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INTEREST: Shima Withdraws Official Backing for Pearl Diver Mascot


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Wandering Samurai



Joined: 30 Mar 2014
Posts: 875
Location: USA
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 7:29 pm Reply with quote
There is a very simple way to fix this. Change her design. Instead of putting her in the attire that she is in, change her into an actual ama suit, and perhaps cutting her hair would help too. It's not like there aren't moe characters with short hair. I'm sure that if she had been in actual ama attire then there would not have been such an outcry.
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Yuvelir



Joined: 06 Jan 2015
Posts: 1529
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 7:50 pm Reply with quote
Wandering Samurai wrote:
There is a very simple way to fix this. Change her design. Instead of putting her in the attire that she is in, change her into an actual ama suit, and perhaps cutting her hair would help too. It's not like there aren't moe characters with short hair. I'm sure that if she had been in actual ama attire then there would not have been such an outcry.


IIRC the previous mascot was pretty much like that. And it wasn't all that popular, a full-body wetsuit with a face isn't very appealing.
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Mr. Oshawott



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 6773
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 8:00 pm Reply with quote
This is pretty disheartening. At least Megu-chan will continue to have support in some way, just no longer under municipality.
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mrsatan



Joined: 06 Jul 2005
Posts: 907
Location: Olympia, WA, USA
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 8:30 pm Reply with quote
Pearl diving will be dead in mere decades unless they attract a new generation. If young people liked this mascot, then they should ignore the complaints of the older people.

Here's a video I watched on YouTube about a young woman that decided to take up being an Ama. All seemed good at first, but then all the old women started getting jealous of all the attention she was getting and life became too stressful for her and she left.

They're just not being forward thinking about all of this.
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infamoustakai



Joined: 12 Jun 2014
Posts: 323
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 8:34 pm Reply with quote
They should've just waited a few more months for the old ladies to keel over instead.


In all seriousness, that's too bad, the character was pretty cute and was hardly offensive.
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Shenl742



Joined: 11 Feb 2010
Posts: 1524
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 8:52 pm Reply with quote
I say good. Old people are marginalized enough in culture, if they feel they're not being properly represented then they have every right to complain. It's their career and their heritage.
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CrownKlown



Joined: 05 May 2011
Posts: 1762
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 8:58 pm Reply with quote
Shenl742 wrote:
I say good. Old people are marginalized enough in culture, if they feel they're not being properly represented then they have every right to complain. It's their career and their heritage.


Except even among the divers, the complaints were in the minority, ie 30%.
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Snakebit1995



Joined: 25 Apr 2015
Posts: 842
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 9:18 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
30% disliked


That would imply that 70% were either for or Neutral on the matter.

Again I'm still not seeing how she appears to be sexual, she's pretty covered up.
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Mr. Oshawott



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 6773
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 10:06 pm Reply with quote
Snakebit1995 wrote:
Again I'm still not seeing how she appears to be sexual, she's pretty covered up.

Oh yes, I don't see how Megu is in any way offensive myself. It pretty much goes to show how even a small minority can induce a tremendous effect on their city, good or (in the case of Megu's official recognition from the city withdrawn) bad.


Last edited by Mr. Oshawott on Thu Nov 05, 2015 10:33 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Hoppy800



Joined: 09 Aug 2013
Posts: 3331
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 10:11 pm Reply with quote
Shima and Japan as a whole has gone soft, really these are just regular old ladies here that are against this mascot not greedy and powerful corporate and political tyrants. Grow a backbone please.
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zrnzle500



Joined: 04 Oct 2014
Posts: 3767
PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 12:23 am Reply with quote
When I looked up Ama divers to see what their typical outfit looks like, I found that while the modern divers suits are less sexy than the mascot, the more traditional outfit makes the mascot look very conservative by comparison. Just type ama divers into a Google image search. Just be warned it's NSFW, unless you have safe search on. Also the original tentacle porn, Dream of a Fisherman's Wife, starred an ama diver, along with two octopuses. So, historically, sexy and Ama divers weren't an unusual combination, though nowadays I guess it is. And I can see wanting to get away from their sexualized past. Even Playboy is getting away from porn. As for the divers, they were probably just happy to not have to work almost naked, both from a temperature perspective and a exposure perspective.
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partially



Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 702
Location: Oz
PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 12:26 am Reply with quote
Mr. Oshawott wrote:
Snakebit1995 wrote:
Again I'm still not seeing how she appears to be sexual, she's pretty covered up.

Oh yes, I don't see how Megu is in any way offensive myself. It pretty much goes to show how even a small minority can induce a tremendous effect on their city, good or (in the case of Megu's official recognition from the city withdrawn) bad.


Well technically it doesn't sound like the city was going to withdraw it. It sounds like the only reason they did was because of the original creators personal request.
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Mr. Oshawott



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 6773
PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 12:51 am Reply with quote
partially wrote:
Well technically it doesn't sound like the city was going to withdraw it. It sounds like the only reason they did was because of the original creators personal request.

Oh yes, that's what I thought myself; I had a feeling that the city really wanted their mascot tour with Megu to work out and probably would've kept it going with her had it not been for Mr. Hamaguchi stepping in. Perhaps he got tired of the dispute between the city government and the pearl divers and just wanted to end, which is completely understandable.

Without a new modern-day mascot to replace Megu, I don't see the pearl-diving business lasting much further.
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TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 5821
Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 12:56 am Reply with quote
zrnzle500 wrote:
Even Playboy is getting away from porn.


That is a bad example. Playboy's reasons are strictly monetary ones. In today's world, most people can get their porn for free off the internet. So it is no longer the draw it use to be for readers.

----------

It is sad, that a small group can dictate what you can have or can't. Since none of us are Japanese pearl divers, it is not a big deal. Anyway, the pearl diving moe mascot will live forever on the internet.
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Hiroki not Takuya



Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Posts: 2501
PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 1:13 am Reply with quote
Sad to hear, I wonder how many 70-somethings would have looked like the mascot 50 years ago? 30% isn't a majority but given the generation's sensibilities about not speaking up to authorities it's a large enough number to consider seriously. Megu will be the unofficial mascot just like the hit "I love LA" isn't the official song of LA. The people just ignore that and love it anyway. Go Megu!
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