Anime Producers To Hold Anime Contents Expo in Opposition to TAF

apocalipse369 said:
row row fight the power

apocalipse369 said:
row row fight the power

Kiru_im_Ufo said:
You know, these things are why I still think Japan functions differently than most countries in the west. Here, in Germany, nothing like that would ever happen. Everyone would whine about it, but still not much would happen.

apocalipse369 said:
row row fight the power

nextday said:
I like where this is going.

Tucz said:
Nice. It would be great if nobody came to TAF.

QwaserRailgun said:

Why does everyone keep saying this in every thread about an opposition to the new law thingy? o-o

Sabinlerose said:
I find it a little funny some of the people here are bashing their own countries just to support Japan.

We aint that different, boys and girls. Be it American, Canadian, Mexican, Japanese, German, English, Brazilian, or whatnot.

nextday said:
I like where this is going.

Kiru_im_Ufo said:
You know, these things are why I still think Japan functions differently than most countries in the west. Here, in Germany, nothing like that would ever happen. Everyone would whine about it, but still not much would happen.

case649 said:


I don't think it's that surprising. If you are an anime fan and you aren't actually from Japan, it means you have a certain respect for the artform that goes beyond some sense of loyalty to a country.

Even in the lightning-fast digitized world of the 2010's, anime and manga are still unique and inspiring somehow, and its a shame to see politicians - outsiders honestly - putting their hands all over a cultural treasure just because they can.

I think people can relate to the situation. I think some of us who aren't from Japan can look at aspects of our own entertainment choices and feel bad about what regulations and social pressures have done to it over time.

nextday said:
I like where this is going.

Sabinlerose said:
I would argue that Anime and Manga is to the Japanese people nothing like how western Otakus have "saintified" it.

The grass always looks green from the other side.
I'm pretty sure very few Japanese people would call anime and manga "national treasures."

Sabinlerose said:
I'm pretty sure very few Japanese people would call anime and manga "national treasures."

Sabinlerose said:
I find it a little funny some of the people here are bashing their own countries just to support Japan.

We aint that different, boys and girls. Be it American, Canadian, Mexican, Japanese, German, English, Brazilian, or whatnot.

shanimebib said:

Sorry to say this but you have no idea how much anime means to Japanese culture and their tradition. It's not only an industry that provides more than 60% of all the animation produced every year in the whole world, it also upholds their culture and represents the traditions of their culture and its heritage to the rest of the world.

ShadowGilgamesh said:

we've seen what people do in our own countries all the time, as opposed to this small sample of extreem awesomeness that we know of from Japan, so it's not supprising with that comparison that our own countries look bad
i've noticed in america if something that someone(s) doesn't like one of 3 things will happen
1: we'll stand outside holding signs for a day or two
2: quit
3: piss and moan and wait for the next election
so of course Japan looks better when all i've seen is a qroup banding together sayin "fuck you" to the government and undercuting them whenever possible.


as for the actual topic, HELL YEA! this is genius, eventually this will lead to one of those situations where everyone just turns and glares at the person responsible for the trouble XD

case649 said:

Is it okay for government to place restrictions on fine art?

shanimebib said:
When they show they wear kimonos and yukatas during festivals, when they show they use separate pairs of shoes in school, when they show their shoes being kept outside in a section little lower to the level of the floor plan of the house, when they show when someone entering the room on their knees as they sit straight and use both of their arms to slide open the door, when they show they take a gift or a greeting card with the tips of their fingers and the thumbs using both of their hands as they lean forward to show their appreciation, those are the small details which show their culture. You are too restricted to your personal take on anime and think anime is all about mecha, ecchi, schoolgirls and rape-hentai. I won't say you are a troll. Because you just think you are one yourself.

But I have nothing against the new law as I have said earlier in the other threads as long as it doesn't go overboard and picks on every single thing out there. I say you read the rest of the articles/news and replies regarding the TAF and the new law in news section before blurting out stuff that shows you are awfully unaware of the fact that you're wasting your time with 600 posts in a forum which deals with something you don't even know how to appreciate. I suggest you do something better and get into something which you will enjoy.

Happy Holidays. Go out with friends and ask hi to your relatives. In other words, 'Get a Life'. I guarantee you, it won't hurt. :)

shanimebib said:
But I have nothing against the new law as I have said earlier in the other threads as long as it doesn't go overboard and picks on every single thing out there. I say you read the rest of the articles/news and replies regarding the TAF and the new law in news section before blurting out stuff that shows you are awfully unaware of the fact that you're wasting your time with 600 posts in a forum which deals with something you don't even know how to appreciate. I suggest you do something better and get into something which you will enjoy.

Sabinlerose said:

I would argue that Anime and Manga is to the Japanese people nothing like how western Otakus have "saintified" it.

The grass always looks green from the other side.
I'm pretty sure very few Japanese people would call anime and manga "national treasures."

Would you as an American call Avatar (2010 movie), Twilight, 7-11, or David Hasselhoff national treasures of America? They are all huge across the worst mostly in Europe or Japan.
Granted thats not exactly a remotely fair comparison. But you see where I come from surely.

SoraKuro said:


I'm sorry? I don't live in "America" and I hate all those you mentioned. Doesn't "America" have better things to be known for? All those "elements" you mentioned hold no meaning to me. I'd say Oprah, Obama, Coco (lol), Titanic, Gone With The Wind, etc...

Anime and Manga represent Japan. If they weren't proud of it, why would they put up anime posters and giant statues all over the country?
By the way, I made a study for my class last year about which symbols represent each country. Guess what, Japan was most known for their "sushi/raw fish, kimono and those weird drawings with big eyes". Of course, it was only a small study, but we inquired more than 100 people >_>

SkyWyvern said:


Exactly what I was thinking. When I look at this thread, about 50 percent of the comments are like "to hell with the government." Then I go read about the Tokyo's Youth Ordinance Bill, and nothing struck me as unfair. I don't know...Maybe people just don't like government regulations. Maybe they just like to go with the flow. Sabinlerose I nodded in ageement when you said "keep ecchi stuff away from kids." But I mean, really, look at how much ecchi genre changed over the past 5 years. It used to be subtle panty flashes, bra shots, shower scenes and...ok you get the picture. But now? Bare boobs, cameltoes, even actual sex scenes (not hentai). Some examples would be Queen's Blade, Seikon no Qwaser, and Yosuga no Sora (extreme). Clearly the anime industry (or manga) are asking for it.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that before government regulation kicks in, the anime industry itself lacks self regulation. When you go to the doujinshi stands in comiket, not one person asks you for your ID. When you go to convenient store, the shelf for adult magazines are right next to JUMP. Just because some anime is aired at midnight doesn't mean they are inaccessible to kids. I forgot who said this earlier in a comment, it is indeed infuriating that the politicians are putting their hands on animes and mangas when they are basically outsiders. But the best way to keep the government out of this is to make sure they can't find excuses to interfere. Some things are rated 18+ or mature for a good reason, and if you keep selling them to underaged audience, well what do you expect? We saw the train wreck coming from a mile away, really, we did. But the DVD/BD sales are good. They removed the mosaic, which makes them worth buying. Thus encouraging them to make more risque materials and hope for better DVD sales. And when the train wreck actually hits, this is all I have to say: "see, I told you it's coming."

Sabinlerose said:
Nor do I think anime and manga are national treasures. xD

SkyWyvern said:
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that before government regulation kicks in, the anime industry itself lacks self regulation. When you go to the doujinshi stands in comiket, not one person asks you for your ID. When you go to convenient store, the shelf for adult magazines are right next to JUMP. Just because some anime is aired at midnight doesn't mean they are inaccessible to kids. I forgot who said this earlier in a comment, it is indeed infuriating that the politicians are putting their hands on animes and mangas when they are basically outsiders. But the best way to keep the government out of this is to make sure they can't find excuses to interfere. Some things are rated 18+ or mature for a good reason, and if you keep selling them to underaged audience, well what do you expect? We saw the train wreck coming from a mile away, really, we did. But the DVD/BD sales are good. They removed the mosaic, which makes them worth buying. Thus encouraging them to make more risque materials and hope for better DVD sales. And when the train wreck actually hits, this is all I have to say: "see, I told you it's coming."

Sabinlerose said:

Curious, what were the ages of said people?

But yes. You further expanded on what I meant. All the things you mentioned are probably larger and bigger then what I said. Yet they aren't exactly national treasures as they? With perhaps the exception of Obama...but again 50% of the country would disagree with that. -laughs-
I don't think anyone would say Hollywood is Americas national treasure. Even when we do all the same sorts of things Japan does for its anime.

case649 said:


For the record, there's a bit of semantic apples-and-oranges going on here. "National treasure" is the choice of words you keep using, I didn't use that phrase. You misunderstand me completely if you think I'm saying anime is a national treasure of the Japanese people equivalent to the Statue of Liberty, Stone Henge or the Eiffel Tower.

What anime IS, and I'm speechless to think anyone on this site would argue, is a cultural treasure in more of an art history sense: In an age when a lot of artforms are struggling to capture people's attention, anime has been thriving and drawing in more and more fans in spite of economic recessions and technological change and everything else! It's a completely global phenomenon as anyone who's spent more than 10 minutes on MAL is well aware, it's inspired imitators left, right and center, and it's spread Japanese culture and aesthetic concepts far and wide in ways that nothing else I can think of can really rival. Again, ask yourself, what other Japanese cultural export even comes close to rivaling anime and manga? Whether the Japanese people would accept the designation of cultural treasure by popular vote is really pretty irrelevant...

As for ESRB & keeping smut away from kids:



That was me, thank you! As for your point about accessibility, what you just described is not an accurate representation of how things really work in Japan. There are laws that protect children, and there is enforcement. Dan Kanemitsu talks about how the industry self-regulates in his new article: How Bill 156 Got Passed. The kinds of stuff Governor Ishihara and the bill's supporters have said publically the bill is designed to protect people from, such as rape and child molestation, largely do no exist in all ages publications, and Bill 156 does not regulate hentai.

I half agree with your point about Yosuga no Sora, which is pretty extreme showing incestuous sex right on television. But Queen's Blade? Even Seikon no Qwaser? Unless you want to puritanize Japanese society like Americans have been, where boobies are explicit content and minors under the age of consent are ironically expected to be totally ignorant of sexuality, that's craziness. Remember, this is coming from a society that still does open-air public baths, and have traditionally taken a more liberal view of sex and sexuality than many of us have been expected to adhere to in the West.

SoraKuro said:


18-30. We were going to ask older and younger people, but then it would be too much data X_X

I didn't say they were a "National Treasure", I said those elements represent the USA like Anime&Manga represent Japan.
National Treasure or not, it's an important part of the country and they are aware of it.