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Several fans also praised our interview of seiyuu Megumi Ogata, who voiced
Shinji from "Evangelion."
Dear Akadot,
Hi there. I'm a huge fan of Ogata-sama, and first off I just wanted to say thank you so much for the
wonderful interview you did on your site. American fans don't get much information and interviews translated
into English, but we love hearing things like that.
Sincerely,
Rebecca DiSciacca
And in response to our extensive "Cowboy Bebop" coverage in April, another Akadot reader sent us this:
Dear Akadot,
Hey, for a long time I was wondering why you guys made such a big fuss over the anime "Cowboy Bebop." I was
like, "Man, that thing is all over their site, they keep praising it and giving it good reviews...I guess it must be
good." The series was available in the local video store that I go to but for some reason (that I can't really explain),
it never caught my eye so I never rented it even though it was sitting on the shelves for nearly a year now. I guess
the main reason why I never tried was because it was never rented so I thought it was not worth watching and besides,
I never heard of it.....big mistake....I passed up a fun series. I've only seen the first volume and I'm hooked, the
animation and the characters are really fun. I just wanted to say thanks for giving it so much attention as it
obviously deserves it and I guess you guys gave me a boost as to finally trying the series. Keep up the good work,
your site's a blast.
From a devoted anime fan,
France Gravel
Dear Rebecca and France,
Thank you for your support and Akadot will strive to bring readers more interviews from across the anime
industry spectrum and coverage of all the major titles. We appreciate your words of encouragement.
Sincerely,
Luis Reyes
Editor, Akadot
Occassionally, Akadot writers get carried away with their opinions. Here is a reader that
believes making a good point shouldn't invalidate other truisms.
Dear Akadot,
I've just finished reading Luis Reyes's article on American and Arab paranoia about entertainment,
"Rage Against the Monstér." While I agree
with the overall point, there was a minor statement that I absolutely think is false. In the third-to-last
paragraph on the second page, Mr. Reyes compares racial tolerance between American and Japanese societies.
The implication was that anime is not (or much less) racist when compared to American media entertainment.
I still don't know if Mr. Reyes was being sarcastic, but I hope that he was. Anime, being a reflection of
Japanese (and Asian) society, is rife with racism.
"And who are the more intolerant? How many anime titles fuel gung-ho patriotism that intrinsically
pre-judges other cultures?" Almost all of them. In most anime dealing with multiple cultures, the main
character is Japanese. If the anime is set in a fantasy/alternative world, the 'good' culture is always
identifiable as Japanese. For example: "Gundam Wing," "Saber Marionette J" (with a fascist Russia being
the enemy), "Ronin Warriors," "Bakuretsu Hunters," "Card Captor Sakura." The message is clear in these
anime. Other cultures may have a role, but their main purpose is to support the Japanese character, who
is always the strongest, most attractive, most intelligent, etc.
"How many anime titles shove minorities into stereotypical roles in a misguided attempt at realism?"
Again, almost all. Chinese people especially are portrayed in a stereotypical manner. Wu-fei (Gundam Wing)
is the ranting, misguided, angry, sexist pilot. Even though the anime is set way in the future, Wu-fei
dresses in traditional clothing. His colony looks like historic Shanghai. The setting in Fushigi Yuugi is
supposedly ancient China, but everyone bears a Japanese name, the values are Japanese, and of course all the
'Chinese' boys fall in love with the Japanese Miaka. The underlying message is that the Chinese are quaint,
but old-fashioned, backwards, and stupid. Conversations with Japanese people reveal that this is indeed how
they really feel about Chinese. Black people also are cast into stereotypical roles. In the case of anime,
they are often given the role of military sergeant - a good example being the "Macross" series. They are muscled,
loud, and seem to have an obsession with sunglasses. Ultimately, they become the blustering commander that
isn't smart enough to hold any other position, and is ignored as the Japanese protagonist does his own thing
which ends up saving the world contrary to the Black commander's orders which would have ruined everything.
"How many anime titles cast blacks, Hispanics or Arabs as honest to god villains? Who do they cast as
the villains? Americans." Okay, not many minorities are cast as actual villains, but there is still the subliminal
message that minorities are inferior, Japanese are superior, and the villain will never, ever be Japanese if
someone else can take the blame. I realize that every culture is ego-centric like this to an extent, including
my own - Chinese. However, it's unfair to put anime on a pedestal just because everyone talks about inequality
in the Western world but not in the Eastern. I'm really sorry to be so long-winded, esp. if Mr. Reyes was making
a different point, but this just gave me the excuse to rant for a bit.
- Hsiu
Dear Hsiu,
I yield to your point. I believe that in the heat of the moment, incensed at a growing hypocrisy in America
to vilify on the qualification of ethnicity, I have forgotten that the Japanese society is similarly racist.
We even published an article about Japanese racism entitled "Privilege and
Prejudice: The hierarchy of discrimination."
However, I have found that anime itself doesn't tend to fall in line with the nation's racism as much
as other forms of entertainment. Anime often transcends even dealing with the issue of race since most of
its characters don't even look Japanese (excluding a few, of course, that do indulge in rampant racism).
Ultimately, my statement was irresponsible, engineered to build up Japan as the paladin to the nefarious
overlord, America. Simply stated, every country in the world can take a look at itself in the mirror and see
an ingrained racism. My point, and the point that is perhaps overshadowed by my sensational comments about
the righteousness of anime, is that no nation, faith, ethnic group or social organization should be inextricably
linked to the actions of their upper echelons. And that rhetoric against "Muslims" for their fundamentalism
should be reserved specifically for the ruling Sheikhs that justify oppression with the rhetoric of moral purity.
Thanks for your response. In my column I can rant as well, but I don't want to do so irresponsibly.
I need to be checked. I appreciate being checked.
Sincerely,
Luis Reyes
Editor, Akadot
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