Eden of the East - Episode 5 Discussion / Poll

[izmosmolnar]

Well whatever. I agree though the creators are indeed trying to present him as a really antipathic and totally uncool fellow, who's forte isn't exactly the logical behaviour. It still saddens me somehow, that his closest available friend would leave him cruelly behind in that state.

[Haak]

Episode 5 has managed to hit the headlines:
http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/0...ng-guro-anime/

[Starry Dust]

Originally Posted by Haak

Episode 5 has managed to hit the headlines:
http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/0...ng-guro-anime/

You know, you should give a little heads up about the NSFW content of the site

Heh, Steven Colbert.

[DragoZERO]

I picked up on that when I first watched it. It really made me cringe.

I think Saki knew her brother-in-law before her sister married him. Admiration probably turned into love. He seems like a real stand up guy too.

And five pages since my last post. I really can't keep up. lol.

[WanderingKnight]

Reading some posts here, I felt bit surprised by the fact that there are many people who feel sympathy/antipathy to a certain characters. Some of you treat characters as if someone they knew and even become judgmental to him/her although they probably have their roles in context of the theme development in the work. To some extent, this probably means a success of the work, though.

This.

I really never understood the need for basic "love" and "hate" attitudes towards fictional characters. Good characters, like Saki, aren't so simple as to be judged by one single emotion.

[sikvod00]

I can't speak for anyone else but myself, but I neither love nor hate any of the characters. Maybe if you gave specific examples of posts that gave you that perception, the person could explain if that's really how they felt.

[feRfe]

ah where is stephen?

[Amber.Dawn]

Originally Posted by WanderingKnight

This.

I really never understood the need for basic "love" and "hate" attitudes towards fictional characters. Good characters, like Saki, aren't so simple as to be judged by one single emotion.

Hmm, you can say "overall". For example, I hate how my friend keeps poking me >_<, but overall, I like to hang out with him. The good outweights the bad, and we still need to see more of the characters to understand them more.

[golthin]

I felt so bad for Oosugi. He is pissed because Saki has been leading him to believe that she is interested. I hope he is not the next target of Diana. He has a certain guilt too, he should have confessed to her.

[DragoZERO]

Originally Posted by golthin

I felt so bad for Oosugi. He is pissed because Saki has been leading him to believe that she is interested. I hope he is not the next target of Diana. He has a certain guilt too, he should have confessed to her.

I don't think Saki has been leading him, at all. They are already friends so her saying yes to lunch is no big deal. But yeah, its his fault for not confessing.

[Jan-Poo]

Strange, I didn't know Japan used to be that "prude" or "puritan". I even thought they used to go out to eat with (male) people like bosses and supervisors on fridays and the weekends.

Well I don't know if puritan is the right word ^^; But I remember I once saw an interview with a japanese who tried to explain their different approach to "sexual morality". In our western culture there is this concept of "sin", in Japan there isn't such a thing but there's still the idea that sex is something dirty and shameful. They do not fear an omniscient God, but they do fear society's judgment on their behavior. Of course I'm talking about the basic culture, neither we nor them are still attached to such rules. It's interesting how sometimes some girls in anime anachronistically think that just for letting a man see them naked they lose any chance of getting married.

[izmosmolnar]

Originally Posted by Jan-Poo

Well I don't know if puritan is the right word ^^; But I remember I once saw an interview with a japanese who tried to explain their different approach to "sexual morality". In our western culture there is this concept of "sin", in Japan there isn't such a thing but there's still the idea that sex is something dirty and shameful. They do not fear an omniscient God, but they do fear society's judgment on their behavior. Of course I'm talking about the basic culture, neither we nor them are still attached to such rules. It's interesting how sometimes some girls in anime anachronistically think that just for letting a man see them naked they lose any chance of getting married.

Spoiler for offtopicish:

[Well not the exact word I was looking for, but quite similar Puritan (= a person who follows strict moral or religious principles; a person excessively concerned about propriety and decorum). ]

Well I honestly don't know, I wouldn't have imagined they are so uptight over such minor details like eating together with a male. I mean, for me it doesn't makes sense to prejudge someone's sexuality, just because two guys sitting at the same table. By that logic, all the female "friends" dining together in the animeworld could/should be labelled as a lesbian, but strangely no one even looks at them with weird looks in the shows I've seen so far. Probably that's why I also assumed, there's nothing extraordinary if two guys do the same.

Obviously for a foreigner it isn't easy to understand their general behaviour, principles and moral values, since it's a vastly different culture, and maybe even a whole life wouldn't be sufficient enough to fully understand their general mindsets.
But as several people here already said, we shouldn't judge characters solely based on our own moral values.

[Haak]

Originally Posted by BunnyCupCakes

You know, you should give a little heads up about the NSFW content of the site

Heh, Steven Colbert.

Just so you know, the only reason I know of that site is because Kaoru Chujo showed me it. I was actually debating with myself on whether I should make a warning.

[Dop]

During the eating scene I couldn't help thinking that Diana likes her steaks like she likes her men - sliced up and bleeding!

After the idea a few episodes ago that Akira had rounded up the NEETs to put them at ground zero, it was better to learn that he'd had them shipped off to Dubai. I guess where this fits in with the Grand Plan is that by learning a trade in Dubai they could come back to Japan and help rebuild after the missile attacks, thus going from wastrels to useful members of society and making the world a better place, etc.

I fear for Oosugi.

[Haak]

Oh yeah, I was planning on asking. The NEET Akira talked to said, "I don't know what you were planning by sending us to Dubai, but atleast I was able to return to society because of that."

What does that phrase mean? I've hear that in another anime. I have a clue as to what it means but I want to make sure.

[BetoJR]

I'd think it means exactly what it says, since NEET's are perceived as being outside of society, not being employed, educated or trained.

[Haak]

Just wanted to make sure. I knew that NEETS didn't hve a a good image in Japan, but this is the first time I've seen it being used so harsly. I mean, being percieved as 'outside of society'? Yeesh.

[BetoJR]

Well, thinking clearly, a person past the age of 16, who's neither in some kinda school or working doesn't really participate in much of society's dealings, now does he/she/it? I mean, only as a burden to the parents or for the government, so I guess that's why some people tend to consider such people harshly...

[Haak]

I know some are NEETS because of backward attitudes, but you can't stereotype all of them. Alot are NEETS because they were just unlucky or that it's not their fault. I've always made it a rule of thumb not to judge anyone. (I know you're just playing devils advocate here. I just wanted to share my perspective)

With this global recession there's going to be a lot more of them so I guess in a sense, this anime came out at just the right time.

[BetoJR]

Originally Posted by Haak

I know you're just playing devils advocate here. I just wanted to share my perspective

Exactly the right response I was expecting. And I agree with you, on this.
But there are some people who tend to regard NEETs in a very unsavory light, even so.