Forum - View topic(The) World Is Still Beautiful (TV).
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ChibiKangaroo
 Posts: 2941 |
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Yea, instead it is "shota" (I still don't really think Mr. young king is truly a shota here) that acts like SO many other shojo male lead, rude/jerk bad boy who needs to be fixed by a loving girl. It is a really strange stereotype to be honest that girls want to have such a bad boy, since he is most likely the one who will cause pain. Why not have a shota who is a good person and genuinely nice and friendly. He can still be in need of friendship and have a tragic backstory and everything, but does he have to be a bad boy? For example, Aladdin from Magi could be considered a better model, just without the dirty old man lechery. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18223 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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The "reform the bad boy" theme in storytelling is hardly an anime- exclusive storytelling approach, though; in fact, it's as old as dirt. There's a myriad of reasons behind why it's so popular that would take a lengthy essay to properly expound on, so I won't go into detail about it here. (And there's also a mountain of commentary out there about women who get drawn to those bad boys IRL, so the appeal is hardly strange.)
And if you want to see the "good-hearted boy who just needs a push," look at most harem romcoms. That's what the male leads in those often are. |
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Chiibi
 Posts: 4829 |
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He's a shota because he looks like a kid. That's all it takes. I prefer to think of it as not "fixing" him but bringing back the kinder side of him that was there all along. Like his TRUE nature that got sealed away after bad things happened to him. Also the girls are not normally the ones to fall for the jerk first and say "well, I can fix him!" -he falls for them first and he becomes less of a jerk because of that.
MASOCHISM!! 
j/k It's not that "she wants him because he's bad". It's a "normally-she- hates-him-at-first-but-then-they-are-forced-to-interact-and-they-end up-falling-for-each-other-once-they-start-to-get-along" type of scenario. I like the stereotype because it's very enjoyable for me to see a character change from an immature jerk to a mature and loving soul. For some reason. I dunno. I just......always love seeing it. I think it's wonderful when someone is influenced by someone else to become a better person. Unless he's TOO evil at the beginning, like, he's into rape or violence or something like that. Some acts shouldn't be forgiven. |
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ChibiKangaroo
Posts: 2941 |
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Oh, I know that this is a widespread theme throughout a lot of media. I just think it is a very flawed characteristic of people in general that this "bad-boy" type carries such attraction. I am aware of the popularity of this though not only through media, but of course I've seen it in work. When I was younger, one of my good friends fell in love with some girl and I remember one day hanging out with them and he asked her out, and she said no, and when he asked why, she said she was already interested in another guy in our neighborhood who she described as a "bad boy," which she said she liked. I guess some girls like the idea of reforming a guy, and there's also some kind of attraction to the danger of a guy who is "on the edge" so to speak. Personally, I have always found it strange just because it is counter-intuitive. However, I certainly do understand that the dynamic exists. However, that wasn't the main point of my response. Duskypredator had indicated some sense of relief that we got this young king as a "shota" with the personality traits that he has (rude, jerky, in need of fixing) rather than the personality traits of Honey from Ouran High School (nice, sweet, excessively cutesy). I was primarily indicating that the rude/jerky/in need of fixing trait is far more oppressive in this context, as far as being a much more tired and over-used stereotype for shojo male leads. In fact, I think the Honey persona from Ouran is fairly rare in any genre of anime. Shotas are already a pretty small minority of anime characters (certainly compared to lolis, which are everywhere), and of that minority, most that I have seen tend to not have out-sized personalities. And, in regard to Chiibi, I do also understand that sometimes that plot model can work fabulously well. I gave the example of Beauty and the Beast already, which was fantastic. Also, I am a HUGE fan of Inuyasha, which follows that strategy to a T. So, I realize that the whole "bad boy turned good" story can be appealing, but I honestly think it is far too prevalent in this genre and is rarely done with the exceptional level of quality in BatB or Inuyasha. Oh, and yes, Kagome is my personal (anime) hero and probably my favorite character from any series, so that should probably let you know just how much I love Inuyasha and not denying that the concept can work if executed well. Last edited by ChibiKangaroo on Wed Apr 16, 2014 3:01 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Chiibi
Posts: 4829 |
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Plus there are different categories of "bad boy". Is he the mischievous, trouble-making type or he's someone who's truly dangerous to be involved with and treats you badly?
I prefer 'jerk with a heart of gold' over straight-up jerk, myself. |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18223 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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"Jerk with a heart of gold" composes most other male harem leads that aren't the "good-hearted guy." (See Heaven's Lost Property for one of the most odious examples of this.) Frankly, I've never been able to stand such characters because they seem so dishonest. Unfortunately they're every bit as common in reverse harem series as tsundere girls are in harem series.
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One-Eye
 Posts: 2261 |
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ChibiKangaroo
Posts: 2941 |
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I think this is sort of what I was hoping for as well when I gave my thoughts after seeing the first episode. That's why I gave the example of Chagum from Moribito. His and Balsa's relationship had no romantic inklings whatsoever, and was more of a familial relationship. (She became a kind of surrogate mom). Of course, she was quite a bit older than Nike is here, but that's why I think if they did want to create a more platonic sibling type relationship along those lines, it could have worked quite well and been sort of unique perhaps. Sure, it might have been seen as bro-con in some ways, but if the characters at first were not interested in each other romantically at all but were just trying to learn how to exist together as technically husband and wife, the writing could have done so much more to experiment with all of the problems that could arise in such a scenario. But, as you indicated, I do think this show is going to more rigidly follow the generic shojo plot line so I am expecting that the romance will move more front and center before long. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11415 |
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Well...no, not exactly. What I meant was that a rebirth metaphor was their purpose and they were ok with people only seeing/also seeing shota fan-service in it. What you've posited is that their purpose was shota fan-service (and I guess, if it occurred to them at all, that they were ok if people like me only see/also see a rebirth metaphor). I think you're more cynical about this than I am. Maybe I'm not cynical enough. 
I don't know how else they could have done such a metaphor there, except to have him popping out of an egg or something equally idiotic. As it is, in two wordless seconds they get across the point of him awakening to face the world, naked as the day he was born. It couldn't be more straightforward or less sexual (if they'd kept the shot discreetly above his waist we wouldn't know he was naked, which would cripple the metaphor). How young would he need to be before this kind of simple nudity wouldn't register to you as sexual? How old would he need to be before it wouldn't matter? Is there some in-between age where people are never allowed to be shown naked without it being seen as intentional fan service? I remember how freaked out American audiences got over the father bathing with his daughters in Totoro, so I'm not sure where the line is, let alone how they're supposed to tread it. |
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Chiibi
Posts: 4829 |
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Yeah.....I couldn't stand Tomo. He really got on my nerves....though his seiyuu was also part of that.
I LOVE dishonest characters! I love watching them squirm as they try to come up with some BS excuse to cover up their good deeds. Nothing is more entertaining than that. It's just precious.
Nothing 'unfortunate' about that. They are probably common because audiences also enjoy watching them squirm.
o_o .............seriously? Wow, people are retards. *sigh* |
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leatherhead333
 Posts: 1187 Location: Kansas |
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I think i just read an article about a coach who got fired for having naked pictures of his daughters in the bath on his phone. Luckily he got his job back but after all the crap he had to put up with after getting fired it hardly fixes anything.
I'm convinced one day it'll be illegal to show even one centimeter of flesh on TV or real life in this dumb country. 
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18223 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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You do realize that we're trending in the opposite direction from that, and have been for the last 40-50 years, right?
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leatherhead333
Posts: 1187 Location: Kansas |
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Pffff, that's what the hippies want you to think.
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TsunaReborn!
 Posts: 4713 Location: Cheltenham UK |
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Really? Character designs have becoming more and more risqué and live action hasn't slowed down on the amount of sex and skin it shows. I think the fact that people are discussing a naked character above shows this.
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leatherhead333
Posts: 1187 Location: Kansas |
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I think the fact i made a remark to "hippies" should have gave away i was being sarcastic
I apologize for making a broad statement without thinking but i don't think censorship/skinship sensitivity is anywhere near the level we'd like it to be in America. Japan has always been more open about the subject given their culture but I can't imagine the U.S ever quite being on the same level. |
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