Forum - View topicIs religion ever mentioned in Strawberry Panic?
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extremeeXrement1
Posts: 23 |
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One of the issues I had when I first saw the show is that it takes place ina catholic school, most of the characters are lesbians, but never is religion ever mentioned and everyone seems cool with it. To me, it doesn't make much sense in a catholic school, but I only saw like the first 2 episodes.
So for those of you who've finished it, does religion play any part in the series |
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getchman
 He started itPosts: 9122 Location: Bedford, NH |
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Hikari prays a lot, but thats about it
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Parse Error
 Posts: 592 |
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It's probably best not to think about it too much, because anime is not exactly known for its accurate portrayals of such things.
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 9875 Location: Virginia |
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It is not just Strawberry Panic, Maria Watches Over Us, Maria Holic, and Otoboku all take place in Catholic schools. Garden of Sinners has a couple of episodes set in one.
The Japanese tend to use Christianity as they would any mythology. For what it is worth they don't seem to be anymore respectful of their own religions in anime. |
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Night fox
 Posts: 561 Location: Sweden |
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I don't see how them being lesbians would make any difference.
"The Church considers any and all sexual activity outside of marriage as sinful and immoral. Masturbation, fornication, adultery, pornography, and artificial contraception are all sins in the eyes of the Catholic Church." |
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Vaisaga
 Posts: 13230 |
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That's sexual activity, though. Certain bible passages are often interpreted as saying that simply being homosexual is blasphemy. Exteme's point is that a catholic school might demonize the lesbians the show is about, whether it be the by the teachers or the students themselves if they're actually a devout catholic (you don't need to be catholic to attend catholic school). He's simply wondering if said demonization actually occurs.
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18248 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Yeah, religion is almost purely window dressing in Strawberry Panic. It's not any different in the novels, either.
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Night fox
Posts: 561 Location: Sweden |
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The Catholic Church respects and loves the homosexual person the same as it does the heterosexual. Catholicism teaches that homosexual people must be treated with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every act or thought of hatred, violence, or persecution toward the homosexual is condemned."
They'd more likely be bullied for sporting glasses, being overweight, or simply befriending the "wrong" students. Bullies seldom have/need "legitimate" reasons to treat others badly. The rape scenes in Strawberry Panic are examples of this. 
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Raftina
 Posts: 3282 |
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The virgin Mary in Japanese Catholicism is more or less a 4th hand pagan goddess, adapted from the bosatsu Kanon from Japanese Buddhism, which was in turn adapted from the pusa Guanyin from Chinese Buddhism, which was in turn adapted from the bodhisattva Avalokitasvara from Buddhism.
This sort of thing happens because Roman Catholicism is essentially a bastard religion that spread partially by adapting significant local gods as saints and converting local festivals into Catholic holidays dedicated to the saints, with the result that you get different versions in different regions. How different a local sect is from mainstream Catholicism is more or less proportional to how long the local sect went out of communion with the Vatican. Japan was out of communion with the Vatican for a few centuries during the Edo period. Then Japan went through about half a century of diseased nationalism after the Meiji Restoration. The bizarre things shown about Catholics is not just the author not caring. It's also a result of Japanese Catholicism being actually different than what you're used to. Last edited by Raftina on Sat May 30, 2015 9:05 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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extremeeXrement1
Posts: 23 |
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Maria-sama did address it sort of.. for one, thier relationships were strictly non-sexual and there wasn't much kissing. It's really Class S more than yuri. And there was the scene where Sei tries to kiss Shiori, and she pushes her away saying, "maria is watching us" She then leaves to become a nun. And Shimiko is also wanting to become a nun so far(@season 2), despite her Buddhist heritage, which she keeps secret from the school. |
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nobahn
 Subscriber Posts: 5124 |
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extremeXrement1--
Just FYI: Your OP should have been posted here. |
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Vaisaga
Posts: 13230 |
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On paper, perhaps, but sadly in practise not so much. It's gotten better in recent years, but you can't expect that to be reflected in older shows.
Bullies target anyone who is different, doesn't fit in, or isn't "normal." Being gay makes some one a prime target for that. Look at Maria Holic: Kanako actively hides her interest in girls so she doesn't get seen as a freak. |
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extremeeXrement1
Posts: 23 |
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That statement doesn't say homosexuality isn't a sin... it simply says not to hate. You could swap the word homosexuality with any other sin and the statement would make just as much sense |
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Night fox
Posts: 561 Location: Sweden |
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@extremeeXrement1
"It simply says not to hate." That's kinda the point I'm making. Why would catholic students be more inclined than others, to bullying homosexuals, if they're taught not to have thoughts of hatred or violence toward them? In your original post in this thread you basically state that it doesn't make sense to treat classmates with respect, if they don't share your faith, or follow its teachings. That made me a little uncomfortable. But maybe that's how it works in catholic school? I wouldn't know, since I've never been to one. |
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extremeeXrement1
Posts: 23 |
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I was saying that the characters should have had some self-questioning, or been at odds with their own faith. Even if they're not bullied, it's odd that nobody wouldn't say anything against it. Having someone express disapproval is not the same thing as bullying. Overall, I think it's sort of a missed opportunity for some genuine drama. Maria-sama ga miteru actually handled the same idea much more realistically and subtly |
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