×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
NEWS: Politically-charged Manga Suspended in Japan


Goto page Previous    Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
aisasami



Joined: 24 Jun 2004
Posts: 46
Location: Waldorf, Maryland
PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2004 8:55 pm Reply with quote
dormcat wrote:

jfrog wrote:
I really have no clue as to how otaku are able to picture Japan as some sort of paradise.

I love anime, manga, and some part of Japanese culture, just as much I love Beethoven's and even Wagner's music, but this does NOT mean I'll swallow and be assimilated by whatever they are or they have. May everyone (newbies who proclaimed "I love everything from Japan!!" in particular) take heed and bear that in mind.


I wish United States schools will teach us more about the WW2 in Asia then in Europe. I feel that I have only given the small scoop in High School. But, I still condemn Japan what they did in WW2 to the rest of Asia and I don't know. Maybe that is because every country can have a big mistake here and there like Russia, China, Germany, and so on.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger
Proman



Joined: 19 Nov 2003
Posts: 947
Location: USA
PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2004 8:57 pm Reply with quote
jfrog wrote:
Jesus, I'm glad I live in America. I mean, here we even have Captain F***ing America dealing with the firebombing of Dresden and the Tuskegee Syphillus Experiment, but in Japan you can't even mention the Rape of Nanking or the oppression of the Ainu without being branded as a dangerous revisionist.

No offense, but if you think that things don't get censored in America than you're wrong. For example "Team America: World Police " was cut in order not to receive MPAA's "kiss of death" (NC17 rating). There's a lot of things you don't see or don't hear about (the same is true for any country).
However, I do agree that what happened to Hiroshi Motomiya and his manga is awful. It's about time Japan admitted it's war crimes and moved on. I hope that the international attention that was given to this article will help this cause.


Last edited by Proman on Fri Oct 15, 2004 6:41 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address
luisedgarf



Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Posts: 656
Location: Guadalajara, Mexico
PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2004 9:46 pm Reply with quote
abunai wrote:
luisedgarf wrote:
Wyvern wrote:
It seems strange to me that Japan is STILL denying what they did in World War II, it's not good to pretend that stuff like that never happened.


In the same way that why Hirohito was not judged (and rather executed) unlike Hitler and Mussolini....

Twaddle. Neither Hitler nor Mussolini were formally executed. Hitler took his own life, and Mussolini was hanged without a trial. No-one ever passed judgement on them - in fact, it is historically fairly rare for fallen leaders to receive a trial, fair or not. One of the few recent exceptions, Ceausescu, was tried, however haphazardly, before being shot - but that was a rarity.

As for executing the emperor, that's about the most unrealistic idea I've ever heard of. No matter what blame you might lay at the door of the late Showa emperor (and ample excuses could be given to transfer such blame to the cabinet), there is no way the Japanese people would countenance such a thing. Apart from the fact that the capitulation articles implicitly protected the emperor, the American occupation would have been severely compromised by any attempt to violate the emperor's person. The U.S. leadership weren't that foolish. Not back then, anyway.


Yeah, I already know that, since the U.S are covering the Japanese imperial family's backs since then. Everybody who knows about the story of Japan knows that the Emperor and not the military ruled the country since the Meiji era. Here in Mexico and many other countries are still believed that the Japanese military ruled the country during WWII
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
jfrog



Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 925
Location: Seattle
PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2004 9:51 pm Reply with quote
What? How can a comic book receive an NC-17 rating? Both of the miniseries I'm referring to ("The New Deal" and "Red, White, and Black") were made specifically to be socially relevant at the expense of plot and characterization, so I doubt they were censored in any case. And really I don't think that happens in America anymore, unless it's an old cartoon that's considered to be racist. After all, Howard Zinn's The People's History of the United States is taught as part of the US History courses in many high schools, and you'd probably never get an equivalent book read in Japan.

And yes, we do gloss over many of the less honorable parts of our history, but no one outright denies slavery or the Native American genocide. In fact, if you go outside the mainstream a little bit, you'll find plenty of people who won't shut up about them.

dormcat wrote:
I love anime, manga, and some part of Japanese culture, just as much I love Beethoven's and even Wagner's music, but this does NOT mean I'll swallow and be assimilated by whatever they are or they have. May everyone (newbies who proclaimed "I love everything from Japan!!" in particular) take heed and bear that in mind.


I've met a lot of people who worship Wagner blindly. They're kinda frightening.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address
Cloe
Moderator


Joined: 18 Feb 2004
Posts: 2728
Location: Los Angeles, CA
PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2004 9:57 pm Reply with quote
aisasami wrote:
I wish United States schools will teach us more about the WW2 in Asia then in Europe. I feel that I have only given the small scoop in High School.


I agree. I don't ever recall learning about the Japanese invasion of China at all; my WW2 education revolved around the fighting in Europe. I only learned about it in-depth when my friend from Beijing told me. :( He told me that his parents and grandparents have a strong resentment toward Japan, as do many people in China.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address My Anime My Manga
sinistertaco



Joined: 17 Jun 2004
Posts: 96
PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2004 10:12 pm Reply with quote
Proman wrote:
jfrog wrote:
Jesus, I'm glad I live in America. I mean, here we even have Captain F***ing America dealing with the firebombing of Dresden and the Tuskegee Syphillus Experiment, but in Japan you can't even mention the Rape of Nanking or the oppression of the Ainu without being branded as a dangerous revisionist.

No offense, but if you think that things don't get censored in America than you're wrong. After all, even Captain America to which you were referring was censored in order not to receive MPAA's "kiss of death" (NC17 rating). There's a lot of things you don't see or don't hear about (the same is true for any country).
However, I do agree that what happened to Hiroshi Motomiya and his manga is awful. It's about time Japan admitted it's war crimes and moved on. I hope that the international attention that was given to this article will help this cause.


No offense, but you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. A comic book doesn't get rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. There is an internal system at Marvel to rate books, with 3 different lines- The "616" Marvel Universe which is by an large appropriate for all readers, the Marvel Knights" line which is a step up in issues tackled, and the "MAX" line which is for adults readers.

If I remember correctly, "Red, White, and Black" was a "Knights" title meaning is was had a fair amount of freedom in what it tackled, and there wasn't any obvious censorship.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Kagemusha



Joined: 20 Feb 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Boston
PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2004 10:25 pm Reply with quote
jfrog wrote:
Jesus, I'm glad I live in America. I mean, here we even have Captain F***ing America dealing with the firebombing of Dresden and the Tuskegee Syphillus Experiment, but in Japan you can't even mention the Rape of Nanking or the oppression of the Ainu without being branded as a dangerous revisionist.

I really have no clue as to how otaku are able to picture Japan as some sort of paradise.

Tell me about it. But does anyone know just how taboo the subject of the Ainu is? I have hardly ever seen them in manga or anime. In fact, the only thing that deals with them that I can think of is Blade of the Immortal, which has this Ainu chick and her partner/bodyguard who basically go around and murder samurai.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
jfrog



Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 925
Location: Seattle
PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2004 10:51 pm Reply with quote
The main character in Dagger of Kamui was Ainu. And Isao Takahata's first film (Adventures of Hols, Prince of the Sun) is based on an Ainu myth, but Toei forced him to change the setting to Norway because they felt that no one would go see it otherwise. Not that it helped any, since the movie was a commercial failure.

From what I've read, the Ainu are pretty much in the same position that Native Americans are. They're often horribly stereotyped, have no land, and are trying to rebuild their culture after years of forced assimilation. But it seems to be a general Japanese attitude to never admit it when you're at fault, so I'd be very surprised if their plight was a hot-button political topic.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address
tekkaman



Joined: 07 Jun 2004
Posts: 117
Location: Space Knight HQ
PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:03 am Reply with quote
That too bad. At least there are some Japanese who are willing to accept what they did in China during WW II.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
enjin2000



Joined: 05 Sep 2003
Posts: 1484
Location: Japan
PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2004 1:50 am Reply with quote
You're wrong.

First, Japanese government admit that Nankin Incident occured in China. See some highschool history textbooks. They refer to the incident.

Second, the assemblies were displeased with the fact that Motomiya used false photos and retouched them. I checked them and found it was his error.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
enjin2000



Joined: 05 Sep 2003
Posts: 1484
Location: Japan
PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2004 1:57 am Reply with quote
Quote:
From what I've read, the Ainu are pretty much in the same position that Native Americans are. They're often horribly stereotyped, have no land, and are trying to rebuild their culture after years of forced assimilation. But it seems to be a general Japanese attitude to never admit it when you're at fault


I grew up with textbooks referring to Ainu...

It seems that those who talk about Japan critically tend to be unfamiliar with Japanese.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
enjin2000



Joined: 05 Sep 2003
Posts: 1484
Location: Japan
PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2004 2:07 am Reply with quote
I'm Japanese and would like to clarify some misunderstanding points here.

1) The Japanese government admit Nankin Incident happened. See the history textbooks in high school if you can read Japanese. They refer to it.

2) Motomiya is claimed that he drew the manga with *false* photos.

3) He and Shueisha admited officially both that they used such photos and that they made them retouched as if real. That's why they decided to stop the serialization.

It is not the matter of freedom of speech. The question is, Motomiya distorted some material falsely. It should not be accepted in any civilized country.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 9902
Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC
PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2004 2:38 am Reply with quote
(Sigh) enjin2000, I was expecting you to come forward for some explanation.

enjin2000 wrote:
2) Motomiya is claimed that he drew the manga with *false* photos.

The photo Motomiya adapted and somewhat "modified" was from "The Rape of Nanking" written by Iris Chang. I happened to have had the book, but it's at my parent's house right now. Many Japanese historians questioned that photo of a (questionable) Japanese soldier with a Chinese female he raped, pants off. Motomiya's modification made the soldier dressed with regular Japanese Imperial Army uniform, which is one of several doubtful issues of that photo. Here's a site comparing the original photo and after Motomiya's touch.

WARNING!! THIS LINK CONTAINS EXTREMELY DISTURBING PHOTO (FEMALE EXPLOITATION AND POSSIBLE RAPING). DO NOT CLICK IF YOU WOULD FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE.

However, IMHO having that photo or not would not change the feelings of protesters. That photo and his modification simply were Motomiya's Achilles' heel.


Last edited by dormcat on Fri Oct 15, 2004 2:39 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger ICQ Number My Anime My Manga
GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15307
PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2004 2:39 am Reply with quote
mizu:
Quote:
It seems strange to me that Japan is STILL denying what they did in World War II, it's not good to pretend that stuff like that never happened.


Not really. There are still a lot of people who deny the Holocaust too. The fact that the current generation of Japanese kids seems to be getting along better with Chinese and Koreans than their grandparents is pure luck, really. Although I was pretty surprised at the L.A. screening, when Takahata openly admitted Japan's responsibility in the war by invading China. I knew at least one Korean reviewer on IMDB who was upset about Grave of the Fireflies, because he felt it sugar-coated what the Japanese did to his people. And I was actually going to ask Takahata about that, before he spoke out.

abunai:
Quote:
No-one ever passed judgement on them - in fact, it is historically fairly rare for fallen leaders to receive a trial, fair or not.


Yep. No matter what happens after the elections, Bush will get off scot free like Nixon.

tropic:
Quote:
and the new PM who seems to be endorsing the old imperialist agenda.


Him honoring war criminals did piss me off. Although one of the Japanese politicians suggesting that Japan build nukes, because Bush is screwing up with N. Korea is what really bothers me. Plus, apparently, Japanese kids don't know an effing thing about Hiroshima. (http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2003/05/29_french_teaching-youth.htm) And much more at http://news.bostonherald.com/international/view.bg?articleid=48277. (No offensive photos in my link, but the worded description of one the Hiroshima survivors might be a little bit graphic.)

jfrog:
Quote:
I mean, here we even have Captain F***ing America dealing with the firebombing of Dresden and the Tuskegee Syphillus Experiment, but in Japan you can't even mention the Rape of Nanking or the oppression of the Ainu without being branded as a dangerous revisionist.


Actually, when people bring up that we sold weapons to Saddam, conservatives say that it was really France and Russia.

dormcat:
Quote:
On the contrary, German never dares to ignore or deny their responsibility during WW2, partially due to strong influence of Jewish community in U.S. politics.


From what I hear, today's Germans are blaming everything on Hitler, instead of taking collective responsibility. At least based on articles in regard to the "Hitler wasn't so bad, he's just like everyone else" flick, The Downfall...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address
enjin2000



Joined: 05 Sep 2003
Posts: 1484
Location: Japan
PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2004 2:52 am Reply with quote
Quote:
IMHO having that photo or not would not change the feelings of protesters

I suspect that assemblies did not action if Motomiya did not use and modify them. Frankly, I doubt the number of 300,000 casualities, too.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
This topic is locked: you cannot edit posts or make replies.    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous    Next
Page 2 of 12

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group