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INTEREST: Weekly Shonen Jump Claims No Connection to Political Posters Using Demon Slayer: Kimetsu n




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Greed1914



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 4421
PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2021 1:47 pm Reply with quote
This type of thing would be a reason for me not to vote for a politician. It might as well say that they need cheap gimmicks to get attention.
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xerox-guy



Joined: 20 Feb 2017
Posts: 66
PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2021 2:40 pm Reply with quote
Do this move actually attract otakus into voting for them? Laughing . If so, then this is really dissapointing.
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RhinocerousTrilbies



Joined: 09 Dec 2019
Posts: 26
PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2021 2:56 pm Reply with quote
Okay, it was great when every Japanese company under the sun was using Demon Slayer branding in virtually every item but now it needs to chiiill! Anime doesn’t exist for political gain for fudge’s sake (something that EVERY nation needs to accept). Using a popular intellectual property with a devoted following and assigning this real-world political component is incredibly cringe
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Bisuketto



Joined: 09 Mar 2005
Posts: 153
Location: Middle America
PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2021 4:21 pm Reply with quote
Doesn't surprise me.

It isn't even restricted to Japan, other countries "leaders" do the same. If a politician thinks they can capitalize on something they will.

See prior history of similar events (games, anime, comics, etc.) and relatively recent related items of pokemon go and among us.
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Horsefellow



Joined: 01 Jan 2020
Posts: 262
PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2021 5:10 pm Reply with quote
Bisuketto wrote:
Doesn't surprise me.

It isn't even restricted to Japan, other countries "leaders" do the same. If a politician thinks they can capitalize on something they will.

See prior history of similar events (games, anime, comics, etc.) and relatively recent related items of pokemon go and among us.


And 9 times out of 10 they interpret a series or character completely wrong in their attempt to co-op it for their ideology. People who can only ingest politics through fictional media and characters are definitely some of the most annoying people I've encountered.
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vashfanatic



Joined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 3489
Location: Back stateside
PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2021 1:42 pm Reply with quote
In case anyone was curious like I was, this is a right-wing party.centered in Osaka with leadership that likes to flirt with far-right nationalists. So screw them.
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taishou*



Joined: 02 Nov 2016
Posts: 129
PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2021 2:41 pm Reply with quote
vashfanatic wrote:
In case anyone was curious like I was, this is a right-wing party.centered in Osaka with leadership that likes to flirt with far-right nationalists. So screw them.

Oof. That makes it even worse.
Honestly, the poster is just incredibly lame.
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DavetheUsher



Joined: 19 May 2014
Posts: 505
PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2021 3:16 pm Reply with quote
vashfanatic wrote:
In case anyone was curious like I was, this is a right-wing party.centered in Osaka with leadership that likes to flirt with far-right nationalists. So screw them.


Wait till you find out who's been running Japan for the past 50 years.
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all-tsun-and-no-dere
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 06 Jul 2015
Posts: 605
PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2021 4:21 pm Reply with quote
Horsefellow wrote:
Bisuketto wrote:
Doesn't surprise me.

It isn't even restricted to Japan, other countries "leaders" do the same. If a politician thinks they can capitalize on something they will.

See prior history of similar events (games, anime, comics, etc.) and relatively recent related items of pokemon go and among us.


And 9 times out of 10 they interpret a series or character completely wrong in their attempt to co-op it for their ideology. People who can only ingest politics through fictional media and characters are definitely some of the most annoying people I've encountered.


I know you're passive-aggressively talking about people like me and there's a huge difference between interpreting art through a political lens (all art is political, bite me) and co-opting the visual language of a series to promote a politician.
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FilthyCasual



Joined: 01 Jun 2015
Posts: 2184
PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2021 4:56 pm Reply with quote
The real kicker is that they didn't even ask Jump or Kimetsu's mangaka for permission first.
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El Hermano



Joined: 24 Feb 2019
Posts: 450
Location: Texas
PostPosted: Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:01 am Reply with quote
xerox-guy wrote:
Do this move actually attract otakus into voting for them? Laughing . If so, then this is really dissapointing.


It's more aimed at young people than otaku. Voter turnout among young people is pretty bad in Japan. Kimiesu no Yaiba is super popular and mainstream so it makes sense to try to capitalize on it. Even the Prime Minister of Japan has quoted and referenced the series. Does it work? Sometimes. At the very least people are now talking about it so that's better than not being aware.

vashfanatic wrote:
In case anyone was curious like I was, this is a right-wing party.centered in Osaka with leadership that likes to flirt with far-right nationalists. So screw them.


The Ishin no To is pretty moderate right from what I've seen from them. Either way, these two men are already elected officials. I don't see the need to point out they're right-wing. It's not really an insult in Japan like it is in America. The people who voted them in seem content with their views. Yoshimura is the Governor of the Osaka prefecture so he's not exactly a small fry.

all-tsun-and-no-dere wrote:
I know you're passive-aggressively talking about people like me and there's a huge difference between interpreting art through a political lens (all art is political, bite me) and co-opting the visual language of a series to promote a politician.


I took their post as being more about the people who compare real-world instances to fictional works like Harry Potter or Star Wars. You know, the people who say a situation is just like when the students rose up to battle the evil Voldemort, and who compare themselves to Hermione Granger or something. Which admittedly is a bit juvenile.

But regardless of our own views, anime is seen as very apolitical in Japan and fans dislike when any political entity tries to use it for their own agenda, as we've seen many times before with artists apologizing. This is no different. Mitsumoto has since apologized for the misunderstanding.

FilthyCasual wrote:
The real kicker is that they didn't even ask Jump or Kimetsu's mangaka for permission first.


The interesting thing is, there's nothing inherently tied to the franchise in the poster. No characters or anything that ties it back to KnY. The ichimatsu checkerboard pattern is staple iconography that symbolizes long lasting prosperity, and green is the party color for the Ishin no To already. It's actually a pretty ingenious campaign, I got to admit.
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