Ukanime is reporting The Times newspaper has published two news articles relating to the world of anime and manga. "Who Is King Of Geeks?", is an article covering a competition to find who is Japan's biggest otaku, and Japan's otaku culture in general. The second of the articles "Away In Manga" is about Gollancz's decision to release manga from Viz here in the UK, as well as a fairly in depth analysis of the differences in things such as sexual content found in Japanese manga, compared to Western comics.
Anime and manga articles in The Times newspaper
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Suiseiseki
Hunter
The Times' daily review supplement T2, a few months ago, ran a long two-page feature on anime, recommeding various titles and commenting on anime's evolution from "something only anti-social youths who want to be different" watch to "a truly rich genre containing much of the world's finest art." Of course, the focus was mainly on Ghibli and Howl's Moving Castle, but the newspaper seemed rather supportive of anime, similar to such articles in The Telegraph and The Guardian that I've read.
I think at this point, any coverage is good coverage. Now that anime and manga are establishing themselves as a serious art and entertainment form in this country, even the broadsheets are beginning to notice them. They will take at least some research before writing about them, even if such pieces are often opinionated and biased.
The tabloids will, of course, still focus on the sex and violence and how it will corrupt the minds of our precious children, but some things will never change (the Daily Mail in particular seems to decry anything they don't like the look of).
The main problem is that anime and manga are still percieved as cartoons and comics for kids by the people in charge, and will continue to be reported as such. I can't see this changing until the current generation, brought up on Pokemon and Dragonball Z, start to become the writers and editors of the future.
At least, that's the plan.
The tabloids will, of course, still focus on the sex and violence and how it will corrupt the minds of our precious children, but some things will never change (the Daily Mail in particular seems to decry anything they don't like the look of).
The main problem is that anime and manga are still percieved as cartoons and comics for kids by the people in charge, and will continue to be reported as such. I can't see this changing until the current generation, brought up on Pokemon and Dragonball Z, start to become the writers and editors of the future.
At least, that's the plan.
I dunno, I think pretty much everyone has stopped taking Mr Thompson seriously now, after his attack on The Sims 2.
He recently did a rather lenghty interview with a webradio station. In it, he said:
He recently did a rather lenghty interview with a webradio station. In it, he said:
I thought that was bloody brilliant. Guess where I live?
Since i don't tend to read the Times, I found the artical on the otaku interesting.
On the views on some newspapers on the nudity in manga/anime, I don't see the diference between nudity in such genre's as in some classical art such as Botticelli's Venus, which many concider as the best work by the artist, so I do find the view that manga/anime is sick and the people who read/view it are sickminded, is unfounded.
On the views on some newspapers on the nudity in manga/anime, I don't see the diference between nudity in such genre's as in some classical art such as Botticelli's Venus, which many concider as the best work by the artist, so I do find the view that manga/anime is sick and the people who read/view it are sickminded, is unfounded.
Seems you've never seen some of the nastier doujinshi that's floating around... some of that stuff'll give ya nightmares :shock:
It's not entirely unfounded - hentai exists and is a part of Japanese culture. What is unfounded is the way the media here will tar the entire anime and manga industry with the same brush, usually knowing little or nothing about the topic at hand. I think Japan as a nation is much more comfortable with sexuality than we are, and when that attitude comes across through their media, the more conservative types go up in arms over it. Again, this also has something to do with the deeply-rooted belief that it's just cartoons and comics. It's an attitude that is changing, albiet slowly.
It's not entirely unfounded - hentai exists and is a part of Japanese culture. What is unfounded is the way the media here will tar the entire anime and manga industry with the same brush, usually knowing little or nothing about the topic at hand. I think Japan as a nation is much more comfortable with sexuality than we are, and when that attitude comes across through their media, the more conservative types go up in arms over it. Again, this also has something to do with the deeply-rooted belief that it's just cartoons and comics. It's an attitude that is changing, albiet slowly.