Forum - View topicRIGHT TURN ONLY!! - Haruka Kanata
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Akukaze
 Posts: 185 Location: Stony Brook, NY |
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Unlike in America there are no steadfast rules or court precedents in Japan that say all the characters in "simulated erotica" (at least the characters that do the nasty anyway) have to be 18. There are plenty of H manga and H games where they don't even beat around the bush, they say the characters are 16 or 14 or however old they're supposed to be. Of course whenever these get licensed, there's always some clever editing done. Like making the high school in Bible Black into a "college" (IIRC).
I think most people, such as myself, draw the distinction where anime/manga involving sex with little girls is lolicon and anime/manga that does not involve anyone having sex with a little girl isn't lolicon, just a little creepy. Would you call, say, Najica or Girls Bravo porn just because there's more fanservice than any one series could possibly contain? I wouldn't. So under the same vein, Kodomo no Jikan can't be lolicon. I personally applaud Carlos for his review. It's nice to see there's another person on the Internet who is essentially neutral on the subject. |
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tasogarenootome
 Posts: 593 |
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The bunny girl story was hilarious! I can just see this gentleman now - did he have a monocle?!
As for Monster, MAN I gotta start reading the manga. I saw and loved the anime, but considering how long the manga has run for and based on your review, it seems like things were done a little differently in the manga. And as for Kodomo no can'o'worms, I've not read the manga, but Carlos' review seemed a good enough explanation on why or why not to. Keep the con stories coming. |
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pinkchanwithamask
 Posts: 3 |
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Haha, you've totally got some cajones, Carlo. Kodomo no Jikan is totally breaking the glass on the OVER-REACTION GOOO button.
If people aren't disgusted by Jack Frost (girl gets decapitated and stares at her own really detailed panties for the entire first chapter) or Sumomo no Momomo (girl asks to get impregnated constantly, and she looks like she's 5) or basically the 500 other series-with-girls-who-look-10-but-are-constantly-sexualized, then they shouldn't be disgusted by KnJ. Because unlike Sumomo or Jack Frost, Kodomo no Jikan actually does have a pretty insightful story. The latest chapters have very serious stuff going on- Aoki-sensei must toe the line between being a teacher and being he-doesn't-know-what for Rin (and no it isn't sexual in the slightest)...I think that dilemma is the most sensitive and touching look into what being a teacher for such young children truly means I've seen from any manga. 99% of other manga never get deeper than "HAHA LOL THIS IS SO FORBIDDEN OMG TEE HEE IT'S OKAY WE HAVE TRUE LOVE". I've seen shoujo manga that show "less" but is more tasteless than this. Re: Mimi and her breasts, I think how Watashiya deals with Mimi is really poignant? And there are a lot of girls who develop far too fast far too young...girls as young as 8 ARE going through puberty right now. ( http://archives.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/children/03/31/early.puberty.wmd/ ) They don't know what it is (hormones in the meat etc) but I kind of like that Watashiya decided to tackle that...especially since, sadly, people really don't know how to react to the increasingly younger girls with more developed bodies- as the reviewer and commenters here have shown- and the girls suffer for something that isn't really under their control. I don't know about you guys but the girl who got her breasts first in my elementary school always got made fun of for no real reason and I always felt sorry for her. The message Watashiya sends with Mimi is always, "it's okay to be like this" and Mimi begins to be a lot more comfortable with herself and her body. Because of everyone's knee-jerk "OHMYGODPEDOPHILE" reaction to anything involving sex+children, it makes it hard to even open this up for discussion without an ultra-Lifetime-esque serious business approach to it that nobody wants to listen to anyways, which I think is a shame. Puberty is the most confusing and hilarious time in anybody's life, but we don't really talk about all the aspects of it enough without someone coming in with the PEDOPHILE accusations a-blazin'. (tl;dr: yes girls get boobs that big that young.) Also...kids actually do make a lot of sexual jokes, because they know it gets the biggest/funniest reaction out of adults. Kids aren't stupid and they pick it up really quickly. I know I made a lot of jokes when I was in elementary school- I mean just turn on morning radio and you hear a lot of innuendo right off the bat. I was making cigar jokes about the Clinton scandal...and I was 9. So clapping your hands on your ears and going "LALALALA" about the fact that some children do act like Rin, ESPECIALLY when they come from situations that messed up, and writing it all off as complete pedo-fodder is a little ignorant. If you can't handle panty-shots or sexual jokes then maybe you should go after the 503482377 other manga that actually do just treat schoolgirls as sex objects with little plot to back it up. |
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britannicamoore
 Posts: 2618 Location: Out. |
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what's wrong with needing a bra in the 3rd grade? I ... Let's just say I was an early bloomer. You can guess what came the next year.
KnJ one of the better manga out there, and the only one I'd import. TT- I am simply curious, have you actually read the story for yourself or have you condemned it based on the two or three pages that always float around? Does any anime truly need fanservice to tell any story? I'm gonna go with no. Thing is, with KnJ the fanservice really isn't there to be fanservice. Rin is like any other child pushing the limits with something she knows causes a reaction. That's all. To me KnJ isn't loli. When the teacher actually gets it on with the girls then i'll be concerned. I am curious though, did the manga-ka ever truly understand what happened here concerning her work? Is she still upset? I constantly forget about Seven Seas as I to this day haven't purchased a single of their releases. I don't think I ever will. Thanks Carlos for reviewing this heated title, and being quite open about it. Last edited by britannicamoore on Tue Aug 19, 2008 6:37 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Big Hed
 Posts: 1607 Location: Melbourne, Australia |
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I believe you are confusing "omgloli" with "flat". Maka and the rest of the technicians/weapons in Soul Eater are obviously supposed to be in their sophmore/junior year of high school (well, whatever the Shibusen equivalent of that is). If they aren't, then Tsubaki (who you'll see if you read the September issue of Yen Plus) is another one of those "really really early bloomers" that Carlo mentioned 
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DigimonTamer
Posts: 43 |
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Wow, it still makes me laugh that a title with panty shots of a kid is considered the worst scurge on society ever and yet nobody seems to care about something as overly violent as Black Lagoon.
I'd venture to say that something like Black Lagoon does a lot more harm on society than something like Kodomo no Jikan. It's no wonder why america has such a high murder/crime rate since we are so accepting of a mindless gore fest like Black Lagoon. Yep, there is no place in america for a cute/childish romance story. We need to protest so we can prevent it from being released here which will create more shelf space for more R-rated gore fests. |
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Myaow
 Posts: 1068 |
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Psst. People.
Keep in mind that this article contained a review for Volume 1 of Kodomo no Jikan. Just volume one. Not the whole series. Everyone and their dog agrees that at the beginning KnJ mainly just focuses on fanservice and foreshadowing. The real "woah drama about deep subjects such as child molestation" doesn't occur until later, or so I've heard. Maybe if the reviewer took a look at a later volume, their eyes would be opened to the glory that is deep sophisticated drama thickly veiled by underage pantsu or whatever, but saying "wow this volume was nothing but fanservice" about the "red herring" beginning of the series probably isn't all that far off. Notice that they did say "this VOLUME" instead of "this series" the whole time, so sheesh. Less controversy, please. |
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JohnnySake
 Posts: 582 Location: Auburn Hills, MI |
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I'm actually working through Black Lagoon right now, and I have yet to feel the violent urges to make me go postal here at my workplace.
Getting back to the point at hand, I suppose the grade of B is fair enough. The stories, while enjoyable, are nothing to shout about. But the author does a pretty good job about making all the action come through the static imagery. It is also the title I picked up from the Viz booth on preview night at the San Diego Comic Con. I went there as soon as the doors had opened and by the time I had actually checked out (there was about 10 people in front of me) they said their allotment of Tite Kubo tix had already gone for the day. (I'm still trying to figure that one out.) Anyway, if you really liked the Black Lagoon anime you'll probably enjoy the manga as well. |
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Berserkfury819
 Posts: 229 Location: Detroit Mi. Spider-Man is dead. R.I.P. |
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Well I enjoyed the Black Lagoon anime a lot, so I'm hoping I'll like the manga. Based on Carlo's review it sounds like its pretty much what I'm expecting.
Kodomo no jikan is like Sarah Silverman's career. As hard as society tries to kill it off, it just wont die. I'm staying out of this. |
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TakinawaTonfa
Posts: 96 |
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Wait, what? When? 
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braves
 Posts: 2309 Location: Puerto Rico (but living in Texas) |
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Oh, crap. Let's get reading for that lolicon debate.
 It looks like it's already here....
I was thinking of getting the Black Lagoon manga, but it's a bit on the expensive side. So I'll wait for a Viz sale at TRSI. |
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Jedi General
 Posts: 2485 Location: Tucson, AZ |
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If you're looking for a higher grade, Theron Martin did give the first volume of Black Lagoon an A-. While I love Black Lagoon (and as such agree with Theron's review more than Carlo's) it still doesn't surprise me that it was given a B-. Why? Because Carlo's standards are higher. If he gives Monster--which has more depth and complexity than Black Lagoon has in one of its bullets--a B+, than of course he's going to give Black Lagoon a lower grade. |
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wandering-dreamer
 Posts: 1733 |
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While nothing caught my eye this week I was amused at the true story in the introduction.
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malik_chan
 Posts: 134 |
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I was very surprised that KnJ was reviewed. Shocked even. I've read some of it (after looking it up on Wiki and then fangirling over the teacher) and I can say some of it's really cute, but I got to the point where I was intrigued about everyone and I still wish to continue it. It's not for everyone, but you shouldn't bash it as lolicon when the point isn't sex with little girls.
Black Lagoon looks interesting. It looks really kick ass and right up my ally, so I'll have to give it a look. |
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Imperialkat
 Posts: 227 |
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Our culture is much more prudish about sex than it is about violence. It's kinda sad considering that one is natural and the other we could all do without (not that I'm against voilence in my movies--no, not at all). I've read KnJ and it really is a good story. I'd reccomend it to anyone who can stand 9-year-old panty shots (is it REALLY that big a deal?) Oh, and about that Chapter 3 thing spoiler[Psychiatrists will tell you that that's a natural reaction (saw it on a TV show as a response to a viewer's question, IIRC). What's more important is what you do about it. A total freakout isn't necessary so long as you don't go forward. If you're talking about that other thing, well... ] I too was wondering about Black Lagoon. Should I skip the manga in favor of the anime? |
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