Earlier this month, an article was published in China noting that the “Sousou no Frieren (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End)”, which has an anime adaptation currently in production, constitutes “an offense to the women of the world”becoming a trend immediately.
The text begins by stating that “Among new anime productions in Japan, ‘Sousou no Freiren’ is one of the most popular and has received many positive comments for its excellent production team and rich content. Currently, the film’s rating on Douban (豆瓣) (a Chinese film and drama information website) is 9.5 (out of 10), making it the dominant anime of this year.“, and then refers to the problems that production has suffered recently.
According to the text, there are scenes in the play that make fun of women’s breasts, and some readers and viewers have said that they do not feel that the play respects them. Some have also said that the two female leads flirt with the male characters. Although some women have expressed their agreement with these views, saying that they are sexist, the text also states that, in addition to this work, 90% of Japanese anime and manga present this phenomenon.and that famous works are no exception and this has become a kind of tradition.
Some Internet users reject this idea saying: «In the series, there is a character who can use his clairvoyance ability, and when he applies it on a male character, he makes fun of the size of his penis. It is not logical to say that making fun of a woman’s body is disrespectful to women, while making fun of a man’s body is a funny scene. It’s a double standard, right?».
And they add: «In my opinion, today’s viewers are bored. They insult trivial things and are always creating controversies about culture, society, lack of respect for women and discrimination. First of all, isn’t watching anime for pleasure? Sensitive people should not watch Japanese anime or manga. In the eyes of these people, any work of art will only be seen as racist.».
The original text also states that “the protagonist wears a skirt and tights, but even this is said to be to satisfy male fans“. However, Internet users themselves point out that If making a protagonist wear a skirt and tights is a sexist point of view, what about women’s freedom of clothing?
Finally, they add: «I know it sounds bad, but some Internet users would do well to watch children’s series like Peppa Pig or Paw Patrol. This way they will not feel offended by the productions. The characters in the movies are not human, so they will not encounter any type of discrimination».
And it was clear that this article was not going to go unnoticed by Japanese Internet users, who expressed opinions such as:
- «Exact! There are both jokes about the size of Frieren’s breasts and the size of Stark’s penis, what’s the problem?».
- «I have the image that the otaku community in China, although as bad as that of Japan, does not take criticism seriously because there is great political control over the Internet».
- «The weirdos that used to crop up in Kimetsu no Yaiba are going to find somewhere else to make things difficult, so why not ignore them this time too? They’ll keep saying it and they won’t remember tomorrow anyway.».
- «Both sides are being dominated by extremists. It’s not good, but it’s also a story, the subtleties of which can only be shared between the parties involved, so it’s not suitable for the Internet, although most of the time that’s put into context in the content.».
- «I don’t know where those ‘scenes making fun of women’s breasts’ or ‘two female protagonists flirting with male characters’ are.».
- «The wave of polycolorism spreads correctly in China».
- «It is a sign of a popular work that unintelligent people come to give their opinion».
- «All these kinds of things to creative works are somewhat acceptable. I’m a big boob hater, and I’m worried about the unexpected number of girls who believe larger boobs are “normal.” Complex businesses like plastic surgery are more harmful than cartoons».
- «When a work becomes famous, it is inevitable that more and more people want to say a few words about it/the content, but you are right that they have free time».
- «Calling insignificant things insults and always making a fuss about culture, society, female abandonment and discrimination. Sensitive minds should not watch Japanese anime and manga. In the eyes of these people, any work of art will only be seen as racist.».
- «I sincerely hope that the representation of female characters concerned about the size of their breasts decreases from this world. I don’t want such a curse imposed on me from a young age. The same goes for baldness.».
- «Regardless of racism, there is nothing funny or interesting about stories about breast size.».
- «I honestly think you’re missing the point in some places, but it’s a good thing that people still dislike messing with physical features, because it’s a very outdated shounen manga bad habit that needs to end. I think it would affect the Japanese a lot if manga became taboo.».
- «This anime stands out for its discriminatory expressions regarding appearance (breasts, hair on the head, male genitalia). But the quality of the other parts of the anime is too high, so maybe it’s just that these parts stand out. If it was KonoSuba or something, people wouldn’t say that every time».
- «Honestly, it’s an unnecessary scene and I think it would be more in keeping with the character if Frieren didn’t even worry about the size of her breasts. I would like to know the author’s intentions there.».
Fountain: Yaraon!
