2011-11-16, 00:33 | Link #501 | ||
Anime-Only Viewer
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: USA
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After World War II, Japan and its infrastructure was in disarray. Society at that point needed people to do their job, almost like a hive concept, in order to rebuild society. People were expected to accept what duties were assigned to them, and the job they have. They had to conform to social needs of society, and they cannot publicly complain about it, which is an expression of "wa" or social harmony. The expression of wa has been around for a long time. Hence, anything that does not conform to the harmony of society is often rejected. You can read more on Japan society here: Society As for bullying in High Schools in Japan, it has to do with conformity. If you stand out, you get bullied. Another of the reasons they give for bullying is that the students themselves do not see much of a future for themselves. The economy is bad, and your chances for great success is low. Anyway, you can read more about it here: Bullying Quote:
From the link I provided above, being socially ostracized is considered bullying in Japan. It can lead to students committing suicide.
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2011-11-16, 02:26 | Link #502 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Age: 35
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Those are neither the words nor the expression of someone who's feeling bullied/remotely suicidal. Yes, bullying exists in Japan and there are structural/societal reasons for it. Yes, Japan's suicide rate is also extremely high due to pressure to perform scholastically. It's true that awareness of that "need" to get ahead economically was part of what Tsutomu used to rationalize/encourage his own alienization. However, the social forces you are referring to have not imposed themselves upon him externally. He's not being bullied, and he's not being put under scholastic pressure. Tsutomu chose to focus on studies and alienate himself from his classmates himself; someone truly being ostracized would've been a thousand times more aware of/grateful for the social refuge the Karuta club offered. Tsutomu is not a victim, and the anime doesn't portray him as one; if anyone could have been said to be showing real conformity to the standards of Japanese society, the one person most clearly doing that in that class was Tsutomu himself. |
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2011-11-16, 03:45 | Link #504 | |
Me, An Intellectual
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: UK
Age: 33
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2011-11-16, 05:11 | Link #505 | ||||
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Austria
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I'm late.
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This show plays up both the competition angle, and the belonging angle. Episode 7 has now brought the student ranking (latent in Taichi from the get go) into the spot light. And it has, for the first time, touched upon jealousy. Tsutomu faces Taichi, who blocks his goal of being best with (apparantly) little effort, and he even has friends, and people admiring him. In the face of Taichi, Tsutomu can no longer lie to himself: he's always known that people won't magically like him if he becomes #1 (at whatever). So, in the end, how do you balance the need to compete (ingrained in public student rankings, for example) with the need to belong? One false step, and people start talking about you rather than with you. What to do? Strive for mediocrity? Nope, the show gives us outsiders with a clear desire to excell. Of the characters we met so far, only Arata seems to have the desire to excell at karuta (being acquainted with it intimately from very early on). It's a stand in for Chihaya; and it's a training camp for Taichi (winning feels nice, so here I practice actually working for a win). Unsure about Tsutomu, so far. For Kana the competition is (so far) a tangent for her own desire, which is to share the beauty of traditional values. So karuta, as a game, is basically a "site" where you can practise to reconcile winning with society building: you'll want to win, as that's the nominal point of the game. But you also want the club to succeed, and maybe club members go to national turnaments (and it stops there, because there's little interest in karuta outside of Japan --> best of the world). Basically, you can always displace competition one step upwards: compete within the club, but support each other against opponents from elswhere... You reconcile competition with belonging, by placing yourself into a context of greater competition upwards in complexity, so even losing you gain a benefit from a "friend" winning. This is why the "best of Japan = best of the word", which sounds incredibly stupid and empty to me personally, makes absolute sense in the context of the show. If that were all, we'd just re-affirm the basic inspirational cliché: if we all do our best, we can be proud of our ("club", "school", "family", "country"). And the dark side of this is the fear of dragging the group down... Here's where the show balances the tournament system very well with school and family life. Note, for example, that Arata will - in all likelihood - be neither a club member nor a student at that school. He'll be - probably - a tough opponent, but only connected to Taichi/Chihaya, not to the other club members. I'm probably still not making much sense, as I have to think things through some more. There are plenty cross references I have set my eyes upon. For example: Chihaya joining the "Track-club" to meet people, but then unintentionally blowing off the class mate who invites her has echoes with Kana joining the archery club to be able to wear traditional clothes (and thus not being all that interested in archery, which rubs her team-mates the wrong way). Then look at Kana joining the karuta club with the same motivition, but this time out in the open and with Chihaya's approval (~ "doesn't matter why you like karuta, you like it as I do"). I think that's the direction I'd have to think about tradition <---> integration: as a practise ground for competition as integrational rather than destructive conflict. Quote:
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I don't know how to put this, but from watching anime and Japanese movies, and from some theoretical texts I get the impression that Westerners tend to think of society as Venn diagrams, while Japanese tend to think of society as concentric circles. If that metaphor has any merit, it might make sense to view karuta as a point of growth. You practise living inside karuta until you transcend it. A western solution to a similar problem would involve "expanding your horizon". Notice how that happens, too, but within the context? It's like... personalities rippling outwards in ever greater circles - and many people with similar problems joining together to make greater ripples. Still thinking. Quote:
*** @bullying: Depends on your definition of the term, whether ostracisation is bullying or not. There are good reasons for including it, but also reasons for excluding it. I'm sort of exhausted now, so I'm not going into this in detail. But basically, whatever you call it, you have two distinct situations: A) A specific group of people seeks out an outsider to torment him/her. vs. B) A diffuse crowd of people is excluding an outsider and whispering rumours behind his/her back. I've personally had severe problems with A, but only negligible problems with B). It seems that (B) is one of the recruiting grounds for tormentors (but not the exclusive one). Not sure about the situation in Japan, though. (I'm Austrian - little country in the European Alps next to Switzerland and Germany). |
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2011-11-16, 05:11 | Link #506 |
You are Reading this!
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: In the study room
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I hope the club will not be a gathering place for 'unique' people. But the OST throughout sounds very motivational, I have to say. However, any game or topic of interest can be used as catalysts for creating and strengthening bonds between friends.
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2011-11-16, 07:58 | Link #507 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Germany
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Taichi get + points for ep 6!
He know he cant never beats Arata but he will still try! Same as for Chihaya, he knows that Arata hold a special place in Chihaya heart but he is still trying to win her because he loves her. |
2011-11-16, 08:37 | Link #508 | |
Kana Hanazawa ♥
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: France
Age: 37
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Re-watch the flashback near the end of the episode (18 min in or so). Deep down, he desires to be accepted by others and that is part of the reason he immerses himself in his studies. He thought if he became number one, people would be forced to acknowledge him.
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2011-11-16, 10:23 | Link #509 | |
Senior Member
Author
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This is why I'm inclined to view Tsutomu as being a victim of bullying, much like how Arata was during the flashback portion of the show. Dawnstorm is right that there's two types of bullying (if you choose to categorize the second type as "bullying"). The one I think westerners are most familiar with is where a specific group of people seeks out a vulnerable outsider to torment him/her. But in Japan, I'm getting the impression that the more common type of bullying is when a diffuse crowd of people is excluding an outsider and making jeers behind his/her back. The "Japanese" form of bullying is less problematic in many ways in that it probably tends to come with less physical abuse and less annoying pranks. However, it's worse in the sense that it's trickier to stand up against and put a stop to. To stop the "western" form of bullying, you can either appeal to the majority of students who aren't part of the bullying group and try to get their help, or you can courageously stand up to the bully/bullies yourself. But how do you stand up to a diffuse crowd of people? How do you appeal to a third party if there's no third party there? My view on Tsutomu is that deep down inside he's very lonely, and has a need for a greater sense of belonging in the world. I think he has no real interest (at least yet) in the game of karuta, but being sincerely wanted to be part of a club - Not simply as a "warm body" to fill out five members but as a full-time contributing member - does appeal greatly to him. Tsutumo doubted Chihaya's sincerity in this episode, but not the value of her offer if it was sincere. I think that Tsutumo felt that Chihaya's offer was "too good to be true". He felt that nobody would want him to join their club as a real member. I think that Taichi's words convinced Tsutumo that the Karuta Club was sincere in wanting him to be a member; not just anybody at all, but him specifically.
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2011-11-16, 13:28 | Link #511 | |||
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
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2011-11-16, 14:41 | Link #512 |
Seishu's Ace
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Kobe, Japan
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I don't think that the common thread among all the kids in this show is bullying so much as outsider status. I don't disagree that elementary Arata and Desktomu suffered a form of bullying, but more than anything all of the characters - with the notable exception of Taichi - are somewhat isolated because of their quirks. Even beautiful Chihaya appears to have no close friends of her own gender, largely because she's an oddball of the first order.
The irony is that Taichi, while superficially the most "normal" and certainly the most popular, is arguably the most unhappy kid of the bunch. He's mastered the art of fitting in, in a way none of the others have, but it's brought him no satisfaction. He silently pines for Chihaya and constantly derides himself for what he sees as his shortcomings. The journey here isn't for the freaks and geeks to find happiness by becoming popular like Taichi - it's for him to become happier by letting go of his insecurities and following his heart, even if it means he's not as popular or "successful".
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2011-11-16, 16:46 | Link #513 | ||
Kana Hanazawa ♥
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: France
Age: 37
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His distrust of Chihaya was very realistic. It's only natural to react this way when you're almost completely isolated from others and the prettiest girl at school suddenly approaches you to recruit you in her club. I would have thought something was fishy too. Thankfully for him, Chihaya's no ordinary beauty. I love how forceful she was, even going as far as to carry him out of classroom against his will Quote:
The last member might break the pattern though, since I think he's the rival of Arata we saw in the flashback.
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2011-11-16, 20:56 | Link #514 |
One-Eyed Dragon
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: NJ, USA
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Lol Chihaya dragged Tsutomi all the way with his desk. Wow Taichi actually beat Chihaya. Glad had he overcame his past feelings, just like the feeling Tsutomi currently feels. Lol at Taichi throwing the desk. 1 more to go.
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2011-11-16, 21:02 | Link #515 | |
Guess what time it is?
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
Age: 38
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Deploying dramatic re-enactment in 3.. 2.. 1.. (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ |
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2011-11-17, 03:36 | Link #517 |
Tch.
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Australia
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Tsutomu, dropping your desk and leaving it behind is great symbolism and everything but in the end, you're still gonna need that when you go back to class .
This show is really pleasant to watch. The preparations for Arata's inevitable return to karuta is going on well and the side characters being introduced have their individual charms. It was nice that Taichi got serious for once and managed to beat Chihaya. Wonder what kind of person they'll be getting as their fifth member? Hopefully someone Chihaya doesn't have to forcefully drag to the club this time. On a side note, the beginning of the main bgm theme is starting to annoy me for some reason... |
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josei, karuta, madhouse |
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