AniFem Round-Up
The Fractured and Famous: Celebrity culture and control in Perfect Blue
Priya Sridhar explores how Perfect Blue’s depiction of toxic fan culture and industry abuse still resonates today, both in Japan and the United States.
On Your Side: Support networks in March comes in like a lion
Lion is famed for its moving depictions of recovery from depression; Marion Bea highlights how the show’s focus on support networks is crucial to its story.
What’s the best anime ending theme of the last decade?
It’s only fair given the attention we paid to opening themes a few weeks back.
Beyond AniFem
Report: Quinton Flynn’s Wife May Be Using Fake Twitter Accounts To Discredit Abuse Allegations (The Gamer, Bella Blondeau)
The Kingdom Hearts voice actor has been accused by multiple women of using his fame to sexually prey on and manipulate fans.
At risk of sounding “assumptive,” as Samantha would put it, I do believe some details are worth noting here. First, Flynn and Samantha both seem willing to attack people’s disabilities in order to defend Flynn from claims of abuse. Second, it seems highly likely that either Samantha or Flynn are willing to publicly doxx accusers. Third, two of the claims being made on Rebecca Abbott’s blog are easily debunked. Fourth, those claims are internally consistent with the way Flynn has dismissed women as “crazy” in the past. Fifth, the account I believe to be Samantha has indicated that the accusers are “crazy bitches” who are jealous of her marriage, which seems to directly contradict Chloe’s interactions with Flynn.
What is interesting about all of this, to me, is that Flynn himself has still made no statement whatsoever. He briefly locked his Twitter account, but has since unlocked it. As either him or his wife (or both) continue to use proxy accounts to discredit and shame victims of Flynn’s alleged abuse, this silence feels particularly ill-advised. However, when confronted with allegations in the past, his response has largely been the same: deflection.
Japan’s livestock thefts and struggling foreign workers: Vietnam interns’ reality (Pt. 2) (The Mainichi, Hinako Kikuchi, Naomichi Senoo, Maebashi Bureau, and Yuki Nakagawa)
Part two of an article series about the recent theft of cattle by several technical trainee interns, detailing the job’s unlivable conditions.
Many Vietnamese technical intern trainees come from poor agrarian villages. They move to Japan hoping to make their families’ lives a little easier, and pay huge amounts in fees to firms that will dispatch them to this country. Advisories from the Vietnamese government say that the cost for three years must be no more than $3,600 — about 380,000 yen — but the fees are padded due to intervention by unscrupulous agents and other actors. As a result, there are countless cases of Vietnamese nationals coming to Japan while shouldering debts of around 1 million yen (about $9,585).
With wages after tax coming to a little over 100,000 yen (about $960), and costs from rent, other living expenses and money they send home, many Vietnamese technical intern trainees have almost no funds they can spend freely.
Yoshihisa Saito, an associate professor at Kobe University’s graduate school and an expert in Vietnamese labor law, told the Mainichi Shimbun, “When it comes to the reality of living in Japan compared to what they’d heard before coming here — like hearing they’d be able to earn money but not being able to — it’s not just a case of not being able to stand it; their finances can get in a real mess as they can’t repay their debts. Strapped for cash, they disappear from their jobs, and find illegal forms of employment that will help them make even a little bit more.”
Harsh working environments are another reason that some people disappear from their placements. Thich Tam Tri, 42, who works supporting Vietnamese nationals in her capacity as the head of a Buddhist group to help them, said, “There are good companies among those accepting them as workers, but some of the businesses are offering only low wages, and allowing physical violence and verbal abuse to take place freely. They treat people like objects.”
Heart of the Woods Yuri Game Review – A Compelling Modern Day Fantasy (Blerdy Otome)
A review of the ghostly indie visual novel.
The mystery is well paced and each twist and turn feels like a natural progression for the story, this was a game I WANTED to keep playing, because I needed to know how it all ended. Each new revelation had me on the edge of my seat and there were quite a few emotional moments. While the game is billed as a visual novel, there are only really 3 choices that you make in the story and they are all during Morgan’s POV. So, I would say Heart in the Wood has more in common with a kinetic novel than an actual visual novel. But, there are three obtainable endings that range from sugary sweet, happily ever after to gut-wrenching heartbreak…
Heart of the Woods deals with some pretty heavy themes such as life, death, and acceptance, but the writers do a great job of balancing some of the more heavier moments with humor and fun banter between the characters—usually courtesy of Tara, who is always a delight when she’s on screen. But, all of the characters are great and they go a long way towards making some of the more emotional moments more impactful. You feel their emotions more strongly, because the story takes the time to fully develop them as people and not just set pieces. Even characters I wasn’t especially sold on at the start of the game quickly became my favorites by the end.
Smartphone app system tells blind people the color of traffic signals (The Asahi Shimbun, Kosuke Tauchi)
The app is meant to reduce injuries and casualties at traffic crossings, with more app-compatible locations set to expand in 2021.
Pedestrians who download the “Shin GO!” app on their smartphones get a voice-activated message when they approach a traffic light equipped with the system via Bluetooth telling them what color a light is.
The device, which has a function that tells pedestrians when a signal is about to change, also lets them extend the duration of green lights at selected intersections.
Visually impaired pedestrians are frequently involved in traffic accidents.
From 2017 to 2019, eight visually impaired pedestrians were killed and 66 suffered minor or severe injuries.
Two of those killed and 19 of the injured were crossing roads where traffic signals were present.
As of March 2020, an acoustic traffic signal for blind pedestrians has been available at approximately 24,000 locations nationwide, according to police.
Most of them are near train stations, local government offices or schools for the blind.
FEATURE: Here are 9 Trans Anime Characters to Celebrate Transgender Awareness Month (Crunchyroll, Carlos Cadorniga)
A solid starter list of major characters, though the answer to the question “when can we stop treating Wandering Son as the apex of trans rep” remains “not today.”
As we come to the end of Transgender Awareness Month, there’s a lot to account for within the community. During this time, we take a moment to mourn trans lives past and present who were lost to violence and oppression, but we also celebrate the amazing strides that we continue to make around the world. All in all, we bring a spotlight to trans culture in all shapes and forms throughout the month of November.
In the spirit of Transgender Awareness Month, we’re taking a look at some of the positive representation of trans people in our favorite anime. Trans anime characters are more prominent than people might realize, between recurring characters in popular anime who have their own compelling arcs and shows that portray thoughtful and insightful explorations of gender. They’ve been superheroes, pop idols, magical familiars, and often flaunt their identities with grace and strength.
Let’s close off Transgender Awareness Month with a bang by celebrating some wonderful and inspiring anime characters who have carved their place in positive trans representation.
Japan firm, ex-employee reach rare settlement over outing (Kyodo News)
The individual was supported by his union and able to get compensation for the unspecified mental illness he developed following the forced outing.
The issue of outing and its consequences drew attention in Japan in 2015 when a Hitotsubashi University graduate student died after plunging from a university building in an apparent suicide after his romantic interest divulged his sexual orientation to his peers.
About 25 percent of LGBT people in the country have experienced outing, a recent private survey has showed. “Society and our workplaces simply do not understand how outing is painful and harsh for us,” said the man, who continues to seek medical treatment.
Yasushi Nagano, a lawyer well-versed in LGBT problems, praised the outcome of the case, saying it is “extremely groundbreaking and a big step forward eliminating discrimination.”
VIDEO: Discussion of the two top competitors in Miss Universe Japan 2020, both of whom were half-Black and half-Japanese.
TWEET: Preorders for academic book on portrayals of disability in manga.
TWEET: New ad from Nike about bullying faced by mixed-race children in Japan.
THREAD: Several articles discussing various forms of racism in Japan.
TWEET: Upcoming documentary screening and talk from incarcerated women about their experiences.
Beyond AniFem
Ending themes don’t always leap to mind like openings, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t stellar ones out there.
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