How Japan’s ‘BBC’ is rewriting its role in the Second World War

[Razgovory]

Countries love whitewashing their pasts.  I'm not going to hold a bunch of shit that happened  70 years ago against modern Japan, especially when Japan is needed to help encircle and destroy China.

Japan is a far greater threat.

You couldn't be more wrong.

Anime is a far greater threat to Western society then a thousand non-wars with China.

[celedhring]

Okay, I had to look and see if this was a real thing.  Ugh.  Why do a bunch of them have cat ears?  Does that also let them fly?

They are witches, and they need magical power to fly and fight.  When they use magical power, they grow animal tails and ears.  When they stop using such powers, the animal features disappear.  Don't ask me why.  That's just the way it is in the story 

Did they set out on making a record for anime fetishes touched upon a single production?

Also, China seems to have been obliterated in their version of the world:

[Josquius]

The argument that one should ignore weird pronouncements from the Japanese government because most Japanese don't think weird pronouncements are weird assumes that Japanese weirdness is the norm, and that Western normality is the weird (and, thus, Western reports about how weird Japan is are the weird thing, not the Japanese government's actions).

The norm for Japan is still a norm. If Japan was a newly discovered country then reporting on their norm would be newsworthy but since it is the established way of things here it is weird to report on it like this, as if it was something out of the oridinary in Japan.

I challenge your assumption that ignoring historical facts in favor of historical fiction is fine, and that it is "weird" to report on governments which have such a policy.

Challenge that assumption all you want, it's not one I hold.

Awesome analogy. 

The thing you don't seem to get Squeeze, is that the rest of don't find either of those things acceptable, neither the right wing politicians saying things that are blatantly untrue, or the rest of the country being indifferent.

I don't find it acceptable either. Its why I'm a leftist.
In an ideal world the far right would stay in school and learn their history (I'm not just belittling them here. The far right does heavily recruit from high school drop outs. Junior neo-fascists are a frequent annoyance at inter-school events, it really is rather odd from a western POV) and the far right wouldn't exist. But we don't live in an ideal world and so people will use freedom of speech for idiocy.
Since far right views in Japan at the moment are merely at the level of an irritant and aren't an actual threat it's pretty standard procedure for the right to try and prove their credentials with the loonies. People accept that this is the case and if they're inclined to vote for the right for more sensible reasons then it isn't going to stop them, there are far more important issues in Japan than politicians muttering views of history that everyone with half a brain knows to be incorrect.

Tied in with this schilling for the far right vote, and far far more important and worthy of attention from the west (yet it never gets it, since "OMFG Pearl Harbor 2 is just around the corner" sells better), is politicians/far right groups connections with the yakuza.

[Monoriu]

Okay, I had to look and see if this was a real thing.  Ugh.  Why do a bunch of them have cat ears?  Does that also let them fly?

They are witches, and they need magical power to fly and fight.  When they use magical power, they grow animal tails and ears.  When they stop using such powers, the animal features disappear.  Don't ask me why.  That's just the way it is in the story 

Did they set out on making a record for anime fetishes touched upon a single production?

Also, China seems to have been obliterated in their version of the world:

I think there are far more weird animes out there.  Strike Witches is, by anime standards, not particularly weird or over the top.  Negima is an anime with a 10-year old male lead and over 30 named female characters (all of them are his students), each with at least one fetish represented.  Nobuna's Ambition is a story about a guy who time-travels to the Sengoku era, only to find that the majority of the historical warlords have turned into cute girls.  Girls und Panzer is about teenaged girls who drive WWII era tanks around as a school sport and national competition.  In this world, fighting in tanks is considered a traditional female hobby on par with floral arrangement.  Did I mention that the schools in the Girls und Panzer world are located on the decks of giant, city-sized aircraft carriers, and such carriers are operated by school-aged girls as well?

Strike witches is based on fighter aces.  There is an upcoming one based on warships.  Yes, cute, moe girls drawn to represent destroyers and battleships. 

Let's see, of the 11 main heroines, 2 are from Japan, 3 are German, 1 is French, 1 is a Brit, 1 is Russian, 1 is a Fin, 1 is Italian, and the last one is an American.  Each of the heroine not only represents a real historical fighter ace, but a type of WWII era fighter aircraft as well.  The reason why China is not included is probably because China didn't have a WWII fighter ace, and didn't have any notable aircraft. 

[celedhring]

Fair enough they didn't include China, there was no need to put a giant gaping hole where China used to stay though :p

[Monoriu]

Fair enough they didn't include China, there was no need to put a giant gaping hole where China used to stay though :p

Well, I don't mind.  Story-wise, 22 out of the 24 episodes (and the film) take place in Europe.  2 episodes happen in Japan.  So the rest of the world doesn't really matter. 

[The Larch]

Fair enough they didn't include China, there was no need to put a giant gaping hole where China used to stay though :p

Well, they obliterated the Middle east and a chunk of Australia too, and America seems to have taken such a geographical beating that it doesn't remember its real shape anymore.

[Monoriu]

In an ideal world the far right would stay in school and learn their history (I'm not just belittling them here. The far right does heavily recruit from high school drop outs. Junior neo-fascists are a frequent annoyance at inter-school events, it really is rather odd from a western POV) and the far right wouldn't exist. But we don't live in an ideal world and so people will use freedom of speech for idiocy.
Since far right views in Japan at the moment are merely at the level of an irritant and aren't an actual threat it's pretty standard procedure for the right to try and prove their credentials with the loonies. People accept that this is the case and if they're inclined to vote for the right for more sensible reasons then it isn't going to stop them, there are far more important issues in Japan than politicians muttering views of history that everyone with half a brain knows to be incorrect.

Tied in with this schilling for the far right vote, and far far more important and worthy of attention from the west (yet it never gets it, since "OMFG Pearl Harbor 2 is just around the corner" sells better), is politicians/far right groups connections with the yakuza.

I think the problem is that the folks to make these false statements are not random lunatics or ordinary citizens.  They often occupy positions of authority and responsibility, and they are handpicked by people who are even higher up in the ladder.  I've seen cabinet level ministers making similar claims.  An analogy would be a random guy in Berlin denying the holocaust, probably not that big a deal.  A German official handpicked by the chancellor making such a claim, that warrants some concern. 

[grumbler]

The norm for Japan is still a norm. If Japan was a newly discovered country then reporting on their norm would be newsworthy but since it is the established way of things here it is weird to report on it like this, as if it was something out of the oridinary in Japan.

It is weird to not understand that the media is reporting for their own audiences, not for Japanese audiences.  While these weird actions may be typical for Japan, they are not typical for the audiences that non-Japanese media are serving, and are thus newsworthy. 

Challenge that assumption all you want, it's not one I hold.

You argue that the fact that the Japanese government-owned media are reporting falsehoods as facts is "the established way of doing things," and thus a "weird" thing for the media to cover, so, yeah, you are arguing based on that assumption, if you believe your own arguments.  It could be that you are arguing things you don't believe, I suppose.  You wouldn't be the first...

[Josquius]

Sorry Grumbler. I give you a reply or two out of common decency applying to all but I don't like the arguing for arguings sake game.

I think the problem is that the folks to make these false statements are not random lunatics or ordinary citizens.  They often occupy positions of authority and responsibility, and they are handpicked by people who are even higher up in the ladder.  I've seen cabinet level ministers making similar claims.  An analogy would be a random guy in Berlin denying the holocaust, probably not that big a deal.  A German official handpicked by the chancellor making such a claim, that warrants some concern. 

That analogy gets made a lot but it isn't quite as simple as that. Japan didn't have the total break with history that Germany had post war. There wasn't anything like de-Nazification and demonisation of broad swathes of its history. There's a continuity here.
I'd say it lies somewhere between the Germans speaking well of Nazis and say a Brit speaking well of the British empire; kind of non-kosher and un-PC to many but not at all in the realms of indefensiblity.

The whole point  I was making is that these are the views of a fringe group. Right wing politicians however feel compelled to claim to hold them to a greater or lesser extent in order to beat the other right wingers to the fringe group vote. There's a general understanding that these aren't views that any of them hold particularly close to their heart and they don't have to actually do much about them. If a right wing politician were to come out and speak against such views then he would cause a rift in his party at best, more likely just ruin his own career.

So in conclusion: People should vote for the left.

[Siege]

For anyone who wants to check out the anime, the chronological watching order is -

OVA - Season 1 - Season 2 - film. 

The OVA is hard to find.  It is a test run to see audience reaction so that they can modify the character designs.  So the OVA characters look a bit different from their usual forms.  The OVA is not really connected to the rest story-wise, so it is not fatal to skip it.  Don't watch the film before the two TV seasons, as there are spoilers about the ending. 

Season 3 is in production, and will probably feature a different cast. 

Strike Witches?
I skipped this one because the name sounded too corny to me.
I might have made a mistakes that requires immediate rectification.

[Monoriu]

Strike Witches?
I skipped this one because the name sounded too corny to me.
I might have made a mistakes that requires immediate rectification.

I initially thought it was just senseless fanservice.  But after watching an episode or two I was totally hooked.  What sells the show is how close the heroines really are despite any initial disagreements, and the lengths they are willing to go for each other.  The fight scenes are cool as well.  The overall tone is quite positive and even light-hearted at times, despite the setting of the show with alien invasion and occupation. 

[Neil]

So in conclusion: People should vote for the left.

DPJ surrender monkeys?  I think not.

[Admiral Yi]

I'd say it lies somewhere between the Germans speaking well of Nazis and say a Brit speaking well of the British empire; kind of non-kosher and un-PC to many but not at all in the realms of indefensiblity.

Which statement are you referring to?  That the Rape of Nanjing didn't happen, or that Japan was tricked into WWII by America?

[Neil]

Wait, Tyr thinks it's inappropriate for Britons to fondly remember the empire?  All of the sudden that throws everything he's been saying into doubt.