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It’s anti-father’s day here at Anime Pulse, where the guys talk all about those horrible dads in anime. In fact, you might say it’s going to be a mostly negative show this week, as Andrew and Joseph both have rather depressing news to share during the industry news section. IRL news is a bit on the lighter side though as Joseph challenges his supervisor to a Shokugeki and Andrew celebrates a birthday, and the same can be said for the reviews, as Joseph attempts to save the planet by dating girls and Andrew is like a bull in a china shop where all the china are girls made out of crystals and the bull is wizards from the moon.
Show Notes
Music
Intro – “Japanese Style Trap Beat” by Annex from Royalty Free Anime Music
Outro – “Neko Mimi Mode“ by Dimitri from Paris from Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase
Reviews
Date A Live III – Crackers
Wikipedia
Houseki no Kuni – Crackers
Wikipedia
News
Male Voice Actor Insulted by Cops Accusations
Madhouse Insider Says Nothing has Changed
Rooster Teeth Company Reviews Poorly
One-Punch Man Introduces Supposedly Racists Hero
Tto no one’s surprise I agree with most of what Andy had to say abuot Houseki no Kuni… sorta. I don’t really think the plot is “paper-thin” as much as I think it leaves a lot up to theorycrafting, of which there was a lot happening in an anime server I’m in when it was airing. So much cool stuff to ponder. It’s just a surreal kind of experience that leaves a lot up to the viewer rather than spelling everything out.
Oh, and Kongou-sensei actually represents Kongou, a japanese equivalent of Adamantium (I.E an indestructible mythical metal).
By the way, they actually made a pilot for the show that’s all 2D and more closely follows the manga’s style. Shows off some interesting methods they tried out to represent the glimmer and refractions of the gem-hair.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OQX0KkqVSk
Glad I taught you guys “effusive” – it’s an excellent word! Also – Joseph, I hope your cooking battle goes/went well; Alton Brown is a good power to have on your side! And I agree, I bet your opponent’s “punishment” is very merciful and probably is pretty darn good. I’d actually be curious about the recipe.
BTW, that story of the father getting hassled in the park is indeed pretty depressing; it may be not only be attributable to paranoia around children’s safety, but also the culture in Japan, which as I understand, still lags a bit behind on normalizing fathers as caregivers/stay-at-home-dads (see the Ikumen Project, specifically launched to promote the idea of men as involved parents, and not just breadwinners -https://womenintheworld.com/2018/11/30/japan-explores-new-strategy-for-promoting-gender-equality-hunky-house-husbands/ ) . One can only hope that as more dads publicly parent their kids that it will raise fewer eyebrows and certainly not raise alarm when someone is Being a Man in Public with a Child.
The one positive thing I can take away from this sad story is that it seems like a stark outlier. At least, I hope it is, and it won’t become a trend. If it does, though, we can start handing out cute-but-insulting nicknames to people calling the police for unfounded/petty problems in Japan: Park Bench Ponyo, Childcare Chitose, Playground Puyumi, Dadwatch Daichi, etc.
I forgot to add a very important detail about Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans. One of the most important characters in the show is a dude (Naze Turbine; I definitely did not remember his name. Thank’s wikia!) who has a ship full of women. He has his main lady, and he has a HAREM OF WIVES on the ship as well. Don’t fuck with these women, because they pilot mecha, and they’re damn good at it!
I’d never lie to you about harems, Joey.
https://fantasticmemes.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/msg-ibo-naze-and-his-harem.jpg
Andy, I’m glad you tasked Joey with handling the racially sensitive issue of Blackluster. He’s definitely level-headed.
I did see the Blackluster episode, and I…I don’t know about that character. I don’t find him offensive, as if he’s some minstrel character, but he’s super dumb, he’s naked, and one of his defining characteristics is that he’s strong, which can also tie into black stereotypes. I don’t know if you’ve seen interviews with Japanese folk, but their exposure to African Americans and other black people is primarily in entertainment. So something like Black Panther is a bigger deal than you or I would make of it, because we don’t live in such a homogeneous area. So, for some, it may feel like when anime portrays a black person, it’s FF VII’s Barrett all over again. To me, Blackluster just looks like “What if a bodybuilder (who happens to be black) was a superhero?” That’s just one black man’s opinion.
How many people were outraged, though? 5? 10? I alway wonder when we have controversies if the angry mob is as big as I imagine.
Speaking of black people, hmm, I wonder if they’ve ever been harassed by the police because they fit the profile, even if they’re just enjoying a day in the park. Now Joey’s mad about men being harassed? Welcome to civil rights! Glad you’re with us.