It’s March, but the weather’s so snowy and cold that I haven’t set foot outside my apartment in three days. I’m staving off the cabin fever with Gunpla, Ask.fm questions and plenty of internet. Here’s some links that have caught my eye this week:
- Another cultural appropriation debate came up this week that begged the question as to whether non-Japanese people have any business telling stories set in Japan. Take a look at the comic that offended some, and then at Deb Aoki’s lovingly curated Storify of the Twitter discussion which even includes opinions from manga arts and cartoonists. Then, check out the artist’s opinion on Twitter about why she doesn’t feel like she’s being silenced.
https://twitter.com/ANNZac/status/573164507263975424
- This isn’t the first time something like this has come up though, has it? Janai reminded me about a group that was policing whether or not people were using the word otaku the “right” way while expressing their passions. It’s clear I have a horse in this race, but I believe language is always evolving and changing. There’s a difference between cultural appropriation and cultural exchange.
- Witnessed all this and still interested in a career in manga and comics? Kodansha is hiring interns at their New York City office.
- No anime story is told in a vacuum; it always gets its inspiration from somewhere. Illegenes explores Hindu imagery in Death Parade.
- I didn’t know Anichart maintained such a thorough archive. You might be surprised to learn which other shows came out during the same season as Evangelion, for example.
- A poll indicated that female Gundam fans in Japan would rather marry Char than Amuro. To which I say, did you really need a poll? Amuro is only 15!
- Cosplay Culture is a brand new cosplay magazine available in the U.S. and there’s an interview with me in its inaugural edition! Grab a copy at your local supermarket or Walmart, or squint at my scan of it.
- This week in anime I’m reviewing: the upside of cowardice in Kuroko’s Basketball, headbutting butts in Yowamushi Pedal, and a battle to remember in Gundam Build Fighters Try.
Photo via GundamGuy
4 Comments.
Ah yes. Evangelion with Saint Tail. The title that Tokyo POP forgot. That was rather tragic…
Wow I checked the “otakuelimination”… That’s a bunch of wrong and misdirected. Nice obfuscation right at the start:
– “we’re not entirely sure what wikipedia or any other so called ‘expert’ has to say on the matter of it’s origins”
So you didn’t look it up….
– “but allowing for a fallacy here, and incorrect information over there”
Oh wait but you did look it up, and don’t mention it… Step 3..???
– “everyone can come to the same conclusion that the term ‘otaku’ (in the context we know it)”
Suddenly weasel words and everyone agrees with you!
*facepalm* RIP blog, stay that way.
@disqus_4kY3ATYclw:disqus Honestly I’m upset they never found my blog, which actually has Otaku in the title! It’s a neat artifact for the drama quotient, but in the end it’s just a lot of gatekeeping.
It’s March! The only month my blog gets any hits, because I run a bracket contest and people accidentally find it through NCAA searches! I have to try hard this month to put out my best work.