Regarding My Final Presentation

            Hello. This is the last blog post for our group!

            As for my final presentation, I told about the imaginary NGO that I made.
            First of all, I summarized the Survey Monkey results that I posted bellow. 21 people replied to our survey. About 70% was from female Japanese students. Many of them said that anime violence doesn't usually lead people to become aggressive and we should respect freedom of expression. They also mentioned that separating fiction from reality and education regarding violence are important to deal with the worst problems. In addition, most of the respondents agreed with me that such anime programs help to raise people's awareness regarding universal themes. I think these results tend to be positive and it leads to my imaginary NGO.

            As for my imaginary NGO, the name is "Animated Uniality". The word "uniality" is made of "unity" and "reality" which I made it for myself. The general outlines are as follows.

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            The main theme is to make use of anime programs with violent scenes. That is, our mission is to provide proper understanding regarding violent anime without prejudice since it include important themes like "What is justice?" or "What is human?". Therefore, we would like you to think about realizing the real important messages of such programs and thinking such issues as your own problem in the real world.
            As for our concrete project, we will hold many events to discuss how we can make anime programs suitable for people as a good educational material. To be specific, we will discuss how we can learn from some universal themes in mainly midnight anime, which is for teens and adults since it includes some violent scenes. These events are kinds of promoting philosophical and psychological thinking. I think there are few NGOs regarding anime, so I think it would be very challenging but very exciting if this kind of NGO really exists.

           As for our discussions, members choose some specific themes to discuss with other participants. After that, we appoint some members to become so-called "theme leaders". Other people including none-members who join our events) can get general information from leaders regarding their assigned themes. It is the theme leaders' responsibility to manage both tasks and people and to promote their own themes using blogs and SNS posts. I think it is effective for many members to practice encouraging their leadership. Leaders and themes are changed each month so that many members can enjoy our projects as theme leaders.
 

          As for unique promotions regarding media, we hold a contest each month which each groups compete in showing academic results based on discussing and researching for each universal themes. Then, such groups contest in the weeklong vote. Voters can be everybody who are interested in their activities. Finally, we will choose the highest award and recipients of awards can make a special promotion video for their activities by cooperating with amateur illustrators.
 

         Not only we do fund-raising but also we collect membership fees. Furthermore, we collect special ones called ''Willing to vote! fees'' when we hold a contest each month, so participants can vote for several theme groups as investors.

※This imaginary NGO is only for class. It doesn't exist in the real world.
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Most of the audiences rated my work highly since my plan was very concrete. I was also glad to hear that there were few misunderstandings regarding this topic. I think many of them wondered how I would combine "universal themes" with violence problems for my NGO, but I think I made a successful presentation. One of the audiences even commented that my ideas were coherent and clear, so I thought my efforts were rewarded.

Thank you for reading! :)

Survey Summary

     As I mentioned earlier, I made  survey regarding this topic, so I'd like to summarize what I found out from the results.
     So far my respondents are mainly female Japanese students, so it seems that many of them attach great importance on Japanese voice actors (including me!). It's very interesting that about a half claims that anime violence doesn't  leads people to become aggressive, and we should respect freedom of expression (including violent scenes).

Answers Regarding the Remaining Inportant Questions

     From now on, I'd like to pick up some of the important questions since my project is coming to an end.

9. How can we deal with the worst points of anime violence from the psychological point of view? (grotesque depictions, brutal deaths etc.)

    In my opinion, as I mentioned earlier, we should choose our appropriate time slots so that we can escape from risks regarding encountering violent scenes. Since such images are spreading through the Internet, there is no choice but to learn self-guarding. In addition, we should think not only about ourselves but also about our friends and acquaintances. That means, we should be careful not to "spread" the bad influences of such scenes. This is especially important for parents who are used to watch anime including violence which is immoral.

14.    Do anime programs contribute to raise people’s awareness concerning universal issues?

   In my opinion, some of them are good educational materials because we can feel the reality of our world through our favorite characters' actions. It's kind of a mixed reality, so it is pretty interesting to think about our own problems too. On the other hand, such programs stress crual incidents like crimes and it is sometimes stressful to watch them. Therefore, we should be aware of that there are both positive and negative points as I wrote above.

15. How can we think such controversial issues as our own problem in the real world?

  I think many psychologial, philosophical and environmental problems are familiar to our ordinary lives. Self-analyzing such fundamental issues lead us to realize the real meanings of life. I think it is a very good opportunity for especially youths to go through these proper steps by watching anime as a hobby. In addition, many great Japanese voice actors help us to empathize with their characters. In this way, Japanese anime inspire us to think about the world and ourselves from verious points of view.

Regarding Questions 5 and 6

5.   What kind of violent scenes which lead people to be extremely shocked?

       There are some brutal deaths regarding recent anime programs. "Attack on Titan" is a good example. Many characters are either eaten, smashed into trees or  stamped by titans. In addition, one author says that last episodes often include shocking endings. These scenes may surely cause negative feelings, and the key word is "reality".
        To be specific, since drawing techniques are improving, many viewers tend to watch programs with detailed pictures. These techniques give highly realistic and smoother motions, and this is why Japanese anime is so famous around the world. Ironically, however, when it comes to violent and grotesque scenes, "highly realistic" bloody scenes dominates our TV screens. Furthermore, I think there is a trend to emphasize many cold fish and blank-faced characters who attacks someone. In this way, people usually feel very scared to watch anime including such scenes, which are mainly broadcasted during midnight.

6. What are the differences between anime violence and such scenes in live-action movies/dramas?

     The first key point is regulations. Movies including both anime and live-action ones are regulated at theaters, for example, by R-rating. As a matter of fact, however, the scrutiny of posting some anime programs on the Internet is much looser than those of live-action movies and dramas. Therefore, there are many opportunities to encounter anime with violent scenes.

<APA Bibliography>

・LAMARRE, T. (2010). The Rebuild of Anime [Abstract]. The Rebuild of Anime, 5. Retrieved July 7, 2016, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41510978?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

 

・Luis, P. G. (2009). FANSUBBING ANIME: INSIGHTS INTO THE ‘BUTTERFLY EFFECT’ OF GLOBALISATION ON AUDIOVISUAL TRANSLATION [Abstract]. FANSUBBING ANIME: INSIGHTS INTO THE ‘BUTTERFLY EFFECT’ OF GLOBALISATION ON AUDIOVISUAL TRANSLATION, 14. Retrieved July 7, 2016, from http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781403983084_4

 

・Philip, B. (January 2006). 100 Anime [Abstract]. Retrieved July 7, 2016, from http://www.citeulike.org/group/7712/article/3658431

・Susan, J. N. (Desember 2005). Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation. Retrieved July 7, 2016, from

hl=ja&lr=&id=UnuLCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=anime+live-action&ots=by0_Kb-Fba&sig=qFhjJqvlQ6tBRgoV5xp6BV_mQ6U#v=onepage&q=anime%20live-action&f=false

 

 

Reply to our survey!!

Hello! I made a questionnaire using Survey Monkey regarding 15 questions that I posted below.
I'm very excited to read your answers and sharing opinions!
Thank you for your help :)

URL→https://jp.surveymonkey.com/r/TJR97ZD

The word 次へ means "next" in Japanese.
Somehow I cannot change into English lol

Regarding Questions 3 and 4

3. How far should we respect freedom of expression regarding anime scenes?

       This is a very  controversial one because people have their own points of view and it's difficult to compare them with many types of programs. It is very interesting that one journal says many of violent scenes in anime reflect youth's desire to mentally "reborne" or "metamorphosis". In this way, there are resources that mentions anime from psychological points of view. Based in such research results, I also thought how we can think about freedom of expression regarding anime. First, it would be better for people to scan controversial scenes on their own and judge them whether he/she can respect it as freedom of expression. Second, please don't forget to think "why" you didn't choose some anime including particular scenes. This will lead to deepen your understanding not only anime violence but also freedom of expression in general, seeing anime as a kind of art.

4. How do people  usually react towards anime violence? (feel scared, no reaction etc.)

      Most people are scared at first. However, recent anime fans are so used to such scenes, they may think violence as a natural occurrence. This is the most dangerous point; people get used to anime violence. I assume that this may be one of the reasons many people have prejudices against anime fans as I mentioned in the previous posting. However, as a matter of fact, we are living in an age that we often encounters violence through not only anime but also TV dramas and movies. In my opinion, getting used to such scenes may ironically become a protection to mentally "survive". As a result, being scared is becoming a memory of the past for some anime fans.

<APA Bibliography>

・Kern, A. L. (Ed.). (2016, November 1). The Anime Paradox: Patterns and Practices through the Lens of Traditional Japanese Theater by Stevie Suan (review). The Journal of Japanese Studies, 42, 156-161. Retrieved June 27, 2016, from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/609396/summary

・Natsume, F. (n.d.). Japanese Manga: Its Expression and Popularity. Retrieved June 27, 2016, from http://www.accu.or.jp/appreb/09/pdf34-1/34-1P003-005.pdf

・Cubbison, L. (Ed.). (2015). Anime Fans, DVDs, and the Authentic Text. The Velvet Light Trap, 56, 45-57. Retrieved June 27, 2016, from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/192928/summary

・Binti, I. S., Sallehuddin, & Binti, F. I., Omar. (2011). THE PERCEIVED IMPACT OF ANIME ON SCHOOL (Unpublished master's thesis). Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor. Retrieved May 31, 2016

Debate on anime violence: As a over protective father who agrees on Ban

 Hello, few weeks ago I did a presentation regarding anime violence as an over protective father. For sake of debate, I argued why violence in Anime is bad and should be banned.

 As little children are prone to actions around them, some maybe provoked and might get a bad idea from watching a violent anime. Maybe they might jump off from a building, or might use a knife and pretend they are some chosen hunter, and so on.

 I do have to note that a teenager from Russia jumped off from a building because his favorite character died.

 Also a Japanese studies revealed that middle and high school students "felt" that they are more prone to violence because of anime.

 The conclusion is that anime may have an effect on children and might become violent.

 

Citations:

 Webb, Sam. "Russian Teen Leaps from Apartment Block after Seeing His Favourite Japanese Cartoon Character Die on Television." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 2012. Web. 22 June 2016. 

 "青少年とテレビ、ゲーム等に係る暴力性に関する調査研究." の概要.(Result of study on relationship between youth and TV, games and other violence.) N.p., n.d. Web. 22 June 2016.

 

Regarding Questions 1 and 2

             Now I'd like to look into questions. As for resources, I'll basically use Google Scholar because it's very trustworthy and easy to use.

1.     What elements do people attach great importance to anime characters?

      (appearance, personality etc.)

 

In my opinion, most anime viewers image their favorite characters' personalities by looking at their appearances. Therefore, both appearances and personalities are important. Regarding this point, viewers come to like some characters for mainly two reasons. The first one is that a personality and his/her appearance perfectly match with the viewers images. On the other hand, the second one is that there is a gap between the viewers' images regarding the personality and the appearance. From my own experiences, I think the latter one makes many viewers fall in love with their favorite characters. In Japanese, it is called "Gap Moe". I presume that they are excited to realize hidden aspects within their favorite ones. On the other hand, there are some critical opinions regarding female characters. For example, one thesis claims that various roles of female characters lack "systematic research". I think that's not always true because as I mentioned earier, we know that many anime programs are broadcasted, considering each generations' psychological background and needs. Therefore, I think there are no borders to look into recent circumstances of anime.

 

2.     Do they have prejudices towards anime? (childish, many lowbrow programs etc.)

In my opinion, there are still prejudices. As I mentioned earlier, for example, many people think anime programs are only for children, so anime is childish. However, recent anime aren't so simple. Everyone knows that there are deep social issues within anime movies created by Studio Jhibli. So why they still think anime as relatively lowbrow programs? Aren't there some issues we (teens and adults) can discuss? I'm going to think and research for these questions from know. In addition, one research result of a thesis even says none- anime fans accept anime fans as a neighbor, but tend not to become friends with anime fans. In this way, it seems not only anime but also anime fans themselves are having a hard time. I realized this point while I'm writing this blog post and since I haven't heard such problem before, I would like to search more about this later on.

<APA Bibliography>

・Roberts, S. E., Plante, C. N., Reysen, S., & Gerbasi, K. C. (n.d.). Not all Fantasies are Created Equal: (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Waterloo and two others. Retrieved June 19, 2016, from http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/44622252/2016_Roberts_FanPrej.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ56TQJRTWSMTNPEA&Expires=1466328539&Signature=Sr46/CUCQ83cPbAFKLxBDPzRZB8=&response-content-disposition=inline; filename=Not_all_Fantasies_are_Created_Equal_Fant.pdf

 

・Roberts, S. E., Plante, C. N., Reysen, S., Gerbasi, K. C., Mohebpour, I. & Gamboa, A.(n.d.). Pale and Geeky: Prevailing Stereotypes of Anime Fans (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Waterloo and two others. Retrieved June 19, 2016, from

　　http://fansconf.a-kon.com/dRuZ33A/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Anime-StereotypesR1.pdf

・Roberts, S. E., Plante, C. N., Reysen, S., Gerbasi, K. C., & Shaw, J. (n.d.). An Examination of Anime Fan Stereotypes (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Waterloo and two others. Retrieved June 26, 2016, from http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/44919740/2016_Reysen_Anime_Stereotypes.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ56TQJRTWSMTNPEA&Expires=1466909578&Signature=VL01yDf1r%2FgvLsWxNK2RuwMiP18%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DAn_examination_of_anime_fan_stereotypes.pdf

・Wenhui, C. (n.d.). Research on artistic charm of the young girl images in Japanese anime. Retrieved June 26, 2016, from http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?tp=&arnumber=5681809&url=http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=5681809

 

 

 

Recent News Stories

     These articles are  mainly written from negative points of view, regarding Asian countries.
Since I regard anime as a positive trend, it is interesting for me to compare these critical stories.

     First, I'd like to pick up some controversial points from news articles I chose.
     Recently, the sensorship of anime is becoming strict in some countries. For example,China has listed 38 Japanese cartoons on-line such as "Attack on Titan" in 2015, being concerned about violent scenes.

    On the other hand, One editer from BBC News says that "Japan believes risqué themes are acceptable in cartoon form because the unrealistic format gives them a certain distance." (line 63 to 65) In this way, there are various valuations regarding anime.

    However, there are dilemmas within Japan. According to the article written in 2010, The then Tokyo governor was trying to limit freedom of expression. The then Prime Minister also thought some anime had problems, but he added that " It is important to export Japanese animation to the world."

    Since Japanese anime and manga has a long history and is creating a culture, this issue is somehow complicated. It is true that freedom of expression has a positive impact. Yet, at the same time, freedom of expression leads people to think negatively and stereotypically regarding anime. In this way, this is a double-bladed issue and I'm going to research later on.


<APA Bibliography＞

・China bans ‘Attack on Titan,’ other popular Japanese anime from Web. (2015, June 9). Retrieved June 19, 2016, from http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/06/09/national/china-bans-attack-on-titan-other-popular-japanese-anime-from-web/#.V2YGGJUkpfM

 

・Buckley, S. (Ed.). (2003, September 18). Japan's madness for manga. Retrieved June 18, 2016, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3119002.stm

・Fujita, A. (Ed.). (2010, December 16). Tokyo Assembly Votes to Restrict Sexually Charged Comics. Retrieved June 19, 2016, from http://abcnews.go.com/International/tokyo-assembly-votes-restrict-sexually-charged-comics/story?id=12410880
 

15 Questions regarding this topic

Hello! I posted some questions regarding anime (including psychological ones) :)

<Regarding Anime Itself>

1.     What elements do people attach great importance to anime characters?

      (appearance, personality etc.)
 

2.     Do they have prejudices towards anime? (childish, many lowbrow programs etc.)

     
3. How far should we respect freedom of expression regarding anime scenes?
 

<Regarding Anime Violence>

4. How do people  usually react towards anime violence? (feel scared, no reaction etc.)
 

5.   What kind of violent scenes which lead people to be extremely shocked?

6. What are the differences between anime violence and such scenes in live-action movies/dramas?

7. Does anime violence usulally lead people to become aggressive?

8. Why some people mimic their favorite character's aggressive behavior?
      Why do they think they can fight with enemies just as your favorite characters did?

9. How can we deal with the worst points of anime violence from the psychological point of view?

(grotesque depictions, brutal deaths etc.)

10. Can we learn something by watching such scenes?

<Regarding Universal Themes>

 

11.   What themes people are especially interested in? (ex. identity crises, historical themes)

12.      Why do they prefer programs which include philosophical and ethical themes?

13.   What are the roles of anime including such themes?

14.    Do such programs contribute to raise people’s awareness concerning universal issues?

15. How can we think such issues as our own problem in the real world?

My Current Understanding＆Presentation Regarding This Issue

           Regarding this topic, one thesis points out that “by viewing such programs, children can experience things simulatively and it develops into playing make-believe games.” As for youths, it is said that if they feel freighted but interested in anime violence, it is said that they become aggressive. However, recent anime is changing.

           I have made a presentation  to other bloggers (I put links on the bottom of my blog) . According to this, the specific point of anime is that many programs are broadcasted during different time slots.(ex. midnight and others) Therefore, these classifications make us easier to choose which one is suitable for children and prevent them from watching such controversial scenes.

           By the way, why TV anime programs are specifically criticized for violence although live-action movies also have such scenes? Maybe the reason is that there are many opportunities to encounter such programs because there are spreading through the Internet faster than movies (ex. through You Tube). It’s so ironic that especially midnight anime are attacked despite it is said that midnight time slots were made to stop children from watching violent scenes.
         However, it is also true that such violent anime programs are very popular among youths and adults. In fact, some of them tend to watch such programs because they need more opportunities to escape from their troubles. The Ministry of Education also points out that adolescents start thinking deeply of how to live in the society which mainly adults are managing.

         During my presentation, I emphasized that some of those violent scenes don’t include the real messages. The most important point is that there are hidden themes such as social and ethical problems which are much deeper and complex.
For example,
・Limitations of laws and other punishment systems for criminals ("Psycho-Pass")
・Fighting with enormous threats such as social and environmental problems ("Attack of Titan")
Therefore, it will be a good opportunity for people to think about such themes by watching them as a kind of controversial material.

        In this way, I want more people to realize that anime programs are classified into different time slots, considering each generation’s psychological background and needs. For example, one female student from Harvard University said that many other students also watch anime since they are small and the reason is simple; they are curious to watch such programs. We truly have the right to enjoy anime as entertainment tools and to choose programs from various time slots which are suitable for us.

Thank you for reading :)

<APA Bibliography>

・Harvard University students Talks About Fascinating Points of Anime. (n.d.).
Retrieved May 31, 2016, from http://logmi.jp/21965 This original article is written in Japanese.

・Tanaka, Y. (2011). Media and Early Childhood Education (Unpublished master's thesis). Jin-ai Women’s College. Retrieved June 1, 2016, from http://crf.flib.u-fukui.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/10461/10075/1/vol44_p5-10.pdf#search='アニメ 教育番組 幼児' This original thesis is written in Japanese.

・The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Features of Children’s Developmental Stages and Problems We Should Attach Importance To. (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2016, from http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/chousa/shotou/053/shiryo/attach/1282789.htm

This original website is written in Japanese.

Welcome to our blog!!

         This is a discussion group which focuses on the following controversial point; that is, watching anime (especially midnight) is said to lead people not only to take their mind off but also to hurt others in the real world.
         As for our project, we will discuss whether violent scenes may lead people to get aggressive or not. In addition, we will discuss universal themes which are hidden in the scene and in the anime themselves. It is definitely OK if you aren’t familiar with such anime because we will briefly explain about them. If you want to think more deeply and agree with our project, please join us!