A few days ago we reported that the bus company Mie Kotsu in Japan had become involved in a controversy with feminists by announcing the release of two anime characters that would serve as their official mascots. It is about a man and a woman, but it was the design of the latter that attracted criticism from women.
It turns out that the feminist community was upset by the fact that the girl’s design “shows her as a sexual object and she is the only one with a suggestive pose.” Unfortunately, these types of controversies usually result in the victory of women by achieving the cancellation of the project against which they rose up.but it seems that Mie Kotsu is not a company that this group can break.
This is the first time Mie Kotsu has created official anime characters. From January 26 to 29 of this year, the company invited its users to propose the names that their young representatives will wear in bus driver uniforms.also offering a reward of 50 thousand yen to whoever proposes the names that are selected.
What was the company’s response to this controversy? On February 2, Mie Kotsu issued an official statement informing: «We are aware of the various opinions we have received, but there will be no changes for this campaign», and even the buses with the signs of these characters are already in operation.
This “don’t bend” attitude has given fans back hope in the anime industry.who hope that more companies will begin to ignore the poorly founded criticism of feminists in Japan:
- «It is always wise to ignore criticism from people who are not even users of your services. What’s wrong with the character in the first place?».
- «This seems good to me. Whenever the group is against your project, you should think about whether they use the service you offer.».
- «It was interesting to see the feminists even start editing the girl’s design to “bring it up to their standards” and then start praising her with her new design. However, the action of editing a copyrighted image is a crime in itself.».
- «The male character is indeed attractive and has a good body, but do you see any men complaining about this?».
- «I ask myself this all the time, but what is the point of criticizing a two-dimensional character? It is a world of fantasy and imagination».
- «I feel that change is in process, more and more companies are ignoring the requests of this group».
- «I feel like an old man from the Showa era who has to say something when he sees a young girl a little too exposed.».
Fountain: Otakomu
