan is a very group-orientated society, there are certain actions that are performed within a tight-knit group that would never be done in pubic or really discussed outside of a group setting. I’ve experienced the male side of onsen/bath culture, especially when I was a student, and there certainly is a lot friendly touching tolerated when you are just hanging out with your friends in the sento/onsen. Just hanging in a small tub with several other guys, having a few beers, and generally acting stupid is, from my experience, a big part of being young and part of a tight-knit circle in Japan. **Don’t be frightened away of going to school in Japan by my comments as I didn’t attend an international school in Japan, so my experience is largely different from other people who I’ve encountered that went to schools catering to international students. On the female side, I actually have asked several Japanese girls who I’ve dated about the boob grabbing thing because I was generally curious if it actually happens, and, yes, it does happen; especially if they have a friend who is particularly well-endowed and are curious about what large breasts feel like. However, as I wrote above, this is predominantly restricted to tight-knits groups, so I would not worry about visiting a sento/onsen in Japan. That being said, if you speak Japanese and the people in the sento/onsen find this out, you may be asked a few strange questions. I’ve had this happen a few times and it is usually from older people who are curious about a foreigner’s body parts and just don’t care about asking strange questions. |
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Akane the Catgirl
Posts: 1091 Location: LA, Baby! |
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@GeminiDS85
How interesting! What I had in mind when discussing the Perverted Lesbian stereotype is that the groping is usually non-consensual and would be seen as sexual assault if the molester was the opposite sex. This sort of thing tends to be used for sleazy fanservice by male otaku who don't see a problem with this sort of behavior because "girls can't molest girls" or some garbage like that. I'm okay with the touching if it's consensual on both sides. 
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Errinundra
Moderator
 Posts: 6528 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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Are the light novels in the first person, with Kyon as the narrator?
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Akane the Catgirl
Posts: 1091 Location: LA, Baby! |
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@errinundra
Yes, they are. I know I'm eventually going to do a post on Haruhi Suzumiya as a light novel adaptation, so I'm going to be brief. The person(s) put in charge of adapting the series from a textual work into a visual one simply had no idea how to do their job correctly. Huh, I'm getting a lot more posters than usual. I should do controversial stuff more often! 
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Errinundra
Moderator
Posts: 6528 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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As I thought. That's how the two anime seasons and the film are presented.
We only have Kyon's word for it that Haruhi grabs Mikuru's breasts. Everything is mediated through Kyon's eyes. We only have his word for it that Mikuru is a time traveller, that Nagato is an alien, that Koizumi is an esper or that Haruhi is god. Everything is his fantasy. Haruhi, in particular, is his goddess fantasy. She is both monstrous and fascinating to him so he makes her out that way to us. There is nothing reliable about what he tells us. We should believe nothing he says. The true god-figure of the series is Kyon. You could read the franchise as an examination of men's projections of their fears and desires onto women; or you could read it as a pomo joke about narrative uncertainty. |
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nobahn
 Subscriber Posts: 5120 |
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What a fascinating analysis! Such a thought had never occurred to me. |
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Akane the Catgirl
Posts: 1091 Location: LA, Baby! |
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So...first things first!
You have no idea how much your thoughts and comments mean to me. I loved seeing all your opinions on today's post. Of course, I also loved answering any questions you had and learning new things! So, once again, thank you so much! The Madoka post will be on Sunday as usual, but I'll think I'll post something extra special tomorrow. As an early holiday gift from me to all of you! 
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Akane the Catgirl
Posts: 1091 Location: LA, Baby! |
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Happy Saturday everyone! As you all know, tomorrow, I'll be posting my analysis on Madoka Magica from a feminist perspective. Judging on my prior posts on this forum, I think you all know what I think of the show.
Yep. Number One favorite anime of all time, never be changed. It also has one of my favorite anime soundtracks of all time. This was the anime that introduced me to Yuki Kajiura, and now her music has me body and soul. So, with that said, here's Ten Madoka BGMs I Really, Really Like! (And I recommend you listen to, too!) Believe me, it was really hard to pick just ten! Yada yada, spoilers, HIT IT! 1. "Sis, Puella Magica/ Become a Magical Girl"- Original Series 
I AM ORIGINAL. Seriously, this piece manages to convey everything you need to know about becoming a Magical Girl. As the leitmotif for Kyubey above, the music doesn't sound chirpy like you'd expect it to, but more, er, magical and foreboding. Even the music was foreshadowing the big twist! It's deceptive nature fits its parent show like a glove. 2. "Pugna Infinita/ Endless Fight"- Original Series 
"Hopeless" is the word I'd use to describe the emotion of this piece. Fans might recognize the music from the scene where Madoka throws Sayaka's soul gem off a bridge, almost killing her best friend in the process. As Homura first reveals her time travel powers to save Sayaka, and Kyubey informs the girls of Big Twist Number Two, the BGM's orchestra accompanies this with a sorrowful tune. It's definitely the perfect piece for a game-changing ending. 3. "Symposium Magarum/ Witch's Symphony"- Original Series 
The tragic tale of Sayaka Miki ends with her rebirth as the Mermaid Witch Oktavia von Seckendorff. The music in her barrier is a loud, booming piece provided by Familiars to bring solace to the grieving Witch. Around the middle, one can hear a violin solo- perhaps this is to remind her of Kyosuke, her entire reason for becoming a Magical Girl in the first place? Needless to say, there is no happy ending for Sayaka, and this piece only serves to showcase her despair and anger. 4. "Surgam Identidum/ I Will Always Rise"- Original Series 
It's the climax of the series, and it's time for Homura's Xth battle with the Stage Constructing Witch Walpurgisnacht! The music accompanying the fight starts off with a choir, then the beating of drums and strings as Homura struggles to save Mitakihara and her beloved Madoka at the same time. An operatic voice joins in, reminding me of "Libera me from Hell", only more depressing. Then, finally, the music settles down into a depressing coda, as Homura's Soul Gem begins to darken. 5. "Sagitta Luminis/ Arrow of Light"- Original Series 
UWAAAAAAAAAA! Ahem, as you can tell, this music accompanies the "Madoka becomes Magical Girl Jesus" sequence in the final episode. It sounds very sad, but at the same time, filled with so much hope. As Madoka goes all across space and time to give every magical girl their happy ending, the music becomes even more triumphant. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go cry more. (THEY GOT THEIR HAPPY ENDING. ;A; ) 6. "wo ist die kase?/ where is the cheese?"- Movie One 
So, the recap films managed to do the impossible by having even better music choices than the TV series. With that out of the way, when I first saw the title of this piece, I thought to myself, "Aw, how cute!" And then I heard it and thought "OH SH*T SOMEONE'S GONNA GET DECAPITATED". With a creepy chorus and a discordant melody, this BGM easily made it's way onto my list. 7. "she is a witch"- Movie One 
Oh, wow, the emotions. This piece is the last one played before the end credits of the first movie, by the way. It starts off with dramatic strings, before seguing into a tragic chorus as Sayaka sheds her human skin and turns into a Witch. The feelings this inspires are both sad and scary at the same time, making this a great piece to send the audience out with until the second film. 8. "i'll be with you, i miss you"- Movie Two 
Okay, I cheated! Still, I selected these two pieces because 1) they play back to back and 2) they're the same piece, just arranged differently. The first is an instrumental melody used during the scene where Kyoko dies alongside Sayaka's Witch form. The second adds a chorus and is used during the transition from the aforementioned scene to Homura's backstory. Both are absolutely haunting when listened to, and both are absolutely lovely. 9. "nightmare ballet"- Rebellion 
We've got ourselves a old school sounding BGM! This piece is played during the scene where Madoka and her friends first battle a Nightmare. Fitting with the title, the music sounds like Tchaikovsky mixed in with classic Kajiura. Interestingly, if you listen closely, you can hear snippets from "Kimi no Gin no Niwa" woven into the melody. 10. "noi!"- Rebellion 
Ending this list is the theme for the Clara Dolls, Homulilly's Familiars. It's also probably the catchiest tune you are ever going to hear next to "Sis Puella Magica". The lyrics are sung in German, and seem to be mocking Homura over her never being able to spoiler[meet Madoka again]. Also, it will never leave! IT WILL NEVER LEAVE! So, those are my ten favorite Madoka BGMs. If you didn't see one you liked on the list, then know that I too wanted to see that one, but I could not. What are your favorites, anyway? Comment and tell me what your favorites are! I'll see you tomorrow as usual! {Added spoiler tags. ~nobahn} |
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Akane the Catgirl
Posts: 1091 Location: LA, Baby! |
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So...apparently, I bit off more than I could chew with my feminist analysis. I apologize if you were expecting it from me today, but I just can't post my thoughts the way they are right now. Consider my Top 10 to be this week's post, and I'll see you next Saturday! Please, please, please don't kill me.
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nobahn
Subscriber Posts: 5120 |
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A ninja has been dispatched to your place of residence. There cannot be any forgiveness. Expect him. 
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