Forum - View topicREVIEW: Terra Formars GN 1
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Mr_42
 Posts: 87 |
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So loads of people are picking up on the appearance of the Uber-roaches in Terra Formars and it has turned into 2 and half pages of racially fueled discussion. (See above)
So I figure I can give my two cents on the matter, or more accurately, my two sides on matter on this and the other pints in the article. Lets start with the argument that the roaches are indeed racial stereotypes based of the caricatured images of Black-Africans, the type found in the slave trading period predominantly. The similarities are, visually, very clear. Short, coarse black hair on top the head, large eyes, small noses and large low set lips with little to no chin below them. They also have large hands and feet, in fact they're just all round taller than the European, Asian and American astronauts they fight, just as the naturally taller African people would have physically appeared compared to European settlers in our own history. There are also similar themes. A predominantly white invasive force seeking to subjugate and make habitable for them selves a place already inhabited by others, something from which clear parallels can be drawn to the Race for Africa between the european powers during the age of expansion and empire. If we were to explore the setting of the manga one could draw thought from the fact that it is the "Black" roach is perceived as the alien, the unrecognisable and that because of this they are the "bad guy". This idea of humanity fearing and hating the "other" (that is anything not ourselves) is intrinsic to almost all writing and it plays heavily in Post-Colonial writing which focuses greatly on Black history. However, I don't think that the Roaches, or the series, is as racist as some people are making it out to be. As a student of English literature I have studied several areas of black history in white writing and an awful lot of it stems back to the phenomena of "White Guilt", something the West (rightfully) cannot escape or let go of. What this effectively means is that we see a great deal more racism in media than there may actually have been intended. Japan famously had very little contact beyond its island for much of its history and did not take part in the slave trade era of colonisation. As such is it fair to say that the mangaka used these racist images in a derogatory sense given the culture gap? Perhaps one could even say that this is racial satire, a retelling of black history in a sci-fi setting where the technologically inferior but physically superior "black people" flat out crush the invading, armed "white" oppressors. The roaches annihilate Bugs 1 and decimate the enhanced members of Bugs 2. These aren't the oppressed caricatures that the roach design reminds us of. These are deadly warriors who smash the invader to pieces, literally with their bare hands! Even the African astronaut who betrays the others could be interpreted as the African slavers who sold their own kind to the European traders and she is quickly dealt with by the roaches once she is revealed. If anything this design choice makes the story being told here pro-black history, it's just in a different setting with different characters. The mangaka goes to great lengths to explain that the roaches are not only sentient but INTELLIGENT. They adapt ridiculously fast, stripping their attackers of the greatest advantage they had, technology. Do the roaches resemble the outdated black stereotype? yes, of course they do. Anyone with eyes can see that. Does this mean that the series is racist. I would argue not for the reading I took from it, as I outlined above. Even though only the Japanese guys survived you could never claim that they had won. Thy lost all their comrades and failed their mission. They were defeated, plain and simple. If anyone has any questions about my reading of the series as a racial-satire, alternate black history let me know and I'll have a go at further rationalising my theory (it is after all only a theory. None but the author can ever truly know his intentions.) As for the sexism, yeah, that is something of an issue in the first volume. I never saw the point in giving the three sizes of the female crew members and I was disappointed in how little panel time some of the female crew members got. However there are very strong female characters introduced later in the series so I'm willing to overlook the manga's attempts to find it's feet. I really do like the art style in this series, it's gritty, it's graphic, it's detailed and stylized in a way that really appeals to me. The space elements could be less textbook sci-fi it must be admitted but beyond that I have no real issues with it. The idea of the hero's using animal abilities has been done sooooooo many times by superhero series but often in a very sanitised way. Terra Formars was a refreshing take on the powers idea in this case as it physically changed, often grotesquely, the "heros'" appearances and they also took on something of the creatures behavioral attributes which was a nice touch. The pacing was indeed a bit bumpy but I put that down to, again, the manga finding it's feet in the opening steps and I feel that this too irons out as the series progresses. So I hope you found my theories informative, or at least interesting. I apologise for any spelling errors (it was a rather long post typed rather quickly). I for one will continue to enjoy the series in y own way and I hope you will too, if not that is your decision but I personally think that there is far too little here to object to to justify putting such a series down on principle. [/b] |
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CatSword
 Posts: 1489 |
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Come on now, guys, it's just a manga. Something that might kinda sorta look racist or women's breast sizes (which also pop up in various shonen manga statistics) isn't a big deal.
Anyways, I saw Terra Formars at Books a Million the other day, didn't grab it (got Higurashi instead) but I think I should have now so I could have a say in on it. This seems like an interesting manga. |
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Lord Geo
Posts: 2544 Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey |
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Essentially this. I'm not a black person, and I didn't actually see what the roaches look like until the image that was posted earlier in this topic, but I will agree that the portrayal is more ignorance than outright racism. Another example would be essentially any manga from the 70s & earlier, which tended to portray blacks in even harsher & more "racist" ways. Just look at Pyunma, a.k.a. 008, from Cyborg 009. Ishinomori originally drew 008, and all blacks, in the old-school "pitch-black monkey man" style, which alone is really harsh nowadays. Not just that, but among all of the cyborgs (who had powers like super-speed, flying, telekinesis, fire-breathing, shape-shifting, an entire arsenal hidden inside the body, etc.) all 008 essentially had was the ability to swim really fast... Which 009 could also do. I'd argue that 008 was an even worse portrayal of black people, because it almost (accidentally) outright showed that anything they could do, even when super-powered, non-Blacks could do it too, if not better. Now, can one reasonably see the roaches in Terra Formars as racist? Sure, and I can totally see why from the reactions & responses posted on this topic alone. Saying that they were created to be racist caricatures, though, is probably silly, barring some reveals later on via the author notes that the creator is truly a racist. Considering how Japanese culture has generally shown that they just simply don't understand "black people" (as a culture, people, etc.), though, I highly doubt that it's anything more than simply a really awkward portrayal for other countries to look at. |
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Nocturne123
 Posts: 268 |
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Leave it to America to cry racism for zero reason again.
Even with the example given in the review, they cockroaches look NOTHING like those in the provided link. The used the color of cockroaches and made them evolved into humanoid beings. You know...Sci-fi. As to making it like the cockroaches are things that are disgusting and need to be irradicated.....SERIOUSLY?! People are saying this is a metaphor for needing to get rid of all people of African and dark skinned lineage? My god, talk about overblowing and making something out of nothing. Or you know, the general stereotype which is mainly true is that most people loathe cockroaches and find them disgusting. In regards to the Asian remake, once again, I feel like people are so completely sensitive to any remarks they cry wolf any chance they get. When I read it, I took it as, the Asians, as in the people of Asian descent in a group of multinationals have something the others dont and to watch for them. Considering they become highly aggressive when they use their power, they would want to watch since they could be caught in their wake. And say it was a racist remark, do you think people dont talk about each other like that? Right or wrong, they do and it would be stupid to be like "Oh come on guys, censor everything so we can have zero creative input to your own work". That's what bothers me most. Because of all of this over reacting and people crying over everything (especially when things are seen where it shouldnt be) I feel like people arent going to be ok with people until we are seeing stick figures drawn on a line so no one gets offended. But then with the culture we have now, I wouldnt be surprised if we DID get to that point and someone complained because the stick figure wasnt colored in and was white or was colored in and portrayed someone black. Its ridiculous and silly. Plus I see this as bias anyways. I love Jojo. Yet it has just as much if not more "racist" and misogynistic depictions than Terra Formars by far. Yet did anyone at ANN say anything in the preview guides? NOPE! Granted its only one review so there isnt multiple angles to go by, but Im using the info that was provided by the site animenewsnetwork.com/preview-guide/2014/the-spring-anime/jojo Jotaro constantly calling his mother a bitch, a black character in season 2 called Smokey, which was clearly a throwback to a musician, etc. People take media way too seriously at times, and I HATE, when people say dont take things so seriously to everything, but they do. This is yet another, stupid example. Terra Formars is a hyper violent, sci-fi story. It's gory and in your face and meant to make you feel uncomfortable. I honestly dont know how people enjoy media if they look and stretch so far to try and find something to be offended about. |
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Vawn1337
Posts: 1 |
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I feel like no one here knows what Homo Erectus is...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_erectus |
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spinja446
 Posts: 87 |
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It really fascinates me that this manga is really creating a fuss. The manga is well already out there in the wild. You'd be wasting your breath writing up blog posts on what you think about any kind of material written or illustrated in this particular manga. Just know that anything you say at this point really has "zero" effect on the manga and soon to be anime.
All of your reasons, excuses and criticism are falling on deaf ears and there is no likely scenario where you can convince Yu Sasuga and Kenichi Tachibana to change what work has already been done and in print. Every single post in this thread is being spat out into the wind. Arguing with each other for the sake of who's more knowledgeable and smarter than the other person gives me quite a chuckle. People are so desperate to share they're points that they are now linking Wikipedia lmao! This is a talkback forum and you all have the freedom to post whatever you like and your thoughts but also keep in mind that this discussion really is trivial. Last edited by spinja446 on Tue Aug 19, 2014 5:38 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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gedata
 Posts: 615 |
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I feel like you haven't bothered to read this thread before posting this |
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Mr_42
Posts: 87 |
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Tell me, do you read fiction? Play computer games? Write prose or poetry? Watch films? Talked to someone about any of the above? Everything to do with the entertainment and creative industries is utterly trivial. We gain no actual benefit from it. The only reason we (certainly I) do this is for fun. I'm not going to pretend than these discussions are anything more than theorising and debating about things in which we have no influence. It's all for fun. Your points are correct. However, your high-handed attitude to the subject and your tone irk me. Especially when you are spitting into an even smaller breeze by commenting on others commenting on a subject. |
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spinja446
Posts: 87 |
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I apologize then. Yea, I am that jerk bully in the playground that likes to ruin everyone's fun. Sorry if I stepped on your toes or anyone else that feels angered. |
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gedata
Posts: 615 |
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really, why did you feel the need to post this? |
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blackstarlee
Posts: 2 |
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Not gonna lie. I'm really happy people complaining about this weren't around when G Gundam was released.
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spinja446
Posts: 87 |
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Cause I'm able too? I apologized. Chill out... I don't want you to lose sleep over what I said. Anyways I think I'm done being interrogated now. I'll let you guys continue arguing and just stand idle watching you all run around in circles with each other. |
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Joe Carpenter
 Posts: 503 |
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I have a terrible fear of cockroaches, so I think I'll be giving this one a pass!
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brankoburcksen
Posts: 126 |
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Wow. Based on this review, the manga sounds like the complete opposite of Attack on Titan where the only nonwhite as well as some white characters are top class soldiers, humans are about to go extinct, and the female characters are treated with respect. Isayama also likes to write up a lot of statistics about his characters, but as far as I know, he never wrote anything about the girls' bust size. The only thing that matches up seems to be the default male features of each series respective monsters.
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Mr_42
Posts: 87 |
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Yes, yes it is. In Terra Formars Humanity is the attacking force whereas in AoT humans are very clearly on the defensive. The two share the theme that humanity is inferior to their foe and are consistently beaten back by them. Humanity is certainly not about to become extinct in TF however. In regards to giving respect to Female characters, we have to consider that in AoT, individuals like Annie, like Mikasa prove themselves as combatants. In TF few people live long enough to get that kind of reputation. We meet a thoroughly badass female character later in the series but I think the reason a woman was killed first in TF was because it would provoke a greater emotional reaction from the reader. As for the bust measurements, I really didn't care. It's on a page that comes after all the characters on it are dead so it makes no real difference either way. I get that people are annoyed by it on principle, but we all know that there are manga that have done much worse with much less backlash. All you have to do is ignore 3 words/8 words. On a side note: There are no characters of visibly African design in AoT period. Not one black person is seen in the anime or manga and the Asian designs are just as rare, the only ones being Mikasa's family. There are no Americans either as all of the central cast are European/Eurasian Caucasian (white). |
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