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INTEREST: One-Punch Man Artist Yūsuke Murata Comments on Contentious Post on Pakistani Britons

The Witch Hat Atelier mangaka is the only one I have ever heard of actually voicing support for progressive causes in public

I do wonder how the next generation of Japanese creators will go given 1) Japan's younger population is leaning far more right than their parents are, and 2) they're a lot more vocal publically and internet savvy which means we'll be seeing a lot more of their thoughts compared to the older folks who aren't on the internet much.

I avoided this issue entirely because I wanted a specific example out of MarriageToxin, I appreciate Mei as a character regardless of any debate going on, and in Japan it is not uncommon for people to assume an otokonoko identity before coming out as trans, to themselves or others, so I don't exclude that either. I would know a thing or two about LGBT Culture in Japan, before you try to tell me otherwise.

But I don't care either way. Mei simply existing as a character is charming and, quite honestly, a victory in itself. Think Hibari-kun.

Hellsoldier wrote:

I avoided this issue entirely because I wanted a specific example out of MarriageToxin, I appreciate Mei as a character regardless of any debate going on, and in Japan it is not uncommon for people to assume an otokonoko identity before coming out as trans, to themselves or others, so I don't exclude that either. I would know a thing or two about LGBT Culture in Japan, before you try to tell me otherwise. But I don't care either way. Mei simply existing as a character is charming and, quite honestly, a victory in itself. Think Hibari-kun.

The Mei thing is actually a good example of why I can't believe people extrapolating beliefs of a creator from media because how can I trust anyone to interpret a creator's beliefs if they can't even get basic facts like a character's gender right even after being repeatedly told by the creator themselves what it is? Hibari is in the exact same boat with his creator as well. So even if the themes of a work are always representative of the creator's belief how can I realistically trust someone who consistently fails to understand what is directly told to them? If it's not failure to perceive then it's a willingness to ignore which just means their interpretation is unreliable anyway.

But I don't need a creator to agree with my politics to enjoy their work if the work is good so I never felt the need to try to sus out a creator's beliefs. Maybe I'm a minority in that regard.

The Mei thing is actually a good example of why I can't believe people extrapolating beliefs of a creator from media because how can I trust anyone to interpret a creator's beliefs if they can't even get basic facts like a character's gender right even after being repeatedly told by the creator themselves what it is? Hibari is in the exact same boat with his creator as well. So even if the themes of a work are always representative of the creator's belief how can I realistically trust someone who consistently fails to understand what is directly told to them? If it's not failure to perceive then it's a willingness to ignore which just means their interpretation is unreliable anyway.

But I don't need a creator to agree with my politics to enjoy their work if the work is good so I never felt the need to try to sus out a creator's beliefs. Maybe I'm a minority in that regard.

I think you may want to listen to what the author of Hibari-kun has to say about the matter. animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2017-10-02/illustrator-hisashi-eguchi-laments-japan-creeping-homogeneity-in-toco-toco-premiere/.122157