×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
NEWS: New Rurouni Kenshin TV Anime Reveals Cast, Staff, 2023 Premiere on Noitamina


Goto page Previous    Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Scias



Joined: 16 Mar 2016
Posts: 44
PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 8:49 am Reply with quote
Excoman wrote:
Fluwm wrote:
Gotta love a community where, "pedophiles are bad," is a controversial statement.
It's not that it is controversial, as it is just kinda annoying hearing it every time RK, and Watsuki are mentioned.

Like, we get it, Watsuki has a nasty pedo past, but after all this time, give him a break already.


This was in 2017, you don't get caught with so much CP that the police thought that you were a major distributor and just need to catch a break and say "whoops sorry, i guess".

Extremely weird of you to say this. He is a pedophile who got a slap on the wrist when he should have been convicted and imprisoned for life.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Los Nido



Joined: 26 Jun 2022
Posts: 132
PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 8:57 am Reply with quote
flamemastereian wrote:
Did you miss the standing ovation that Roman Polansky, a child predator who is currently a fugitive living in a country that won't extradite him, received at the Emmy's?


I don't know if I agree with this. Just because someone is a criminal doesn't mean they can't make good films. I don't get people trying to insist only "good" people can make "good" works. All it leads to is people cherishing mediocrity from unproblematic creators for the sake of their principles. Everyone is worse off for it, especially the people who try to convince themselves to settle for bad books, shows, comedians, movies, and games and deny themselves quality entertainment. I'm always open to the idea of letting individuals make their own decisions rather than forcing a choice upon them. If there's enough people willing to support Rurouni Kenshin and have since forgiven Watsuki and are willing to support him again then I see no issue here. I would always choose to be given a choice than have one made for me by someone else.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
flamemasterelan



Joined: 17 Apr 2022
Posts: 488
PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 9:46 am Reply with quote
Los Nido wrote:
I don't get people trying to insist only "good" people can make "good" works.

Literally nobody is insisting that. There's a difference between acknowledging someone's work and celebrating an unrepentant child predator. It's not a fine line, so don't try to obscure it.

Quote:
All it leads to is people cherishing mediocrity from unproblematic creators for the sake of their principles.

Alternatively, we could have good art from people who don't buy child porn or rape children. That's always an option.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Spike Terra
Subscriber



Joined: 21 Mar 2016
Posts: 361
Location: Maryland
PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 10:40 am Reply with quote
Kenshin has a male seiyu now, looks like Watsuki is losing a bit of his creative control over the project. That's always good thing in my book. Edit: Yeah I was pretty wrong with this assumption, so please ignore it

RK was my first Samurai anime and it made me fall in love with the genre as a whole. I own the manga and I have seen the original anime as well as the "not good" Samurai X OVAs. So I'll watch this reboot but I have no intent to support any more RK works on a financial level that isn't my CR account.

On a side note, I was not expecting Rie Takahashi to play Kaoru, honestly I thought she would fit more Yahiko. But I think she will do a great job in the role. Looking forward to more cast announcements.


Last edited by Spike Terra on Mon Sep 26, 2022 10:52 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
SHD



Joined: 05 Apr 2015
Posts: 1757
PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 11:06 am Reply with quote
It's going to be quite a thing if this happens every time ANN reports on the show... there's going to be more news as the launch date nears, and then it's going to air weekly...

My own two cents is that it's an absolute shame that Watsuki got off with a slap on the wrist because the Kenshin movies were making too much money to be ~besmirched~ ( Rolling Eyes ), and while I'm probably going to check out the show and maybe even watch it and talk about it, he's not going to see a single yen of royalty on my account. That being said, clearly the show is happening and people are going to talk about it, and this kind of circular flamewar is not productive whatsoever, and it's killing any actual discussion regarding both Watsuki himself, and the show on its own.

I think ANN should really come up with, and release, a policy about this, otherwise this forum, and ANN's social media presence, is going to blow up sooner or later...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Blanchimont



Joined: 25 Feb 2012
Posts: 3538
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 11:21 am Reply with quote
Spike Terra wrote:
Kenshin has a male seiyu now, looks like Watsuki is losing a bit of his creative control over the project. That's always good thing in my book.

Watsuki is supervising the scenario and casting of this adaptation, so I don't think his creative control is lacking...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
GasterTheGreat



Joined: 08 Jul 2022
Posts: 41
PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 1:14 pm Reply with quote
Spike Terra wrote:
Kenshin has a male seiyu now, looks like Watsuki is losing a bit of his creative control over the project.


How did you extrapolate that? When Fruits Basket got a new anime Natsuki Takaya wanted an entirely new voice cast and she got it. Perhaps Watsuki wanted a new cast as well. It's a very common practice with remakes even if English localizers sometimes ignore the creator's wishes and cast the old actors to chase the nostalgia audience more. Every source available seems to suggest Watsuki is in control so I see no reason to think otherwise. It is his series, after all.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2645
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 2:38 pm Reply with quote
It's also worth nothing that Kenshin's voice from all anime & games prior, Mayo Suzukaze, is NOT a traditional voice actor, but rather is a film & stage actress first, so it's also possible that she could have some contract issues when it comes to reprising her role for an entire TV series now. A short OVA series or a video game is one thing, but a TV series is another thing entirely.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Joker#941490



Joined: 15 Aug 2022
Posts: 265
PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 4:03 pm Reply with quote
ShinuZERO wrote:
I dealt with it and I've come to peace with it. Why is it impossible to agree that you shouldn't abuse children but also that if someone has paid their debt to society they deserve another chance? If Watsuki was charged for crimes like this again then it would be a lot easier for me to drop him like a ton of bricks. If one instance of his behavior is enough for you then so be it but don't vilify others for not sharing the same mentality.

At the end of the day I'm not even a big enough fan of Ruroni Kenshin to own any of the manga or anime. I just watched the anime on TV and read the manga in Shonen Jump and enjoyed it at that time. The themes in the show resonated with me personally and maybe I'm naïve but I want to believe in giving people a chance at redemption. That's just my personal stance.


most people don't want to give him a chance since japan didn't punish him as should be but maybe just maybe his friends and oda helped him to quit it but i guess everyone wants to think of the worst than the best.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NebulousNeon



Joined: 06 Apr 2022
Posts: 29
PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:08 pm Reply with quote
ShinuZERO wrote:
Cool, where is your evidence that he still spends his money on content that exploits children? Has he been convicted again? If not, then all you're doing is assuming the worst.


Would you want your kid around someone convicted of owning child porn if they were arrested for it a few years ago? I assume not. If you do it once in America it doesn't matter how sorry you are of if you renounce it immediately after getting caught; a lower tier violation easily nets you ten years on the registry at the very least.

It doesn't really matter anyway considering after Watsuki got arrested he showed no remorse and doubled down on his opinions in his deposition. Are you really shocked people think you shouldn't give him the benefit of the doubt?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
SenseiAgot



Joined: 06 Jul 2005
Posts: 11
PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 7:02 pm Reply with quote
Mad_Scientist wrote:
So many anime series that could have been given a reboot to (where's my Shakugan no Shana anime reboot?!) and they pick this one. Trailer looks fine I guess, I'd be interested in it if not for the issue with the author. Sigh...

I'm curious though, was there a lot of desire among fans for a reboot? I was under the impression the original anime was pretty well received, though I could be wrong.


As a huge fan a reboot is welcomed, but I would have been happy with them just adapting the last arc of the original manga, that was never done because the series was cancelled back in the day.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
SenseiAgot



Joined: 06 Jul 2005
Posts: 11
PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 7:05 pm Reply with quote
Joker#941490 wrote:
most people don't want to give him a chance since japan didn't punish him as should be but maybe just maybe his friends and oda helped him to quit it but i guess everyone wants to think of the worst than the best.

I mean, the issue is much bigger than Watsuki. He was punished according to japanese laws and given the chance to atone (much like Kenshin in a way). But the laws are certainly lax. We also don't know how BAD the material actually was or the cirscunstances of the adquisition of that crap. There's also the fact that that material used to be legal in Japan, which open a whole new set of questions regarding japanese lawmakers.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
flamemasterelan



Joined: 17 Apr 2022
Posts: 488
PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 9:05 pm Reply with quote
Joker#941490 wrote:
most people don't want to give him a chance since japan didn't punish him as should be but maybe just maybe his friends and oda helped him to quit it but i guess everyone wants to think of the worst than the best.

That's because most people know that you don't quit being a pedophile. It's not like being a smoker or a drinker where you can pick it up casually and quit it cold turkey. It's a mental disorder that requires years but more likely decades of therapy to manage, but it's not something that can be cured. And frankly, we have no reason to believe that the man who announced his age of attraction when he got caught with child porn actually is seeking out treatment, considering his losses were minimal.

SenseiAgot wrote:
I mean, the issue is much bigger than Watsuki. He was punished according to japanese laws and given the chance to atone (much like Kenshin in a way). But the laws are certainly lax. We also don't know how BAD the material actually was or the cirscunstances of the adquisition of that crap. There's also the fact that that material used to be legal in Japan, which open a whole new set of questions regarding japanese lawmakers.

How do we not know enough? They traced the purchases of child pornography to Watsuki, meaning he purchased child pornography after the law was passed and they discovered him with enough content that they suspected him of distributing it. Even if the bulk of his collection was from before it was made illegal, he chose to keep it and not hand it in during the grace period that the Japanese government offered in which you could hand in such paraphernalia without consequence. What more do you want to know? Do you want to know the level of exploitation that the elementary to middle school girls in his videos and photos endured? How does that make it any better?

Look, it's one thing if you guys want to watch the show and don't care. But stop bending yourselves into pretzels to defend a convicted and confessed child predator. If it bothers you that much to know what he is, then maybe you aren't able to "separate the art from the artist" after all.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
cookiemanstah



Joined: 09 Dec 2013
Posts: 546
PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 10:17 pm Reply with quote
the fact he's supervising the anime in any capacity is something I didn't know. That makes it even worse.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Spike Terra
Subscriber



Joined: 21 Mar 2016
Posts: 361
Location: Maryland
PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 10:49 pm Reply with quote
GasterTheGreat wrote:
How did you extrapolate that? When Fruits Basket got a new anime Natsuki Takaya wanted an entirely new voice cast and she got it. Perhaps Watsuki wanted a new cast as well. It's a very common practice with remakes even if English localizers sometimes ignore the creator's wishes and cast the old actors to chase the nostalgia audience more. Every source available seems to suggest Watsuki is in control so I see no reason to think otherwise. It is his series, after all.

It was more an assumption if anything. I remember reading back in the day, Watsuki insisted on Kenshin being played by a woman, the manga itself focuses on Kenshin's femininity at multiple points. So I assumed the studio rejected his preference for seiyuu.

That's as far as it goes, I might even be misremembering the information I am citing. Heck, apparently he's in charge of casting, so I think I'm super wrong. Fun thought, that since it has been over 25 years since RK first aid, I would find the idea of trying to bring back the old cast to be quite the herculean task.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous    Next
Page 11 of 12

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group