Forum - View topicREVIEW: Maria Holic DVD Complete Collection
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dragonrider_cody
Posts: 2541 |
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No one is really arguing that fact. This show is clearly a satire. However, that doesn't change the fact that someone may find some of the behavior or characters offensive.
Family Guy, The Simpsons, American Dad, and other American animated shows often use stereotypes in a satyrical manner, but that doesn't mean that people are never offended by them. However, there is a difference between being mildly offended and understanding it's a joke, and going out and making a huge stink about it or even boycotting the show. (See the recent Sarah Palin - Family Guy incident.) I do understand why people find Maria-holic offensive, and I even share some of those views myself. However, I do understand the reasoning behind it, and I'm willing to accept that. I'm not going to get bent out of shape over it, or start bashing the show because it does something I may not completely agree with. If this had been serious drama, I would have been bothered more by it. But it is clearly a comedy. |
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mudduck454
 Posts: 303 |
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[mod note: we don't allow that sort of insensitivity here. please temper your comments in the future.]
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musouka
Posts: 707 |
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As far as the show being "mean" to Kanako goes, this is what I had to say a long time ago about it:
To be honest, I think it's pointless to get upset about "bullying" in a series like Maria-holic, where the point is that Kanako is a moron and gets kicked around for it. In other words, it's verbal slapstick. It's like complaining about child abuse in Patalliro. The fact that Kanako is ultimately dumb and self-centered justifies the abuse on a narrative level, not a "real life" level. But the series doesn't elevate Mariya either--that's why Matsurika makes snide comments about him. In comedy shows like this, you have to keep in mind that the main cast has to be fundamentally unlikeable in a couple of respects, otherwise you have trouble laughing when bad things happen to them. I don't feel bad for Kanako when she is verbally abused or kicked because she's a cartoon, not an interesting, nuanced character. Her duty is to promote the slapstick by saying things that are "deserving" of the slapstick in question. |
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3489 Location: Back stateside |
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Actually, lots of people are stupid (or perhaps ignorant is a better term?) enough to believe that homosexual individuals are only homosexual because of some problem (i.e. trauma in their past, just haven't met the right person) they have with falling in love "normally." Especially with lesbians in Japan there is a belief that it's just a phase that girls go through when they're still scared of boys, and eventually they'll grow out of it and fall for a man like a "normal" woman would. This is discussed much in Honey & Honey, a wonderful autobiographical manga that I'd recommend for anyone interested in LGBTQ culture in Japan. |
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Pippin4242
Posts: 111 |
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I do know what you mean, and I understand your trepidation. Quite a few of the gay characters coming out of Japan lately annoy me with their pure comedy, like the ones in the West annoy me with their pure drama. Gays and lesbians are just people too, you know? Good and bad. But I think that's why I like Maria Holic. Twenty years ago, we had Ataru, and that's a pretty valid comparison. It's not like either character can't have their serious moments, and it's not like they're not kind of aware that they're being excessive. But they never actually get laid, and they're both raging balls of hormones and desperation. Hey! I've known people like that! It's cute, it's funny, and it doesn't sugar-coat life. She is actually looking for a serious relationship, I think; she's just trying out all her options mentally, and it gets a bit too much for her sometimes. If you haven't tried the series, I recommend it. I think, having really given the premise some thought, you could be pleasantly surprised. :3 *~Pips~* |
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Cryssoberyl
 Posts: 240 |
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This is not a trait of quality yuri shows; Maria Holic is neither yuri nor quality. |
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darkchibi07
 Posts: 5469 |
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I am curious what yuri titles you have seen because it seems to me you're rather misled if you think Maria Holic is a yuri title. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18187 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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How is it not a yuri title? (Or are we getting pick about "yuri" vs. "shojo ai" here? Fans are commonly using "yuri" in the broader sense these days.) |
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fuuma_monou
 Posts: 1817 Location: Quezon City, Philippines |
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A lot of yuri fans hate the show. Me, haven't seen it yet. Probably up my alley anyway due to Akiyuki Shinbo. |
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Takeyo
 Posts: 736 |
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Probably because it's a parody of the yuri genre. |
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fuuma_monou
Posts: 1817 Location: Quezon City, Philippines |
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So's Strawberry Panic. |
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Dorcas_Aurelia
 Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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I haven't watched Strawberry Panic, but really? First I've heard that. I skimmed through the 25 user reviews on My Anime List and saw not one mention that Strawberry Panic was parody. Nor did I see such indication in Theron or Carl's review of the series, and I'd expect them to be able to pick up on such things. |
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fuuma_monou
Posts: 1817 Location: Quezon City, Philippines |
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From a certain point of view. The ubiquity of schoolgirl yuri in SP seems like an exaggeration of the souer system in Marimite, which in turn was a bit dramatic compared to the big sister/little sister thing at my sisters' school for high school initiation. It probably helps if you've read Enid Blyton's St Clare books and the like (all-girls schools setting with some [un]intentional subtext). At least, one yuri blogger finds the only way she can sort of enjoy SP is by treating it as an over the top parody of yuri/girls' school stories. Perhaps it's a bit more obvious if you read the light novels. The prose style is just too out there to be anything but parody. |
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darkchibi07
Posts: 5469 |
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Now I know you're referring to Erica Friedman's light novel review. She also commented on Maria Holic, but you can probably guess what her opinion is.
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musouka
Posts: 707 |
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No, Strawberry Panic is just terrible. |
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