It was an absolute delight to once again see the entire crew of Chihayafuru. Each time I watch this anime I get chills, inspiration, and exhilaration all at the same time—a nice set of feelings, I would say—as if I’m trapped in this subtle yet impassionate spell of Karuta.

As it was revealed, the Chihayafuru (Chihayaburu) card is rich with meanings. The original point of the poem was to compare the surface of the Tatsuta River with floating red autumn leaves, to a band of blue cloth tie-dyed with scarlet. As Chihaya would simply put, this special card talks about the scenic autumn view of the red Tatsuta River.

Another way to look at it, as Kana would point out, is that the poem talks about the passionate affair between Ariwara no Narihira and Nijo no Kisaki who later on married the emperor. It was said that the poet, Ariwara no Narihira, was trying to express his secret relationship with the future empress by likening his love to the unchanging nature of the screen picture of the beautiful autumn image of the Tatsuta river.

But for us, the viewers, we integrate this lovely card to the shoujo and sports aspects of Chihayafuru. Apparently, the empress could be associated to Chihaya. But what about Ariwara no Narihira? Is it Arata or Taichi? It definitely depends on who we ship.

Arata doesn’t appear as often as Taichi. However, not only he unlocked the fun world of Karuta, it’s also evident that he was the one who could inspire Chihaya the most. In fact, even other characters such as Taichi and Shinobu are moved by his presence. Hence as a catalyst character and Karuta genius, it seemed like this megane bishie is being favoured to end up with Chihaya. Come to think of it, Arata and Chihaya were once likened to Hikoboshi and Orihime, having karuta as their bridge.

Then there’s Taichi. Between the two guys, it’s apparent that he’s the underdog. I personally like him because he works extra hard in everything he does and he evolves from a jerk to a mature leader—a very interesting and relatable character. But what I liked the most about him is how he’s always there for Chihaya no matter what happens.

Since Arata is highly implied as soon-to-be Karuta master, I’d like to think of him as the emperor and Taichi as Ariwara no Narihira. However, I hope that the empress will prefer the poet over the emperor in the end.

Moreover, Chihayafuru inspires me to explore Karuta as a sport. I truly find it remarkable how poem reading was turned into athletics with elegant wardrobe. Every swing, hit, stoop, and bend are just as important as mentally engaging with the cards and carefully listening to the words of the reader. Most of all, it’s fascinating how “every poem read sends you back a thousand years. How many sports are capable of such a feat?”

I may not be able to play competitive Karuta for the rest of my life. It may be shallow for me to say, but I’m truly happy that Chihayafuru introduced me to the wonderful offspring of shoujo, poetry, and sports.

_________________________________________

Other Chihayafuru Posts:

• Let’s Face It. Expressions and Emotions in Chihayafuru
• 8th Day of Anime: Watching Chihayafuru on Fangirl Mode
• Gestures, Movements, and Karuta
• Authenticity of Chihaya’s Dream

A few more thoughts:

• Chihaya is such a sweetheart. I love her so much~ ♡
• Chihaya x Shinobu still remains my official ship. I hope to see more of them together.
• I’m hoping that one day I can play competitive Karuta. 
• My absence in blogging is due to the projects that I’m working on in order to complete my placement. And lately, it’s really difficult for me to get back into the blogging groove. On the flip side, I’m learning how to draft a post.

Nekomonogatari relived Hanekawa’s past and cat history. Personally, I find her as the most underrated character; that’s why it’s nice how Shaft dedicated a short series solely for her. This show may not have the same magical feel that I experienced with Bakemonogatari but it’s evocative how it catwalked us through to the hallmark of Monogatari’s one-of-a-kind perversion—the intricately artsy and titillating poses.

When it comes to posing, Shaft is notoriously known for abusing the human neck anatomy to redefine the art of head-tilts. It’s also amazing how this studio always adds eccentricity to body gestures in order to produce such sophisticated visual kinks.

Take for instance, beneath Araragi and Tsukihi’s fanservicey, incestuous foreplay is the ever-tantalizing pas de deux. Sounds classy, right?

Well, here’s what’s classy about it.

It is broadly renowned that the sign of sexuality in ballet is the heterosexual pas de deux. Through the dramatically elongated bodyline, the man supports, manipulates, and conquers the woman who is visualized as “magically desirable, vulnerable but strong, fragile yet enduring” prize to be won—truly, a perfect metaphor for Araragi’s domination over Tsukihi.

Another common pose that I enjoyed is whenever the body plays with the gravity by putting most of its weight on one leg while resting the other. This creates a relaxing and flowing counter posture, or simply known as contrapposto.

As we had seen with Hanekawa, through contrapposto, she could eroticise a gesture by sensuously revealing her stimulating physique. From her sometimes innocent or sometimes cynical face tracing all the way down to her voluptuous breasts, curvaceous hips, and firm buttocks while placing her weight on one leg and flirty bends the other.

Further, an S-curve—an extension of contrapposto—arguably stands for seductive, statuesque, and sexy posture. Hanekawa’s pose turns even more lewd as she embraced her cat side. Feline creatures are perceived as sexy and wild in popular culture. Having these qualities and a piece of lingerie, Hanekawa uncannily portrays a highly sexualized persona.

This is interesting because if we are going to notice, the more Hanekawa exposes her body, the more she emphasizes her identity and sexuality. Thus, flesh is to femininity. In Black Hanekawa’s case, an over-feminized and revealing body symbolizes liberalism, strength, and power. Whereas in the case of the schoolgirl Hanekawa, a clothed body means conservatism, diffidence, and feebleness. And these could also be read through her poses.

But it’s not just Hanekawa, even Oshino does an S-curve to bring out that cool, masculine swag.

_________________________________________

Here’s another fun Monogatari article that I wrote some time ago:

• Smeyesing, The Senjougahara Fanservice

Ship, ship, ship!

Coming from the word relationship, shipping has been a trending term among anime fans. Why would it not be? Love is beautiful… and even more wonderful if romance is part of the picture. Ship is the idea in which two characters, fictional or non-fictional, are in an intimate relationship. As every shoujo-holic knows, the doki doki feeling makes the show emotionally engaging and exciting.

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is one of the shoujos that I followed last season. Initially I didn’t see anything special because its whole idea is simple—it’s the generic meet-up → make-up → hook-up format with sprinkles of humour and weirdness—Haru is an immature, violent guy and Shizuku is a cold-hearted, anti-social nerd. Both are bizarre and funny, but what enticed me to continue the show is the nice cast especially its interesting side characters. In many occasions, I was cheering more for different couples than Haru and Shizuku.

For instance, whenever things are going to a monotonous direction, Sasayan and Natsume usually step into the scene to make things interesting. They are the ideal nice guy x cute girl couple belittled by the whole wackiness of the show. They don’t steal the spotlight; they are lovely because both characters don’t have extreme personalities but possess something simplistically charming. Sasayan is just an ordinary baseball player but a true gentleman, and Natsume is academically below average but a caring friend but most importantly a blogger—how can you get cooler than that? I’m so hoping in the end, they would be together.

Aside from than, adding Mi-chan into their shipping creates an even more interesting love triangle twist.

Further, there are times that I found myself rooting Yamaken and Shizuku because Yamaken shows more poignant varieties of characterization than Haru. Although Haru is a better fit for Shizuku, it’s not so hard to favour Yamaken’s cool and witty closet tsundere persona, who’s confused of his feelings, compared to Haru’s aggressiveness and naiveté.

Speaking of Haru, he also happened to be the love interest of the megane girl-class rep named Oshima.  Their ship might have some supporters but since it’s pretty obvious that there’s no real competition going on among these three—making their love triangle lacklustre—it would be much better to have Oshima x Shizuku pairing.

As a yuri fan, part of my wishful and delusional thinking whenever I’m watching anime is to have cute girls do cute stuff together.  So instead of having Shizuku x Haru x Oshima weak dilemma, it would be better if we have Shizuku x Oshima instead. One is obviously sadistic and the other is masochistic—come to think of it, a follow-up doujin would be nice…

Thus in so many ways, it’s interesting how media unleash our fandom and evolve our lenses to produce such appreciation. A lot of times we get so emotionally attached with the characters that we end up creating our own notation to express our enjoyment. More fascinatingly, this form of fandom often turns into our customized romantic version of the story.

As in the case of Tonari, the show offered me different pairings to ship that made me value and enjoy the show.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Side Notes:

• Here’s hoping for a second season.
• I still yet to read the manga.
• Natsume is my favourite character last season~
• Other shows that I’d seen this year that have many great shipping potential are Honey and Clover, Kokoro Connect, and Shinsekai Yori.

Kamisama Kiss fancifully showcases the recurring theme of human/yokai relationship. For hundreds of years, folktales about mythical creatures cohabiting with human have been a subject of interest for people. I particularly find the otherworldly tales interesting because it mirrors how our thoughts deviate away from the realm and reflect an altered world that contains humanity’s inmost desires. Plus of course as a shoujo fan, it’s always amusing to see how the romance and tension build between two different characters.

Aside from that, it is also interesting how the sense of hierarchal structure is profoundly embedded in myths—the gaps between gods, spirits, and humans are constantly being portrayed. It was said that the principle of the Great Chain of Being interconnects nature and governs all life forms. In this hierarchy, humans are less noble than spirits because of the desires of our flesh. Ironically, these desires could actually move us up in the ladder.

For instance, Tomoe, a kitsune, sees Nanami as a lowly human despite the fact that Mikage turned her into a deity. Fascinatingly through a kiss, Nanami sealed a contract, and made Tomoe as her familiar. This kiss could be construed as a sensationalized strategic sexual play. In many mythologies, humanity indulged in sexual activities with heavenly beings to rapidly climb the ladder of spiritual evolution and achieve divinity. Apparently and coincidentally, this kind of ideology is integral to so many religions.

Another thing that I noticed in Kamisama Kiss is that the animal attributes embodied by the familiars add exotic impressions to their characters—especially on how they interact with Nanami—which seemed out of the ordinary yet still convincing. Tomoe, just like any fox, is presented as a graceful and handsome kitsune; he’s extremely malevolent to everyone but exceptionally benevolent to his master. The sleek white snake persona of Mizuki could easily render a calm and aloof character. And because of Kurama’s dark crow tengu feature, viewers are easily compelled by his shady “fallen angel” pop idol gimmick.

I think in so many ways, yokais—part-human/part-animal mythical hybrids—could be pretty much seen as representation or outlet of human’s intense internalized desire. I find that in romance or shoujo, mythic creatures are often tied to human fetishes; appetites, eroticism and yearnings are perceived and ritualized as ceremony of transfiguration wherein humans envision themselves in animals—men and women make love as foxes, snakes, lions, etc… but come to think of it, no animal sees its animalistic nature in humans.

Hence, it’s really fascinating how these mythic creatures came into life. Retelling folktales and myths ponders the richness of our imagination, which bring us to a whole new different world. Stories like Kamisama Kiss exist because once in a while we want to be just like Nanami. Our magical thinking signals a desire to look at the world from fresh perspective and wish to unbound ourselves from human nature to experience something freer and bigger than us.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Side Notes:

• I really liked Kamisama Kiss’ artsy fancy animation.
• It’s been a while since I blogged. Going back to my regular posting schedule is still impossible… but I’m still going to post something when time permits.

One of the key things that I’m fascinated with whenever I watch Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita or Jintai is the myriad of mazes. I like how each arc has its own labyrinth which imaginatively and blatantly features the whimsical yet cynical premise of the series. It’s interesting because these passages are subconsciously inviting and leading us to a strange and avant-garde world—kind of like Alice in Wonderland but less the emphasis of the rabbit hole and with no checkers.

It was believed that the figurative meaning of the labyrinth elicits the idea of an inner journey through the confounding and conflicting pathways of the mind until the seeker achieves his or her destination. But worse comes to worst, the seeker could end up being lost inside the maze. Say for instance in Jintai, every passage unfolds different kinds of mysteries and unlocks disrupting realities of the post-apocalyptic future.

Further, when we talk about mazes, it always reminds me of Daedalus’ myth. He craftily built a labyrinth that he himself could barely escape. In a lot of occasions, Watashi and the side characters were brought into situations wherein they don’t know their way out. As we had seen, the employees of the FairyCo. “trapped” themselves inside this candy coloured factory and ignored how sinister it is. They even work for an employer whom they don’t know so no wonder why humanity is declining.

Another example is that the characters were brought by the fairies into the odd world of manga panels wherein they have to maintain their popularity otherwise they would be doomed. In this arc, I truly enjoyed Y’s character and hypocrisy because she’s so desperate to exist that she’d do anything just to be recognized. I like as well how the panels we’re literally and allegorically presented—a manga is being read linearly but its approach is so multi-dimensional—as signified by the backgrounds, random doors, tunnels and how the Assistant’s drawings came into life.

Also, the manga setting gave me the impression that the characters were in limbo (white) and heading towards to the underworld (black). Come to think of it, a maze in Ancient Egypt was symbolized as the path through the underworld.

Thus, I think as the title conveys—humanity has declined—the recurring use of labyrinth as a setting visually implies that humans are bounded to be lost—even the recent episode once again showed that Watashi and her assistant got trapped in an underground maze-like structure. Whether the labyrinths represent the subconscious or the underworld, I believe that it’s a world without an exit for mankind. Now, it’s up to the fairies what kind of sardonic fate they would hand to humanity. And to be honest, I still don’t understand the true nature of these creepy little creatures which makes me feel like I’m in a maze as I watch this show.

Glass structures, clean lines, and simple colour combinations are the few things that I instantly noticed when watching Tari tari. Although it’s not the first time that I’d seen this on anime, Tari Tari wonderfully showcases the simple yet eye-catching structures. It’s also evident that the architecture says a lot about the Japanese aesthetics.

Adding only what’s necessary has always been a focus in traditional Japanese design. Zen concepts of simplicity embed the ideas of freedom and reveal the inner qualities of materials and objects for the essence. More importantly, it emphasizes the attainment of enlightenment.

Say for instance, it’s noticeable and nice how Tari Tari innovatively designed its gymnasium, school yard, café, and classrooms through the use of glass. Regardless of the contemporary western nature of the glass architecture, as part of the minimalist movement, it was said that Japanese Zen Philosophy is still one of its major inspirations. Glass is visually filled with void space and gives room to anything—especially the light—by which could be likened to the concepts of inner soul, illumination, and order.

Further, the simple and well-defined contours are invigorating to watch. It’s interesting how the funky yet clean and sophisticated geometric figures create some form of psychological aesthetic which can bring some Zen-like functionalities in the mind—freedom of movement, ease, and innovation.

Hence I guess just like Wien, as someone who is foreign to the Japanese culture and an anime fan, I can’t help but to be amused by every littlest detail of what the animation is offering. Similar to what I had seen in Hanasaku Iroha, structural designs add silent monologues and flavour to the scenes.

Lately I had been really off the beat when it comes to posting. I was transferred to a different department at work and I’m trying to make a case why they should grant me a scholarship (hopefully I get selected). But on the flip side, I will be on vacation and away for about two weeks (so yay to that!) and hopefully this much needed break will slow things down and get me back on my pace.

Anyway, I know it’s a bit late but I would like to thank everyone who visited my site and voted me in the Aniblog Tourney. I didn’t expect that I would go as far as the Last 16 considering my blog received criticisms. Whether I agree or not in all of those, I do acknowledged them and I will see what I can do to improve my site. So thanks for all the feedbacks, I really appreciate them.

But of course I didn’t just received criticisms. I’m humbled and grateful to know that some bloggers and readers acknowledged what I’ve been doing here. And before I end this ABT post, I would just like to properly thank some specific friends who really encouraged and supported my run in the tourney.

Yi – thanks for the support since Round 1. It really means a lot that my favourite blogger rooted for me.

P.S. Yi is still in the tourney. Support her and vote Listless Ink.

John Sato – you tweeted my matches more than I tweeted them myself. Thanks a lot for your enthusiasm and dedication.

P.S. John Sato is the King’s Blade and Jane Sato is the Queen’s Blade ^^.

draggle_kun – I really appreciate that time when you advised me to calm down and ignore unwanted comments. You truly are the most caring starfish!

Avvesione – it was during the second round that I totally lost my interest to be in the tourney. I want out… but thanks to your positive words and support. You reminded me the fun side of the tourney.

Marina – you are the cutest thing ever~ I genuinely appreciate how you would like to see my blog advance.

Summer Plans

I don’t know which anime I’m going to watch this season. Honestly, I still need to finish Sakamichi no Apollon, Natsuiro Kiseki, Saki, and Tsuritama. Just like before I will choose three and see what I can do…

So I guess that’s my little update. Hopefully soon, I will be blogging again.

Gift giving is surprisingly complex and interesting part of human interaction. This very act helps in defining relationships whether it’s meant romantically or not. As poignantly featured in Sakamichi no Apollon, Ritsuko showed how there are more emotions involved in giving than in receiving because it kindles a different kind of satisfaction and apprehension knowing that you would like to take care and do something for somebody.

Ritsuko is depicted as an amiable and emotionally vulnerable girl that’s why it’s really nice to see how she managed to figure out her feelings and how she gained the confidence to do something for Kaoru. But most all, it’s really charming of her to see how anxious she got before and after she left the blue mittens that she personally knitted inside the piano because it surely takes a lot of courage to admit that she fell for someone she just rejected.

For some reason, after watching Apollon and due to some in real life activities, I realised that often it’s the giver, rather than the recipient, benefits the most psychological gains from gift giving, but at the same time, the giver is also the one who experiences the most stress.

In fact, it was my best friend’s birthday not too long ago. Ritsuko reminded me of how energy and mentally consuming it was to look for that perfect gift. “Is he going to like it or not”, I asked myself. However, the joys of overthinking and imagining that the gift is going to be loved and appreciated was very compensating and rewarding.

That said, I’m aware that one might imply that gift giving is just mostly valued for its economic importance. But come to think of it, we can genuinely argue that it mainly entails the importance of the person in one’s life. Gifts are extensions of the giver and gift giving is a ritual wherein the recipient is symbolically accepting the giver—an act of transference a piece of oneself.

Hence in a nutshell, we can say that giving gifts reinforces our feelings and priorities. As nicely shown by Ritsuko and Kaoru, giving is an effective symbol of love when it is spontaneous and unexpected rather than obligatory.

____________________________________________

Side Notes:

• Lemmas and Submodalities is currently competing in the Last 16 match of the Aniblog Tourney. I would really appreciate if I can get your support. [Please click here to cast your vote].
• Click this link to see my blog portfolio.

The notion of human feelings is one of mankind’s greatest mysteries, at least for me. Oftentimes in literature and media, our emotions are perceived as something complex and inconceivable. It was also said that these sensations are what separate us from other species.

In Tsuritama, Haru is a cheerful alien who came to earth to fish. This high-spirited extraterrestrial may look like a normal teenage boy but what he lacks is the understanding of human emotions. He used to give Yuki a hard time while doing the chores and say sorry without meaning it. But as he spends more time with Yuki, Natsuki, Akira, and the town of Eroshima, slowly he started to acquire emotions.

One of my favourite scenes is when Haru was sad as he tried to heal his chest with a band-aid. He surely is broken hearted! I feel sorry that he’s confused why he feels hurt and why he’s sensing it.

There are lots of speculations of why we have feelings. A Darwinian would suggest that feelings are related to altruism which is an evolutionary trait. Haru started to care and sacrifice for the people around him. Like humans, overtime this behaviour became Haru’s criterion for survival and adaptability in Earth.

But wait… Haru is an alien!

Well, a Post-modernist would argue that feelings are forms of social construct. As social beings, we influenced each other, acquired, shared and developed sets of emotions. If we’re to analyse Haru, it is arguable that he developed his emotional feelings because he hangs-out with human beings.

Some say that having an emotion is a human weakness because it shows signs of vulnerability. And some say the otherwise because emotional feeling is said to be a form of language which bridges people and creates camaraderie.

Having said all of these, what exactly triggered the human feelings is still unknown. Haru is becoming a human because he started to feel and act like a human unconsciously. Why and how did this happen? I am not too sure. Even Koko is puzzled why her brother is changing.

I guess that’s just an inevitable part of human individuality and totality. Without even trying, we truly are mysterious beings who are mystified by our own nature.

Revolutionary Girl Utena – Gender dynamics meet Yuri

Aelysium brought up an interesting discussion about the blatant use of ecchi in anime. I’m really pleased to have this small chat with him.

Aelysium: This post idea came to me after watching Philosotaku’s video titled a defense of ecchi. Whilst for a lot of people ecchi is definitely an end unto itself, for a great deal of others it is often a hindrance; a cliche that many would argue is ruining anime. I don’t particularly care for ecchi myself and often will be put off by any show that tries to cover up plot and character holes using well-endowed harems, however, I have to wonder if there really isn’t any subtle use for the genre. Is it simply pandering to an already subdued market or is there, beneath the prima facie titillation, something that can actually inspire depth in ecchi? I would argue the latter. Whilst ecchi is certainly not the pioneer of great philosophy, it isn’t the completely barren land of bustling valleys and gratuitous panty shots one might believe.

SnippetTee: I think that the discussion of anime and ecchi boils down to society’s perception of visual culture and the anime’s supposed targeted audience. We tend to link cartoons as children shows wherein censorship and morality are highly observed. Plus when it comes to eroticism, people tend to reserve their feelings about it.

Anyway, I agree with Philosotaku. In addition, I think when we talk about ecchi it’s important to define it first because there are many words which surround its meaning, but I guess what specifically gives a distasteful connotation is the association of eroticism and sexual innuendoes. It’s unfortunate that these words are related to being dirty, just like how ecchi means dirty.

Also, I noticed that lots of times fan service and ecchi are being linked to hentai and pornography because all of these share a common theme which is nudity. However, what the audience is neglecting about the concept of undressed bodies is that these are forms of expressions. Let’s not forget that the most natural and finest medium that a human can only offer is his or her naked body. Hence, nudity is not just to titillate, it’s an art of expressing the human body.

Ghost in the Shell’s Motoko Kusanagi – The art of machines

Aelysium: Exactly, Snippet. The definition of ecchi hangs so loosely, that any meaningful discussion about it is simply reduced to whatever bias one carries for the genre. Whilst there are varying degrees of ecchi, the general consensus seems to take ecchi as the ostensible act of titillation. But is that really a wholly consistent way of looking at it?

As what you have said, the human body – whilst obviously used to titillate – is not without its own artistic capability. Is it tasteless ecchi in Ghost in the Shell when Motoko is shown nude? Was it put there just to excite the audience? I would argue no. In the world Motoko lives in, she is a genderless cyborg struggling to find her identity as a person where personal identities seem sparse and meaningless. Devoid of femininity yet having a seemingly perfect feminine body, traditional themes of femininity and post-modern gender neutrality clash. Her body isn’t to titillate, it’s just a triviality of the thematic setting. In a time where the boundaries of gender and sexuality are blurred by the conflagration of technology, the frankness of nudity is neither appealing nor titillating. Motoko and her partner certainly seem oblivious to it and I would argue, so was I. Sexuality (or lack of it in GiTS) is also a crucial part of expressing one’s honest feelings, thoughts and personality. I never took GiTS to be ecchi but it is conspicuously so. However, this so called ecchi was a much more effective method of exposition than wordy dialogue – fleshing out character and story depth in a natural, tasteful and inspired way.

Mawaru Penguindrum – Fashion, Ecchi and Style have never been closer.

SnippetTee: I really like when you said that ecchi is a much more effective method of exposition than wordy dialogue. The meaning of ecchi, at least for me, has evolved throughout the years, though I’m just purely referring to the anime culture.

I’m not going to deny that there are times that I was bored and put-off by the random exposure of panty shots and breasts. However as I get to watch more anime, I learned how to develop different kinds of appreciation. I think everyone would agree that the use of fan service in Queen’s Blade is completely different from the use of fan service in Revolutionary Girl Utena. I don’t really want to rule out the titillation effect since arousal is entirely subjective, rather I’d like to point out that ecchi is perceived differently depending on the presentation, context, and delivery.

Further, different people have different fetishes. Some see fan service as portrayal of sexual prowess and some see it as degradation especially when we talk about the female body. I also don’t really want to overgeneralise but I believe that how we see ecchi reflects us. Japan has a patriarchal society so I couldn’t help but to perceive that fan service is largely meant to fan serve the male market. But again, different people have different cultural views.

Queen’s Blade – Ecchi in ridiculous excess.

Aelysium: How could I forget Revolutionary Girl Utena? Great example of ecchi being used in a stylistic and meaningful way.

However, as you pointed out as well, it is there for titillation. I guess the issue isn’t that it is there for titillation as much as, the market has become so over saturated with these themes that they seem to pervade nearly any and every show. From the early beginnings of moé, to the more recent movement of lolicon to the even more modern explicit decadence of women, anime has hypersexualised the aesthetic of being female. It’s almost as if being female dictates being extremely provocative (sexually) in the medium.

Fan service is a household term not because it is a core part of anime, rather the focus of anime just seems to have shifted that way. Fans have been polarised in this regard and I guess I would be on the side of nay-sayers – not because I think ecchi is ruining anime, as I pointed out above it can be very poignant, just because for the most part it’s not necessary or is overused. Ecchi has slowly been normalized and could even be considered as a canon part of anime – whether that is a good thing though, I’m not so sure.

If what you said is true, if it really does reflect our society in some loosely broad sense, then where does that lead us? And where will it take us in the future?

Senjougahara Hitagi – Stationary has never known better company

SnippetTee: Future, hmm… I would like to believe that for the most part, normalisation leads to acceptance. How come naked ancient Greek sculptures are considered artistic but panty shots in Japanese cartoons are off-putting? How come one is seen as an art and the other as a porn if both are depicting bare bodies? I think that’s because consumerism is ever changing and so is the definition of lust. We have seen from time to time that the by-product of this negatively connoted human aspect has a potential to evolve into a wonderful aesthetic. Shows like Revolutionary Girl Utena, Bakemonogatari, and Redline are some anime that I had seen wherein the ecchi-ness was used as a substance to present and justify the context not just erotically but more so artistically.

But as what you have exemplified, Aelysium, I don’t want to rule out the grey side of ecchi—some things will always remain negative regardless of time. I’m not also sure if fan service as a canon part of anime is a good thing, but if it can enhance the viewing experience in a non-negative and creative way, then what’s the reason to detest it?

Horo – Everyone’s favourite medieval wolf spirit

Aelysium: Great point Snippet, why is it that nude paintings and erotic literature is considered okay, whilst ecchi is considered derogatory or primal? I guess it’s to do with the intended meaning. The former arts are considered to have meaning beyond titillation and to inspire thought. They are considered to enhance viewer experience beyond just the visual.

I guess that’s the crux of the debate, isn’t it Snippet? Does ecchi enhance viewing experience? Well, just from this discussion we can see that ecchi can not only allow us to flesh out mature and complex themes in a way that dialogue perhaps can’t but also, it can actually serve as a societal looking glass into the minds of the individual but also the collective fandom. As philosotaku argued it lets us ask ourselves why we find certain things titillating whilst others going too far. And for some people, it’s simply arousing goodness. I guess that’s what we’ve been looking at here really.

Does ecchi actually provide much beyond obvious titillation? 95% of the time, no. Do we like this much ecchi? I’m not so sure the answer to that is clear. However, as someone not overly fond of ecchi, I would say that even that 5% is worth the trouble. Finding a gem of a show in the otherwise murky depths is often much more satisfying than eliminating the element all together. Is it ruining anime? I wouldn’t say it’s ruining anime; anime preferences and tastes change with the fandom, if there is an excess of ecchi, it’s because the fandom has shifted that way – clearly the fans want more ecchi. Regardless of whether or not this is a good thing, I should still think ecchi has a rightful place in anime.

____________________________________________

About Aelysium (@aelysium)
Procrastinator by day, anime lover by night with music, art, games and old books filling in the betweens.

About SnippetTee (@snippettee)
Never really knew I’m a euphemist until my professor pointed out.