Forum - View topic

Hey, Answerman! - Fallout: New Vilification

Ah, I suppose I should be used to it now. I guess I just assume people on the ANN forums have at least heard of it. Don't know why, though; perhaps because homosexuality has been brought up time and again. Of course, I have a close gay friend who had no idea what asexuality was until I came along. I know a few people who are into the BBC Sherlock series, though I'm only slightly aware of the asexual aspect of the show. How is it?

RestlessOne wrote:

Ah, I suppose I should be used to it now. I guess I just assume people on the ANN forums have at least heard of it. Don't know why, though; perhaps because homosexuality has been brought up time and again. Of course, I have a close gay friend who had no idea what asexuality was until I came along. I know a few people who are into the BBC Sherlock series, though I'm only slightly aware of the asexual aspect of the show. How is it?

Well there's still lots of misconceptions about bisexuality (that we have a choice, that we're sex-starved and not happy with a 'side') even within more LGBT aware communities, so I wouldn't expect a lot of gender / orientation awareness just because a community's got a higher tolerance for gays.

Sherlock is really good. I'm a fan of the original Conan Doyle books, and the BBC shows do a good job of being their own thing while giving respecting the 'feel' of Conan Doyle's canon. The asexuality thing comes up because the BBC writers (Gatiss and Moffat) went out of their way to declare Sherlock asexual (not in the series canon, but in interviews), which was something Conan Doyle never stated in his books, although of course Conan Doyle wouldn't have been aware of it. Anyway, I think popular knowledge of what asexuality was increased with that.

Or in the Idolm@ster movie? Live action of course. And we all need to see the G4U movie.

I vote we talk about candy next.

The best sweet thing I've ever tasted is ice cream with rich coffee poured on it. Forgot what it's called. It's French.

The best sweet thing I've ever tasted is ice cream with rich coffee poured on it. Forgot what it's called. It's French.

Charred Knight wrote:

Hypeathon wrote: *sigh* Ah, man. Dai Sato couldn't have been more on the mark. Most anime these days really don't do much of anything other give people a reason to run away from their problems. I think there is a position where you can talk about your problems without trying to hammer home the idea of the world being a miserable place like a lot of the anime in the 80's and 90's.

Also, remind me again, what is the most successful anime of the last two years?

For some reason its escaping me, but I feel it should be relevant to this discussion...

tuxedocat wrote:

On the other hand, if there is any slow pans over a male character taking a shower, there will be a ton of fanboys screaming "Fujoshi bait!" and instantly dropping the show.

...That actually reminds me, something like that did happen a couple episodes ago in Hunter x Hunter, and my only thought was "you don't see male shower scenes often". I wasn't offended, or outraged, or anything. Just a little surprised.

Why is there always so much talk about how women are portrayed in fanservice anime/manga but never any talk about how men are portrayed in reverse harem or yaoi anime/manga?

Seriously. I have yet to see a topic where a male reader or viewer rants about how he doesn't like being portrayed as a sadistic perve (but yet with a good heart!) or rants that men with long hair are often portrayed in the uke position in all the yaoi stuff he's seen, and any other trope that fits in these genres. And I have to ask myself the question - "Why?". Why haven't men taken a stand, accusing us women of being pervy pigs when we degrade them just as much as they do to us.

Sure, you can point out that anime and manga aimed towards women (usually) don't feature men stripping every other scene. But then again, that doesn't appeal to the majority of women. Women tend to enjoy the story leading up to it, the emotional foreplay and the double entendres. Mangaka like Aya Shouto make a killing drawing multiple incredibly attractive men in compromising positions with the same woman in a story...and yet, the male audience isn't vocal about being portrayed as a creature who's sole purpose is to protect the one female while defeating the other men who are all lusting after her, thus securing his alpha male mating privileges?

Seems a bit one sided if you ask me.

So while I may not like the "oppai matrix" of High School of the Dead, I shrug and ask myself if I'm any better when I re-read chapters of "Barajou no Kiss" for Kaede fanservice.


Anyways..

I think that most readers, male or female, understand that these are just fantasy stories and do not believe that others should behave this way. Yeah, regardless of our gender and sexuality, we all have our fantasies, but rarely do people act on them in public (assuming they're sane and not under the influence of something) and with an unwilling participant.

Personally, I'd rather leave people to their own devices. If watching boobs and jiggles is your thing, great. If watching 5 men all vie for the same cookie-cutter female character, great. But like religion and politics, as long as you don't force that appreciation down my throat, I have no problem with it.