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Hey, Answerman! [2008-12-12]

I've got to be the only 22-year old that doesn't know html...so here goes. Sorry I can't put names with the quotes (How do you do that?).

Take for example, how I as a black person am offended by Momo not liking her skin color. To me, it seems like a racist concept but I doubt that it was one to the creator. I might be reading too much into it, but when anime has so few dark-skinned characters as it is, I'm bothered by Momo.

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she was given the tan skin to be misunderstood. that's all. it's not always about race. you can try to find an undertone of racism in everthing you see, but i think you'll enoy it a lot more if you just take it for what it is instead of overanalyzing everything.

Race is very closely associated with skin tone, and society often guesses one by the other. The same prejudice that Momo faces is the same prejudice other minorities face. If I take it for what it is, it's still Momo trying to conform to an image she can't despite the fact that she shouldn't have to. It reminds me of the "tragic mulatto" stereotype in early American films.

Yep. I agree. If the Japanese have a standard as to what a Japanese person should look like, and judge people based on not looking like that, that's a racist view, intentional or not. The majority is deciding what the race should look like by being virtue of the majority.

I tried, I really did.. But it just isn't for me. Haruhi (to me) is just a completely unlikeable, obnoxious lead. Yuki is Rei clone #4056, and Mikuru's JP VA could destroy a window with her voice alone (did I also she's mention really, really annoying?)

Yeah, this show isn't my cup of tea...

I tried, I really did.. But it just isn't for me. Haruhi (to me) is just a completely unlikeable, obnoxious lead. Yuki is Rei clone #4056, and Mikuru's JP VA could destroy a window with her voice alone (did I also she's mention really, really annoying?)

Yeah, this show isn't my cup of tea...

If you don't like this Haruhi, there's still another one who is really funny (and likeable) as well.

boogiecat wrote:

Actually those guys at Telesuccess Productions are said to be one of the new dubbing group that Animax Asia will hire for thier english dubbing projects,maybe the Animax Asia hired these guys because of thier previous experience in dubbing animes in english(remember the local english dubbed versions of Rayearth,Bubblegum Crisis 2040,Fushigi Yuugi,To Heart,etc..).

Never did get those direct-to-video local English dubs (VHS and then VCD). Not enough info at the time (I assumed they licensed the U.S. dubs), and we already gave up on renting videos after getting cable TV. Other than Ragnarok the Animation, I don't think any Tagalog dub has gotten a video release. Guess the local companies are afraid of rampant piracy, so stick to TV, or maybe they only have broadcast rights.

I'm planning to buy the two Corrector Yui DVDs at a shop in Greenhills (only 500 pesos each, since they got old stock from C.A.T.S. after it closed; best deal for R1 anime DVDs here) so I can try and ID the voice actors other than Charmaine Cordoviz, since the dub was by TSP. Don't think Viz ever finished the series. Good thing I already watched the whole show on Hero TV.

You are, of course, entitled to your own viewpoints (so long as you don't try to jam them down our throats by insisting that we adhere to your misconceptions). However, let me remind you that "sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar". You are, in my opinion, indulging in overinterpretation.

You appear to be caught in a loop. It reminds me of the expression, "When the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" -- or, to paraphrase, "When the only paradigm you have is to see everything in terms of race, then everything becomes racist."

Nobody is denying the racist nature of the Japanese worldview, nor is anyone saying that the Japanese do not view some foreign races as inferior to others (all the while considering them all inferior to Japanese). The point is that you are reading a racist subtext into a situation where it has no relevance.

Frankly, it's doing you no good -- it's only making you look touchy and thin-skinned... and silly.

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Over the past couple of years I've been a part of both Western comic and anime/manga fandom. I've noticed, however, that while comic fans seem generally accepting of anime/manga (having sections for it in magazines, at forums, etc), anime fandom does not seem so accepting of Western comics. Obviously there are exceptions to every rule, but while most comic fans I have encountered seem to express an interest in both mediums (or have at least tried both), I've noticed many anime fans declaring their dislike of Western comics and their 'musclebound superheroes' (there's more than that, guys!), and quite a few say that they have never even tried comics, but dislike them anyway. Do you have any ideas as to why this may be? Am I simply hanging out in all the wrong places?

These kind of people are missing out on a lot of great stuff, "Preacher" ,Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman" ,"Trasmetropolitian" "Queen and Country", "The Walking Dead" and of course Jeff Smith's "Bone" and the classic "Watchmen"

Aside from the obvious answer, which is that we're America and we're the best and do whatever we want, so just sit there with your Earl Grey and your Manchester United jersey and your disgusting toffee cake while weeping openly, the answer is thus.

Peach Girl is an anime and manga series created by someone that lives in this society. It's possible for someone to participate in racist ideas without himself or herself being racist. I wanted to see what ideas were "normal" in Japanese society because those ideas are often unnoticed and unquestioned by societal participants. In Peach Girl, there's a case of Momo not looking like a typical Japanese person and being judged because of it. With ganguro, they alter their appearance in rebellion to what their society believes they should look like. Racial homogeneity as a "normal" comes into play in both cases, and being judged based on not looking like a certain race is racism. Therefore, I do think race and racism has a relevance in this context, even if it wasn't what the author intended.

Lastly SalarymanJoe

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Okay, so they don't look "traditionally Japanese" but I think the ganguro contrast is pretty evident and the story and setting sounds very contemporary Japanese.

Do you not think the fact that everyone in that show doesn't look asian (like all anime) and the dark skinned one is the pariah a bit off. Am I understanding your point to be the fact that anime characters frequently look like ganguro's from say Europe but no where else is not racial. I will have to disagree with that one.

I must say I like how everyones all civil on ANN. Do we rock or what.

she was more confused with "kogal", something like this: