This is an A quality shitpost. It got the people going. I don't see it as dunkworthy based on that fact alone.
That's why it doesn't offend me enough to wanna dunk on it.
tfw you know exactly two things about a nation with a long, politically complex history, and you gotta figure out what the simple way they relate to each other is
friendly reminder that twitter is a DoD-funded op to literally kill the brain cells of any leftist with an internet connection. it's the new, more effective COINTELPRO.
I believe this. If you don't, try the worst tweets of 2020 and report back when the ooze starts leaking out of your ears :brainworms:
Try the Worst Tweets of 2021 for more psychic damage!
And if this isn't enough to prove my point, there is now a bot spouting off awful takes like there's no tomorrow.
Damn that's a surprisingly good bot. Still not following but more power to them!
A bit reductive, but not entirely wrong. Some anime out there is explicitly meant to do this, and certainly some of the other stuff out there does this unintentionally given some of the shit webs say. But 99% of anime is primarily aimed at a domestic Japanese audience, and I'd guess the majority of anime and manga creators don't really give a shit about what Japan did in WW2. This would be like claiming all American films are apologia for the Iraq war, except that argument has more merit. I've put way to much effort into discussing this post that was almost certainly bait.
TFW the schoolgirl school slice of life show doesn't discuss the lasting effects of the 2nd sino-japanese war :walter-shock:
tfw the final angel shinji fights isn't the manifestation of all the victims of unit 731 :walter-breakdown: :shinji-screm: :shinji-impact:
Why did Non Non Biyori not bring up the subject of comfort women?
This take clearly wrong, but it's also true enough and funny enough that I don't care.
Pedos can downbear me to the left.
This is correct but it's not really just anime. The "Cool Japan" policy as a whole is.
Without that policy Japan would be just another asian country to westerners, and its biggest defining features to the west would be its crimes and some cars.
I don't think that's true. Japan has a very different relationship to the west than any other Asian country, and it would continue to no matter which path it chose. I mean, they were the only one to form a western style empire and be considered worth speaking to empire to empire, even though looked down on.
Also, I don't see why Japan would feel the need to make WWII war crime apologia to a western audience. The west has largely forgotten about Japan's crimes against China, Korea, and the Soviets, and I don't think that's because our leaders are weebs. It's because the west largely doesn't care about what happens to communists and non-white people.
Yeah. Japan was a functioning country again by the mid-1950's. They were never made to apologize like Germany was. Lots of people in the west don't even know about their current problems, let alone past offenses.
I don’t think that’s because our leaders are weebs
its because our leaders rehabilitated and armed japanese right-wingers again just like in western germany.
Anime has a 60 year history while "cool japan" as a policy that has some general focus on anime barely has a decade. And the anime industry and creators of today were still formed by the extremely rich and complex history of the industry and the mentorships and influences between people. So anime would be pretty much completely the same devoid of the existance of any "Cool Japan" policy or focus. Japan just has an extremely unique and rich history in manga and animation and that has and had nothing to do with any concious attempt of international marketing of the country .Hell for the vast majority of the mediums existance the creators straight up didnt know and didnt have a shit about the world outside of japan while making anime
Yeah there's like a thread of truth in there but "anime is propaganda" is a pretty funny spin on it
Friendly reminder doctor who only exists to distract from British imperialism, and you're an elder abuser if you like it.
"All entertainment is meant to distract from it's country of origin's crimes."
every wtyp episode
"but before we start, we must ask: what is a train" :rocz-yes:
justin has not delivered my slop in two weeks; someone EXPLAIN :stalin-stressed:
it's kinda true in how popular media will reflect or reinforce popular sentiment unless its explicitly revolutionary, but if that's all the point is then it applies to everywhere and everything. Like the musical Hamilton is propaganda to excuse the American founders owning slaves
also Japan does often have issues with excusing or denying Japanese war crimes, like that completely evil hotel owner Toshio Motoya was putting pamphlets in the hotel rooms denying the Rape of Nanking
Kinda true
Japan was able to exploit other countries in order to industrialize, and became rich enough to fund cultural products like anime
There are tons of foreigners who love America because they grew up listening to American music and watching American movies, it's a real effect
Kinda true
yea it's kinda true, but it's also 10000x more true for US/UK/France and the halo effect thereof extending to whites in general, than for any other country
Yeah totally, I wanted to mention that other countries were also doing it more, but couldn't phrase it well
Kinda true
I can't imagine anyone watching Akira or The Wind Rises or - god forbid - Grave of Fireflies and walk away with a higher opinion of war-torn Japan. Like, they're definitely all Japan-centric movies, but they're routinely littered with critiques of Japanese work-culture, the incompetence and venality of state leadership, and the horrors of war.
Incidentally, quite a few anime writers are themselves witnesses to or products of the hyper-capitalism that's turned Japan into a dystopian police state in the wake of US occupation. Themes bemoaning corruption, perversion, and exploitation show up in everything from Samurai Champloo to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure to Bleach and Naruto.
There are tons of foreigners who love America because they grew up listening to American music and watching American movies, it’s a real effect
The foundation of US culture is rooted in the post-Civil War migrant workers and labor activists spanning the century leading up to the 2nd World War. American corporate and state media have monetized and expropriated much of this content, often bribing artists or distorting original sets to fit a liberal foreign policy vision. But the root of the content's appeal is in its message of self-determination and humanity.
That's before you get into how many "foreigners" are just the cousins of migrant communities a generation or two removed. New Orleans Jazz being transmitted, consumed, and regurgitated by French artists. Italian and Japanese film makers echoing Spaghetti Westerns and Samurai flicks back and forth at one another by way of Hollywood.
Artists have been consuming and reflecting different styles and compositions back at one another across continents since the Silk Road Era. There's nothing new about the process, just the speed and volume being circulated.
This is going to piss off a lot of people but Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is absolutely apologia for WWII.
"Oh we did war crimes but we felt bad about it then fixed it with the power of friendship!"
Yeah, but Scar only manages to kick King Bradley's ass because of a huge conspiracy on the part of the Alchemist officers who actually did the war crimes in the first place. Ie the stand ins for the SS and the Imperial Japanese Navy/Army.
That's why it's making apologies and distorting the historical truth. There were a few attempts on Hitler's life, but they didn't work and the Nazi officer corps certainly didn't try to kill him for any moral reason. To the best of my knowledge no one tried to cap Hirohito. FMA:B recasts history so that good, moral soldiers from Unit 731 actually save the day
Kind of? There's definitely some of that there, though iirc the main characters we see who did war crimes want to do regime change and then be executed for their crimes. That doesn't make it not apologia, but it has more going on than that. As apologia it wasn't all that effective, because the first time I read/watched it I came away from it going 'damn, Scar fucking rules.'
I dont think they intend to get executed, they wanna get into power and reform society away from the ancient conspiracy thing.
Didn't they want to reform Amestris into a democracy and then put everyone involved in Ishval on trial? I think that included them, but it's possible I'm misremembering something.
Edit: That's not to say it isn't apologia, this is just me trying to get the lore right. If it's meant as apologia it's super muddled, and that wasn't my takeaway as a stupid teenager. I think it was meant as a legitimate critique of imperialism and all that but the author is a lib so wasn't able to go all the way.
And even if they did, that's just the author saying "Actually look at all these noble and honest people who were tricked in to doing things they regret, but actually they're going to make it all right and then nobly let themselves be executed because actually our society is so noble and good and the bad thing that happened was a deviation from the norm".
Like basically the thesis of FMA:B is that that everything Japan did in the 20s and 30s was bad, but the officers who did all the war crimes realized that what they were doing was bad so they overthrew Hitler/Hirohito and instituted liberal reforms and therefore they have totally redeemed themselves. The role of the US in razing Japan to the ground, and the Soviet Union of kicking Germany's teeth in, is completely removed from the Narrative so Japan can redeem itself without the humiliation of losing the war.
Note: I love FMA:B but that doesn't change the story it's trying to tell.
...did it never occur to you that Amestris was Germany circa 1910's? You're really pushing a WW2 allegory I just don't think is there.
It's not a 1 to 1, but the two core elements of the story are the industrial extermination of an entire ethnicity, and the use of science to build super weapons. The techlevel is late interwar or WWII, best shown by the tank, which is clearly inspired by WWII tanks, not WWI era tanks. The main cast are all officers in the fascist military dictatorship that carried out a war using super weapons against civilians. It's not really subtle.
https://fma.fandom.com/wiki/Briggs_Tank
Yes, you'll recall Germany began using gas attacks before world War 1, as well as genociding people who lived in deserts(Damaraland, as well as other exploits in Africa or the near east). I disagree with your assessment of the tech as ww2, outside the tanks(which I have never seen an anime not explicitly about tanks get right. Makes sense, as ww1 tanks look kinda stupid.) everything seems way more world War 1. Amestris is a country with Xing(China) to the East and Russia to the north, as well as colonized deserts to the south on the way to Xing. They're a new nation, only dating back to the 1860s, and a rising industrial powerhouse making (al)chemical advances and constantly at war. Lots of their citizens have blonde hair and blue eyes, but black hair and brown eyes is dominant. Much of their land is still idyllic countryside, even though industrialization is occurring at a rapid pace. Milk is a staple of their diet, as well as beef and sausage. This is pre-war Germany to a T. If that wasn't enough, Edward literally goes to pre-war Germany (and his dad joins the nazis) in the original. Text is always open to interpretation, but their is just overwhelmingly more textual evidence for pre-war Germany as the allegory than interwar Japan.
Yeah that's why it's an allegory and not a costume drama.
The bad guy is called the Führer how much clearer do you want it to be?
so what's your point then? I find it way easier to believe the author was just reacting to modernism and imperialism in general and used a country in a time they thought best exemplified it.
Pretty sure I stated my point very clearly about five comments up.
That you think this is downplaying or reimagining Japan's atrocities from around ww2. I am making the point that it just lacks the textual evidence that this is about Japan.
