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[ Posted by buddyparaiso on Jun 17th, 2007 3:26 AM ]...
What’s with animes and effeminate men?
I remember my younger brother once bought a DVD movie …I think it’s “Silence of the Lamb” or “Hannibal”.
He came across a bunch of teenage girls gawking and twittering like chickens in a barn.
Their object of affection is an anime DVD featuring a certain group of heroes that looked like thin, effeminate boys.
The store keeper’s assistant is so busy entertaining this bunch that he was forced to look for “Silence of the Lamb” from another store.
But before he could leave the place, he muttered rather audibly to the twittering girls; “Gugusto, gusto kayo sa mga iyan e mukha naman mga Bakla!” (You’re all seemed so infatuated with these guys who looked like “gay!”)
I began to noticed this, especially the coming of the Chinese boy band “F4”…They looked so effeminate; thin, graceful moving with long hair.
Now before F4, anime had so many female looking male characters in the past and they’re so numerous to list down.
I’m not really a big fan of anime…O.K. Voltes V, Najica and Nausicca fits my taste…but no more…
Maybe I can’t still muster enough forgiveness for the Japanese and the way they treated my old time folks back in World War Two, or maybe the way they treated our modern-day Filipina workers with discrimination.
Maybe, it’s because most often, the new Japanese anime stories were centered on a frail or weak looking guy surrounded by three, four or fifteen teenage girls who’re seem to compete for his affection. (Why can’t the Japanese script writers make a story about a single girl with three, four or fifteen teenage guys competing for her affection?...Hmmm…I perceive this as an example of how lowly the Japanese consider their women…It’s in their culture, that’s the generic excuse.)
Maybe, I firmly believe not to dwell in manga or the Japanese way of comic book art style and try to create your own style.
Anyway, I noticed that manga and anime had this character or characters that most often looked far more beautiful than the female characters in the story. They were considered as “beautiful men”…I’ve seen a small sample of “Weiscruz” (I don’t know if I got the spelling right) and the anime is populated mostly of thin effeminate looking male characters. There’s even a guy that at first glance looked like the typical 16 year old school girl but is really a boy in baggy, skirt-like pants and large, eyes.
Then, I’ve seen an add from a “ NewType” magazine; something called “West End”…I find this so revolting I just can’t stand it.!
Then I realized it, effeminate figures do come from Japanese culture…It’s in their “No Play act.” An ancient Japanese theater play where the actors are all males; even the female characters in the stories are played by men…
I’m a straight male, I can’t possibly relate into this…I was brought up in a society and culture where males are males and females are females (Although I never approve of females as wives waiting patiently for their husbands to return home from work and cry in one corner every time her husband beats her black and blue after returning from a drinking spree.)
I fancy a strong female character; a Lioness who cannot be tamed; a warrior woman who dares to march into a chaotic battle head on.
I have doubts if the Japanese could create numerous stories of such characters….
But in my part, I’m already doing it! |
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[ Posted by buddyparaiso on May 3rd, 2007 5:27 AM ]...
Both characters "Ranao" and "Mindayen" were derived from adventures taken from the deepest wells of Philippine ancient mythology.
Even some of the monsters and demons were derived from the almost forgotten context of Philippine Mythology. I admit, I put a little dash of Hayao Miyasaki's "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" in both of these characters.
O.K. about myself, I'm a freelance comic book writer and artist working with several local (Philippine) comic book publishers (Siklab, Redondo Comics) I also work with the guy who publish "Shimmie and Red" strips.
I published a book called "The Balete Book" (Girrafe Books Publications) about Philippine Folklore creatures and currently, I'm working on my very own graphic novel epic titled "Ranao of Mahardlika" to be published via Lulu.com.
I love "Star Wars" (A New Hope)But I don't like "Ewoks!" -these critters ruined the seriousness of the film. "Lord of the Rings", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind", "C.S.I. Original," Band of Brothers", "Voltes V"...I'm not very fond of modern animes.
Things that I don't like: "Harry Poter", "Star Trek the Next generations (Yes, that one with the bald guy and effeminate looking Android) "Voltron"(Those darn Mice, "Macross (or Robotech) Too many "Cheap female characters!" animes with effeminate looking guys...
Buddy |
