Mahoromatic

[TheStarWarsTrek]

"It's so artistically done!" - G̶r̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶A̶d̶m̶i̶r̶a̶l̶ ̶T̶h̶r̶a̶w̶n̶,̶ ̶ ̶9̶ ̶A̶B̶Y̶ Chuck, 2019

[Mickey_Rat15]

Anime has really corrupted Chuck, he is now showing upskirt shots of cartoon gynoids. The experiment is almost complete!

[m4a2000]

Anime has really corrupted Chuck, he is now showing upskirt shots of cartoon gynoids. The experiment is almost complete!

Well there was that one time he got advice from that bear judge in the Evangelion reviews.

[Karha of Honor]

Anime has really corrupted Chuck, he is now showing upskirt shots of cartoon gynoids. The experiment is almost complete!

It's not complete untill he reviews some Pinku Eiga.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Why is Japan...Like THat?

[jstrahan]

As for the direction the show itself is taking, Minawa (was that the name?) seems to be an exaggeration of the cute, clumsy girl trope. Plot-wise I doubt she's an assassin, too clumsy for that, but a spy, possibly even unwitting (assuming she's another android you'd just have to have a system in there to relay what she sees and hears back to base), is possible. The robo-plane attack could easily have just been a way of making it seem like she was no longer with Management and to more easily integrate her within the household of her targets.

Having seen the entire series several times, I'm dying to tell you about your guesses about the direction of the show, but that would spoil it for you. Let me just say that your guesses are part right and part wrong.

[ChrisTheLovableJerk]

Why is Japan...Like THat?

Thing is, sex and eroticism is far less taboo in Japan than in most of the rest of the world. Same with swearing, you'll see some pretty bad words used in Japanese family shows that are basically rated G.

I mean, it's a big joke to outsiders to the medium that anime is sex-up cartoons about underage characters getting into whatever wacky shenanigans and that view didn't become so prominent without a reason.

I mean, look at the anime Fairy Tail: it's considered a kid show in Japan (though for older kids), yet most of the rest of the world would view it as bordering on soft-core porn. I mean, there's no real sex but there's a hell of a lot of fan-service and sexual imagery and near naked women and men (it's equal opportunity sexy).

Hell, even Pokemon had this. One episode of the show was held back for some years in America and when it did air like three years later it was heavily cut down due to the sexual humor in the episode (it's a beach episode where James from Team Rocket disguises himself as a woman in a bikini contest and uses fake boobs and mocks Misty's flat-chest. Misty's 12 years old, btw.)

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Why is Japan...Like THat?

Thing is, sex and eroticism is far less taboo in Japan than in most of the rest of the world. Same with swearing, you'll see some pretty bad words used in Japanese family shows that are basically rated G.

But you haven't answered the WHY. You have explained in further detail HOW Japan differs, but not any cultural underpinnings of that. And the lack of taboo doesn't explain the degree of fixation on it, how many characters and plots and tropes exist purely as a vehicle for fanservice, etc.

[ChrisTheLovableJerk]

But you haven't answered the WHY. You have explained in further detail HOW Japan differs, but not any cultural underpinnings of that. And the lack of taboo doesn't explain the degree of fixation on it, how many characters and plots and tropes exist purely as a vehicle for fanservice, etc.

I don't really know. While I do enjoy a lot of Japanese culture and entertainment, much of the intricacies of their culture and ways are a mystery to me and I think that we are just as alien to them.

[K.E. Schwartze]

But you haven't answered the WHY. You have explained in further detail HOW Japan differs, but not any cultural underpinnings of that. And the lack of taboo doesn't explain the degree of fixation on it, how many characters and plots and tropes exist purely as a vehicle for fanservice, etc.

I don't really know. While I do enjoy a lot of Japanese culture and entertainment, much of the intricacies of their culture and ways are a mystery to me and I think that we are just as alien to them.

Well for starters, most of the stuff we are getting is airing after midnight on cable (and is aimed at a pretty small demographic). Chuck hasn't been sent too much "mainstream" stuff (even just the Shonen Jump flavor of the era). Some of these shows have mainstream exposure, say Eva, but most are razor-aimed at an existing fandom and are carefully honed to appeal to that group, selling expensive Blu-Ray sets is about the only way something like these make money.

Too, while there are exceptions, popular Japanese entertainment is rarely subtle (even more than American stuff).

Three, this is a culture that has been overcrowded literally for centuries, everyone knows way to much about everyone's business AND there was never a major religious backlash against immorality. The government WAS generally stern and straight-laced but it was a matter of public order, not "sin".

Again, we mostly see the weirder stuff (and the industry has been focusing more and more on smaller demogrphics/interests/kinks). There are plenty of animated domestic comedies/slice of life without most of the outre touches, but I would never try to market Sazae-san in the US as anything but a sleep aid. We see a lot of the stuff that is marketed to the overworked and jaded workforce (Playboy and James Bond hit big, and their decedents just got weirder), or the over studied students and/or scared of joining mainstream society (classic basement-dwellers, though having a basement is pretty rare in Japan.

Gundam and other sci-fi stories are coming from a different source (a fair chunk of which is "classic" American Sci-Fi), and have their own quirks. For one, many of the classic creators (Tomino most famously, but you see it in Metal Gear) have more ideas than they could deal with. But there you'll see a whole different set of conventions, note how much generational conflict both Gundam and Eva embody.

BTW, there is a Japanese PTA that has been attacking "mature" stories in kids shows since the late 60s, but they don't have that much pull (partly because there isn't much local autonomy in Japanese schools).