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NEWS: Kodomo no Jikan Kickstarter Meets Goal


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jenthehen



Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Posts: 835
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
PostPosted: Mon Jul 04, 2016 11:12 pm Reply with quote
championferret wrote:
Considering the less than positive opinion the average Japanese person has on otaku anime/moe, let alone more lolicon flavoured stuff, 'it's just cultural differences!!!' is literally my least favourite excuse in the world when it comes to this kind of stuff. I'm not saying people arent allowed to like it or even that they're bad people for liking it, but if people would stop trying to pretend its some sacred cultural thing mere westerners cannot comprehend and this fact instantly neutralizes anything 'iffy' about it, that'd be great.


I wasn't referring only to KnJ specifically or to anime and manga or any of the super otaku stuff ... it's more like ... when you're watching a show and someone drops a "Well, she's acting this way because she's a woman" or "Because he's a man ..." in a 'it is known' way. That's got to come from cultural differences. It's usually in a context that is very clearly different from American culture, as well.

I'm not saying that cultural differences make a piece of art sacred or neutralizes "iffy"-ness, but rather that if a story with similar levels of iffy-ness (so to speak) were written by an American, it would be presented in a different way. It seems that you enjoyed KnJ before the ending, so it may be fair to say that even a small component of the ending that bothers you might be due to cultural differences. That's not saying you can't criticize it, but it is a possible explanation to help make it a bit more palatable if you enjoyed the story up to that point. One of these cultural differences is the age of consent and when women are considered more mature/ adults. Just look at idol culture to see cultural differences.

I realize that anime/manga, idol culture, etc. are niche even in Japan (although still wildly popular compared to the fanbase outside of Japan), but these pieces of entertainment still fit within the greater cultural bubble of the country.
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jenthehen



Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Posts: 835
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
PostPosted: Mon Jul 04, 2016 11:16 pm Reply with quote
If KnJ were an American story taking place in the states and a former student ended up marrying a teacher, it would be far more unusual and scandalous. When this happens even with university students, people raise an eyebrow.

Clearly, in Japan, this ending would raise far fewer eyebrows since it appears to be so common and a "so what?" sort of thing - so it comes off as a more typical romance rather than something SUPER taboo (at least the marrying / ending up with your former teacher thing!)
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yurihellsing





PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 5:47 am Reply with quote
Just like to remind the folks getting their panties in a bunch over this series that 120 days of Sodom is available for under $6 at amazon.com. In terms of content and themes covered is far far worse.
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Parsifal24





PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 11:07 am Reply with quote
I donated so now I will get the whole series I was kind of hoping that the stretch goal that got the paper stock switched to white text got funded. but that is not going to happen but at least I'm getting the whole thing and Houkago as well as some nice merchandise and a tote bag. Hopefully this will stop this series from being a sore spot for people still really excited to have this been acomplished
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Blanchimont



Joined: 25 Feb 2012
Posts: 3561
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 11:11 am Reply with quote
With a few hours left it just passed the second stretch goal (color inserts) at $180.000, after passing the first one (color pages, same ones as in the Japanese release) earlier today. Smile
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Mr. Oshawott



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 6773
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 11:30 am Reply with quote
Blanchimont wrote:
With a few hours left it just passed the second stretch goal (color inserts) at $180.000, after passing the first one (color pages, same ones as in the Japanese release) earlier today. Smile

Now that's what I call "A Triple Victory!" Smile
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Genet



Joined: 05 Jun 2009
Posts: 261
Location: USA
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 12:45 pm Reply with quote
championferret wrote:
As someone who has actually read this entire series and who can safely say it makes my skin crawl, I still maintain it isnt outright porn/lolicon. It's just a very disappointing psychological story that could have been a great exploration of a disturbed child's mind but spoiler[instead she literally ends up banging the teacher but its ok guys! there was a time skip! And its ok that the teacher had feelings for her before then because she SEDUCED him, the little whore! barf. Seriously man that ending made me want to retract every single defense I'd ever made for the series.]


I agree and agree. I was so, so disappointed by the last bit of the series and the ending really bothered me. The series really did an amazing job at times exploring the mind of a kid who, from my fuzzy memory, was forced to grow up too soon spoiler[(IIRC wasn't she being sexually exploited by her cousin who was her guardian, planned to marry her, etc. all sorts of weird shit)]. Kids who are in those situations often act out innapropriately and that's how I always viewed it. What a letdown the ending was to me :I I really related to Rin and I had been holding out hope spoiler[Daisuke would take the high road and serve as a great role model for her and not just sleep with her. Sigh.]

And I'm honestly kind of tired of all the comparisons to Nabokov's Lolita. That was not a novel justifying sexual relations with children, or in favor of pushing social norms or whatever people misread into it. It was literally about a dangerous sexual predator abusing a young girl, and narrating it in flowery, poetic language. The whole point of the novel was that the narrator was unreliable.
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razisgosu



Joined: 26 Sep 2012
Posts: 657
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 1:57 pm Reply with quote
Glad to have helped. This should have been localized years ago.
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Blanchimont



Joined: 25 Feb 2012
Posts: 3561
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 2:05 pm Reply with quote
Aaand it finished at $185.725, and as the most funded graphic novel in Kickstarter history! Very Happy
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jenthehen



Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Posts: 835
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 2:16 pm Reply with quote
Blanchimont wrote:
Aaand it finished at $185.725, and as the most funded graphic novel in Kickstarter history! Very Happy


Hooray!! Very Happy I'm so excited!
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Mr. Oshawott



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 6773
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:58 pm Reply with quote
Blanchimont wrote:
Aaand it finished at $185.725, and as the most funded graphic novel in Kickstarter history! Very Happy

...and now that makes it a Quadruple Victory! Very Happy Such amazing luck that the Kickstarter of KnJ ended on a high note!


Last edited by Mr. Oshawott on Tue Jul 05, 2016 8:31 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Polycell



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Posts: 4623
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 6:06 pm Reply with quote
yurihellsing wrote:
120 days of Sodom
Why does nobody ever remember poor Gomorrah?
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TsukasaElkKite



Joined: 22 Nov 2005
Posts: 4014
PostPosted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 8:18 pm Reply with quote
It's been completely funded! $185,725 which means we get color pages AND all color inserts from the magazine serialization! I was really nervous that people would back out.
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Halko



Joined: 27 Apr 2015
Posts: 107
PostPosted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 1:29 am Reply with quote
Genet wrote:
championferret wrote:
As someone who has actually read this entire series and who can safely say it makes my skin crawl, I still maintain it isnt outright porn/lolicon. It's just a very disappointing psychological story that could have been a great exploration of a disturbed child's mind but spoiler[instead she literally ends up banging the teacher but its ok guys! there was a time skip! And its ok that the teacher had feelings for her before then because she SEDUCED him, the little whore! barf. Seriously man that ending made me want to retract every single defense I'd ever made for the series.]


I agree and agree. I was so, so disappointed by the last bit of the series and the ending really bothered me. The series really did an amazing job at times exploring the mind of a kid who, from my fuzzy memory, was forced to grow up too soon spoiler[(IIRC wasn't she being sexually exploited by her cousin who was her guardian, planned to marry her, etc. all sorts of weird shit)]. Kids who are in those situations often act out innapropriately and that's how I always viewed it. What a letdown the ending was to me :I I really related to Rin and I had been holding out hope spoiler[Daisuke would take the high road and serve as a great role model for her and not just sleep with her. Sigh.]

And I'm honestly kind of tired of all the comparisons to Nabokov's Lolita. That was not a novel justifying sexual relations with children, or in favor of pushing social norms or whatever people misread into it. It was literally about a dangerous sexual predator abusing a young girl, and narrating it in flowery, poetic language. The whole point of the novel was that the narrator was unreliable.


She wasn't exploited by her cousin exactly but if left alone it was possible it could have happened. He was really stuck on kinda grooming her to be a replacement for her mother. And as far as the ending goes I think it was more of the fact that spoiler[after being separated for so long he noticed that his feelings of wanting to protect and see her mature was actually romantic feelings he denied seeing because she was so young. Seeing her older made him realize that I think. But that's just me.]

And as far as lolita goes it's not being referenced in its content but instead on how it influenced modern publication and censorship. It was a pretty big influence on those fronts. The content always has been and will be about a vile man.
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Judge Of Toyama



Joined: 30 Aug 2011
Posts: 122
PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2024 2:52 pm Reply with quote
Could we get another article about this kickstarter?
It's been 8 years and they still have not fulfilled anything.
They mentioned in their last update on 6/8/23 that they were aiming for an early 2024 printing but we've not heard anything else.
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