My Problems with Sex in Shonen and Seinen Manga/Anime

NOTE: Don't take this post too seriously. Though it isn't a joke.

I really don't like sex to be in shonen and seinin manga. Heck, I don't like it in pretty much all media that has a story to it, but for this post I'm going to focus on shonen and seinen manga. Also, since this is a pretty touchy subject, I'm going to try to keep this pretty concise.

So, here's my problem: I hate the way sex in used in shonen and seinen manga. And here are the reasons why:

My main problem comes from the fact that sex is always used to simply make a male character look more manly. Now, often this doesn't involve the main protagonist, but that doesn't change the fact that I hate when its done, as it is still a weak and stupid way to portray a man's "manliness". Sex determining "maniliess" is for the animal kingdom, not humans who have the ability to see the "cheapness" of the way sex is portrayed. One of the first examples of this I came across was in Eyeshield 21 with the character of Agon being introduced before the game between the Devil Bats and the Nagas; he's introduced on a bed getting dressed while a girl in a towel is cleaning up int he bathroom. Agon is also constantly portrayed flirting with many, many women throughout the series; all of them falling for him without a second thought. This leads to my second problem ....

Sex in shonen and seinen manga demeans women a great deal. Almost 100% of the time, we don't know who the woman/women are, and they are present simply for the male character to have sex with and nothing else; usually just getting tossed away right afterwards. It shows that the male character(s), as well as the mangaka, simple see the women as sex objects and nothing more. It comes across as childish and just a really weak way of telling a story; even if the tone of the story is dark. Even when a manga/anime's tone isn't dark, this type of action where women are basically seen as objects so a man can look more manly can be found in acts that aren't sex; most often, it's seen through the sexual harassment of female characters, often main female characters; this can be seen a lot in the manga/anime Fairy Tail and Rave Master.

On the subject of the women, this leads to the next point: sex in shonen and seinen manga/anime is never consensual. The woman is either being used by the man for sex, being raped, being forced into the act due to being a servant, or simply being a slut. All of these situations don't create any type of situation I would find necessary for a story or being good for character development. It's just smut, and smut's only place is in porn.

Now let's flip the coin, where we have extremely promiscuous women. The most recent that come to mind are Panty from "Panty & Stocking" and Zero from the soon-to-be-released "Drakenguard 3". These types of characters do nothing for story or character development; they are simply sluts. Why have such a character? To prove a point? With Zero, I can see the developers try to create a dark and depressing story for the character of Zero, but it will still feel unnecessary to me. And the reason for that is ...

Sex in shonen and seinen is unnecessary. Sex never brings about character development, even when dealing with adult characters or dark tones; it's always done simply to portray a male character as "manly" or a female character as "slutty", or create a dark tone or atmosphere. Such things can be done in much better ways through actual story telling and use of dialogue and actions, as shown by the many great manga which have no such elements of sex. As a result, I can only see the existence of sex in shonen and seinen manga to be for the factor of fanservice and smut; that's what it ultimately be viewed as, either that or simply to create a terrible feeling of dread in the reader/watcher, and if that was the case, there are far better ways of doing that.

And, I suppose that's where I end this. I realize this may sound hypocritical since I enjoy several fanservice series. But fanservice does not equal sex. To me, sex is a level that is reserved only for porn; it has no place in good story telling. Though, I will say that several series come close to crossing the line between fanservice and sex, such as the aforementioned Fairy Tail. Now, I realize this is a rather fickle subject to talk about, as I avoid series that have such sexual content, and there are far more series that don't have sexual content than one's that do. Perhaps that's why I get so worked up when I see such series, especially when they gain such popularity. Though I can see where the smut factor comes into place there.

::sigh::, I know, I know; this was a stupid post, but I've just been seeing too much smut lately. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm rewatching Nichijou.

Why I don't talk about sexism in games/manga/anime

I'm going to get this out of the way right now: no, I don't think that sexism in gaming is a topic that shouldn't be talked about, nor do I think the people who criticize such elements in videogames/manga/anime are in the wrong. That said, this post is about why I don't write about such things in this blog, even when it seems like something relevant to what I'm writing about. Now, this isn't a subject that I completely ignore. I do talk about it from time to time in forums and with my friends, but only when it it brought up; rarely, am I the one to bring up this topic, and the reasoning as to why is what this blog post is about.

Now then, the reason why I don't discuss sexism in gaming comes down to only two points:

1) I don't get it.

What do I mean by that? Well, simply put: I don't get what counts as sexist and what doesn't most of the time. Now, of course, there's the obvious stuff where women are objectified and disrespected, but it seems that sometimes the line blurs between what is OK and what isn't. For example, why is it that a character like Samus is ridiculed for her portrayal in Metroid: Other M, but Juliet Starling's character portrayal in Lollipop Chainsaw is just fine? Why is it that Nami and Robin in One Piece are criticized for their clothing in One Piece, but the female characters in Fairy Tail aren't? Why is it that I am a pervert for watching Queen's Blade, but suddenly I'm cool for watching Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt?

I'm not looking for an answer for these questions, because I know that answer: that's just how it is. There's no fighting against the vocal majority. Some things are established as fine and good before they're even released, while others are ridiculed far after they see release. Why? Well, my guess is that the reasoning behind if something is OK or not comes not from the people who do know what they're talking about and should be determining if it's OK or not, but rather, the vocal majority that lies within the sea of fandom known as the internet. If a fanbase is larger than another, it doesn't mater what the smaller fanbase says, the larger fanbase's opinion is what the majority of people will see and hear, and thus it will soon become fact. It's in this sea of chaos that is thousands (if not millions) of people's opinions that I just find myself not understanding the logic of this chaos. Why is it that Panty & Stocking, an anime that literally made me sick to my stomach, is a cool and awesome anime to watch? I don't know. And that's the answer I find myself coming to when faced with the many other questions that delve into subjects like portrayal of female characters and sexism. I don't get why some things are OK and others aren't. And, you know, I'm fine with that. I have my own values and opinions on the subject of sexism, and I stand by them. I feel that as long as I stand by my own opinions, I'm doing fine. I'm not going to change my values just so I can try to understand something that confuses me; after all, in doing that I'd feel like I'm betraying myself in a way, and, furthermore, I basically just don't care much. I mean, yes, I respect women very much, but as I said in my fanservice discussion post a while back, we have to understand that these are creations of fantasy and there are limits to how much fantasy can be limited and criticized. This leads to my second point ...

2) It doesn't matter.

Now, don't get me wrong, discussion on the subject of sexism and portrayal of women in games has made great strides in how women are portrayed in the entertainment medium, but what needs to be understood is that there are limits as to how much can change. Just because female characters are getting more respect in the media most people see, doesn't mean there won't always be manga like ToLoveRu and Air Gear that but T&A center stage in their portrayal of female characters. "Bad Fanservice", as I called it in my previous post, is something that will always be present in all forms of social media. Sex sells; it always has and it always will. Now, I'm not saying we should tolerate everything bad with a female characters portrayal, but we have to understand that there will always be smut in the world.


These two points come together and basically form how I take in such subjects of sexism in gaming. For example, when everyone complained about Samus' portrayal in Metroid: Other M, I thought about it for a while, but ultimately came to the conclusion that I just didn't get what everyone was talking about, and whether that was due to ignorance on my part for not seeing something that was there, or ignorance on other's part for not fully understanding the story was something I just couldn't pinpoint in the sea of chaos that is the internet and a vast amount of people's opinions. But, in the end, it didn't matter, because the majority group had spoken (on the internet at least) and the game was labeled as a poor representation of Samus and her character. Do I disagree? Of course. Does anyone really care? No. And for that reason, I don't really care. I know it's the coward's way out, but that's just how I feel about the subject. I have my own views and I stand by them, but I don't plan on dealing with the madness that is the internet in order to voice such opinions. That may seem hypocritical to say because I'm writing this in a blog on the internet, but, in all honesty, I don't really expect anyone to take my views to heart, as I'm doing this to basically vent my thoughts, not to make a statement.

Now, I'm not saying that people should just sit back and let the entertainment medium do as they like when it comes to the portrayal of women. I'm just saying that I have no place criticize such matter because I am simply too ignorant on the subject itself, too far flung from the sea of chaos that is the internet, and simply too set in my own views on the subject that I really have no place to criticize the subjects of sexism and portrayals of female characters. Thus why I don't discuss the subject. I'm not ignoring it, but I don't believe me discussing the subject will do much good.

Bottom Line: people can like what they like and hate what they hate, and that includes me. I like Samus' portrayal as a female protagonist with weaknesses and strengths in Metroid: Other M, and I hate Panty & Stocking for being a perverted mess of teenage boy fantasies with female characters who are simply sex-crazed sluts. I don't get why people don't like Samus' character portrayal, nor do I understand why the anime Panty & Stocking has such a large fanbase, but, in the end, it doesn't matter, because anime like P&S will always exist, and fanboys will always hate change in videogames. These things will never change. I may disagree, but such opinions on the internet just don't fly; so, I'm damned if I do, and damned if I don't. Sure, there's a world out there where if I try my damnedest, I might get some people to understand my opinion, but, for a normal guy like me, that's just too much work. I'll leave that people like femalefrequency @ Youtube.

In the end, all I gotta say is: don't worry, be happy.

Thoughts on Hayate X Blade

In my opinion, Hayate X Blade is the most under-appreciated manga ever. This doesn't mean a whole lot coming from someone like me who doesn't read that much manga, but I still stand by it.

There is so much to love in HxB that it surprises me how few people know about it. It's filled with superb characters (of which there are well over a dozen), great sword fights, and it's very, very funny. And all of it is supported by mangaka Shizuru Hayashiya's superb writing and art.

While the manga provides some great fights, and some interesting drama and characterization, it's the comedy that really makes it shine. HxB is funny consistently. Every chapter is a riot, even those involving fights, and its always well times, well written, and always within the lines of the characters' personalities.

Actually, I lied, it's not the comedy that makes HxB shine, it's the characters. Every character in HxB is fantastic and bursting with personality and unique characteristics. It would take too long to go through them all, but Hitsugi is one of the greatest characters in manga.

Honestly, I don't know what else I can say about this series. It's absolutely superb, and is my second favorite manga series after One Piece. It's practically perfect in every way. The action is well drawn and greatly executed, and makes fight scenes in other, more popular, Shonen series pale in comparison. The characters are all unique and very likable. It has some great drama and characterization; all of which allows the characters to grow over time, even within the manga's young life it has right now; in fact, HxB manages to develop their characters more in just a few chapters than most other manga do in their whole series. And it's all complemented by superbly written and executed comedy that ranged from witty word-play to pure slapstick (in fact, it's mostly slapstick).

I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but it's all just so great. I highly recommend giving it a try if you are interested in a character focused comedy-drama-action manga filled with great characters and comedy.

If I had any problems with HxB, it would be that some characters are introduced and have some great scenes, but we won't see them again for quite some time. They always return later, but sometimes it can get frustrating when your favorite character doesn't show up for a while. Also, HxB is very character-focused with it's story, comedy, and drama; as such, there isn't much world building, and as such, HxB isn't what one would call "epic" in scale, but because these characters are so endearing, there are definitely moments that scratch that "epic" itch.

Rant: Women in Manga/Anime/Comics

The credentials for a good female character are no different than those of a good male character. Why? Because aside from actions involving the unique genitals of each sex, women and men can do the exact same things. There aren't feelings only women can feel, nor are there any physical actions men can do that women cannot. As such, there shouldn't be some huge checklist of traits that a female character should have. While it may seem sexist to say this: a good female character more than likely could be turned into a male and there should be no major differences in how we view the character as a good one, and that same can be applied to male characters. Women can fight, they can bleed, they can be hot-blooded, they can get angry, and they can kick ass, and yet creators everywhere feel they have to take all of these precautions when creating female characters, when they should just focus on making a good character who simply happens to be female. Just look at Hayate X Blade with it's huge all-female cast composed of very unique and very diverse characters.

Now, that's not to say that unique female characteristics do not exist and can be implemented well into a character. A superb example of this is Izumi Curtis in the manga Fullmetal Alchemist who was a strong and loving person in her own right, but had unique character traits due to her maternal characters. Much of her character was developed through the execution of her as a mother who had been through tough hardships as a mother. These types of characteristics are something unique to her character as a female, because as a female, she is the one who gave birth to her child, and must personally deal with the fact that she will not be able to give birth again. However, she finds happiness in the Elric brothers, and how she became a motherly figure to them, and how she saw them as her sons. This is a perfect example of how to make a great character who must be female. A man in Izumi's positions would not be able to have the same character traits, due to the maternal characteristics of her as a woman.

Now, to move onto the poor executions of female characters, which basically come down to the simple action of a creator having a female character for the sole purpose of showing off T&A or simply having them present as something for men to have sex with. I find the worst example to be the latter, so I'll begin with that. If you look at a series like Queen's Blade, where there are solely female characters, sure, there is a lot of T&A, but its never for the enjoyment of some other character, rather its simply there for fanservice purposes. But when you get into series that present men and women, many times the situation comes up where the women are simply objects for the men to ogle and harass, or even have sex with. I see this as just exploitation of the female character, even when they are prevelant chracters in their respective manga/anime/comic. Just look at every Gainax anime, where the women are simply present as a means to an end for the male character(s) of each series to look more manly by seeing these female characters naked, touching their breasts, or being aroused by them. In other series, we see instances of male characters having sex with (often nameless) female characters simply for the sake of making them look more manly; an example of this being the character of Agon in the manga Eyeshield 21, who would have sex with and consistently date many nameless female characters throughout the series for the sake of just making him look more manly. Why do this!?!? Having sex with a lot of women does not make a man "manly". Being strong, responsible, and a good leader is what makes a man "manly", not how many women you've had sex with. It's a shame, because this whole "manly" image created from having a lot of sex is in practically every sitcom, drama, and soap opera on TV (at least here in the United States), and I'm guessing it's no different throughout the world considering this type of execution of "manly" characters is prevalent throughout all entertainment media aimed at older teens and above. This is what happens when men dominate creative media, and yet I've seen many women's creations have similar executions of character, even on the female side, where women have pride over how many women they've had sex with. So, I guess this is just something I just don't understand; both in why creators consistently create these types of characters as well as why so many people enjoy these types of characters.

Like I've said so many times before: sex is for porn; keep it there.

The next situations arises from just using women for T&A in general. Look, in manga/anime/comics, where men are the often the main source of readers and men are the majority of the creators, I can see why there is T&A; however, there are right and wrong ways to go about this. Quite simply, don't use women as objects that are simply made to be gawked at. Make them good characters who simply happen to be sexy; just look at One Piece, which has many attractive female characters, but I guarantee you that if you ask any fan of the manga to say what they think about them, the first thing they say will not be that "she has big breasts" or "she's sexy". But when you get into manga/anime like Fairy Tail (or any of Mishima's works for that matter), you just get female characters who are simply present to be "sexy for the camera" and harassed by the male characters so that not only more sex appeal can arise from the female characters (the female character's respect and characterization be damned) and for the male characters to look cool and "manly". If you need further examples of the exploitation of the female body in the form of a female character see any harem manga/anime or American comic. In fact, American comics may be even more guilty of using female characters simply for their "sexy bits" than even manga/anime. At least manga/anime are often clear from the very beginning that "this is going to be an ecchi series; so don't show the kids!", but when looking at American comics, it's often something thrown into the comic because it's on some checklist every comic artist has. I was really surprised at how many female characters in comics were, for lack of a better term, sluts.

This all just annoys me. I've got nothing against fanservice, but it can get to the point where I just get pissed off really quick. I had to stop reading Fairy Tail for the reasons above. Things definitely aren't getting any better, but at least there are still a lot of manga that still keep it classy or keep their fanservice on low levels and just let the fan-artists and doujin creators do their work.

I know that I may have looked over certain things throughout this post simply because this was just a rant I felt like writing after learning about the contents of the newest Fairy Tail chapter, but I still think I made a point in all this. I really just want to point out that a good female character doesn't have to be sexy, nor does it mean a good female character can't be sexy. A great character is developed out of their actions, and if you make your female character a slut, there's no good that's going to come out of that (see Gainax's Panty and Stocking anime), nor does having a man have sex with a lot of female characters doesn't make him "manly" nor does it do anything good for the image of females in your creative work. Develop a character out of their actions, make us love the character out of what they do and who they are; if that character happens to be female, that's fine, if she happens to ooze with sex appeal, that's fine too, just treat her with respect. That's all I ask.

Thoughts on Soul Eater

Experience: chapter 1 - volume 9; with knowledge of mid-chapters; currently reading the later arcs

Soul Eater is a manga that I want to love, but just can't.

The most impressive aspect of SE is also its most obvious: the art. Ohkubo's art may not be impressive in terms of detail but its style is nearly unrivaled. The way Ohkubo tells his story through his stylish art is a site to behold and has always been what attracted me to the manga. Ohkubo's character and monster designs are also very cool as well as scary, and they have only improved as time has gone on.

The other impressive aspect of the manga coincides with the amazing art: the themes. SE's main theme is madness, and it is the central aspect of the story throughout the manga. In fact, one could argue that the manga is more about the theme of madness than the actual characters. Regardless, the focus of the story around the theme of madness really gives SE a very unique aura to it, and gives the story a really original flavor.

However, SE has one central problem: the characters. The characters in SE aren't very compelling or interesting, with Maka and Crona being the exceptions. Sure, character like Soul, Black Star and Death the Kid have unique quirks that make them funny at times, but when it comes time for them to be compelling and emotional, it isn't very effective, because we haven't really connected much to the characters. Then there's Tsubaki and the Thompson Sisters, who barely get any attention and just feel there to be weapons to the meisters and not much else. Ohkubo does try to take time to give every character some development, but it doesn't always work out. In the end, Maka and Crona are the main focuses of the story, which coincides with the theme of madness, as they both represent the two sides of madness.

There's a lot to enjoy in Soul Eater, but its mainly for the art rather than the story, but that's not to say the story is bad. As SE got into its latter volumes (14 and on) the story gets more and more dark; comedy is a rare occurance and the situations get more and more grim. The end result is a big contrast to the earlier, more balanced chapters. This can be seen as a good or bad thing depending on who the reader is, but I found it to be a poor choice, especially for the character of Crona, who began as a dark yet quirky character, but soon became a dark and depressing figure.

In the end, I'm thinking about dropping Soul Eater, as it is becoming less and less enjoyable to read with each coming week. It's still a manga to be respected, as the art is better than ever and the themes of madness are still in full effect, but the characters never really improve and the dark tones make reading the manga kinda uncomfortable (at least me, who prefers light-hearted stories).

My Thoughts on Fairy Tail

Experience: Chapter 1 - middle of volume 10.

I don't get Fairy Tail. I always see very vocal fans and I see that it sells pretty well, but I just don't get where its popularity comes from. I find everything about the manga to be mediocre; nothing is terrible, but nothing is great either. My guess is that its popularity comes from people who want a shonen manga to read but don't like or either dropped One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, or Fullmetal Alchemist; thus, they find Fairy Tail and just kinda settle. I know that's pretty harsh, but after reading through 9 volumes, I just found myself unsatisfied by the content and annoyed by the fact that other manga do the shonen genre better.

Well, first off, let's begin with what I like about the manga. I like Erza. She is a great character. From her older sister attitude towards the other guild members, her awesome magic ability (and the cool armor designs there-of), to the fact that she is the strongest character in the guild, and her actually good backstory; Erza is leagues better than every other character in the manga, who are all just OK. And that's about it. Erza is the only great thing I have to say about the manga.

Everything else is mediocre. The art, the character design, the story, the backstories, the action, etc. FT can manage to have some emotional moments, but most just come across as trying too hard; Hiro doesn't take enough time to establish the characters for them to be really effective. The action is probably the best of the mediocre material, as it can be drawn pretty well; the only problem is that the action in FT revolves around magic, and it just never feels difficult for the characters, as they rarely put much of themselves into the combat, its mostly the magic; Erza is an exception to this rule due to her armor ability.

Something that may be giving FT a decent edge with the competition is that it contains the most fanservice of the action shonen manga out there. It's everywhere, and its not played up for laughs, its there for the ecchi. Though, the fanservice content should come as no surprise to anyone who read Hiro's previous series: Rave Master. Personally, I find the fanservice to be quite unnecessary; it's also the type of fanservice I don't like where men are constantly ogling the women.

I also find the general content of the manga to be pretty childish. Most shonen manga I've read bring up serious and mature themes and messages in their stories, such as racism in One Piece, segregation in Naruto, and lawful evil in Bleach, but FT just never feels like it's stories have messages to tell, as they're more based around the characters and their feelings. The results are stories that feel very small in scope and effectiveness.

The end result is: Fairy Tail is a very casual manga. I can see how it can be popular, as it doesn't do anything poorly, but it really doesn't have any great strengths either.

My Thoughts on Bleach

Experience: chapter 1 to middle of Arrancar Arc.

From the beginning of Bleach to the end of the Soul Society arc is some of the best manga I've ever read, and is a superb example of stylish, shonen action brilliance. After that, things were cool for a bit, but then the pacing of the story just got way to slow, and Kubo wanted you to care too much about the characters. The great thing about the Soul Society arc was that it was based in a strong foundation and grew in intensity over time until its strong conclusion. The Arrancar arc didn't build nearly enough foundation in its beginning and instead went pretty crazy right from the start. This combined with poor pacing results in my main problem with Bleach after the Soul Society arc: Bleach takes forever to say nothing.

It's easy to go through around 5 chapters without anything truly significant occurring in Bleach, and that;s what hurt it. The great pacing of the Soul Society arc where we were slowly introduced to new characters and showed who these characters were was gone, and instead, Bleach just became an action manga of mediocre caliber.

However, what I can say about Bleach that I have always held in high regard is its art. Tite Kubo is a very talented artist who creates some truly amazing character designs, and to make it even better, the characters Kubo creates are often very interesting. Kubo is also very good in displaying his art and story in a really stylish and poetic way; an execution only rivaled by Ohkubo's Soul Eater series. Kubo really shows manga as an art form in a stylish way; maybe not to the same effect as Vagabond's art, but in its own way.

Before I dropped Bleach, I found myself wishing that he would take a long break and really think his story through so that it wasn't so incoherent all the time, or perhaps have a partner do the story so that he could focus on the art.

Bleach has begun its fall from grace at this point, so I can only imagine that the series got worse after the Arrancar arc. It's a real shame, because its easy to see that Bleach had a lot of potential.

My Thoughts on Naruto

Experience: Chapter 1 - beginning of Sound Five arc. I know most of the story through friends and Naruto Storm games.

I'm going to start out by saying what I usually say when people ask me "what do you think of Naruto?": Naruto has it's moments. That's what comes to mind every time. There are many moments in the Naruto manga that I found to be pretty memorable and impactful; however, these moments were usually surrounded by less than stellar or boring moments.

To start off, I'll talk about the art. Kishimoto can draw some pretty cool looking and scary monsters, as well as some artistic splash pages, and can create interesting perspectives to battles. Aside from that, I have to the art is pretty mediocre. Character designs, while varied, lack detail and many characters look really similar to others. Overall, the art can be pretty distracting at first, but you get used to its quality. Its unfortunate the Kishimoto's never really improved over time, as I would've liked to see his art more refined and detailed.

When it comes to Naruto, my main problem with the series is how disappointed I am with Kishimoto for not utilizing the story to its potential. At its heart, Naruto has a great tale of acceptance and friendship, but it's muddled and basically ruined by the comedy and large cast Kishimoto employs in the first half, and the shift in focus to Sasuke in the second half. If Naruto's story was more focused on Naruto and the critical people around him, such as Jaraiya, Tsunade, Iruka, Pain, and Gaara, the story could be much more concise and effective, imo. That's not to say we didn't get some good moments out of the way the story is now, but if a lot of the fluff was cut out of it, I think Naruto could have been a much more emotionally impactful series with consistent emotional moments instead of one every other arc. Focus. It's focus that Naruto truly needed to be great, instead, it feels as if it was fueled more by the fanbase than Kishimoto's own input.

Overall, I think Naruto is a decent series that started out pretty well despite mediocre art, a few weak characters (Sakura), and some inconsistant pacing, but after the superb Sound Five Arc, things just fell apart due to a severe loss of focus. The original heart of Naruto as a story of acceptance and friendship in a mystical world, just started trying way to hard to impress its fanbase and try to be something different. There's a mature story in the heart of Naruto, but we don't see it except for some brief moments throughout the series. Like I said, Naruto has its moments, but you have to rough it through a lot to get to these moments.

My Thoughts on One Piece

To start out this series, I'm just gonna go with convention and write my thoughts on the big three of One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach. And I'll start with my favorite of the three: One Piece.

Experience: Chapter 1 - current.

I love One Piece. It's easily one of the most influential stories I've ever experienced. This is really thanks to the sheer scope of the story OP tells, and that's really what I love most about OP: it's epic.

Eiichiro Oda has truly crafted an incredible world. What's great is just how believable the world is. Unlike many other shonen which tend to make up rules as they go along, OP sets its rules very early on and sticks to those rules throughout the story. The result is a world that is almost a character itself. The main cast interacts with this world and the rules it contains; in fact, much of the conflict of the story revolves around the main cast conflicting with the rules of the world.

I won't go deep into the main cast, because that would just take too long. Simply put, the cast is superb, and over the course of the series, they really become a family and you can see that camaraderie between them; after all, at its core, OP is a story of friendship. I really like the way the crew is like a family, as it creates a bond much stronger than those seen in other shonens where the characters are usually split into antagonizing positions like rivals, or just a love interest for later. In OP, each member can be described as a member of the family; for example, Franky is the eldest brother of the group, Chopper is the youngest brother, Zoro and Sanji are the bickering older brothers, and Nami is the wise yet rambunctious middle sister who gets annoyed by her brothers' antics and finds solice in the calm personality of her older sister (Robin). And it all revolves around Luffy in the middle as the middle brother. It all works out great within the confines of the story and makes the emotional moments of the story even greater.

And that's really what defines One Piece the best: emotion. OP is an emotional roller coaster where the reader will laugh, cry, and burn with passionate excitement. It's incredible how Oda manages to balance comedy and tragedy so well within the story. And, as of this writing, One Piece is the only manga/anime that has made me cry, and not just once but many, many times. Nami's backstory is forever burned into my memory because of how impactful its story was for me. I find Nami, Robin, Chopper, and Franky's backstories particularly powerful, but everyone's is superb, even the shorter ones like Zoro and Usopps.

What's great is how the emotion of OP isn't found only in the backstories of the characters, but rather we get a lot of emotion throughout the story, and this is mainly thanks to the strong subject material the adventures of the Straw Hats take them through. the Skypeia Arc dealt not only with segregation, but also the concept of God and what God means to people. The recent Fishman Island arc dealt strongly with racism in a very realistic and powerful way. At the end of the day, OP isn't interesting just for the main cast, but its surprisingly powerful story, which has many themes that reflect real-world problems. When all is said and done, OP will be remembered for its impactful story.

The art in One Piece is usually hit or miss with many people; I love it. I find it very expressive, which makes it superbly effective when portraying the powerful emotions from the characters, from sadness to happiness. A criticism that often pops up is how Oda draws women. Once again, I love it. Yes, all of the attractive women have the same general body type, but Oda does a great job at making them stand out from eachother with unique clothing, hair, and little touches, all while keeping them pretty sexy in appearance. This criticism doesn't come up too much mainly because there just aren't many women in One Piece, heh. As far as the other characters go; it's just superb. All the characters look very distinct from body type to clothing. Oda's monsters are also quite impressive, and the best I've seen since Dragonball.

OK. So what don't I like about OP? Well, it's actually only three things. The first thing is more of criticism: I wish Oda would give more attention to some of the other crew members more. Now, this isn't really a good criticism because the other crew members do continue to get face-time and battles, but its still not as balanced as I'd hope it'd be. Some more love towards characters like Franky, Nami, and Robin would be nice, but it could be difficult to do without hurting the story pacing, so its understandable. OP is very much Luffy's story, so he's the focus. In the end, it all works out, but for fans of specific characters, their favorite may not get as much spotlight as they want (like me with Robin and Franky). My second point my only complaint with the series: the fanservice. Oda cannot pull off fanservice without it coming across as forced and awkward. Personally, I think Oda is forced by his editors or pressure from the fanbase to include fanservice in the story, because, for one thing, there really isn't much fanservice in OP at all (maybe like 3 or 4 moments in the whole series), and whenever it occurs, its always breif and awkward, usually played for laughs. It's a small complaint, but its one that gets brought up whenever I think of things that annoy me in OP.

The third point is a character: Boa Hancock. Now, Boa is a pretty cool character in many ways, and has a good amount of depth to her character despite being a side character; however, her crush on Luffy is probably the only thing in OP I'd say is poor writing. It just feels forced and makes Boa feel like a weaker character because of it. I know its mainly played up for laughs, but when she was going to sacrifice herself for Luffy during the war, that was just going too far, imo. Its not a huge story point, and, like I said, its mainly played for laughs, but I think its a trait that hurts a character that could've been very cool and respecful; not she just feels like a strange mix of annoying and cool.

So, with that out of the way, OP is a manga that only continues to impress as it continues. The story just gets better and better with each new arc, the art continues to improve, and world and characters continue to expand more and more. One Piece is an incredible manga, and one that I say truly deserves all of the sales it recieves and is not over-rated in the slightest. With that said, I can understand how some people can dislike OP, main for unique art style (which isn't "cool" like most manga these days), but I hope everyone can at least respect it for what it has accomplished as a manga.

Thoughts on Anime/Manga - Intro

OK. I'm going to try to start another series of blog posts where I give my thoughts on specific manga and anime. This post is an introduction to this series. To introduce this series, I will simply explain my tastes in manga and anime. Overall, I'm a very casual reader/watcher. I basically read/watch what catches my eye, and if I'm interested by the first chapter/episode, I give the series around 10 chapters/4 episodes before deciding if I'll read the series. Of course, this doesn't mean I won't drop the series later on. This is my basic process when approaching new manga/anime. Now, I'm going to bring up my specific tastes which dictate what I read/watch:

 - I'm a shonen lover, but I'm open to other genres. I love shonen manga/anime. I love the more simpler stories, focus on characters, over-the-top action, and cliches that come with the genre. I've got nothing against manga that try to eschew the cliches, but I've got nothing against the typical shonen heroes, or how they always come back after getting beaten down; it's a formula that's been effective for decades, so why change it? I will say that some of the cliches of shonen manga/anime do annoy me, however. For example, it's hard to find a strong female protagonist in shonen manga, and some of the fanservice in shonen manga can get annoying and feel childish. But, if there's one thing I've learned over the years of reading/watching manga/anime it's that you have to take the good with the bad, as there is no perfect series, especially for a picky consumer like myself.

 - I really don't like sex and violence in manga/anime. I'm 23 years-old, but that doesn't mean I like adult themes in my entertainment. Sex and violence are the two things I will not tolerate when choosing a manga/anime to get into. Even if I love the concept, the art, or the story; if it deals with too many adult themes, I just can't enjoy it. I read/watch manga/anime to have fun, first and foremost. I like a serious venture every now and then, but never dealing with risque, adult themes. I know I'm missing out on a fair amount of good series by feeling this way, but I can;t get past it, not do I want to. After all, I shouldn't have to grit my teeth and bear it if I don't want to.

 - Going off of the previous point: I like my manga/anime light-hearted and fun. Sure, I'll read the occassional Deathnote or watch Madoka Magica, but for the most part, I like my shonens and comedies. I have very few exceptions to this rule. Even if a series is superb, I just can't enjoy it if the subject matter is too serious or gratuitous (see Vagabond or Berserk). This is why I prefer shonens, comedies, and slice-of-life manga/anime.

 - Fanservice is a touchy subject with me. By that I mean there is fanservice I like and fanservice I hate; however, I don't need fanservice to enjoy a series (and to note, by fanservice I mean sexy female characters, beach episodes, etc.). To put it simply: the fanservice I'm OK with is the kind where the fanservice is for the viewer only; for example, in One Piece right now, Nami wears a bikini top all the time, but it's never really pointed out much, thus it is fanservice for the reader and not for the characters in the manga. The fanservice I don't like is the opposite of that, where the fanservice is continuously pointed out by the character(s) in the manga/anime; for an example, see every harem manga/anime ever. Now I am a hypocrite when it comes to this subject, as I have to problems with the latter example, if its a female character noticing another female character. This leads into my next point...

But first, I want to quickly evaluate how I see fanservice in manga and anime since it will no doubt come up when I present my thoughts on Queen's Blade and Strike Witches. Basically, I see fanservice as a stylish element in manga/anime. To me, fanservice is right there alongside giant lasers, long, flowing scarfs, and battle auras; it's there to be cool, assuming its pulled off well. I don't care if a female character is dressed provacatively or has large breasts, as long as it's all pulled off in a stylish fashion as opposed to a perverse fashion, then I like it. For example, in Strike Witches, none of the women in the world wear pants; it's a clear element of fanservice, but it fits into the world setting well and is something never even brought up by any of the characters in the anime male or female; as a result, the fact that the characters are basically providing infinite panty shots, it comes across as stylish as its part of the design. This is opposed by, say, Lucy Heartfellia in Fairy Tail, who constantly flaunts her breasts in order to get people to do what she wants; this type of fanservice isn't stylish, imo, because it comes across more as a perverse element in the story/world that hurts Lucy's character; the fanservice involving Lucy is there as a cheap way for the magaka to present fanservice, rather than providing fanservice in a more stylish way, such as the character of Erza who switches between different armors in a provocative fashion, but still in a stylish way.

Also, when it comes to general "sexy" female character design; I'm not one of the people who bring up things like: "oh, that body type is impossible", or "that's just ridiculous". Honestly, I don't care. These characters are fake, and very few anime try to portray real life in a realistic manner; thus, I say that artists can make characters as "ridiculous" looking as they want. From the enormous breasts of Cattleya in Queen's Blade to the bursting muscles of Kenshiro in Fist of the North Star. Artists can do whatever they want as long as they respect their subject material; by which I mean, don't turn an anime/manga, even an ecchi anime/manga, into porn. What happens in porn should stay in porn, don't bring it into entertainment. Of course, there can be poor character designs, like when a female character has large breasts just for the sake of having them, but Japan is usually good about their character designs, and it all works out in the end. Of course, this doesn;t necessarily mean I like the anime/manga, but I'm not going to go out of my way to complain about a busty female character. This thought pattern applies to videogames as well (it's getting annoying how many people are complaining about the Amazon and Sorceress' character designs in Dragon's Crown).

This all may come across as hypocritical or maybe just stupid to some, but that's just how I see fanservice. I actually hate how most is presented in manga/anime, but there are some series that have a lot of fanservice that I really enjoy. I don;t think I'm hypocritical, but I posted this reasoning so to hopefully clear up a few points that may come later.

- I am a yuri fanboy. I love yuri in all its forms: shipping, subtext, canon, etc. I will look into a series simply because it has the possibility of yuri subtext (see Soul Eater Not!). However, I don't read/watch anything with yuri, as many yuri manga are pretty serious in tone and often end in tragedy, and like I said before, I read/watch manga/anime to have fun, so if I don't leave a story with a smile on my face it's not worth my time, imo. I prefer light-hearted or comedic yuri stories. Also, a story doesn't need yuri for me to enjoy it; that's what yuri goggles are for anyway, heh. As for why I like yuri, it's simply because I find it to be beautiful both visually and thematically. Also, I feel that heterosexual romances severely lack emotion and believability in stories these days (manga, anime, movies, etc.) and often feel very tacked on and unneccecary. Yuri romances and relationships, on the other hand, feel much more believable and romantic, imo.

And those are all the main points I can think of at the moment; more of my specific tastes are bound to show up in my future posts. So, yeah, if my tastes are the opposite of your own, you probably shouldn't really bother reading my coming posts, which will almost all be on shonen/comedy manga and anime.

These coming posts will be short to medium length, and just psuedo-reviews of series I've read completely or enough to point that I feel I know enough to give my thoughts on it. The posts will just be my thoughts stated in a casual manner since I'm getting sick of the formal reviews I've been doing lately. I think my opinion will get across better in a casual way than a formal one.

My Top 5 Biggest Influences

I don't really do much myself. I don't draw much, nor do I right much, but I do think a lot. I know that doesn't really count for much, especially in an artistic perspective, but through my thinking my outlook on the things I enjoy and what I have to expect from these enjoyments has been influenced by many people, places, and art. In this blog post, I'm going to list my top 5 biggest influences on my outlook, which in turn effects the way I view the forms of art I focus on and how I judge new forms of art.

NOTE: By "art" I mean things like movies, pieces of art, pieces of music, theatre, videogames, etc. Also, don't expect anything to sophisticated from my list; after all, I'm not a very learned person.

5) Cowboy Bebop - whenever I say something is cool, stylish, or original, I am comparing it to the benchmark that is Cowboy Bebop. The visuals, the characters, the stories, the music, and the animation of this anime was truly ahead of its time, and, imo, still is to this day. There has yet to be any anime (or other art medium for that matter) that can match Cowboy Bebop in it's execution of style across all the senses. Cowboy Bebop is also a great example of style, as it is also very sophisticated in its execution, and never resorts to vulgarities to other "hip" modern mannerisms to be cool; rather it became its own being, and stood on its own two feet. The result was a style that was not only cool but garnered respect from the viewer, and that it the best type of style.

4) One Piece - to this day, One Piece remains the only manga to make me cry, and I don't mean get misty-eyed, I mean cry. One Piece is a story of emotion, and it is expressed so masterfully by mangaka Eiichiro Oda's unique art style, which conveys every emotional scene whether it be comedic or tragic with such power that it is neevr unclear as to what the characters are feeling, and as a result, the reader knows exactly what to feel as well. It is this strength in the conveying and execution of emotion that makes One Piece such a powerful story, and it remains the benchmark of the art of expressing emotions through just hand-drawn art and words.

3) Yasunori Mitsuda - specifically, his musical work in videogames and in freelance pieces, such as Kirite and Sailing of the World. Mitsuda's music in Chrono Trigger was the first time I can say a musical piece really touched me and made me "feel" without any need for visual or story accompaniment. Then I played Chrono Cross, which has, imo, the best soundtrack in any videogame to date. The strength of his works lie not simply in the beauty his pieces have, but the way they stand alone as beautiful pieces of art. Mitsuda's music alone paints a picture in the listener's head, and the power of that experience is very impactful. There are many great composers in the world, but I feel that none have produced music that has touched me quite like the compositions of Yasunori Mitsuda, and thus Mitsuda's music has created the benchmark for just how powerful music without reliance on any other factors.

2) The Legend of Zelda (A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and The Wind Waker) - A Link to the Past was the first videogame I ever played that truly immersed me into it's world and character, and I will never forget my time playing it. It's truly the first time I felt the factor of immersion with an art medium (not just a videogame), and this feeling was only amplified further with Ocarina of Time, which is the first game that had me in awe as I played it, and the first time I really felt immersed in a fictional world. These four games showed me what immersion truly is and that such a feeling is not limited to just books and movies as many adults want kids to believe.

1) The Films of Hayao Miyazaki - aside from the simple life experiences we all go through in our lives, nothing has influenced my artistic and philosophical outlook on life as much as the films of Miyazaki have. Even to this day, these films continue to influence me and make me rethink my outlook on life not just as a fan of art, but as a person. These films fill me not only with wonder and excitement, but fear and understanding. From the charming fairy tale of Ponyo, to the dark and scary world of Princess Mononoke, and the adult world of Porco Rosso; Miyazaki's films have forged so many ideals of life within my psyche that it's no contest that they are the number one influence of my outlooks, on both art mediums and life. The sights, the sounds, the creativity, the stories, and the experiences we have along the way; I wouldn't trade them for anything.

America: the land of crime, arrogance, and women ... according to manga

(NOTE: I am by no means claiming the manga artists I'm going to mention, nor Japanese people in general, are racist. This is just a fun little blog about things I notice about how Americans, and America in general, are portrayed in manga I've read).

OK. So, if you read a lot of Shonen manga, you may have come across some characters that are American, and you may have noticed that these characters are probably some of the most different characters in their respective manga. In this post, I'm going to talk about American characters in Shaman King, Soul Eater, and Eyeshield 21; and address the stereotypes and cliches apparent with those characters. However, this is by no means a rage topic; it's just that these stereotypes of America and the people there are something I can't help but notice, and I just feel like talking about them because I find some of the stereotypes a bit funny and others just comically insulting.

Well, let us begin with Shaman King and the character of Joco (Chocolav in Japan), who is African-American and hails from New York City. Joco is a great character, but its his past that I find just very cliche (despite, admittedly having some truth to it). You see Joco lives in the ghetto and his house was broken into on Christmas Eve where his parents were murdered when he was about 8 years-old. Afterwards, Joco becomes the ruthless leader of a gang with his fellow black gangster members. Now, it is important to note here that Joco is still only 14 years old here. Why? Because its ridiculous! You got this 14 year-old kid terrorizing people with a freakin' gun, and on top of all this, he murders a man. Not just any man though; nope. Joco murders an upper-class white-man on his way home on Christmas Eve with presents. What's Joco's reason for killing him? To quote Joco himself: "I hate Christmas".

OK. So yeah, what's the problem here? Well, it's not the actual story, which is tragic, and Joco's pain is understandable. My problem, however, is simply this: Joco is the one black character in Shaman King, which contains a wide variety of multi-ethnic characters. But why did Takei (Shaman King's mangaka) have to give the one black character the most cliched "black guy" story ever!?! I mean, it covers all of the bases: he lives in New York, he lives in the ghetto, his parents are the victims of murder, he becomes a gangster (fully decked out with a gun and leather jacket) as a teenager, and he murders a guy by shooting him. It just feels like Takei just said: "OK. I've got a black character. What kind of story can I give him? Well, I'll base him in New York, that place is full of black people. NY is also full of crime, so I'll make his story revolve around that. And since he's black I'll put him in a gang. Yeah! This is perfect. It'll really help show the cultural background of New York and the black people who live there." I know, I know; that was harsh. And I'm sure Takei didn't have that thought process. I just find Joco's story so cliched, and, as a result, kinda funny. I mean is that all mangaka think New York has? Lower-class black people, upper-class white people, and crime? I mean, c'mon, don;t be so short-sighted; even if there is some truth in his story. Oh, and everything turns out good for Joco in the end, even if he does get his just desserts when he is killed by the children of the man he killed.

This leads to the next story: Liz and Patty's past in the manga Soul Eater. This one is shorter but no less cliched. Liz and Patty hail from the Bronx in New York, where their mother was a prostitute, gave birth to Liz and Patty and abandoned them in the streets. Liz and Patty grow up as criminals who terrorize the city and take what they please thanks to their powers. So, yeah, once again we have mangaka focusing on the absolute worst in American society. Why did Liz and Patty have to be the daughters of a prostitute? Why couldn't they have been abandoned by a rich family, or maybe just lost their parents to illness at a young age? Oh well, at least Liz and Patty aren't black too.

What I'm getting at here is simply to ask: why do these two mangaka focus on just the worst parts of American society? I rarely see any back-stories like the ones above for other characters. I mean, every place in the world has crime and prostitution; so why only give such terrible back-stories to American characters? Are the only things these mangaka, or maybe even the general public in Japan or the rest of the world, think about when America is mentioned is stuff like crime, gangs, guns, and prostitution? I'm sure there are characters in other manga that have bad backgrounds and aren't from America, but those probably aren't Shonen manga for a young audience like Shaman King and Soul Eater are. So why give such grim stories to Americans? Is that who you think we are? Are we a bunch of gangsters and badasses?

I'm not going to answer my questions. I'm just trying to make a point.

Well, with crime and deviance out of the way, lets move onto how Americans act. In Eyeshield 21, there is a football team of American players. The coach of this team is arrogant, upper-class, and racist. He looks down and verbally abuses the one black player on the team (who also happens to be from the ghetto of New York), has a pride so big its thrown in your face, and he is constantly preaching about the superiority of the "white man" over the Japanese. His personality is just so in your face that it's impossible to ignore. It really comes off a very strange, especially considering no other character acts the way he does; well, except for another American character. This other American character is a black professional football player in the NFL who wears tons of "bling", is stinkin' rich, and always has women around his arms. This is another situation where is just makes me say: "Really? Really!?!". Do you think Americans have no dignity? That we have no respect for our fellow human being? That we are arrogant and believe ourselves to be superior? I mean, sure, like the other examples above, there is some truth to the situation, but do you really need to show Americans this way? If so, why? Are you trying to antagonize us? The main characters all have a deep respect for the other teams, both before and after games, so why is the American team antagonized.

But, wait, there's more! At the end of the series, the main team goes up against another American team. This time there is no antagonizing coach; rather, the players are the ones who are just cliched messes. First off, our introduction to the American team is done in a strip club. Why are a bunch of 16 year-olds in a strip club? Because this is America! And we do whatever the f*%# we want! But, seriously, this scene was just weird, and felt so forced in creating this image of what Americans were like. Oh, and one of the members of this American team is the president's son and always has women around his arms.

Overall, it just feels like the mangaka of Eyeshield 21 is just antagonizing Americans; even if not everyone on the team is made to look bad. I just find it strange how Americans get portrayed in this manga. The same goes for the American women. There are several strong, independent Japanese women in Eyeshield 21; so why are the women of America nothing but objects. They're either wrapped around the arms of some big, strong man or just there to be all "Look! Hot American women!". Why? Why make America look like this?

Well, on that note, I guess I can move onto appearances. This doesn't come from any particular manga, but just things I see in general in manga/anime. First off, when showing someone from America, it's easiest to show a black person for some reason. It's not like there's an entire freakin' continent full of black-skinned people. Also, at least in Eyeshiled 21, black men are big, muscular, and just superior athletes (Oh! And black people have huge packages too). American women, well, they're all blonde and busty, of course. It's just how we breed 'em here I guess.

Like the other topics I discussed; I can see a basis for where the mangaka are coming from. And its not as if we Americans don't forge our ideas of what people look like in other countries based upon stereotypes either. It's just that I'd expect a little better from mangaka who are making such pieces of art.

The things I've mentioned in this post I don't see as a bad thing; like I said, it's pretty understandable where their coming from. It just feels like Americans are objectified a lot as "bad people" and our society "bad". Sure, we've got crime, especially in our major cities, but it's not like the mangaka have to focus on cities like New York as a home for their American characters; America is a big country. Then again, that just may result in a character from Texas; most likely a character like Tina from Dead or Alive.

So, where is this all leading to? No where really. I mean, I could go on for a while more if I brought up Americans in videogames. I just noticed this ... I wouldn't call it a trend, but just a sparsely-used foundation for American characters in manga. I just hope mangaka understand that there are other ways to portray that a character is from America without making them black, blonde, or busty.