Forum - View topicIs anime political?
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鏡
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Or do critics import their politics into anime reviews? Is it both? Is it neither? Sound off in the comments!
As far as I can tell, it's a real toss up! Last edited by 鏡 on Fri Jan 11, 2019 7:24 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16935 |
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When creating a new thread the author is expected to answer their own question and give their own thoughts and opinions on the topic. So you need to do that otherwise we're going to lock this up. Especially since simply asking if anime is political and then telling people to sound off is basically asking for a flamefest.
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Grisly_Bear
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Anime, like any artistic work, is inherently political. You can't expect artists and writers to divorce themselves from their experiences, beliefs, and environment. Everything from the story to the character designs display a fraction of how creators view their world as well as the world they're creating. The societies and relationships they write about portray how they view people and the constructs that make societies function.
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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Yes, but usually not explicitly. You'll see few shows that challenge or parody Japanese politics directly. Rather the critiques are more indirect like the anti-fascist themes in Nakashima Kazuki's works Kill la Kill or Oh! Edo Rocket.
The most "political" anime episode I watched in 2018, and my winner for best episode of the year, is #20 from GeGeGe no Kitarou (2018). It's a biting critique of Japan's role in WWII and especially the whitewashing of that role in Japanese schooling. https://www.crunchyroll.com/gegege-no-kitaro/episode-20-memories-of-the-yoka-776051 Japan has what political scientists call a "deferential" poltical culture where criticism of the government is fairly muted. Commercial products like anime aren't very likely to rock the boat. Shows that promote a feminist viewpoint like Saiunkoku Monogatari are perhaps the most common type of poltical show. Anime is full of strong heroines with women and girls often depicted as strong-willed independent actors. For instance, a show like Sora yori mo Tooi Basho promotes that ethic in the context of a cute-girls adventure. |
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UltimateEye
Posts: 34 |
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Code Geass, Ghost in the Shell, and even Cross Ange are all political anime, and meet with varying degrees of coherency and open-endedness regarding what the viewer might take away from them. As to something like Nichijou or Azumanga Daioh, however, I have no clue. I'd be interested in hearing someone's opinion regarding the possible political nature of such anime.
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar Posts: 16935 |
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I'm sorry but since the OP did not provide their own actual thoughts like I asked (and admittedly forgot to check back on, my apologies) and is expected of those creating a new topic I am locking this up as I said I would. If the OP wishes to PM a mod in regards to unlocking it they can, provided they actually have opinions to share.
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