Say No to Moe!

[doronjosama]

Manga artist Mimei Sakamoto does her version of the classic Shatner "Get a Life!" speech.

She's pretty right on the nose about it. And it's awesome that she spoke out so plainly about it!

Comments

[martes.livejournal.com]

With the famous William Shatner speech, and this article, I wonder what those two people would do if all the fans really DID get a life? Who do they think buys tons of their stuff and shells out money for autographs at conventions? It ain't the average Joe Blow on the street who has a life-- it's the rabid fanboy. If all the fans suddenly got a life, they might find themselves with nothing but chirping crickets at their booths or signings.

Not that I'm disagreeing with the 'creep' factor in a lot of the hard-core fans, but to have the creators go out and deride the fanatical fans is kind of like sports players goofing on the sports fanatics and telling them to quit buying season tickets and team jerseys and go spend more time with their families.

[doronjosama.livejournal.com]

I'm just more delighted that she's decrying a genre of anime and manga (and toys, and maid cafes, and hostess clubs, and video games) that celebrate the ideal of underage, passive, helpless, submissive girls. Having seen some "moe" anime and manga, it's pretty barf-inducing stuff, stuff clearly designed for guys who can't stomach the idea of actual women who might say no, or have opinions. It's more my feminist heart being warmed by Mimei's statements about that, than her obvious anger at various fanboys.

Oddly, I don't think her manga is aimed at the hardcore fanboys, from the cover it looks more like the kind of manga the average Japanese person reads on the train or something- or it's one of those new "hipster" manga, the kind that are made by and for super trendy young Japanese.

[martes.livejournal.com]

I'm not a huge manga fan, so I can't really speak with any authority on the subject. I did always find the screaming, underage looking girls and tons of fluids in manga porn kind of squicky myself. If someone wants to speak up against that particular aspect of manga art, more power to'em.