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Showing content with the highest faith level on 02/15/2023 in all areas

  1. I've been keeping quiet on this topic for a while, mainly because I could never quite get my thoughts in order on it. Hell, I'm not even convinced I have them in order now. The main issue I have with trying to answer this kind of question is: "Yeah, obviously there are people exhibit bad behavior who are also big fans of anime, but how much of that bad behavior is anime's 'fault?' And if it's not anime's fault, than whose is it? The viewer? The community? Something else entirely? Or all of the above?" I wish I had a conclusion for that, but I don't, so in no particular order, here are my thoughts relevant to the thread. So, I think we can all agree that imitating media is generally not a smart idea. Media is filtered and polished and crafted to form and support a narrative, and reality just isn't like that. That's not to say that media doesn't portray reality, but it's never a perfect reflection and it never will be. And as such, mimicking any piece of media and expecting the results to turn up like that media had is astronomically stupid. And the thing is, this isn't exclusive to anime. One of my favorite examples of my friend-and-flatmate being just the dumbest thing alive happened a couple of years back. I wasn't present for this, so I have to go off of recounting. He was in a group call with a bunch of friends, and as a gesture of camaraderie, he told one of his lady-friends in the group that "she's his bitch." He was absolutely dumbfounded why the entire group call turned on him and collectively agreed that that wasn't cool. And when I asked him what could possibly convince him to say something so fantastically stupid, the answer exceeded even my expectations. See, in chick-flick films, it's not uncommon to have a group of women get together and call each other "bitchezzz" in their stereotypical valley-girl accent as light jabs to affirm their tight friendship, and he believed he could do the same and expected to receive a glorious Yas Queen! reception, completely oblivious of just how different the two scenarios are. My brain couldn't fathom the thought process needed to get to that point. Sure, the incident didn't leave a negative impact on their friendship. She understood that he didn't mean any offense by it, but still had to dress him down and tell him he can't just do that. It highlights my point: dude watches movies, thinks that what he watches indicates how he can behave, and reality steps in and says "No, it doesn't go down like that." One of the things about anime that really sucks is how people perceive it. Specifically, this really dumb narrative that anime is this "more mature" alternative to watching cartoons. And on a surface level, there's some truth to that. Anime is no stranger to showing gratuitous amounts of violent and sexual material that would never get greenlit for production here in the States. Most anime, just by nature of what they decide to put onscreen, would heavily straddle the line between PG-13 and R ratings. But all of that violence and blood and sex don't actually make anime a more mature story; it has basically no impact on how the story or characters are written. Most anime are pretty simple stories once you've broken them down; they just have a lot of flair given to them that you don't see as much of in other animation. Some people look up to anime for being more "mature" when it really isn't. This one's personal, but I absolutely h a t e how much anime treats its own viewers like complete losers. Seriously, how did get to a point in society where everyone can collectively pan HBO's Velma for cynically insulting its own audience, but anime can frequently write the most unpleasant, grotesque depictions of anime fans and their culture and people are like "omg it me frfr"? And this goes both ways. Anime fans should not be celebrating being depicted as human waste. Not only is it not a good look for them to people outside of anime, but I'd wager it paints a picture for those anime fans on what being an anime fan should be like, and that's awful. The Isekai genre is particularly nasty about this, as its very premise tells the audience, "Hey, see this absolute fuckin' waste of life who does nothing but play video games, watch anime, and buy merchandise that definitely isn't you? Wouldn't it be cool if, instead of expanding and improving their current life, they were instead given a new one where their decisions or lack thereof actually put them at the top of the food chain?" One of my favorite manga and anime, Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku completely does away with this and has all of its main characters be stable, working adults leading fulfilling, albeit eccentric, lives. It was genuinely moving to have an anime tell me that I can still enjoy the things I love and be passionate about them, and also be a functioning adult. And it still gets to be funny and poke fun at the less appealing aspects of otaku culture without coming across as completely dismissing it. This one's a personal pet theory of mine, but I'm convinced that "anime" and "the internet" are a match made in hell. Anime is centered heavily around melodrama; emotions are presented at fever-pitch to really hit viewers with raw feelings right where it hurts. And I love it for it. It's fun to watch. But if anyone's every actually talked to someone who tries to get melodramatic like an anime would, you know they're some of the most insufferable people to ever exist. And where can you go to find people who get tons of attention and clout for being loud, hyperreactive, and overly emotional? Yeah. I wanna be harder on the kids and teens who treat anime like it's some perfect representation of Japan for being stupid, because it is genuinely stupid to think any piece of media is wholely representative of where it came from. But it's hard to really be upset about it from the outside because that kind of half-heartedness is pretty universal. The Dunning-Kruger Effect wouldn't be a thing if there was only one notable example of it. I get it. You watch anime, and you pick up little bits and pieces of info about Japanese culture and language from it, and you start thinking you're some sort of expert because you technically know more than nothing. It's obnoxious to be sure, but that's nothing unique to anime, and anyone with half a functioning brain and/or access to Google can very quickly dismantle any drivel they decide to pass off as fact. I do wanna close out my thoughts on a hopeful note, though. See, anime's gotten exponentially more popular and widespread through the last decade or so. It may be bold to say so, but I think that if it hasn't already become so, anime is only a few degrees off from being mainstream. And anime fans will likely disagree with that sentiment, since otaku and weebs have gotten pretty comfortable with this stigma that they're perpetually ostracized, but we're getting close to the point where saying you watch anime will be as innocuous as saying you go out to the movies. More importantly, adults who watch anime will be having children who watch anime. Anime will stop being this weird generational gap where fans insist that all these old people just don't understand, because they will. And parents will actually be in a good position to talk to their kids about anime, and their respective good and bad takeaways. Hopefully a lot of that bad behavior we see from anime fans will die down as everyone collectively gets more informed about it. Maybe that's being too optimistic, but I'd like to imagine a coming generation where anime is as normalized a hobby as, say, being a comic book fan post-Marvel's MCU.
    5 points
  2. Hmm Valentines day... Honestly just feels like another day for me as all other days are. Don't really care about finding a partner nowadays as I'm happy with doing the stuff I'm doing now. Having fun and enjoying the moment! Though I've mostly spent my day doing college assignments and writing essays.
    3 points
  3. I'll be honest: Hearing someone passionately celebrate Valentine's Day is a little... unsettling? Like, here in America, Valentine's Day really does just amount to either "buy a gift for your significant other" Day or "enjoy acknowledging the fact that you're single" Day. In either case, any historical or moral significance this holiday should've had has long been forgotten by the general public. It's a strange feeling, but it is nice to know that the holiday is appreciated and appreciated well by a few people out there, even if I'm not one of them. Not that knowing any better really changes how I actually go about my day. My day has been spent doing as I would any other day; cooking, going to work, doing my assignments, MAKING MY GLORIOUS RETURN TO THE FORUMS, but with the added benefit that some people may end their brief conversations with me with a "Happy Valentine's Day." But only some.
    2 points
  4. I feel like my mood is rather mixed as I already passed into Tuesday. Oh boy, this Valentine's Day sure will be brilliant... I am in the middle of my two weeks break from the courses, so far from anyone I know or I could meet (Romanian academic autonomy made it so my break did not coincide with that of my closest friends). And since I do not have anyone to cherish this day with, all I can do is just stay in front of the computer and watch some more anime (probably Amagami) and wait to attend an introductory course in the evening. Usually, I just do not care about this day, and just treat it like any regular day in the week and calendar - so completely dismissing all the meaning and symbolism it was given. However, I do have some momentary slips every now and then and...maybe start regretting I do not have to to cherish this artificially fabricated festivity day with? So... how are you going to be spending this day? For me, I will just be at home, focusing on the beginning of the next college semester. I just want a break, and forget of everything for a couple weeks before going back to hell. Since we are finally having our courses face-to-face, but literally nobody attends the courses (usually due to professors asking for just low attendance or no attendance at all), I still did not manage to meet and befriend many of my new colleagues. Especially with the "do not date group colleagues" getting so staunchly reinforced, I still have to look in other places for that someone special. So no Valentine for me this year... But I grew kind of used to it, and only hope remains for the next year. Maybe next time...
    1 point
  5. Question, how are you supposed to use the scorefile on the neko project 21 emulator provided here? Beat the game and want to try out the extra stage but I didnt know you had to beat it with all 3 shot types and i cant be bothered tbh
    1 point
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