Black Hat wrote:At the risk of reigniting an entirely unnecessary sh!tstorm, I would like to remind everyone that these are CARTOONS representing FICTIONAL CHARACTERS, in turn representing PLASTIC TOYS, and therefore not really anything to get riled up about. And in all honesty they're about as tame as it comes- we're not talking about impossibly detailed close-ups of a young girl's backside clad in skimpy panties with every fold lovingly rendered, we're talking about a few brief, low-detail, highly comedic panels of Nightbeat in 80s bikini armour, which is more homage than fanservice in all honesty. Context is important, guys.
It's the allusion to more extreme content, such as Kiss players. Furthermore, titillation, or subtle references to unwanted or, for the sake of argument, "immoral" content or ideas is still unacceptable. For some, the bikini was to gender/sexual issues what having a transformer reading "Little Black Sambo" might be to race issues. The issue still remains, if it is, arguably, there at all. As you stated, this is a kids' medium/toyline, so avoiding such issues and/or not promoting them is key.
Furthermore, wanting someone sacked and calling him a "wretched little man" just because they draw (EXTREMELY tame) images that YOU don't like is petty in the extreme.
It's not just this image. It's the others he has drawn. I would like such people removed from the hobby I love. I would also like Michael Bay removed, too, for similar reasons.
And that's before we touch on the laughable (not to mention kinda racist) accusations of Japanese society being "overly male-dominated". Compared to the borderline-socialist (and on the verge of collapse) European countries, maybe. But compared to the rest of the world, especially its neighbours in Asia, it's downright progressive.
You are incorrect here. A quick Google search will educate you that Japan is indeed a male dominated society still, with gender inequality much below that of equivalent developed and/or Western nations:
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http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2 ... e-politics-
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/ne ... 77.article-
http://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-34455391-
http://reports.weforum.org/global-gende ... conomy=JPN(Japan was ranked 111th out of about 142 nations when it came to gender equality/inequality). Japan is the third largest economy in the world, so they're really is no excuse for this. Comparing it to its neighbors in Asia is inaccurate, due to the fact that Japan's wealth and developed nature gives it a higher set of standards to uphold.
In fact, recently, the Prime Minister of Japan instigated "Womenomics" to counter this trend:
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https://qz.com/780915/womenomics-and-wo ... in-return/More recently still, female government workers managed to get a sexist advertisement removed from a local government campaign, even though the make behind it refused to apologise:
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https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/ ... aV86aPqbFoIf it wasn't for people like the women in the article, the video would have revived. After, all, it's harmless, right? It's not like anyone was harmed in the video.
So, no, it's not laughable or racist to state that Japan is a make dominated society. It's a fact.
In conclusion, whether you agree that such imagery is acceptable or not is a matter of choice and the reasons behind why they were created could be debated. However, Japan IS still a developed country with shockingly poor gender equality, compared to other developed nations (even though I believe that women had the right to vote before the UK/USA, I think). I believe that the current state of Japanese media is linked to and a reflection of this state.
EDIT:
- I just read the Mod's statement above and will not continue this debate here. I'm sure there are other avenues to have this conversation. The only reason I stepped in was that someone else voiced distaste in such imagery and others secondly dismissed it. I can't let that go unchallenged, as I fear that this would be considered "OK" at boards like this. Basically, it's not everyone here that thinks this imagery is OK, especially not in Japan.
I've said my bit on this subject and thank the mods and admins for allowing us to debate it somewhat here.
Cheers.