animu

Growing up, kids deal with a lot of emotional breakthroughs and hormonal changes. As such, they have a lot of pent up feelings that they may not quite know what to do with. Unlike many Western cartoons, anime and manga do deal with a lot of coming of age stories. Even when the plot is far out there and the last thing one would deal with their every day lives. Putting that aside, that protagonists' tend to range from the ages 14 to 16, as such they are in the same demographic as those who read them. This allows the readers to relate to these characters and feel like their changes, both physically and emotionally, are something they can project on to the characters.

Because of this age range, a lot of kids are slowly trying to discover what it is that makes them happy and what they would like to do with their lives. Especially with the system the way it is, most kids are told to have an idea of what they wish to do the rest of their lives around this age. When a creative decides they wish to focus on art and they grow up relating to anime and manga, it is natural for them to turn to this art form. They practice and learn what they can by watching their shows and buying the cheap 'how to' books. Though the art style may be overdone and not the greatest, it is an outlet for them. It allows kids to grow in to their passion and enjoy what they do. 

Unfortunately, much like how My Little Pony has men who berate those who enjoy the show for fun, there are adults online that berate these kids who are enjoying themselves and anime. This becomes a huge problem in which these young kids, trying to find themselves out, are singled out and ridiculed for their interests. Anime and Manga are incredibly important art forms, the same way a kid from America watched Power Puff Girls growing up. Just because the art form does not correlate with the social norms we are used to, doesn't make it an less important.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of most anime's. They do not catch my attention and I find them repetitive more often than not. However, I do keep an open mind. I know when a good story is being told and presented with reliable, strong characters. For example, one of my all time favorites stories is Fullmetal Alchemist, along with it's anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. If the story is compelling and truly shows the progress of a character's development and their surroundings, I am hooked. Just because the art style is something now often ridiculed, it does not make it's stories any less impacting or beautifully told.

This art form coming from Japan is influential for a reason. It allows kids to relate to characters and to come to terms with their own changing environments. Simply because one does not enjoy it and rather looks down at it, does not change how important it is in the lives of others.

Sex Criminals

For this week I decided to read the first volume of Sex Criminals. It was rather interesting to read a story like this one, I had no idea what to expect. I went in with an open mind and absolutely no clue what was in store. The writing was clever and witty, the characters were fun, everyone one had a underlining factor that made them stand out. From their poses to their dialogue, it was interesting to watch them develop as the story continued.

The way the story played out, I had assumed “The Quiet” was more like a state of mind rather than a period in which time stopped completely. So after the characters had sex and they were shocked at the paused time period, it was then I realized what “The Quiet” actually was. that simply made the developing story far more interesting. The fact that they used sex as means to improve the library Suzie worked in was great. It was never for a selfish reason, but rather to help a public location that desperately needed saving. In the process the two characters grew closer.

Having sex as the focal point of the story was something I didn’t quite expect. With a title like “Sex Criminal”, I figured something sexual was bound to appear. However, the last thing on my mind was literally people who had sex in order to enact acts of crime. While the sex was an act for the two to grow closer and rely to one another, it became more of an element rather than a sexual act for the sake of sex. It became the weapon of choice for these characters to live out acts they had always wanted to. With the backstories we were given, it is obvious these are characters that had been wanting to act out pent up anger and sadness. “The Quiet” was a place where they were allowed to do as such.

Sex Criminals is far more intriguing than I thought it would be and I’m incredibly glad that I picked this graphic novel to read. It’s endearing, well draw, well written, and loads of fun!

Disney

One of the biggest themes within Disney films and storytelling are the aspects of acceptance and love. An outside force that shakes the foundation of what the main family knows and make them reevaluate what they think and believe in, as seen in both Mary Poppins and Saving Mr. Banks.

My personal favorite Disney film is Lilo & Stitch. Like Disney explains in Saving Mr. Banks, it’s about caring for the characters as family and wanting only what is best for them. This theme carries throughout every Disney film, be it romantic or familial love. The characters struggle but soon embrace the differences of the outside force and learn to love the hodgepodge that it is the unconventional new family.