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Politics and Anime.

You know,looking at this post reminds me of something. It reminds me of a post I did a few years ago on a similar topic. But,I've also heard recently that anime and manga have become extremely popular and I think I know why. There are dozens of reasons but I think that the major reason is that a lot of current American comics have become heavily political in the past few years to an unnecessary degree.
In my view,I have nothing against it,as long as it's done in a way that doesn't get in the way of the story being told. From what I've been hearing,that's what been occurring,and not just in comics,but throughout a sizable proportion of the entertainment here and in other parts of the West. That's why a lot of people have been turning to things like anime and manga. They don't want to be constantly reminded of the creator's political views on a topic,they just want to read good comics.

People like me want an escape for a time from the real world in stuff like comics,movies,etc. We mostly want to be entertained,not harangued. For a lot of people in the entertainment industry lately,we've seen that many of them would rather be political activists rather than just be actors,comedians,movie directors,and the like. Personally,I have no problem with political humor,as long as it's funny. Unfortunately,it hasn't. It's become less about being humorous and more about using humor as just another weapon to be used against political adversaries. I wish that they'd stop doing this and just go back to what they should be doing,entertaining people instead of being political activists.

Nice point here, i had missed that specificity that will buffer the influence of any group trying to have leverage on anime/manga producers.
I also think that fear is egocentric because even outside japan, north-america is a tiny market (12% for anime) and i don't think a majority of animefan are interested in having "political correctness" in the media.

In my view,I have nothing against it,as long as it's done in a way that doesn't get in the way of the story being told. From what I've been hearing,that's what been occurring,and not just in comics,but throughout a sizable proportion of the entertainment here and in other parts of the West. That's why a lot of people have been turning to things like anime and manga. They don't want to be constantly reminded of the creator's political views on a topic, they just want to read good comics.

The idea of Japan as a mythical holy land of conservative purity is just that, a myth. It’s no surprise that anime, as an artistic medium, has also always been made by those that care about art, and that includes the fact that a large percentage of them do not fit into the rigid status quo and tell stories about that in a medium which by its very nature wouldn’t exist in the rules of the fantasy you’ve been sold. It’s a talking point literally older than the internet, and it’s no surprise to see it have a resurgence, but same as when it popped up in the past it’s still as wrong as ever.

There have been a number of films,songs,books,and other things I've seen that have been done by people who are liberal and I've had no problem liking them. The thing I and others like me don't like is this belief that everything must be political or everything should have a political bent to it. To me,it seems so close minded to see anything and everything in a political context,even when none exists. Is it unreasonable for someone like me who just wants to enjoy a movie,TV show,or comic book without having politics rammed down my throat all the time?

I don't know what the point of trying to pretend Japan isn't pretty socially conservative is. Like, it's pretty easy to fact check. Is it really that a big deal to admit "Yeah, Japan and their media tends to leans to the right a lot more than America does"?

It always depends on the politics. People are generally cool with politics in media so long as its ones they're not opposed to. Even the "all anime is political" crowd object when shows have messages they disagree with pop up like One Piece, Attack on Titan, Shield Hero, etc. It just so happens anime tends to not have politics the anti-PC crowd dislike. You can still tell politically incorrect jokes in anime. You can still have unapologetically sexy women in anime. You can still do all kinds of things that have mostly been phased out in American media. I know my interest in American media has greatly decreased over the past number of years because they seem more interested in focusing on certain political issues so much. If butt shots are so controversial in American video games these days, then I'll stick with Japanese games like Atlier Ryza which is unashamed about booty fanservice.

And things like Atlier Ryza are still niche. It's not the standard bearer of Japanese gaming, it's not even the headliner of JRPGs. It's a niche product that you enjoy and that's great, but there is no reason to pretend it's some kind of brave and majorative stand against social issues that also exist in Japan as well as anywhere else is. You're also trying to conflate criticism with censorship, which I'm sure you're fully aware you're doing, and that's a whole other level of missing the point.

Maybe I am not fully in the know, but what I heard about Mass Effect stuff was a lot in regards to Miranda, which I do remember coming off as kind of distracting back in the day. Like we were in scenes of learning about Miranda, and the camera angles just have to keep throwing her butt in our faces in ways that can undercut the scene. There are probably going to still be Miranda butt, but they will put them in at the right time. This is still Bioware, that only got more praise for things like more diverse sexuality in its games.

Both companies used to subscribe to the 'sex sells' method, but their new leadership has since moved away from that kind of stuff, for better or worse.

If anything I would say that considering the the saying that all art is political, you probably could easily read into a lack of sex in Japanese stuff outside of actual porn, to be something. I remember playing Ghost of Tsushima last year, which is actually a western game, and wondering if it was Japanese they would have shown Jin's butt like they do when he goes into a hot spring. Sure, some Japanese games have the history of things like jiggle physics, but it is not really the same thing as some bare breasted characters in some games.

Maybe things don't look like something political, because you might imagine that the only ones who would be against something like someone having the existence of looking like a gal, or being a fetish fo irt, would be some fuddy duddy not worth paying attention to. But I also bring to mind shows like O Maidens in Your Savage Season or even a sex comedy like Shimoneta to see how things like purity or the appearance of purity can kind of be a big thing.

"The personal is political." You may have heard of it before. It was a big slogan of my mother's generation. In my view,it comes across as saying that your personal tastes in whatever are due to your political beliefs. No offense to those like my mother but I think it's absurd. You can like just about anything,a piece of music,a movie,a story,etc,and it has nothing to do with your political stances.

Snomaster1 wrote:

"The personal is political." You may have heard of it before. It was a big slogan of my mother's generation. In my view,it comes across as saying that your personal tastes in whatever are due to your political beliefs. No offense to those like my mother but I think it's absurd. You can like just about anything,a piece of music,a movie,a story,etc,and it has nothing to do with your political stances.

I don’t mean to be contrary, but I don’t think that phrase means that your personal tastes are created by your political beliefs. I think it’s the other way around. It’s your personal desires/tastes that create your political beliefs. In other words, if you cherish something, then that gives you the political power to defend it. It’s a phrase that means your feelings matter.

I suppose what is and isn't political is ultimately up to the eye of the beholder. It's also how you can get two wildly different interpretations of the same piece of media. Attack on Titan can be be labeled as fascist right-wing propaganda one day and anti-racist left-wing literature the next. In my personal experience though. I haven't seen any Japanese franchise get so polarizing as Star Wars, Marvel and DC,, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic the Gathering, or any of those kinds of hobbies which seem to have become such a hotbed of dissonance and controversy over the past decade. Anime and manga may have their own politics, but they are apparently not the kind that cause such huge fandom splits like you see in a lot of western communities. Perhaps I'm just not privy to them, though.