Forum - View topicAll Might vs. Superman: How Our Heroes Are Different
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tintor2
 Posts: 1820 |
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Nice article but what about Tiger & Bunny?
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encrypted12345
Posts: 718 |
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Good article. Reminds me a bit of the concept of Burst Angel: Japan goes into chaos as soon as guns are legalized. It's silly from my perspective as an American, but it might seem plausible to Japan.
That's old news. Get with the times, yo. Jokes aside, it's also a good example of how superhero regulation is a norm rather than a conflict. |
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Merxamers
 Posts: 720 |
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Thought provoking stuff; glad to have read it
I tend to prefer superheroes that do the 'right thing', even when circumstances or real world situations often make it the most difficult option. Examples would be the early part of Rick Remender's run on "Venom", and the better Superman stories (punching a mugger into the sun would undoubtedly be the easier option, but Superman at his best finds the better way). This also includes everyone's favorite character from One Punch Man, Mumen Rider. |
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Ronin2081
Posts: 127 |
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Yeah, I was surprised it was left out, more so with the corporate sponsorship of heroes and how regulated they were in Tiger and Bunny. Not to mention the parallels that could have been drawn with Kotetsu and Spider-man or Barnaby and Batman among a few other heroes. |
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Vaisaga
 Posts: 13227 |
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A more fundamental difference between the two countries is the value they place on the individual. America values more the individual working for the individual's sake while Japan values more the individual working for society's sake. That's why regulated heroes are more common in Japan since it's expected for them to use their gifts for the benefit of the whole.
My favourite Marvel hero is Captain America and my favourite DC hero is Superman, which means my favourite superhero ever is Super Soldier. |
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Andre Andrews
Posts: 8 |
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Interesting read...
I don't really have a favorite superhero on either side of the ocean. At least in the comic/manga sense. If we were talking about video games, my favorite hero at the time of this post would be Winston from Overwatch. |
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Greed1914
 Posts: 4426 |
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That is actually where I thought the article was heading, although gun control works, too. Many American superheroes are premised on the idea that they are necessary because they fill in the gaps that the government can't or won't, even if what they do is considered illegal. Regulation would essentially leave them open to the same shortcomings as the body regulating them. On the other hand, answering to some sort governing would force heroes to adhere to goals and ideals that are at least supposed to be based on the public's interest. |
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Punch Drunk Marc
Posts: 1742 |
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My favorite superhero was always Spider-Man (even though I stopped reading Amazing a while ago). I always liked how relatable he was and how much his morals and persistence shaped not only him, but those around him. In a sense he was Marvel's moral center for a while.
On the DC side it was Batman, followed closely by Hal Jordan Green Lantern (Almost exclusively due to Geoff Johns excellent run on the series. |
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meiam
Posts: 3442 |
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Personally I've never been a big fan of superhero, partly because of how they always turn super moralistic while failing to actual support the moral when you think about it. Best example is, like was brought up in the article, X-men. Racism/homophobia/sexism makes no sense because the people being discriminated are exactly like the group doing the discrimination, no better or worse. X-men, on the other hand, are incredibly dangerous being who can wipe out humanity by mistake. ie, if a black person forget to put his glass on in the morning, the worse that will happen is he might bump into you on the street, if Cyclops forget to put his glass on in the morning, he can decapitate an entire city. Trying to examine one trough the others is beyond foolish since there entirely different situation.
OPM and my hero academia do the exact same things. OPM tried to portray one character failing as heroic, but in actuality he had to be rescued by someone whose extremely apathetic about being a hero, in trying to say "intend are enough to make you heroic" it actually said "results are what matters, intend are meaningless". Same things with my hero academia, which tries really hard to say that the main character can still be a hero without power, just to turn around and almost immediately giving him power. I'm fine with turning my brain off to just enjoy action, its a bit harder when the story is constantly telling me to turn it on, only in just a very specific narrow way. |
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mgosdin
 Posts: 1302 Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA |
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I gave up on superheroes a long time ago, mid 1970's when I was in my early teens. I'd read enough Marvel & DC comics to see that there would never be an answer as to how much power was too much power and that no superhero could ever be counted on to be always right in what they did.
Now as far as the US & Japan are concerned, I am willing to bet that in either country there is no shortage of individuals that will run toward the sound of trouble. Be it a Tornado, a Fire, an Explosion or an Earthquake, there are heroes ( No super needed. ) in both countries ( And everywhere else. ) which is really all that matters. Mark Gosdin |
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Brack
 Posts: 281 Location: UK |
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I guess the author's not watching Concrete Revolutio.
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RestLessone
 Posts: 1426 Location: New York |
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Nice read!
I'm a fan of superheroes, so OPM and Hero Academia have both been fun to follow. While I like to have a variety of heroes in what I read, I do tend to gravitate to characters that are good, the ones in it to help others. Hence why I like Nightwing so much. Interestingly, a lot of the better comics starring him are turned inward. Things happen around him and there's often an ongoing villain/murder plot, but heavy focus is placed on inner turmoil (that's not even necessarily hero related). It's not that Academia and OPM don't do this, but I'd say it's more in the context of official government/academic agencies. OPM's ongoing conflicts involve the hero society, Academia's involve career heroes. Likewise, American comics dabble with this (esp. X-Men) but heroes are often seen a lone actors who choose to become involved with teams. Conflict can arise from any government involvement. Either stories can work fine in the right hands. My favorite superhero run continues to be Grant Morrison's Animal Man. It maintains that heroic lead with inner turmoil, but mixes in commentary on creating literature and the nature of superheroes. It's not something I expect to see successfully replicated, mainly because it's intrinsically tied to American heroes, so it's sort of unfair to compare... But it'd be interesting to see a manga/anime with similar themes. I imagine others English-speaking writers have attempted, but it's easy to feel derivative. Final note: Concrete Revolutio also focuses on government agencies and regulation, but I see the series as more using superheroes as a vehicle for political commentary, rather than having much to say about superheroes as a concept. |
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Gemnist
Posts: 1757 |
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I think it has to do less with the right to fight and more with individual privacy. Americans have always been wary of having their liberties taken, especially after Snowden, and if the government keeps snooping around people are going to be pissed. And Hollywood - aka a bunch of liberals (and Arnold Schwarzenegger) - obviously take note and try to shape it their own way as a means of protest. Additionally, since 9/11, people have often leaned towards wanting some supernatural force to come save everything while still retaining a sense of reality, meaning they want someone who is both human and divine (while forgetting Jesus is exactly that). This is why the first Spider-Man movie was as successful as it became - it was set in New York and came less than a year after the tragedy (and was really good). In short, we want freedom, but we also want to rely on people we can trust.
Japan, meanwhile, is the only country in the world that still has an emperor (making the semi-superhero series Code Geass look really ironic). Having always been a secluded nation historically, people in general just don't mind having a little bit of publicity within their own confines. And even then Japan still has room for hentai. They don't mind cooperation with each other to stay a nation, and are even opening up by being one of the most pro-American nations out there (making Code Geass look even MORE ironic). I think for the liberals of Japan, people just want to be more open to the world, which is why friendship is such a common anime theme. So they find a generally liberal approach to their organizations, unlike the ultra-conservative organizations like in Civil War, where (spoilers) Iron Man is given three hours to assemble a team of pro-registration heroes, fly them from Washington to Berlin, and beat the crap out of Cap's team. It's refreshing, then, that many of the non-Marvel-and-DC superhero franchises, as well as most of the kid-themed comic adaptations (Super Hero Squad anyone?) have more of the liberal unity seen in MHA and OPM rather than criticizing them. |
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NearEasternerJ1
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I disagree. Japan's social systems are pretty undeveloped, even by Anglo standards. America has a weak social system, but it wasn't always like that. The New Deal may be "left-wing" by today's standards, but no such system existed in Japan. Japan is very individual when it comes to education. It's not collectivist in the Danish sense. |
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encrypted12345
Posts: 718 |
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A collectivist society doesn't necessarily translate into a welfare society. While it does for many European and Latin America countries and explains why they're different from America government wise, that's not the case in many Asian countries. |
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