I'm reminded of a recent experience I had in reading about Crunchyroll's recent attempts at Western anime, both partially because discussing anime always inevitably angers me and because I was jealous someone else got to make one before me. Anyway, there was this rather vicious discussion on whether High Guardian Spice counts as a diverse show. Someone accused it of lacking diversity, because having 3 white women is no longer diverse -- in fact, it's emblematic of one's privilege to say that, argued another. This person was subsequently accused of misgendering Raye Rodriguez, one of the showrunners, who is actually a transgender man.
But, does this out-rank the non-binary Rebecca Sugar's Steven Universe? Is it right for a westerner to make anime, and is a show run by 2 white women and 1 transgender man truly diverse in comparison to homemade shoujo anime? Then again, wasn't the classic Sailor Moon also really run by a man, and not the female animators all upon its staff? How can they market themselves with diversity if they are not actually diverse? Is this a betrayal of social justice, or revolutionary principles? These questions abounded in the sphere I was reading, and it became very heated, very very heated.
Being an artist, I just thought: Damn, well, is the show any good?
I'm reminded of a recent experience I had in reading about Crunchyroll's recent attempts at Western anime, both partially because discussing anime always inevitably angers me and because I was jealous someone else got to make one before me. Anyway, there was this rather vicious discussion on whether High Guardian Spice counts as a diverse show. Someone accused it of lacking diversity, because having 3 white women is no longer diverse -- in fact, it's emblematic of one's privilege to say that, argued another. This person was subsequently accused of misgendering Raye Rodriguez, one of the showrunners, who is actually a transgender man.
But, does this out-rank the non-binary Rebecca Sugar's Steven Universe? Is it right for a westerner to make anime, and is a show run by 2 white women and 1 transgender man truly diverse in comparison to homemade shoujo anime? Then again, wasn't the classic Sailor Moon also really run by a man, and not the female animators all upon its staff? How can they market themselves with diversity if they are not actually diverse? Is this a betrayal of social justice, or revolutionary principles? These questions abounded in the sphere I was reading, and it became very heated, very very heated.
Being an artist, I just thought: Damn, well, is the show any good?