I feel the need to clarify something I brought up a few days ago because I didn’t do a great job clarifying my position. The topic of discussion was: recommending shows that you like but which feature questionable content.
For those of you who don’t read every single page of this thread every single day, this was in reference to Qurupeke recommending the series “
Kuma Miko” to fans of “
Flying Witch”.
Here’s the relevant post:
People who watch Flying Witch should check out the superior countryside based SoL of the season, Kuma Miko[...The only downside are some indecent jokes but it still remains great.
To which duckroll responded:
What about people who don't want casual bestiality and pedophila in their entertainment diet?
At which point Qurupeke clarified:
Yeah, this sucks, though the show remains good. I guess I can still hope that they'll tone down such jokes. Though, I'm doubtful about that.
I interjected as follows:
You know how bad that sounds, right? Just imagine trying to explain that to a non-anime viewing friend, or your parents.
"Yeah I like the show, it's pretty good. Apart from the paedophilia and bestiality stuff. Not a fan of that, but I like it anyway!"
Now a number of people including, cosmicblizzard, pointed out that this is just the reality of being an anime fan. Qurupek illustrated this as follows:
Yes, I know it doesn't sound very nice, but this is exactly the show I wouldn't recommend to someone like that. Considering it had references to AKB48 and an obscure music video, I'm sure they're not its target audience. On the other hand, I'm talking to people who watched a lot of different animes and I expect higher toleration. Also, there are shows with much more questionable content, so I'm not sure why this one has already gotten such a bad reputation. It seems people have the impression that the show is full of disturbing shit, but actually it's just 2-3 certain scenes that stand out. If you can successfully ignore those, you get an enjoyable show.
Now, there are a lot of ideas potentially worth unpacking here but I don’t really feel like tackling them all at once. Instead, I am just going to raise a handful of issues which I think are particularly pressing.
1. As people who contribute towards the discussion of anime, we are essentially acting as ambassadors for the medium. This might not be something we often (or ever) stop to consider, but it is the reality of the situation. The way we write about anime shapes people’s perception of not only anime, but anime fandom.
2. Compared to discussion that takes place in other fandoms (say, videogames), individual posters have a disproportionally large influence in shaping the tone and nature of discussions. This is because, as a niche medium, there's proportionately less people talking about it.
3. As a result of 1 + 2, I’d argue that anime fans have a certain duty in terms of how they write about, explain and recommend, anime. The exact nature and limits of this duty is certainly something that’s up for debate.
4. Unrelated to the above, but also undeniable, is the reality that anime is a somewhat maligned medium. Anime doesn’t always deserve the bad reputation it’s gotten, but it does contain much which is unsavoury and objectionable.
5. Anime fans, likewise, have earned a certain reputation. This reputation is not entirely unearned.
6. To avoid perpetuating these negative stereotypes, I think it’s important for anime fans to clearly and consistently call shows/movies/whatever on their bullshit. Every. Single. Time.
7. Neglecting to mention objectionable content, or essentially trying to sweep it under the carpet, gives the impression that anime fans are tacitly accepting a certain level of completely unacceptable content/tone/messages/stereotypes/whatever in the anime they consume. This shouldn’t be the case and more importantly, it shouldn’t appear to be the case to people who just happen to swing by this thread, or check a show out on a whim.
8. I don’t think there’s inherently a problem in saying a work contains material that you find offensive or wrong, but that you otherwise appreciate for its other qualities. However I think you have to do a really thorough job in explaining what that objectionable content is in a way that doesn’t sanitize or downplay it. Bring it out into the light of day. Say “
Yes, No Game No Life features a pantyshot (with cameltoe) of an 11 year old girl in the first episode. But I still like it because of X, Y, Z”. At least, in doing that, you make it quite clear what the objectionable content really is and it gives you space to either explain it away or accept it or whatever you wish to do. But at least you’re actually tackling it, rather than trying to ignore it.
9. As I’ve mentioned above, understand that the audience for what you write isn’t just this thread. Don’t make the assumption that it’s just a certain subset of very hardcore anime fans. All kinds of people pass through this thread and read what you write.
10. Heck, even if you're explicitly writing for an audience of dedicated anime fans you should still carefully consider how you wish to discuss this kind of material. There are plenty of people who watch anime regularly but would nevertheless find the content of a
Kuma Miko to be so off-putting that they couldn't ignore it.
11. Therefore, in the spirit of being a good ambassador, you should do a good job of clearly highlighting and addressing this kind of questionable content. This means, for example, that people won't get accidentally caught out by something which appears, on the surface, to be innocuous.
12. I think this is particularly relevant in the case of Qurupeke recommending
Kuma Miko to SOL fans because on its surface that really looks like a show that should have total universal appeal and be completely safe for any audience. The fact that it isn’t is something that’s really worth discussing and detailing when you recommend it.
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