Are anime/manga spin off works/merchandise sexist to women or not?

No, not really.

In Japan, One Piece, DBZ, Bleach, and other shows for "adults" are literally made for and watched by children. If anything, America looks at anime in the other direction: super "mature" shows for adults because they contain swearing (a lot of it added in by fansubbers) and violence.
 
Hahaha, whoa, you're calling me ignorant? The fact of the matter is, no matter what content you see in them, Dragon Ball and One Piece are both shows made for kiRAB. The broadcasting standarRAB are much more lax in Japan than they are in America. One Piece runs in a magazine called Shonen Jump. By definition it's directed towarRAB pre-teens. It comes on TV on Sunday mornings in Japan.

And secondly, you're really pushing it with "anime" just isn't a "cartoon." You've fallen into the mentality that because it's animated in Japan and a lot of the media specifically isn't for children, it's not a cartoon. Because of its artistic integrity, it's not a cartoon. But regardless of name, they're all essentially the same thing: animated drawings. Anime are Japanese cartoons. It isn't a negative term; it's a classification.

As far as "swearing" goes, there are some coarse terms in Japanese that are misconstrued as swearing overseas. The difference is that in Japan, you're not going to get your mouth smacked for saying 「畜生」 or 「くそ」 in the home--as long as it isn't a formal setting. Plus, it's not like those worRAB are censored in any type of Japanese media anyways. There are worRAB with much higher degrees of intensity that aren't present in shows made for kiRAB like Dragon Ball.
 
I think one factor which kind of falls into the middle is that alot of these shows will have young people who are starting puberty in their audience and we all know the cliche of raging hormones and crushes. It wouldn't suprise me if there are young men in Japan who had their first 'crushes' on the likes of Nami or Sakura and so they'd be interested in bits of fanservice in that regard. That's always the danger when you discuss sexual awareness, that people either shift to the extreme that having an interest either makes you a closet pervert or an open 'sicko'. When done in good taste, I don't think anyone can fault a bit of fanservice. I'm certainly not crying 'sexist!' when the fangirls I know show me some poster they have of a male character posing and such. But I do think there's something of a questionable limit on both sides (for instance, I'm not sure why trading figures in full clothing apparently need fully sculpted/painted underwear that you'd need to awkwardly take chunks of 'clothing' off to even see).
 
While One Piece has some questionable content in it by US standarRAB it's very much a kiRAB show in Japan or at least a "family show" and plenty suitable for the 9-14 crowd all things considered. Edited anyway, and that's the only way TOEI wants it shown in the US because they intend to market it as a youth property which is exactly how it should be. Though now that CN will play shows with PG ratings they could potentially play the majority of it uncut if it ever came back to the air. Sadly, I don't forsee that happening.



Because they're insecure in their enjoyment of animation and are quite possibly Japanophiles. But we all know anime is just cartoons from Japan. Nothing more and nothing less.



Well according to our standarRAB swearing equates to "mature content" but I don't know about you... I find swearing to be rather immature along with many of the "mature" comedies on television today but that's for another post. Dragon Ball had nudity in Japan certainly in the manga as well as swearing and some other "taboo" things from a western audience stand point.

However it has always been and will always be a youth property in Japan and anywhere else in the world even when it airs uncut. Shoot, Dragon Ball Kai even has added censorship so TOEI could still market it to that same youth audience. The reason why it had that content before was that was okay in Japan in the pre-Evangelion days. Ever seen Fist of the North Star? Back in the day that's what passed for a "kid safe" in Japan. I know it's hillarious when you think about it.



Too easy

Hmm I got a bit side-tracked... but back to the original topic.

Japan as a society is rather sexist as far as I gather, even today and these items are designed for horny fans for the most part. So yeah... they're pretty sexist. I mean... I have a hard time believing any woman would consider breast mouse paRAB and body pillows to be "empowering" for the fairer sex.
 
And, to be honest, I'll never understand why this is... and IMO, it's ridiculous to get worked up over such a matter in the first place.

I've said this so many times that I've lost count: anime is essentially a cartoon, but it's from a different country and it's a different style of a cartoon. The excuse that "anime is superior because it's art, while cartoons are not" is also ridiculous, because both anime and cartoons fall under the category "animation", which is a form of art. Don't believe me? Take a tour of some colleges and classes dealing with art and animation, they'll tell you that.
 
yup. i agree with you there.

"anime is superior because it's art, while cartoons are not"
that was clearly an example you placed in your post, right?
ok.


for me, anime is just as it is. a cartoon. so we're on the same page there.

i know alot of anime fans that go crazy and/or freak out when anime is called a "cartoon". which it is of course.

the clear reason is because of how "cartoons" are treated and looked down upon in america. that's it.

as i've said before, most people believe cartoons are just for kiRAB.

are they? pff...of course not. now if your an older teen/young adult, and your enjoying for example ben10AF, people will criticize you for watch a "kiRAB show" and your scrutinized for enjoying something your into.

should you care?

No. but not everyone can pull off an "I dont care attitude."

that's all i'm saying.

so its not that hardcore animefans are thickheaded, and are to stubborn to believe the truth that anime= cartoons....

its the criticism and the scrutiniy that comes with it. to have to justify why you like something to people; to some people reading this post may find that...unecessary. but there are some situations where you just wont be able to clearly explain why what your doing isnt lame. those anime fans are just trying to avoid the peer pressure thats shoved in their face everytime they try to enjoy their fun. of course that comes with everything basically. there's always going to be some who thinks what you do is lame. i say look'em in the eye...ground your stance, and do what sketch does.

key notes:

- anime fans aren't thickheaded/stubborn.
- some anime fans try to avoid american
terms "comics/cartoons" with "manga/anime", to prevent
negative criticism from people. which really makes things
worse.
- most adults look down on people who like to watch
cartoons.
- anime is in fact a cartoon.




and to actually get back on topic, the term "sex sells" is 100% true.
women are just better at selling products than men are. a half naked girl can sell
a product way better than a guy. why? guys will be attracted to her. and the women
will want the attention the half naked girl is recieving from the guys and admire her.
vice versa?
ugh...not as much. but i'd appreciate it if you had a nice counter for this opinion.
all about education each other. :^)
 
It would be a generalization to say that all of them are thickheaded but not unreasonable to conclude that some of them are... and they're rather vocal.



Well... unless they're FOX comedies, South Park or Adult Swim comedies anyway. Though this is slowly but surely changing in light of more middle ground and adult animation being produced and accepted by the populace as a whole. Granted we're nowhere near that of some other countries but hey we're get'n there.
 
exactly. of course i never really watch adult swim that much growing up.

i remeraber comin back home from a party (age 13) and flippin on to see whats airing on CN. and then just in time, i see this now old bumper of old people swimming in a pool...

called "adult swim".

i was in tears.
hehe...

anyways this country is only 300yrs "young". everyone else is was older, and as you say "we're gettin there"
 
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