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Editorial: How Bill 156 Got Passed


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egoist



Joined: 20 Jun 2008
Posts: 7762
PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 4:16 pm Reply with quote
Hmm, very interesting article, and worth the time. I really, really hope they do set a proper counterattack, even if it's after the elections.
Meanwhile, I'm just happy to see what major anime/manga companies are doing to Ishihara's little playground.

By the way, is everyone in Japan forced to vote or what? I can't believe that crazy man is elected every election despite the amount of tax money he lost, and now this thing about moving a fish market to a poisonous region.
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minakichan





PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 4:21 pm Reply with quote
I guess we'll be relying on fans and companies in Japan to fight this...

Is there nothing we foreign fans can do to help? Even if it's just fighting with our wallets...?
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egoist



Joined: 20 Jun 2008
Posts: 7762
PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 4:24 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Is there nothing we foreign fans can do to help? Even if it's just fighting with our wallets...?

Yep, spend more money on Queens Blade and stuff. Wink
There probably is, but I doubt it'd have as much effect. Perhaps donating to some freedom of speech party over there?
Boycotting anime/manga won't help, as that will directly affect the companies fighting the bill.
Remember, this man doesn't care about money loss, since it's not his money after all.

What's next? Build a new Siberia in Tokyo? (ho ho ho, The Way Back influence.)
"Our guns isn't what's keeping you DNA defective people locked in here; it's the nature itself! There will be a bounty on the head of every pervert fugitive on nearby villages, and there, you defective retards, you shall be hunted as any person with arousing sexual urges should."

... yikes. Hope he doesn't read this and get the idea.


Last edited by egoist on Tue Dec 28, 2010 4:34 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Saphiro01



Joined: 14 Jun 2003
Posts: 71
Location: California
PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 4:34 pm Reply with quote
I know I missed the point completely but I get distracted by boobies. Shocked What manga or project is that girl with inserted dialogue at the top of the article from? *ducks from incoming 'THAT is what you were concerned about??!!' grenades* Cool Laughing
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ABCBTom



Joined: 10 Sep 2009
Posts: 183
PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 4:39 pm Reply with quote
Saphiro01 wrote:
I know I missed the point completely but I get distracted by boobies. Shocked What manga or project is that girl with inserted dialogue at the top of the article from? *ducks from incoming 'THAT is what you were concerned about??!!' grenades* Cool Laughing


The doujinshi that Mr. Kanemitsu, Takeshi Nogami, and Takaaki Suzuki are putting together about this bill and its effects. You can check out his blog for more information.
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Zade



Joined: 03 Mar 2008
Posts: 79
PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 4:55 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
You would be surprised at how often this is the case with bills in any assembly, even in the United States.


...Haha?
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vashfanatic



Joined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 3495
Location: Back stateside
PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 5:09 pm Reply with quote
Not to be critical, but this reads like a hurried translation, i.e. very awkwardly. I appreciate the content (ah, politics! Rolling Eyes ) but it was a pain to slog through in terms of style.

I obviously feel the fan-urge to catastrophize this, but when I see how much of the industry is lined up against the bill, my hope is that it won't last, or will prove toothless. Suffice it to say this whole affair has strong resonances with video game content debates in America: a lot of rage from people with exaggerated claims of content in things they've never played/watched/read. Sure, there is rotten stuff out there, but the Japanese kids I've met are too busy reading One Piece (though Ishihara probably doesn't like that one either...that guy is a basket case, clearly).
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Haterater



Joined: 30 Apr 2006
Posts: 1728
PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 5:19 pm Reply with quote
@ vashfanatic

That's the type of vibe I got as well. Mostly just the usual politics who want to "better their resume" and don't actually care about the law whatsoever. And hearing there was no real complaining beforehand about titles from convenient stores and such just shows the politicians true colors here.

Just like the ESRB, the anime and manga industry know how to regulate themselves and were doing just fine, just wasn't as public as the ESRB is for their rules. I hope the opposition can work to delay or whatever possible so that it doesn't effect their work too much.
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vashfanatic



Joined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 3495
Location: Back stateside
PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 5:36 pm Reply with quote
Haterater wrote:
Just like the ESRB, the anime and manga industry know how to regulate themselves and were doing just fine, just wasn't as public as the ESRB is for their rules. I hope the opposition can work to delay or whatever possible so that it doesn't effect their work too much.

Well, I always feel... conflicted on everything. I mean, a gradated ratings system is a good idea, in part because it gives companies a shield to hide behind (we told you it wasn't for kids!), but independent boards like the MPAA can result in all sorts of bizarre ratings decisions (Roger Ebert has argued strongly that many of the torture-porn movies out there should be getting NC-17 ratings, but only sex seems to get you that black eye). Still, there has to be something better than Verticle giving a bland "suggested for mature readers" on much of its English-original content, which is about as meaningless a "warning" as ever was given. It may all come down to PR, persuading the easily-distressed that it isn't all that hard to avoid children buying porn if you bother to be a parent for 15 seconds.

So... is there something in Japan like what we have on the backs of Viz and Tokyopop? "Teen," "Older Teen," "Adult," etc. (I have no manga that rates younger than that, what does that say about me? Shocked ) I plead total ignorance, as the only manga I own in Japanese is almost 10 years old.
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E-Master



Joined: 21 Aug 2005
Posts: 471
PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 6:04 pm Reply with quote
I knew anime companies and manga staff members wouldn't stay silent about this. I would love to provide support for the anime companies if there was a way. Cause I'm really sure there can be an alternate solution to this issue about the sale of hentai and anything sexual. Rather than banning it from people who are old enough to purchase it.
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ZakuAce



Joined: 06 Jan 2010
Posts: 525
Location: SE Wisconsin
PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 6:11 pm Reply with quote
E-Master wrote:
I knew anime companies and manga staff members wouldn't stay silent about this. I would love to provide support for the anime companies if there was a way. Cause I'm really sure there can be an alternate solution to this issue about the sale of hentai and anything sexual. Rather than banning it from people who are old enough to purchase it.


If they hadn't been silent up until right before the bill passed, maybe we would not have seen the bill go through. This article clearly states that the industry did not do enough to show the public that they already are regulating what gets put on the shelves. The industry is not free of blame.
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Shenl742



Joined: 11 Feb 2010
Posts: 1525
PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 6:18 pm Reply with quote
What my question how much can they actually enforce this and how many people will be able to enforce it, and how long can they keep it up?

I mean...a LOT of anime/manga gets produced in Japan. Will the goverment be able to keep and eye on and classify ALL of it? Will there be enough "concerned citizens" to call in if something seems to break violations? Are there enough officials browsing the store aisles, making sure that the right titles are properly labeled and divided? Will store owners let people buy stuff normally anyways? Will parents let their kids?

So yeah, I really wonder if the goverment has the manpower to make this happen, how studios will work to get around it, and how long before everyone just collectively throws up their hands and goes, "oh screw it!"
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tuxedocat



Joined: 14 Dec 2009
Posts: 2183
PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 8:19 pm Reply with quote
This article actually clarifies a lot of what I was suspecting about the backdoor political posturing involved behind the bill's passage. The complexities outlined here may be what is keeping the usual deluge of "oh noes!!" comments that usually occur when this bill gets mentioned.

In any case, I am interested to see what transpires in the next few months, during the "probationary" period before April, where the legislature has requested the industry to self regulate. Exactly howare they supposed to do that, given that they have been provided such vague boundaries and no clear rating system? It seems to me there is a lot here that could be challenged in court.

If I were part of the industry over there, I would be starting a form of grass-roots protest, encouraging my fellow businesses to send every example of "questionable" product to the governing board. I would demand that each individual piece be evaluated as to its status under the new laws. I would demand a rating system, and inform the legislative board that I would challenge in court, on a case-by-case basis, what I deemed to be unfair evaluations.

If every content provider did this, the governing board would be positively deluged by an ocean of content, not to mention threatened by the impact and potential financial liability resulting from all the possible court challenges.

poop, meet fan.
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michaeltanzer



Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Posts: 168
PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 8:56 pm Reply with quote
I read it and I want to know the bill passed, right? And what's gonna happen to the Anime/manga industry now? Sad
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Youkai Warrior



Joined: 07 Aug 2008
Posts: 505
Location: Sarayashiki
PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 9:05 pm Reply with quote
I'm...I'm still confused with this bill. Confused Ishihara is a crackhead.
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