Forum - View topicNEWS: Manga Creator Ken Akamatsu Wins Seat in Japan's House of Councillors
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lazerem
Posts: 13 |
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I haven't seen any mention of this on Twitter today, maybe you need to do some cleanup on your following list to keep negativity off your feed? Because this sounds like a case of going out of your way to find people to be upset with. |
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coreymon77
Posts: 21 |
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Clearly you have not watched any anime or, for that matter, consumed any form of media or artistic expression out there. It doesn't matter if it's books, tv shows, movies, songs, paintings, drawings, comics, games, all artist expression is political. If you haven't noticed this it's because you only think it's "political propaganda" when it's something you don't like, are told not to like, or is the outrage bait of the day. And don't go saying that Japan or Japanese artistic types are somehow above it. I'm delving into video games because that's where my head is right now, but video games certainly fall under a "large Japanese export that has a heavy look at the foreign market (and "keep politics out of video games is a similar argument"). I could certainly come up with anime examples, though. Having a message also doesn't mean something is bad or worse for it. The Persona games, and Shin Megami Tensei in general, is rather heavy handed in its social commentary. The Final Fantasy series routinely has political messages and themes in it. If you somehow missed FF7's blatant environmental message, I don't know what to tell you. There is also FFX's rather unkind words to say about organized religion. Yet these are some of the most acclaimed games out there. It's always been like this. You just never noticed because either you were too young to notice or it was something you agreed with. |
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ANN_Lynzee
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 2999 Location: Email for assistance only |
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It's not illegal for a 12 year old to buy Jump Square. Anyone can read Jump or Jump Square, the demographic target is just for optics.
No, it's not. Are you familiar with Kentaro Yabuki's work at all? We were discussing a specific series. It's nipples. If you head over to his ANN encyclopedia page you can read articles we've written specifically on the different creative ways he's added sexual content and nudity to his series. This isn't just like, some panning frames of a character in a shower.
Who cares? He can only make a decision about how he wants to improve his writing as long as it comes from people that are the same nationality as him? What exactly is the purpose of the internet and interacting with fans and people across the world? This really opens up the underlying idea that people have of Japan being this walled off land of ideological purity and any interactions they have internationally is poisoning it. Entertainment is global and we're all able to enjoy things like anime despite most of us on this website not being Japanese. Japanese creators go to events around the world to meet the people that enjoy their stories and interact with their fans. That also means they care, to some degree or another, about viewers thoughts and feelings about their work. What is the point in sharing feelings and art across the world but then saying "don't pay any attention to THOSE fans' they aren't from your country?" On at least three occasions at AX, the creators shot video on their phone at the end of a panel just to share that enthusiasm with the staff back in Japan. They obviously care about how their work is perceived beyond just viewers in Japan and if they want to also be open-minded to ideas they haven't considered, whether those ideas are proposed by an American or anywhere else, than that's allowed. |
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Blanchimont
 Posts: 3535 Location: Finland |
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I haven't seen much either. The few posts who do(speaking as someone who doesn't have twitter and has to use alternative means of searching for them) are getting HEAVY pushback, to the point some are already deleted. Threads on some other places, like the Resetera forums, with their specific kind of userbase(read, pro-censorship), on the other hand...(that one quote about the infamous spaceport in Star Wars crosses the mind when thinking of suitable descriptors...) |
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Sakurafire_
Posts: 67 |
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It's something that has bothered me since he announced his candidacy. I feel like there are very obvious ulterior motives here. I'm a little surprised that the ANN article didn't touch the subject. Here is a statement via CBR:
Akamatsu has also received criticism for pushing for more artistic freedom rather than pushing for stricter laws on the overworked animation and manga industries. Those who are familiar with his works are dubious to his reasons for running as he has a history of drawing minors in compromising positions and situations. Others fully support his platform and the push for more lenient censorship laws. While it is true that Japan's laws are some of the more strict on a global scale, the question then becomes what are the limits to artistic expression when it comes to depicting minors? |
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Blanchimont
Posts: 3535 Location: Finland |
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There is no ulterior motive, his platform is very clear and open on the freedom of expression for ACG(Anime, Comics, Games) and that it needs to be protected.
Yes, that IS included in the freedom talked on his platform.
As far as fiction(ACG)? There should be none, as per his platform. He's very clear that there's a difference real life vs fiction, non-victim vs real victim. |
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Guile
Posts: 595 |
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I would have to guess because no one in Japan asked him for it and it was only once he went to American conventions he heard people talk about it and ask for it? Or maybe he's just saying things to appease those oversea fans who made a career trashing SAO on Youtube and has no real plans to do it. I don't read the LNs so I don't know what's actually changed in the series. I assume the anime wont reach that part for awhile |
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Electric Wooloo
Posts: 314 |
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You're right, I haven't seen anything negative on twitter today. Also, the person I responded to said "In here" as in on this forum. Which says to me that they have a problem conflating any criticism with "having a meltdown" because I see none of the latter in here. |
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Ashabel
 Posts: 351 |
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It's not "more and more frequent", it's been that way for literal decades. Retouching the art for quality and removal of censorship is one of the primary marketing points in DVD and tankobon sales, and has been that way forever. One great example is DOGS: Bullets & Carnage, where the magazine release was often an empty wasteland and almost every panel saw a complete redraw for a tankobon release. On the anime side, Code Geass, Seikon no Qwaser, Madoka Magica, Monogatari and numerous other shows saw heavy redraws upon moving from TV to DVD. There's nothing to be "honest" about, this is just you misrepresenting a marketing tactic that's been around for a good 20 years to suit your argument. |
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Gamen
Posts: 253 |
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Except for the newest, post-web novel arc, the anime has adapted basically everything. As far as I know, he's only said (paraphrased) that he regrets using the threat of sexual violence to introduce tension and stakes. Also AFAIK the only real change was from the WN to the published novels which changed the rape of two characters into an attempted rape - which might be more standards & practices on the Japanese side than any foreign influence. If there was anything it'd be in the last half of the Underworld arc which I haven't watched or read....but again, AFAIK if anything it's just that he's had an epiphany or is going to self-censor, so it's only relevant to his newer works. And indeed I can't think of anything in SAO Progressive, or the Isolator, and only - if it even counts - that blackmail incident early on in Accel World. |
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samuelp
Industry Insider
Posts: 2242 Location: San Antonio, USA |
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I can give two examples (I have to be vague though) where the Japanese publisher of one of the books we publish have come to us, the English publisher, asking for advice about sections of the novels which "might be interpreted as insensitive or hurtful to minority groups" which should be modified for anime adaptations of the original source material.
Or well, not modified so much as probably just cut for time. This request usually came not from the Japanese publisher itself, but the original author who wants to make sure their work is accepted well overseas, especially once it becomes an anime. I think the reaction to shield hero and mushokutensei overseas have most definitely percolated around the light novel authors in Japan so many of them are trying to make sure if their works get adapted to anime that that anime is recieved with as little controversy as possible. If you want to call that a form of self censorship, I dunno, but it's happened twice now. |
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FilthyCasual
Posts: 2331 |
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Hoppy800
 Posts: 3331 |
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It's great news, hopefully he'll help keep the censors at bay including the western varieties, because they're still up to no good, in fact they're slowly getting worse.
If I were you, I would probably abandon Twitter, that place is going to get even worse now that Musk backed out of the deal because the site got exposed for being mostly fake, then you have the drama that has become more pettier and insane by the day, things that were glanced over 3 years ago are now suddenly a big deal. |
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Kougeru
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pretty much the only time I disagreed with his actions/words. He really is incapable of understanding that situation since he lives in a country that's largely one group and he's of course a member of said large group. He can't possibly understand the issues of not being represented properly in media. It's also just racist to have white people doing impressions of Asian accents. |
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ANN_Lynzee
ANN Executive Editor
Posts: 2999 Location: Email for assistance only |
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I sat in on an press round table with him...years ago now where he was asked about his treatment of Asuna directly and, according to what he said at the time. He considered the Mother's Rosario arc a way of making up for it. |
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