March 22nd, 2015
Observations About Incest In Anime&Manga
Anime Relations: Kiss x Sis (TV)
Incest has grown popular in Japanese media. Even many non-erotic anime shows depict siblings or cousins bearing romantic feelings for each other. Shows of very different genres, such as Oreimo (slice of otaku life), Chaika (medieval steampunk fantasy), or Yona of The Dawn (medieval fantasy) have incestuous romance sub plots.
I’ve spent some thought analyzing this fetish, and I’ve made several observations.
The depiction of incest in Japanese fiction is contradictory. The real-life problems related with incest are near always brushed aside. It looks to me like incest fans care mostly about the intimate character dynamic – it’s sexy to have someone know you through and through, it adds depth to the inter-, uhm, action. The exciting taboo element I’m sure plays its part as well. I believe this to be the reason why incestuous couples in anime are often drawn to look completely different, like they’re unrelated. While the brother might have black hair, the sister is often blonde, pink-haired, red-haired, or some other vivid color. Even the ecchi anime KissXSis, which is balls-deep incest feshishizing, is not really about incest, because the girls aren’t blood-related to their brother. The hentai Aneki; My Sweet Elder Sister, has an incest couple that looks completely genetically unrelated (hair color, body build, eye color, etc.). I’m inclined to believe the blood-relation is not what most incest fetishists find titillating about siblings sexing it up.
I know very personally that incest is fucked up; not just between family members, but cousins too, it’s the worst relationship route to pursue. What people often fail to consider when they’re horny, or in love, is the aftermath of break-up. People are linked to each other via emotions, so when those feelings become raw with resentment, you can end up losing your entire social circle. Incest is particularly risky in this regard, because you’re never getting rid of your family. Fuck-ups with your sister or cousin will taint your life forever. Same goes for normal friendly social circles – do NOT fall in love with a friend, seriously. You should never risk your closest relationships for anything.
If you’ve read this far, I might as well drill this in your head. DO NOT FUCK YOUR FRIENDS. The girl may not birth retard children, but the effects on your group dynamic can be similarly devastating. There may be special circumstances where “set-incest” can be okay, but THINK before you FUCK. Losing your best friends is not fun and they’re not easy to replace.
I am still studying this fetish. I haven’t talked with too many people that like it, but I know there are many that consider incest their number one turn-on. I am not opposed to fictional incest, even though my personal context makes me very, very critical towards it. For a perfect example, I enjoyed Oreimo deeply despite the incestuous eye winks, but the later half of the second season, I hated with fiery passion. It’s how you implement the incest that defines whether it’s entertaining or just plain autistic bullshit. It’s obvious to me however that some degree of cognitive dissonance is required to enjoy incest. No-one in their right mind lusts after their blood relatives – or their friends.
I’ve spent some thought analyzing this fetish, and I’ve made several observations.
The depiction of incest in Japanese fiction is contradictory. The real-life problems related with incest are near always brushed aside. It looks to me like incest fans care mostly about the intimate character dynamic – it’s sexy to have someone know you through and through, it adds depth to the inter-, uhm, action. The exciting taboo element I’m sure plays its part as well. I believe this to be the reason why incestuous couples in anime are often drawn to look completely different, like they’re unrelated. While the brother might have black hair, the sister is often blonde, pink-haired, red-haired, or some other vivid color. Even the ecchi anime KissXSis, which is balls-deep incest feshishizing, is not really about incest, because the girls aren’t blood-related to their brother. The hentai Aneki; My Sweet Elder Sister, has an incest couple that looks completely genetically unrelated (hair color, body build, eye color, etc.). I’m inclined to believe the blood-relation is not what most incest fetishists find titillating about siblings sexing it up.
I know very personally that incest is fucked up; not just between family members, but cousins too, it’s the worst relationship route to pursue. What people often fail to consider when they’re horny, or in love, is the aftermath of break-up. People are linked to each other via emotions, so when those feelings become raw with resentment, you can end up losing your entire social circle. Incest is particularly risky in this regard, because you’re never getting rid of your family. Fuck-ups with your sister or cousin will taint your life forever. Same goes for normal friendly social circles – do NOT fall in love with a friend, seriously. You should never risk your closest relationships for anything.
If you’ve read this far, I might as well drill this in your head. DO NOT FUCK YOUR FRIENDS. The girl may not birth retard children, but the effects on your group dynamic can be similarly devastating. There may be special circumstances where “set-incest” can be okay, but THINK before you FUCK. Losing your best friends is not fun and they’re not easy to replace.
I am still studying this fetish. I haven’t talked with too many people that like it, but I know there are many that consider incest their number one turn-on. I am not opposed to fictional incest, even though my personal context makes me very, very critical towards it. For a perfect example, I enjoyed Oreimo deeply despite the incestuous eye winks, but the later half of the second season, I hated with fiery passion. It’s how you implement the incest that defines whether it’s entertaining or just plain autistic bullshit. It’s obvious to me however that some degree of cognitive dissonance is required to enjoy incest. No-one in their right mind lusts after their blood relatives – or their friends.
Posted by Otaku_Apologizt | Mar 22, 2015 12:11 PM | 0 comments
February 25th, 2015
Fullmetal Alchemy: Reconstructing Yourself - Or Keeping It Same?
Anime Relations: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
I've been on both sides of this fence; absorbing self-improvement literature, but also bashing it vocally.
The problem all powerful men and women face is a simple one. It's the same problem ordinary people face: Who do you listen to? There's so much advice available on how you should be and what values you should live by. Everybody's got a bias, a piece of their little puzzle. Even assessing which advisor is trustworthy and who isn't can be a daunting task. Your social context throws another wedge into the cogwork of your brain: Not everything is legal, not everything is tolerated. How do you navigate a map that leads away from your goals?
Fullmetal Alchemist, the greatest anime ever made, deals with this exact topic. To gain anything, another something of equal value must be lost. As the building blocks of your life are... your life, then self-improvement in essence is mutilation. Reconstructing skin is horrible pain, but you can't cut to the bone - no, scratch that, you can change your very core, but the sacrifices will be a hundredfold. You may not have much left when your goal is achieved. This is what the Philosopher´s stone represents: Ultimate power for the ultimate sacrifice.
The biggest complication preventing change, I think, is one's own temperament. A temperament is the born, innate trait in you. How you normally react to stimuli (lazily, apathetically, aggressively, curiously) is in great part biological and therefore unchangeable (though the scientific debate on this is hot). Personally my mother's told me how calm I was at birth - I was a chill kid, a chill teenager, and in adulthood, I'm still like that. In contrast, I've also found that wanting to become worth a shit in the craft of my choosing has mandated that I sacrifice my old self: Revolutions are a bloody business. I would not be writing this blog if part of me hadn't died years ago. I would not have these emotions and experiences to impart to others, nor the skill to convey them. I know what I gave up to learn writing; it cost me many friendships and opportunities.
Any time I watch Fullmetal Alchemist and see Fuhrer King Bradley, I think of Vladimir Putin. Amestris is a bastard nation, carved on the map with force. It is kept intact by the sheer might of its military power abetted by gruesomely destructive alchemy. The nation is governed by the most inhuman beings conceivable. The ethnic minorities of Amestris have suffered random military interventions and genocide - not that far from contemporary Russia.
As unfortunately we live in a world where no god will smite the hand that backstabs a friend, the ruthless can amass great power by plotting the perfect betrayal. Russian president Vladimir Putin is such a person. Vladimir the Cruel may not don a manly Stalin-style mustache, nor a badass eye patch, but in the last decade he's proven himself quite the asshat regardless. His wealth is counted in the hundreds of billions. The oligarchs who put him on the throne to serve their interests are in his leash - he played his hand and he won. He now commands the world's third largest army, second only to China and the United States. Russia also boasts half of the world's nuclear arsenal. The man has power; he knows how to use it and how to keep it - kind of. He's also an arrogant pompous retard who orders mob-style killings of journalists, wages stupid wars on his soil and on the soil of others. Fuhrer King Bradley is ruthless and seemingly level-headed, but he shows pomp on a couple occasions. He is definitely arrogant, just like Vladimir. Over-confidence makes you weak and it's the reason why the good guys have a shot at victory, always.
This world is near limitless in potential. It's an amazing massively-multiplayer game where anything is possible within an observable, yet completely unfathomable ruleset. The alchemy in Fullmetal Alchemist is fantastic, but only because it looks so simple when they do it. Real science is actual fucking magic. Even coding is literally magic in the sense that sometimes not even coders themselves understand why their shit works (it's even a meme). Reality is sheer madness, yet makes perfect logical sense. It's consistent, it's surprising, it's cruel and it´s beautiful.
In a world of near infinite possibilities, there are no simple answers, nor are there shortcuts for the intellectually honest. Personally, the way I survived my shit was by developing an emotional compass. My depression was like a Church bell that rang, rang and rang some more, not letting me rest until I stopped, sat down and prayed. I revealed in an earlier post how I'm an atheist, but trust me when I say, it's a little more complicated than "yes" or "no". I think studying several religions is very useful on anyone's path to self-discovery. It helps to have words to conceptualize your experiences.
The voices within me told me which people to keep around and which to discard. I lost some cool people, but I gained something much, much more valuable in return. I learned to trust my inner compass - and to ask directions when I'm lost.
The problem all powerful men and women face is a simple one. It's the same problem ordinary people face: Who do you listen to? There's so much advice available on how you should be and what values you should live by. Everybody's got a bias, a piece of their little puzzle. Even assessing which advisor is trustworthy and who isn't can be a daunting task. Your social context throws another wedge into the cogwork of your brain: Not everything is legal, not everything is tolerated. How do you navigate a map that leads away from your goals?
Fullmetal Alchemist, the greatest anime ever made, deals with this exact topic. To gain anything, another something of equal value must be lost. As the building blocks of your life are... your life, then self-improvement in essence is mutilation. Reconstructing skin is horrible pain, but you can't cut to the bone - no, scratch that, you can change your very core, but the sacrifices will be a hundredfold. You may not have much left when your goal is achieved. This is what the Philosopher´s stone represents: Ultimate power for the ultimate sacrifice.
The biggest complication preventing change, I think, is one's own temperament. A temperament is the born, innate trait in you. How you normally react to stimuli (lazily, apathetically, aggressively, curiously) is in great part biological and therefore unchangeable (though the scientific debate on this is hot). Personally my mother's told me how calm I was at birth - I was a chill kid, a chill teenager, and in adulthood, I'm still like that. In contrast, I've also found that wanting to become worth a shit in the craft of my choosing has mandated that I sacrifice my old self: Revolutions are a bloody business. I would not be writing this blog if part of me hadn't died years ago. I would not have these emotions and experiences to impart to others, nor the skill to convey them. I know what I gave up to learn writing; it cost me many friendships and opportunities.
Any time I watch Fullmetal Alchemist and see Fuhrer King Bradley, I think of Vladimir Putin. Amestris is a bastard nation, carved on the map with force. It is kept intact by the sheer might of its military power abetted by gruesomely destructive alchemy. The nation is governed by the most inhuman beings conceivable. The ethnic minorities of Amestris have suffered random military interventions and genocide - not that far from contemporary Russia.
As unfortunately we live in a world where no god will smite the hand that backstabs a friend, the ruthless can amass great power by plotting the perfect betrayal. Russian president Vladimir Putin is such a person. Vladimir the Cruel may not don a manly Stalin-style mustache, nor a badass eye patch, but in the last decade he's proven himself quite the asshat regardless. His wealth is counted in the hundreds of billions. The oligarchs who put him on the throne to serve their interests are in his leash - he played his hand and he won. He now commands the world's third largest army, second only to China and the United States. Russia also boasts half of the world's nuclear arsenal. The man has power; he knows how to use it and how to keep it - kind of. He's also an arrogant pompous retard who orders mob-style killings of journalists, wages stupid wars on his soil and on the soil of others. Fuhrer King Bradley is ruthless and seemingly level-headed, but he shows pomp on a couple occasions. He is definitely arrogant, just like Vladimir. Over-confidence makes you weak and it's the reason why the good guys have a shot at victory, always.
This world is near limitless in potential. It's an amazing massively-multiplayer game where anything is possible within an observable, yet completely unfathomable ruleset. The alchemy in Fullmetal Alchemist is fantastic, but only because it looks so simple when they do it. Real science is actual fucking magic. Even coding is literally magic in the sense that sometimes not even coders themselves understand why their shit works (it's even a meme). Reality is sheer madness, yet makes perfect logical sense. It's consistent, it's surprising, it's cruel and it´s beautiful.
In a world of near infinite possibilities, there are no simple answers, nor are there shortcuts for the intellectually honest. Personally, the way I survived my shit was by developing an emotional compass. My depression was like a Church bell that rang, rang and rang some more, not letting me rest until I stopped, sat down and prayed. I revealed in an earlier post how I'm an atheist, but trust me when I say, it's a little more complicated than "yes" or "no". I think studying several religions is very useful on anyone's path to self-discovery. It helps to have words to conceptualize your experiences.
The voices within me told me which people to keep around and which to discard. I lost some cool people, but I gained something much, much more valuable in return. I learned to trust my inner compass - and to ask directions when I'm lost.
Posted by Otaku_Apologizt | Feb 25, 2015 6:59 AM | 0 comments
February 23rd, 2015
"The First Five" ~ Bladedance of Elementalers
Anime Relations: Seireitsukai no Blade Dance
I can tell within 5 minutes whether a movie or show is worth watching.
When you watch Star Wars: A New Hope, within the first five you see the miniscule rebel ship, matched up against the mighty imperial star destroyer. Everything you need to know about the story is right there.
When you watch the murder mystery anime Gosic, you very quickly realize the authors had big ideas and very little time to deliver them (20+ minutes per episode makes for some very condensed storytelling). You see the gorgeous, near flawless animation and think to yourself: yeah, this is worth a watch - it'll probably become messy in the middle, though. And that's exactly how Gosic is.
When you watch the first episode of the first season of Pokémon, you see a televised Pokémon battle. You see our main character, the boy named Ash, surrounded by Pokémon posters and toys. Everything you need to know; first five.
I love stories more than anything, even more than sex. I've watched hundreds of movies and countless hours of series from all possible genres. My passion for language and the craft of storytelling have consequently made me develop a keen eye for an author's skill. I don't care whether something is culturally relevant, or heavy on themes, or artistically commendable, or ripe with clichés. I care mainly about two things: sound technique and the delivery of entertainment.
What I find most entertaining about anime, besides the epic stories, the goofy moments, cool music, the girls, the panties, the juicy oppai... mmm, where was I going? Yes, I like how absolutely butt-fuck commercialized anime has become. The trends in the anime fandom force authors to adapt to consumer wants. What this environment breeds is a highly narrow creative platform ripe with clichés, bad director decisions, oodles of cringe-worthy fanservice, recycled character designs, stories forced to appeal to fetish groups and much, much more cute bullshit. To quote System Of A Down, "the bottom line is money, nobody gives a fuck".
Truth is though, people do give a fuck. Artists want nothing more than to express themselves as freely as their financial and societal context permits them. I find it exhilarating to spot illustrious moments of skilled narrative technique in the sea of clichés. It's like finding treasures chests from sunken ship hulls.
I've noticed in the past years that three tropes dominate roughly 90% of anime: School, cute girls, harem. I enjoy a good harem romp just as much as the next guy or lesbian. I set my standards very, very low: I even enjoyed High School DxD despite its author's absolute ignorance about pacing. But even with my expectations lowered to bare minimum, I never seem to find new harem series worth watching. Today, I may have found one, just one, and it's called "Bladedance of Elementalers".
Within the episode's 20 minutes, I was presented with the most tried-and-true, decades-old anime tropes and clichés: awkward falls, accidental panty flashes, back-and-forth girl-boy talk (you know the kind), the obligatory "I can't get married anymore" joke, sword-wielding man-phobic girl, big boobs boss woman, a maid, evil loli boss, more panties, "chosen one", "only boy in all-girl school" - scenario, etc.
Here's the cool part: It was entertaining. The premise, as recycled as it was, made perfect sense. I can already tell the story should be easy to digest. The cast of characters promises to be contained in number as well, and the gender dynamic and sexy moments felt enticing but not something to apologize to your friends for.
The first five of Blade Dance of Elementalers started with only two characters in a hot spring sharing an unplanned, awkward moment together. Magical powers, boobs, spirits, an easy-to-grasp milieu with simple rules and backstory (some kind of demon lord caused a war, which was long ago, something, something). I can't yet say what the plot is about, because there was simply too much mystery within the first episode - I expect no big surprises, though. The story rushed to establish the school harem scenario, leaving the potential complexities of the excuse plot to be explained later. That's also what you call... pacing.
I've dropped many shows when they turned far too stupid for my taste. I may drop this one too, if my hopeful predictions fail miserably. For months now, I've been itching for a new harem romp to relax with, thus I want to trust my gut on this.
I am so motherfucking ready: Show me the commercialized oppai!! Sell me that softcore!!
When you watch Star Wars: A New Hope, within the first five you see the miniscule rebel ship, matched up against the mighty imperial star destroyer. Everything you need to know about the story is right there.
When you watch the murder mystery anime Gosic, you very quickly realize the authors had big ideas and very little time to deliver them (20+ minutes per episode makes for some very condensed storytelling). You see the gorgeous, near flawless animation and think to yourself: yeah, this is worth a watch - it'll probably become messy in the middle, though. And that's exactly how Gosic is.
When you watch the first episode of the first season of Pokémon, you see a televised Pokémon battle. You see our main character, the boy named Ash, surrounded by Pokémon posters and toys. Everything you need to know; first five.
I love stories more than anything, even more than sex. I've watched hundreds of movies and countless hours of series from all possible genres. My passion for language and the craft of storytelling have consequently made me develop a keen eye for an author's skill. I don't care whether something is culturally relevant, or heavy on themes, or artistically commendable, or ripe with clichés. I care mainly about two things: sound technique and the delivery of entertainment.
What I find most entertaining about anime, besides the epic stories, the goofy moments, cool music, the girls, the panties, the juicy oppai... mmm, where was I going? Yes, I like how absolutely butt-fuck commercialized anime has become. The trends in the anime fandom force authors to adapt to consumer wants. What this environment breeds is a highly narrow creative platform ripe with clichés, bad director decisions, oodles of cringe-worthy fanservice, recycled character designs, stories forced to appeal to fetish groups and much, much more cute bullshit. To quote System Of A Down, "the bottom line is money, nobody gives a fuck".
Truth is though, people do give a fuck. Artists want nothing more than to express themselves as freely as their financial and societal context permits them. I find it exhilarating to spot illustrious moments of skilled narrative technique in the sea of clichés. It's like finding treasures chests from sunken ship hulls.
I've noticed in the past years that three tropes dominate roughly 90% of anime: School, cute girls, harem. I enjoy a good harem romp just as much as the next guy or lesbian. I set my standards very, very low: I even enjoyed High School DxD despite its author's absolute ignorance about pacing. But even with my expectations lowered to bare minimum, I never seem to find new harem series worth watching. Today, I may have found one, just one, and it's called "Bladedance of Elementalers".
Within the episode's 20 minutes, I was presented with the most tried-and-true, decades-old anime tropes and clichés: awkward falls, accidental panty flashes, back-and-forth girl-boy talk (you know the kind), the obligatory "I can't get married anymore" joke, sword-wielding man-phobic girl, big boobs boss woman, a maid, evil loli boss, more panties, "chosen one", "only boy in all-girl school" - scenario, etc.
Here's the cool part: It was entertaining. The premise, as recycled as it was, made perfect sense. I can already tell the story should be easy to digest. The cast of characters promises to be contained in number as well, and the gender dynamic and sexy moments felt enticing but not something to apologize to your friends for.
The first five of Blade Dance of Elementalers started with only two characters in a hot spring sharing an unplanned, awkward moment together. Magical powers, boobs, spirits, an easy-to-grasp milieu with simple rules and backstory (some kind of demon lord caused a war, which was long ago, something, something). I can't yet say what the plot is about, because there was simply too much mystery within the first episode - I expect no big surprises, though. The story rushed to establish the school harem scenario, leaving the potential complexities of the excuse plot to be explained later. That's also what you call... pacing.
I've dropped many shows when they turned far too stupid for my taste. I may drop this one too, if my hopeful predictions fail miserably. For months now, I've been itching for a new harem romp to relax with, thus I want to trust my gut on this.
I am so motherfucking ready: Show me the commercialized oppai!! Sell me that softcore!!
Posted by Otaku_Apologizt | Feb 23, 2015 1:56 PM | 0 comments