Forum - View topicHey, Answerman! [2007-05-11]
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ikillchicken
 Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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I notice that your join date is today and you only have one post. So you went through the trouble of registering an account just to say that? Im afraid it is you sir who makes me sad. Especially since mlund makes some very good points. Idunno, I hate to argue that sex on TV is no big deal, because the last thing our society needs is to become more sexual. I kinda gotta take a balanced stance on it. its not the end of the f'n world if theres a bit of nudity or something, althout I dont wanna advocate for "its all fine, sex isnt bad." Plus, violence is bad too, we really shouldnt get all caught up on sex and completely neglect violence. Again though, its not like a bit of violence is the end of the world either. MasterYeshua: yeah it creeps me out too 
truemakale: I certainly dont hold it against you for writing the rant. Obviously its something you feel strongly about, so fine go ahead and write about it. Its not your job to consider, does anyone care about this issue. If anything, I question Zacs judgement in printing it. Cause its his job to consider that. The point of his colum is for it to be interesting to read. I think he got a little caught up in it being well written and whatnot (which it may or may not be, i wont comment) and didn't really consider "does anyone care?" I guess the point of the rant is "to give a public forum for people to express their oppinions". Thats fine and all, but its kinda pointless if its an oppinion on something that most people dont really care about. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Hahahahahahahahaha.
Post the same old stuff = RARGH WHY CAN'T WE HAVE NEW TOPICS THIS IS OLD YOU SUCK ANSWERMAN Post something different and new = RARGH THIS IS PRETENTIOUS AND BORING HE USES BIG WORDS YOU SUCK ANSWERMAN Who knows what will happen next?! ikillchicken: I dropped the ball because you and a handful of other people didn't find it interesting? Am I supposed to read your minds and only publish what you like? There have been a number of thoughtful and interesting replies to it. Personally I think people are attacking it because I said it was good and well-written and personally found it very interesting, so of course let's all run into the forums and say "Meh, who cares? Also he uses big words, he's trying to be academic!" in order to be the coolest kids on the internet. I sincerely love you guys to death for reading and responding to the column but the response to this rant is really... lame, folks. Lame. Last edited by Zac on Fri May 11, 2007 11:19 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mephistophilus
 Posts: 200 Location: Fresno, CA, United States |
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I understand your aversion to the topic of the rant, and I can understand that you don't personally wish to discuss it for your own reasons. However, I have to say that saying it doesn't relate to anime at all is slightly off-base, as saying this sort of thing would also mean that yaoi, yuri, and other forms of "BL/Sho-ai" are also irrelevant in terms of the anime community. When I can see a transgender character being introduced for some reason in some capacity in a number of not only shoujo, but also in a few shounen anime, I have to say that it is definitely an issue that at least has something to do with anime. You may not want to discuss it, and that is perfectly fine. I still think that discounting his opinion piece based on the assumption that transgenderism has nothing to do with anime is at least slightly unfair and somewhat off. As for MasterYeshua, I'll have to say that your attacks on Mr. Thompson are unwarranted and damaging to the discussion as a whole. Pretension is not a good thing, and it is always a good idea to avoid becoming a pretentious person, as by definition of pretension a pretentious person seeks to elevate him or herself above the level of others around him. Though overly "academic" or flowered syntaxes can be a tactic toward pretension or a characteristic of pretentious individuals, I would have to say that not all that use this sort of structure are necessarily seeking to achieve this "holier-than-thou" status. I, myself, tend to fall into this habit of writing complexity, as it's been hammered into my brain for the past two years, and I am very obsessive-compulsive about spelling and grammar and such. This is not to say that I am better at writing or expressing my feelings than any of you; in fact, I find that many of you are more skilled at getting across what you want to say than I, and I admire the minimalism of those like Philip Glass and Ernest Hemingway just as much as I admire the prose of Shakespeare and those such as Fitzgerald. I do have a habit of being somewhat complex in my writing style, but it is a habit that I seek to do away with in common speech at least, and I definitely think that an argument, at least, should be delivered in a far more concise manner. In fact, most everything with the intention of getting across an idea could very easily be compacted, with the writings of the Transcendentalists being a prime example. But I digress... The issue does not seem to be one for popular discussion, and though I think the rant could have been simplified some, I do not think it deserved some of the more grating criticism it received, and I think it was rather well written myself. Definitely enough for the win in my opinion. I thought Answerman was somewhat interesting this week even aside from the rant, with a person that seems to be quite like myself in the "dreaded otaku lighted corner," and with more issues addressed that are interesting in their own capacity. As for the "otaku," I think his self-labeling using that particular term belies his true nature, and seems to self-criticize a bit too much. A central part of being a "Japanese Otaku" is the irrationality and the antisocial behavior, and though his "sneaking" seems to be a bit irrational in theory, this is probably borne of the same quality that makes him normal. The "otaku" is very self-aware in my opinion, and he seems to have an active enough mind that objectively and subjectively analyzes the world perhaps a bit too much. He pays attention to the impression he leaves to others, and this is a good thing in my opinion. This is not to say that he should give up his hobby in order to "fit in." If I were to say that, I wouldn't be on this forum in the first place.  My advice for people like him would be to simply go with the things you love to do, and though you should keep in mind the thoughts and feelings of others (after all, sociopaths aren't exactly accepted), don't let them force you to adjust your hobby or life in major ways.
As for the violence and nudity, I am more inclined to be tolerant to the latter, but I do agree that its presence, or partial presence in the case of fanservice, is a bit overstated in many cases. I understand that the otaku community in Japan especially reacts well to this sort of thing, but I do think it is more than a bit unnecessary in many cases, especially in series extremely serious otherwise. As my family is conservative, it makes things difficult to explain, and I don't see the point of it outside a comedy setting. Still, this sort of thing won't be escaped, as it has almost become a staple of many anime, especially the popular kind. It is rather nice when it can be explained with more than a "let's go to the bath to get relaxed," though. I think the sex on TV thing is a bit overplayed, but there are a few pet peeves I have about "western" ideas on the whole issue. I am perfectly fine with us being reserved about it all, as there are certainly times where it's inappropriate, and peoples' personal beliefs have to be taken into account. After all, America still remains a very Protestant and perhaps "Puritan" country, and many people would object to nudity or overly sexual situations on prime-time TV. My problem with the issue is the fact that our "substitute sexual shows" are so poorly written or annoying to me that they remind me of episodic ecchi without the consolation that they are created with that sort of comedy and cheap romance in mind. I just find it sad that we cannot do better with our romance than that, and the fact that sexuality is slightly "repressed" is no excuse to call upon "taboo" references for cheap ratings. The fact that anime has a general stereotype of being worse than Desperate Housewives as far as content goes is annoying to me. That's just me ranting though, don't pay attention if you don't want to. Not too much to say on the catgirl thing, personally. |
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violetsquirrel
 Posts: 69 Location: Australia |
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Check out the manga Day of Revolution. It's kind of ironic that you were talking about Princess Princess in the context of transgenderism when its prequel manga may be just what you're looking for It's a situational comedy but the humour is less "lol guy in a dress" and more about how the lead character's relationships with those around her change as her self-image does.
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Richard J.
 Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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Or pity. It could possibly be pity.
Obviously you liked the rant or you wouldn't have picked it but you can't possibly have thought it was going to be a popular one. |
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MasterYeshua
 Posts: 68 |
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I have 2 questions. First, do you really talk like Naraku? And second, can you do a barrel roll? |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Oh yeah, I knew that. It's just that I've posted rants that were actually boring and pretentious before and I didn't think this was one of them, so I was simply responding to the comments here. And all the "sheesh million dollar words pretentious" stuff honestly makes me roll my eyes. Some people have a large vocabulary and know how to use it; not everyone is trying to "impress" you just because they use words you normally don't. ( I mean the figurative you, not the literal). That's a big pet peeve of mine. Also Master Yeshua: Any other incredibly stale, played-out, totally unfunny internet catchphrases you want to use in this thread, or are you all out now? |
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Moros
Posts: 369 |
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XVII
Last edited by Moros on Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:51 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Richard J.
Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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In order the answers are: yes on occasion and no. 
Personally, I didn't think the rant was prententious in its style, just thought it would have been more interesting if it had been focused in a slightly different direction. I found it a little boring but only because I thought it could have been better with a different focus. Looking forward to seeing what makes the cut next week though. The rants are overall more enjoyable since the culling of the sub vs. dub, lolicon, "I hate fans who do this!" rants. They're a tad esoteric now though. |
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LydiaDianne
 Posts: 5633 Location: Southern California |
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I didn't say much about the Rant because I, personally, do not know much about the lifestyle (? I'm probably not using the right word but that's all I can think of right now, sorry,) But, I am enjoying the new Rants for the same reason as Richard J. They ARE also more interesting. And I didn't think that the Rant Writer sounded pretentious at all. |
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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I find the subject matter to be somewhat interesting, but I have little familiarity with it. I''ve never looked into it and I don't know anyone who deals with any of those issues, so anime and manga are the main exposure I have to it. I suspect its a similar situation for most other people. They are simply unfamiliar with transgender issues or simply aren't interested or a combination of the two. Honestly, the most I can really say is that I think the ranter mixed up Fruits Basket's Momiji with someone else. I think he meant the guy that apologized for everything all the time whose name I can't remember. |
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LydiaDianne
Posts: 5633 Location: Southern California |
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Ritsu. |
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ManOfRust
 Posts: 1935 Location: Seattle, WA |
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Yeah, Answerman, you so totally suck, dude. I'm so pissed that we don't have a chance to talk about the very important fansub issue 'cause this was the week I was finally going to make everyone believe that my viewpoint is the one truly true truth of the matter. Oh yeah, and for the rant you really shouldn't put stuff in their with such big word's and stuff 'cause it kind of give's me a headache. I mean, the guy is totally so lame for trying to sound like he is smarter then everyone else. No one is going to like reading stuff that is to boring and complicated. You should only ever put in interesting stuff, like lolicons and stuff so we can have 30 pages of totally awesome debate in the forum's. 
Sheesh. There may not have been the usual quantity of response to the rant, but at least we got to read something different for a change that was written in an articulate manner. Why does it have to be some super hot button issue that has been hashed and re-hashed repeatedly? What is so bad that we got to read about something most of us never give much thought? Gosh, wouldn't want to have to be exposed to something new now would we? |
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ikillchicken
Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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Thats not fair, you didn't hear anyone whining about the last two rants being boring or pretentious. Just because people are complaining about this Rant doesnt mean its fair to say that anytime you try something new we complain. Firstly, judging by responses, its more than me and a handful of people. Its the majority of people.Second, theres a big gap between mind reading and common sense. I would think you could read that rant and think, are most people even gonna find this interesting? If you couldnt see that, then fine I guess its not a avoidable mistake, but i still think there may have been better choices. Youre right too, there have been some good responses, which means its not a total failure, but the fact that quite a few people didn't find it interesting would make it at least somewhat a failure IMO. Honestly, i think youre just getting angry because you though it was so great and alot of people disagree. Mephistophilus: Okay, let me rephrase: It doesnt relate to Anime enough to make someone who has no interest in the subject take an interest simply because of its connection to Anime. I mean a rant about Yaoi/Yuri might be interesting even to someone who doesnt read Yaoi/Yuri just because of their interest in Anime and the strong connection to Anime that subject holds. Here though, theyre talking about who transexuals are portrayed in a few Anime series. It doesnt really relate to Anime as a whole. |
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mokitty
Posts: 106 |
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That gazelle was amazing.
I thought it was interesting that the "shame" letter started out by saying "I am ashamed to be an otaku" and ended by saying he/she doesn't hide his/her fandom out of the "belief that I should not be ashamed of it...." Oxy moron? Geekdom is something that most of us regular human beings seem to feel the need to be mildly apologetic over. I'd back up what Answerman said by saying, if you feel a little embarassed about it, chances are you're not one of the ones that genuinely should be embarassed. I stopped going to cons years ago because of those people.
That rant gave me a headache. Don't get me wrong, the only problem I have with crossdressers/transgendered is the amount of time they tack onto my wait for a Southern Californian ladies' room. But that rant in the context of anime seems way out of place. I never thought I'd find myself in a situation where I'd wanna say this, but really, they're just cartoons. Not an educational medium and probably not the best place to be looking in hopes of a social revolution or a deep and meaningful and true-to-life portrayl of something the majority still frown upon. I strongly suspect you'll only be disappointed. And especially in dealing with such a sticky subject, wouldn't it be better to admire real people who've lived with it than a fictional character? As an aside, I agree with Zac that the use of a large and diverse vocabulary doesn't necessarily constitute pretentiousness; however, even though that rant was probably the most well-thought-out and eloquent the column has seen yet, it was pretty sharply on the wordy side for the style of site it's appearing on. Not a criticism of Answerman himself, but perhaps future ranters would be well advised to remember their audience before submitting something. |
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