Forum - View topic"Badass": Does it mean anything?
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Night fox
 Posts: 561 Location: Sweden |
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Yeah, but what counts as "cool things", or not, is highly subjective, and the same can be said of "looking cool". To some people a doctor, who saves lives on a daily basis, can be considered "cool". To others a gangster, who kills people on a daily basis, is seen as "cool". A computer hacker can be "cool", and the same can be said of a rockstar, or a pilot. If you were to provide some examples, they might clarify what you actually mean. 
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Kruszer
 Posts: 7987 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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I purposely left it vague so that people can fill in their own blanks, because it's subjective.
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Looneygamemaster
 Posts: 192 |
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Personally, I've grown somewhat bored of this type of character. I mean, they can be good if infused with humanity, but I gravitate more towards the losers and head-cases.
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Lili-Hime
 Posts: 569 |
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Maybe I'm weird but I prefer Shinji over Kamina. Shinji feels more like a real, well rounded person. Let's face it; if a 14 year old boy was basically forced to become a child soldier, he'd have the same problems as Shinji (or worse). Kamina on the other hand has pretty much zero understanding of reality.
A woman can still be badass while wearing a dress. Utena did it. Saber did it. There was a whole show with this concept (Murder Princess). Several anime heroines wear skirts while fighting; as impractical as this is (Sailor Moon, Madoka Magica girls, Panty and Stocking, Card Captor Sakura, etc.) Girls look up to badass women in media too, just like guys do for badass guys. When I was growing up I thought women like Ellen Ripley and Sarah Conner were so cool. That's pretty much where I got the idea 'hey women can be heroes too, not just princesses waiting to be rescued'. So yeah we have 'power fantasies' too. Sometimes its related to action, sometimes not. I have a friend that idolizes Kitana from Mortal Kombat, for example. Guys are, on the other hand, less likely to embrace feminine qualities- at least in the west. I believe it's because American culture values 'masculine' qualities like agression and competition over 'feminine' qualities like nurturing and empathy. A lot of them dislike bishounen anime or game characters because they either 'look gay' or 'act like a pussy'. (Their words not mine). They're way more willing to watch Gurren Lagann or Ninja scroll because red-blooded action, and less likely to watch something like K-on! because even tho guys are the target audience, the show is pretty girly. I mean Yui doesn't stab demons with Gita or anything. So yeah, I'd say at least in the case of a western male audience they'd usually like to see more action and badass characters. TBH I miss the badass girl power type of anime. We still get it but it felt more prevelant back in the day. Part of the reason I love Attack on Titan is because there are so many female characters that are just as capable as their male counterparts (if not more so). Gender is pretty much treated as irrelevant to their capabilities in that show. I mean God just LOOK at mikasa *fans self* |
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ayanami000
 Posts: 79 |
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for me badass means cool, strong but kind of funny character sometime.
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Jose Cruz
 Posts: 1779 Location: South America |
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Badass would be for me a character that possesses strong focused will and the talents to make that will real.
Many times this type is represented by a character that confronts and beats all enemies up efficiently and directly, without making concessions and demonstrating their capacity to resist. Homura is badass, classical example. I also think that Vash is badass in his commitment to his ideals. For an example of a badass character that doesn't fit the classical mold very much.
Ancient Greek warriors wore skirts while fighting as well: http://www.howitworksdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Hoplite.jpg Apparently they are not that unpractical. They say men stopped wearing skirts because it is easier to pee standing up while wearing pants. Hence the skirt became associated with femininity. I think this happened around the late middle ages (13th-15th centuries).
Very insightful observation. I showed K-On! to some people and they though it was made for 12 year old girls, I explained it was not and they didn't believe me or though it was only for pedophiles. Clearly lacking the cultural background to actually understand the point of it. 
Last edited by Jose Cruz on Sat Jul 25, 2015 3:15 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Lili-Hime
Posts: 569 |
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I love Vash and actually think he's more 'badass' than a lot of characters because he's not the typical, brooding hero. Instead he hides his trauma under the womanizing, silly persona. To me it takes more guts trying to stay all happy and positive than just sulking all the time.
Thanks for the link!  I learned something new today! I always wondered why those greek soldiers had skirts! I suppose it's the same for the Scottish that wore kilts. It's interesting how clothes get related with a gender due to functionality.Apparently children of both genders used to wear dresses to make changing diapers easier.
Hey I was caught unaware too! I'd been away from anime for about 5 years or more when I watched K-on because it was popular and because people told me it was about a girl band which sounded neat to me. It didn't set off any fanservice red flags in my brain because it seemed relatively innocent; no panty / cleavage shots, etc. I enjoyed the friendship aspect a little but got annoyed that the characters were extremely shallow... and that the camera lingered on their thighs a lot.... then I found out the target audience for the show and felt creeped out a little. I wouldn't say it's made for pedophiles but yeah in spite of it being a fluffy cute show about a girl band its definately aimed at a male audience. |
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Space_Number_1
 Posts: 35 |
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Actually, Vash is a little bitch. http://www.anime-pulse.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12968 |
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鏡
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I think it does have a very particular meaning. Usually I just take it to mean "hyper-competent" regardless of any aesthetic particulars, often with an element of being competent to the point of transgressing the conventions of whatever scenario or task the character finds themselves with. Some of my favourite examples of "bad ass" characters are thus characters that exemplify that core idea while being heavily distanced from the cliche aesthetics of stoicism or power; Kino from Kino no Tabi is a good example of this because she looks kind of dorky a lot of the time, or at least very unassuming, but is capable of dealing with situations at an absurdly high level of competence regardless of pretty much anything, including her own fear and other human (specifically not-specifically female) weaknesses.
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Lili-Hime
Posts: 569 |
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Oh boy, so according to this guy he's a 'pussy' because he won't kill people? Give me a break. Guess you better add just about every American superhero ever invented to the list of 'pussies'.
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