Forum - View topicINTEREST: Newspaper Ad for Raunchy Tawawa on Monday Manga Draws Ire
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Sam Murai
Posts: 1051 |
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On one hand, I understand some of the acrimony over content like this (the other examples were a little more understandable than this one, which looks more "tasteful" in comparison), and what little I've seen of the anime adaptation *did* have a creepy overtone to it…
On the other hand, raunchy, at times explicit, high school-based live-action comedies and dramas are also a thing both in the U.S. and abroad, and I doubt the leery, male-gaze content is shown with any greater sincerity. Perhaps, the former sticks out more because of the broad view of graphic novels/illustrations and animation as kid/family-adjacent. |
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Tuor_of_Gondolin
Posts: 3524 Location: Bellevue, WA |
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I'm intensely outraged on behalf of ink lines everywhere!
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Greed1914
Posts: 4570 |
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I imagine the reason for the choice to print it was pretty simple: the paper was paid for advertising space.
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Rosiero
Posts: 124 |
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That's... not a right. That doesn't exist. If people had the right not to be exposed to anything they don't like, we'd really be up shit creek. |
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livin_large
Posts: 107 |
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It seems like every year the UN Women are complaining about something in Japan. I wonder if this will lead to a huge boost in sales for the series like we saw with previous "controversies". Streisand Effect and all.
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Changeman
Posts: 220 |
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And the search for the series on the amazon site increased a lot in less than 24 hours. And on bookwaker jp volume 1 is free for a limited time. Kadokawa is taking advantage of the confusion. And they are offering the "controversial" illustration as a bonus. lol https://bookwalker.jp/ded7e1dbbc-249a-451b-a8a8-a356f32e38e8/ |
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AmpersandsUnited
Posts: 633 |
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What else do you call telling a publication who or what they can and can't sell ad space to and trying to force them to not do it if not an attempt at censorship? |
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merr
Posts: 486 |
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The issue for the UN group is that the paper joined a coalition whose express purpose is to reduce sexist portrayals of women in media. They are questioning why the paper chose to run the ad after agreeing to be part of that group. Questioning someone’s hypocrisy is not censorship. |
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BlueAlf
Posts: 1544 |
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I personally think the UN has better stuff to deal with. But I also think the professor speaking about the target audience actually has a point.
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Changeman
Posts: 220 |
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Why is the ad sexist? They were considerate of hiding the girl's breasts and at no point is there a text talking about her gender or talking about it. |
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Sareail
Posts: 3 |
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Not only that, but even if they did have said right, they weren't exposed to anything sexually explicit anyway. The picture isn't just tame, it's downright G-rated. I wouldn't have known it was about a fan service manga just by looking at that ad. |
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FunkyDude88
Posts: 108 |
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It would only be hypocritical if everyone agrees that this is a "sexist portrayal", which people clearly do not. In essence this sounds like a typical case of purity testing. If you're against sexism then you must be against any kind of portrayal of an attractive women. It's never a simple case of simply viewing men and women as equal or not discriminating people based on their sex, it's always about hooking your wagon to the hivemind and being against their other crusades as well. Glad to see the series getting a popularity boost from this. Keep fighting the good fight, Japan. |
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Juno016
Posts: 2412 |
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It honestly depends. I'm an erotic artist and love sexualizing my art, but I'm also against the sexualization of women when uninvited, so I've had to manage where I draw the line and become aware of my own biases, which has made things like this more apparent. I've attended school in Japan at different times of my life and one of those uniquely anime things is how high school uniforms are made to look slightly more sexy than what is usually allowed in real school settings. Shorter skirts are the stand out point, but it also extends to things like how tight the chest is on the shirt and so on. Not to mention, camera angle and choice of body shape (the manga is still fanservice and the character's body and outfit were clearly designed to draw attention to that). This angle shows her body from the side with the clothing tightened where her curves would look most attractive. Put another way, I would totally draw this pose on purpose. Lol It's subtle, but I can probably point to the general oversaturation of sexuality in media (and especially anime) as to why it seems normal to many of us, but stands out to other people who are directly involved in an organization that tries to combat that normalization. This is also probably why it passed through the newspapers' own editing department unnoticed. Most people would probably not think twice about it. ---- With that point out of the way, though, I think I agree with most people here. It's not censorship to find it violates the newspapers own rules, and it probably didn't belong there, but it's a very minor issue and doesn't mean we should take this as meaning sexualization=bad. People should be free to sexualize themselves (age appropriately) and I clearly enjoy sexualized art, but a fictional character with no agency for herself is subject to whatever a platform feels appropriate for that platform and their audience. This wasn't the right newspaper for the ad. |
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thadec
Posts: 45 |
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You are correct. Normally I object to stuff like this, but in this case it is precisely what the magazine signed up for. |
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Hellsoldier
Posts: 805 Location: Porto,Portugal,Europe,Earth,Sol |
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Well, this issue gives me headaches.
1 - People have the right to read the manga, no "ifs" nor "buts" about it. And I know that's not the topic in discussion, but I need to stress it. People have the right to read and like this piece of fiction, and people have the right to their fetishes, of which people never actually choose. All characters are fictional. 2 - On the other hand, one could argue that the ad, placed where it is, seems to indicate that the newspaper thought it was a good idea, making it sound as if all office workers and businesspeople are heterosexual males with a school girl fetish. Plenty of them are, to be sure, but... Not the most inclusive experience. I mean, by their own statement, only these men exist in the labor market. "April 4th is the first Monday of the year for new employees," a representative from Young Magazine told Comic Natalie. "We put up a full-page ad to blow away their anxiety and cheer them up"." (and I know there are women who are more than happy to read the manga/watch the anime) 3 - On the other hand, they have the right to advertise in that same newspaper, should that same newspaper welcome their money, of course. 4 - However, treating it isolated from its context is not intelectually honest, and to pretend that plenty of the people who defend this ad would feel repulsed/outraged at a similar ad regarding BL is a bit intelectually dishonest. 5 - Also, the ad, from what I gather, doesn't pass the 3 P's test. But then again, I think the anime doesn't show male faces, so, whatever. One could also make the argument that the 3 P's test is not contextual, so... 6 - At the end of the day, International organizations have a bad habit of picking up on what is or isn't legal in Japanese media. 7 - But again, Japan has a legit horrible Gender Inequality issue, unfitting of the Developed Country. Stereotyping never helps matters. 8 - But then there are people who will treat any form of sexy entertainment as an assault of Women's Rights. 9 - But then there will be people who will pretend that there is no such thing as Gender Inequality or even try to justify it. 10 - One of the big issues in Japan is how common it is for a salaryman to grab a school girl (just for example) on the subway. 11 - Though no such behavior, as far as I know, is displayed in this work of fiction, so it could not, in good faith, be argued that the manga promotes molestation and harrassment. The list could go on and on. All in all, this just gives me headaches. |
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