Breaking the Narrative Episode 18: Alright Kotaku, its your turn! Smack the #HipOfBabylon!

I’m going to be straight up on this, I’ve been dealing in matters of #GamerGate since a week before my son was born, so since early September 2014. The way I found out about it is because I was introduced to MundaneMatt via ReviewTechUSA. Feel how you will about those two channels but I’m setting the stage of how I’m approaching this article; as someone who has been hardline on ethical practices and anti-censorship when it comes to any form of media. Also as it was seen in my previous article on the Mary Sue attacking Moe. I figured I would have to approach this subject sooner or later. Better now than never I guess. I didn’t think I would have a shot at Kotaku directly with all the Unavision Limbo but I am not a believer in perfection. This is something I’m alright with being wrong on. However, from this point forward I intend to be right on the money and touch upon something that has been loosely mentioned within some of the shows on Honey Badger, the Grass Eaters of Japan also known as herbivore men. Let’s hammer this in!

So if you have been paying attention this past week you probably noticed one of Kotaku’s newer ‘journalists,’ Cecilia D’Anastasio. Looking into her past she seems to have come to them from VICE and Jezebel. So I’m sure we can see exactly where this is going. So what has this feminist enraged? Why tits and ass bigger than her own of course! Her article titled “Girls Fight With Their Butts And Boobs In This Wretched New Anime” is about a newer anime released on October 6 called Keijo!!!!!!!! or “Hip Whip Girl”, yes the exclamation points are part of the title. Now I did decide to do my research and watch the anime for myself. There is only one episode currently and it isn’t hard to find. Here is what I observed. It’s about a fictional sport of the same name in which women multiple women perform in essence Sumo wrestling where they can only use their breasts or their butts to attack and defend. If any other body parts touch the attacker is disqualified. If one of the contestants fall off the ‘land’ into the water they lose. The last woman standing is the winner. Its a fairly simple construct as the show follows the lead character Nozomi Kaminashi in her journey to become a leader in the sport and get a huge cash prize.

So how does our Mz D’Anastasio start with her article? By appealing to the ‘suits.’

Alright then, if we are taking this approach and assumption why don’t we look at the production company behind Keijo!!!!!!!! shall we? The production house behind it is Xebec which is a subsidiary of Production I.G., one of anime’s most revered producers. They’ve been involved with various different genres of anime and big names such as Bleach and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Fun thing is if you go onto their Japanese main site you’ll find Keijo!!!!!!! right on their front page. In fact from what I’ve seen they are doing everything they can to promote this property by relative newbie Daichi Sorayomi that its interesting. Knowing the industry how I do, I have a feeling that Xebec’s ‘suits,’ who could very well be women, know exactly how to sell their product. Japanese publishers aren’t completely ignorant to the current upheaval here in the West that is attacking feminism and are taking full advantage… meaning they knew this would happen. They also knew how it would rile up fans like myself who actually understand the culture to an extent. At this point they probably see weeaboos and oldtaku as their future since there are fewer and fewer children in Japan at this point. I’m sure some of the elders in the company are trying their damnedest to encourage the current herbivore men to wake up and start doing some pussy grabbing.

So what does this have to do with herbivore men? First, let me put forth a definition. Herbivore Men, also known as “Grass Eaters,” is a phenomenon that has been said to have been growing in Japan since as early as 2006. It’s a variant of what we call MGTOW over here and exists for some of the same reasons like the shift in female mindsets being more towards the aggressive and ‘thirsty.’ Quite a few are starting to prefer American or Americanized men over traditional Japanese men. The increase of the Japanese variant of geek culture or ‘otaku’ has been making them more interested in ‘2-D women’ of anime and video games than in real world women who were a little more ‘tsun’ than ‘dere,’ seeming to be rather crazy in the process. This is where the ‘waifu’ phenomenon comes from. On top of that is the issue with the Japanese work scheduling which results in some men LIVING at their jobs for their family since they’ve become such workaholics. They are simply too tired and lonely for sex but use various forms of media to fulfill their scant free time and regulate their stress levels. But back to the article.

This series being covered by Kotaku is seemingly playing them for the chumps they are and getting some extra free advertising for their new pet series out there. As such let’s delve deeper shall we?

Hmmm, interesting. They linked Crunchyroll. Like I said earlier it’s not that hard to find this show and this shows the insidious native advertising this was actually meant for. Kotaku was probably given some ad revenue by the famous anime streaming service. But at the same time let’s look at the ideological aspect of this. She doesn’t care that the women are well-written characters with discernible personalities, with dreams, ambitions, and flaws. She doesn’t care that the women are strong, independent or that this seems to actually fit the sexist Bechdel test. Boobs smack butts so no soup for you! The Feministasi demands it! She also mentions it started as a manga. Well 89% of the anime you find out there started as a manga. It could have died in obscurity. Well yes, it could have but you drew attention to it. In fact, it still might because of this. A lot of anime gets lost in the shuffle. Do you know how many anime get released in a season? Sometimes up to 40 different shows. That’s over 100 new shows per year, many of them one season shots, some not breaking 12 episodes nowadays as opposed to the old standard of 26 episode seasons. On a side note funny she is bashing this series since it has one of the most diverse body typed casts I’ve seen in a sports anime. In fact, the main character’s instructor and trainer is an obese woman by the name of Nagisa Ujibe, nickname: The Walrus, who is a revered veteran of the sport who claimed the title “Siren.”

Here in the states we are also used to some shows never breaking two or three seasons but in Japan it’s a little more common to see shows last decades. Super Sentai is just reaching its 40th anniversary while Kamen Rider hits 45 and Ultraman still has a running series 60 years after its original release! I can’t name a single series in the states that has really gone past 30 years of syndication and that’s The Simpsons. If you can think of one please put it in the comments. Point is some of their original actors are on their way out big time, so these production companies want to make what they can stick so they can bring forth new talent. One of the things that may have led to the herbivore nature though is also the reason these new actors and actresses are geared to success. Most of them are contracted to not get a significant other at all for the first few years of their career. They are to act as if the fans are their significant other. This is my theory on how the herbivore mindset started. Why go searching for a mate when actresses in their works treat you like you are their world? Same with the proliferation of dating sims set up to be more and more complex and on the go in mobile phones and consoles. There is even a hotel in Japan which will marry you to a character of your choice from the dating sim Love Plus on DS. With how crazy some women have gotten I don’t think many blame them. I myself am lucky to have found a good woman, my wife.

The rest of this seems to be much more of the same. Calling it deplorable (taking up that word quick huh?) talking about the past of the director Hideya Takahashi who used to direct for Sword Art Online and Pokemon Origins very loosely enough to fit her narrative, then bitching about the nature of fanservice in general. I keep forgetting these people hate merchandising of intellectual properties and capitalism. However, she can’t see why US anime fans laugh it off. It’s because we understand it’s not real and who the audience is – not her. What she doesn’t comprehend is fanservice goes both ways. As such, I present to you something she would probably enjoy seeing very highly, a new series called Nanbaka: The Numbers!

This series is a comedy about four cellmates in a supposedly inescapable prison who try every episode to break out. As you can see the theme is they are all pretty boys with extravagant looks and there is plenty of female fanservice in this show too, including a little brother who runs around in drag that pulls it off very well, shocking the protagonist Jugo (the one with the 15 on his face.) As you can see, all of them have numbers on parts of their body, Jugo is Japanese for 15 for example, Uno is the one with the 11 on his hat, I’m guessing his real name will be revealed later on to be Junoichi which can translate to 11. The mistakenly dubbed “Rock” is supposed to be Rokku or Roku Kyuu which translates to 69 which is on his arm and is an American stereotype if you can’t tell. Then there is Nico, which is an odd way of saying 25 or ni ju go, his mark being on his tongue. Strange things happen to him when exposed to various narcotics and the like. He doesn’t trip out himself, though. As you can tell in this picture everyone in this show is sparkly and shiny not to mention RIPPED. Seriously you can grate cheese on those abs!

So to sum it up I feel this entire thing is a blatant ad attempt for cruncyroll that they did in conjunction with Xebec and an opening to spout about how feminists hate big butts and tits on skinny girls and men being happy. At the same time, I showed an example of fanservice for women that is out at the same time in the same markets as well as showing Kotaku writer Cecilia D’Anastasio didn’t watch even through the opening of Keijo!!!!!!!!, simply looking at promotional materials probably. Perhaps she should go watch Izetta: The Last Witch instead, where the princess teams up with the titular witch to save her country against nazis in an alternate dimension World War II. I watch too much anime sometimes….but I wouldn’t be the Anime-Mun if I didn’t!

Next time I plan on getting back to Anita before Halloween because she did monster girls now. As a Gaelic Pagan, I have some issues with some of the things she has said in that episode other than the misrepresentations of video games. Until next time please remember to Game Freely!

Sources:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=18413
http://www.xebec-inc.co.jp/
http://www.crunchyroll.com/keijo/episode-1-setouchi-keijo-training-school-721755
http://www.crunchyroll.com/nanbaka/episode-1-idiots-with-numbers-721083
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=18196
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703632304575451414209658940
http://keijo.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Characters

Author
Recent Posts

Follow me at

Alex Tinsley

A student of Fine Arts and Japanese culture of six years at Murray State University. Having never graduated due to difficulties with a specific teacher has gained a unique perspective upon the issues being faced by men and boys. A father of a young boy and loving husband.

Follow me at