The mainstream hate toward Boruto is worse than mainstream hate toward Naruto was

 

I really don’t get it and more so given back in the day, hardcore Naruto fans were the reason the word “Weabo” was created. I have never heard that word used in reference to any other fanbase or with such distain before or since Naruto. Let’s not kid ourselves, sequels are a rare thing in Anime and Manga in general. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is an obvious exception to the rule but I won’t digress.

Boruto is a direct sequel to Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto created both series like it or not. He may not be personally heading Boruto as he did with Naruto but he is overseeing the Manga and Anime series. It is not a “pet project he’s not serious about” like many dismissed it as when it was first announced. He wouldn’t have bothered making a series out of it otherwise. The Naruto to Boroto movie would have been enough.

 

Naruto was mostly hated until his iconic battle with Pain. It was after this battle that Naruto finally earned the respect of universal respect of the entire Hidden Leaf Village. At that point, Naruto had truly arrived. To understand why that was such a big moment for Naruto plotwise, you need to trun back the clock to the night he was born.

At the very beginning of the series before he became a ninja, as a child Naruto is an outcast in the village due to circumstances beyond his control. The only people who really looked out for him were his first teacher Iruka and to an extent, the Third Hokage. We find out the reason he’s ostracized is because everyone in the village knows he is a Jinchruki: He is a vessel for not just one of the nine mythical Tailed Beasts but the 9th and most powerful, Kurama. The Tailed Beasts were sealed away for reasons I’ll get into later but what you need to know for now is they had to be sealed inside people with powerful chakra.

The specifics are revealed much later in the series but to understand what happened the night Naruto was born, you have to know who Kurama’s Jinchuruki before him was: His mother, Kushina Uzumaki. When Kushina was a little girl, the Uzumaki clan was known to specialize in sealing and binding jutsu. Her bloodline is why she was chosen to be the next Jinchuruki as the current one was nearing the end of their life. Her predecessor ominously warned her female Jinchuruki needed to be especially careful if they have children because the seal keeping Jinchuruki contained would greatly weaken.

By the time Kushina became pregnant with Naruto, she happened to have married he 4th Hokage: Minato Namikaze. It’s never stated but it’s likely the Third Hokage gave Naruto his mother’s last name to protect his life from those who might try to kill him when he was still a baby. Obviously knowing his wife was Kurama’s Jinchuruki, Minato took steps to protect the village by arranging for her to give birth far from the village in secracy.

Despite the prepwork, Obito found them and struck. Weakened from having just given birth, Kushina is unable to defend herself and is taken by Obito who breaks Kurama’s seal. Obito then unleashes Kurama on the village. Hundreds of villagers and ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village died before Kushina and Minato manage to restrain Kurama. Realizing they’re about to die after they’re impaled by one of Kurama’s claws, Minato and Kushina make the difficult decision to make the newborn Kurama the next Jinchuruki. Minato casts the Death Reaper Seal Jutsu at the same time, taking half of Kurama’s chakra to the netherworld with him. The remaining half is sealed inside Naruto.

A short time later, the Third Hokage finds Naruto and the bodies of his parents. He puts 2 and 2 together and realizes what happened before he was arrived. While Minato was busy dealing with Kurama, Sabutori Konahamaru was helping to evacuate villagers to safety during Kurama’s rampage. Most of the villagers obviously knew Naruto was the 4th’s son but the problem is their respect for Minato wasn’t extended to his son despite the fact his parents’ sacrifice is why the village wasn’t wiped out entirely. You have to keep in mind for generations, people had been taught to fear and hate Jinchuruki. Then Kurama got lose to night he was born. In their minds, Naruto was an accursed child.

 

 

 

From a very young age, Naruto aspired to one day become Hokage. He’s obviously the son of the 4th Hokage himself while the 6th Hokage Kakashi Hatake was his squad leader. When the third Hokage died fighting Orochimaru, legendary ninja Tsunade returns to become the 5th Hokage. In the timespan between the end of the Naruto series and the beginning of Boruto, Naruto achieves his dream by becoming the 7th Hokage.

The interesting this is the Third Hokage knew both of his predecessors AND the four who succeeded him. When Konahamaru was a squad leader, his team was made up of Juraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru. The three were known as The Legendary Sanin and later, they would each mentor a team of Kakashi’s Team 7: Naruto (Jiraya), Sakura (Tsunade) and Sasuke (Orochimaru).

 

Their rivalry with each other spanned almost 10 years to say the least.

Like Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha had quite a tragic family history. Due to politics, his older brother Itachi was forced to wipe out their entire clan and he did it in a single night. Basically, the Uchiha clan was feared for their powers. Generations earlier, the Uchiha and Senju clans–the village’s founding clans–were the strongest in the ninja world. Hashirama Senju, the first Hokage brokered an alliance with the Uchiha clan though he ultimately had to kill his longtime rival Madara Uchiha in the process.

By the time Sasuke was born, the Uchiha clan served the village mostly as police and though some like Itachi served as members of the Hidden Leaf’s Anbu Black Ops. Itachi was basically forced to kill his entire clan–except Sasuke–by Danzo to prove his loyalty to the village over his clan. The incident was covered up and explained to the rest of the village as the Uchiha clan preparing to rebel and they had to be annihilated. Knowing it was a lose-lose situation for him, Itachi left the village and joined the Akatsuki alone though Sasuke’s safety was assured since his latent powers hadn’t manifested yet.

Sasuke knew what his brother had done and held a deep-seated hatred toward him because of it. It wasn’t until much later whem Itachi revealed the truth that Sasuke learned his hatred was misplaced. When he was younger, he left the village feeling he needed to find other ways to become stronger. This leads him to Orochimaru, who himself was exiled from the village years ago due to his forbidden research and experiments.

Eventually, Sasuke learns the truth about the Uchiha clan’s dark past. Obito Uchiha–Kakashi’s former squadmate–fell into despair after their squadmate and love interest Rin was killed during a mission. Obito, who was long believed dead after that fateful day abandoned the village and founded the Akatsuki. Its mission: Revive Madara Uchiha and usher in the Infinite Tsukiyomi. Obito ultimately succeeds but let’s just say he’s made to quickly regret it.

Team 7, which was fractured for some time reforms to ultimately save the world. After that, Sasuke challenged Naruto to a duel to settle their differences and decide which of them should become Hokage. The duel ended in a tie when they both literally blew each others’ arm off. Sasuke conceded to Naruto after the fact and would dedicate the rest of his life to protecting the Hidden Leaf Village from a distance. Naruto used Hashirama’s cells gain a new arm and later became Hokage after Kakashi.

 

 

 

In the interim while Sasuke was AWOL and Kakashi was pulled for some Anbu missions, Tsunade reformed the team. Joining Naruto and Sakura would be Yamato and Sai who themselves are both highly trained Anbu. Yamato was chosen because he was the only other ninja available capable to restraining Kurama’s chakra if need be. The mysterious Sai was added to the reformed team on behalf of Danzo, one of the leaders of the village to keep tabs on Naruto and kill him if he became a danger to the village. While Sai clearly had split loyalties, ultimately he decided to side with Naruto.

 

One of the longtime tropes of the series was Sakura’s one-sided crush on Sasuke. When Sasuke left the village, she took it especially hard compared to Naruto. She knew she had to become stronger and decided to train as a medical ninja under Tsunade. After Team 7 reformed and saved the world, she would succeed Tsunade as the greatest Medical Ninja in the world. Sai would go on to reform the village’s police force while Yamato would return to the Anbu. Naruto would eventually see, understand and accept the feelings of his longtime crush Hinta and they would get married.

 

That brings me to Boruto.

In case you don’t know, Mitsuki is basically one of Orochimaru’s clones but has a will of his own. Sarada is the daughter of Sakura and Sasuke obviously while everyone knows Boruto is Naruto’s son. Boruto also has a younger sister named Himawari. Initially led by the third Hokage’s grandson Konahamaru, after Sarada become a Jonin she was promoted to squad leader. They would eventually be joined by Kawaki, a young man Naruto adopted after a certain incident.

Those who hate Boruto need to understand the contrast between Naruto’s time and his son’s. Naruto’s generation of ninja would be the last to live through a ninja world in constant conflict. After the 4th Great Ninja War, the nations signed an armistice that is unlikely to be broken anytime soon. More so given Naruto befriended the leaders of the other nations and is now Hokage. You have to keep in mind the overwhelming majority of those who did the fighting and dying were children. Kids started training from a very young age and it was all they knew or was expected of them.

By the time Boruto becomes a a ninja, he laments the fact he was “born in the wrong era”. He has no interest in becoming Hokage but wants to become the strongest ninja in the world. Contrast that to the clumsy and awkward Sarada. I’ll put it like this: Her parents likely wouldn’t have minded if she decided to not become a ninja. Boruto told her while he has no interest in becoming Hokage himself, he wouldn’t mind being her right-hand man if she became Hokage.

On that note. For a long time, Boruto thought his father was lame. He knew his father’s duties as Hokage meant he couldn’t spend a lot of time with the family. It’s not that he felt neglected but he just thought he father should try to make time for the family. In contrast, Sarada never questioned why her father was almost never around. Sakura admitted she was basically a single parent and it was only by chance he was back for the birth of their daughter.

Both Boruto and Sarada obviously know about their families’ dark histories. The fact that Boruto idolizes Sasuke is interesting given Sarada idolizes Naruto. It isn’t until Naruto is abducted that Boruto actually begins to appreciate the legendary Shinobi everyone came to know Naruto as over time. Boruto stopped giving his father a hard time over sleeping most of the time he was home and actually started to respect him as father and Hokage.

 

 

The anime-exclusive arc in which Boruto and Sasuke go back in time and meet kid Naruto was quite the crossover to say the least. It was done mostly to show Boruto he and his father weren’t that different when the latter was his age. More notable was the fact Sasuke kept himself mostly hidden while they were in the past because during the time period they were there, in reality he had left the village not that long ago. He didn’t want to run the risk of someone who knew the Sasuke of that era recognizing him. Boruto asked him when they are alone where he was at that point in time. He doesn’t say but simply states at the time, he was a different person than the one everyone knows now.

After their business in the past was resolved, Sasuke wiped the memories of everyone they met. This is why when they returned to the present, Boruto had to tell his father everything he experienced. Some like to make the arguement this arc was done to win over fans of Naruto to Boruto. After all, it was anime-exclusive. Storywise, I think it was done to show Boruto the stories he heard about how his father was as a kid were in fact true.

In terms of where Boruto’s story is now, I think it’s in a very good place. I find it hypocritical many casual Naruto fans want to pretend they always liked him when they never did until after his fight with Pain. It wasn’t until after that fight that it suddenly became “cool” for casual fans to like Naruto. More so now when comparing Naruto to Boruto. Naruto’s generation fought and sacrificed a lot to secure the era of peace their children now enjoy. Sure, Boruto still has to worry about various threats but it’s nothing on the scale of what Naruto dealt with, nevermind the frequency.

As a reminder, Boruto continues the story of the Naruto universe like it or not. The story is primarily being told from Brouto’s generation now. Naruto’s story was told and he achieved his dream of becoming Hokage. Great. Even though the focus is obviously on Boruto’s generation, we do see what happened to people Naruto came to know along the way. For example Gaara became Kazekage, Shikamaru is Naruto’s assistant and Tenten opened an “antique” weapons shop in town.

Their stories were told already and are done. A new generation of ninja are getting their stories told like it or not. You’ll see familiar faces but they’re mostly in the background where they belong. Could Boruto surpass Naruto in terms of power? Yes, absolutely and more so based on what the Manga eludes to. Will the others see Mitsuki fight in Sage Mode? Signs point to that happening sooner than later. Will Sarada’s Sharingan become as strong as her dad’s? With enough practice and experience, I don’t see why not.

A real interesting scenario that was heavily teased when Boruto was nothing more than concept art was Himawari becoming a ninja herself. Until fairly recently in the anime, she showed little interest in following in her older brother’s footsteps. Mind you, the Byakugan manifested in her from a very young age. Like her aunt Hanabi, she is considered a prodigy by the Hyuga clan. If she underwent proper training, she would probably surpass her late uncle Neji who himself was a prodigy (for those who might not know, Neji died during the Fouth Great Ninja War).

There’s PLENTY of untapped potential for Boruto. If you’ve made up your mind and you don’t like it, fine. Otherwise, give it some time.

 

 

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PAX East staff member dies from COVID-19 four weeks before Anime Boston 2022

 

Gamespot shared the tragic news Tuesday afternoon.

PAX East took place in the Boston Convention Center in Boston last weekend. Although the event required all attendees and staff to be vaccinated, to that point Massachusetts and Boston had recently ended their mask mandates. Both the Boston Convention Center where PAX East is held and the Hynes Convention Center where Anime Boston is held are state property managed by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA). This is one of the situations where one death is too many. That much goes without saying to say the least.

I decided to pass on going to Anime Boston this year and likely next year in part due to these concerns. It’s easy to forget in general, conventions are a breeding ground for viral outbreaks because you have hundreds and thousands of people in enclosed spaces. I last attended AB2018 on that note. The larger reason I am not attending Anime Boston is simply because I don’t have the money right now and need to prioritize things.

That aside, I am sure the folks who manage Anime Boston will work with Hynes staff as well as the Sheraton Hotel which also hosts some events to mitigate the risks of the convention becoming another super spreader event as much as possible. Like PAX East did last month, Anime Boston does have a vaccine mandate for all attendees and staff and this was announced in October. According to what I’ve been reading on Anime Boston’s official forums, they decided to go with a mask mandate despite relaxed posturing at the local, state and federal levels on masking guidelines.

The only time you can be maskless is when you’re eating/drinking. You need to keep it on even if you’re a solo panelist like I typically was because then convention staff would have an increased risk of getting infected while cleaning the stage and microphones after you finish. Since you’re using a microphone, your voice will carry just fine with a mask on. All you have to do is slow down and properly endunciate to be heard and understood.

In closing, Anime Boston is taking the situation VERY seriously and more so after they were forced to cancel in 2020 and 2021. For those who don’t know, 100% of all Anime Boston staff and board members are not paid for what they do. Anime Boston’s parent company the New England Anime Society (NEAS) is a 501.3(c) Nonprofit. Everyone who works behind the scenes is doing it because they believe in what they’re doing first and they want the convention to be a success second. Not just for attendees but also for the staff who will be on the ground as well.

I will be watching things from a distance this year and possibly next year but I’m sure Anime Boston’s attendance this year will much lower than attendees are used to. Since 2012, Anime Boston’s attendance has exceeded 20k. Its peak was in 2017 when the attendance reached 27k. I’m sure Anime Boston staff are expecting attendance to be closer to its early years when it peaked around 10k. I would be very surprised if attendance exceeds 10k nevermind 15k this year and likely next year.

COVID-19 aside, it’s also true the entrance fee has also been increasing in recent years. When I first started going back in 2010, a weekend pass was $50. This year, it’s $95 if you preregister and $105 at the door. I did consider just getting a Sunday pass–and I am considering that for next year–but right now I can’t justify spending the $50 or $60 to be there for basically 5 and a half hours (closing Ceremonies starts at 3PM and lasts an hour). Not this year at least.

 

 

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Japanese parents expressing concern over Sexually Explicit content in Anime

 

It’s hard to ignore the fact it’s becoming more and more commonplace in mainstream anime these days. Last year, Fire Force creator Atsushi Ōkubo weighed in on the subject that involved one character known to randomly lose their clothing in a Manga scene. He addressed the controversy around this character’s semi-nude trope directly by basically saying “So what if some people don’t like her showing so much skin in almost every scene? I dont give a damn.” through the scene. We’ll have to wait and see if this scene is put in the anime once the story reaches that point but it probably will be.

Most Anime fans in the West are already well aware of this but Japanese media is imfamous for being very…”liberal” in regards to its depictions of sexual content, violence and immorality in general for decades. The difference is until about 20 years ago, such content was strictly 18+ even in Japan. What happened? Foreign demand for Japanese media sharply increased, that’s what. Many consumers in North America and Europe who didn’t like their country’s “Censorship practices” took a strong liking to Japanese anime and manga because in general, western consumers felt Japanese media appealed to “mature audiences”.

Even when Anime began to become mainstream in North America and Europe about 25 years ago (late 1990s), most of what made its way to the West was relatively tame compared to most what was available in Japan at the same time. The West almost exclusively got select Shonen like Digimon, Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO), Pokemon, Dragonball Z, Inuyasha (started in the late 90s, Manga premeired earlier in the 90s) and Sailor Moon back then. All of these were geared toward kids and youth so even in Japan they were mostly tame, the one exception from that list being Dragonball Z (edited fo graphic content outside Japan).

It wasn’t until the mid to late 2000s that we really started to see the kiddie gloves coming off because by that point, anime airing in the West exclusively ran on Cable/Satellite. There was less of a need to edit anime for graphic content. Bleach, Death Note, Naruto, Samurai Champloo, Code Geass, Fullmetal Alchemist and Cowboy Beebop were all trail blazers in their own right and opened the floodgates for anime globally. Toward the end of the decade, anime streaming services were starting to take off. This is to say nothing of the West being introduced to the artistic genius of Hayao Miyazaki earlier in the decade via Disney’s Studio Ghibli.

It was during the 2010s that we really started seeing more non-Shonen going mainstream. We would also start to see Shonen that didn’t have fighting or flashy action sequences at the end of the decade like Food Wars and Dr. Stone. By 2014, Crunchyroll had become the anime streaming giant it still is now though Funimation would also launch their own streaming service. It was also by the mid-2010s that Anime’s Global Golden Age would be over after almost 20 years. At this point most anime, manga and even many Japanese RPGs were noticably being made with older consumers in mind. Why? Demand from foreign consumers was driving profits to new heights and the industry was adjusting accordingly.

 

 

That brings me back to the main topic. The fact that Japanese parents are raising concerns about Sexually Explicit content in anime tells me there is a more social awareness in Japan on what exactly their kids are being exposed to.

World’s End Harem, which recently premiered on Crunchyroll is a blatant attempt to make an obvious Ecchi appealing to “General Audiences”. How so? The basic premise of the story is about a man who wakes up after 5 years in cryogenic sleep to a world where Males are virtually extinct due to a viral outbreak. His primary mission? Impregnante as many Females as possible weather he wants to or not. The Manga it’s based on has actually been around for some time. While it IS true there is an actual plot, that is obviously not what the uh…”appeal” is if you know what I mean.

It’s interesting to note the reason there has been an uptick in anime and manga with sexually explicit content in recent years is because demand for it has sharply risen. Not from Japanese consumers but from consumers outside Japan. Most consumers from inside Japan don’t understand it and they DON’T like all the “Fan Service” for that matter anywhere near as much as they know many people outside Japan think. I do think it’s only a matter of time before Japanese artists and studios pivot on their own because most of them don’t want to be stereotyped for this anymore.

 

This is to say nothing of content sexualizing Female characters characterized as pre-pubescent and content depicting or promoting incest, usually between sibings becoming mainstream. This kind of content you usually had to put in some effort to find but mostly due to Western influence, we are seeing more of it in the mainstream. Japanese society is starting to recognize it as the problem it truly is and I am hoping they can discourage it personally.

 

 

 

 

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Future Blog Plans

First things first, I want to repeat what I said at the end of my previous article. Please consider supporting me financially via the PayPal Links above and below. If you’re sharing my articles on Twitter and other platforms, please ask your people to consider giving me financial support as well. I do all this for free but the financial support would be greatly appreciated.

 

This is one of my first blogs and since it’s been a while, I figure I would take the time to explain the direction I plan to move with this blog moving forward. One thing I plan to continue is give analysis of various Anime and Asian Dramas I watch. I also plan to continue giving an analyis of various Dramas and Webtoons I read. Of course, I’ll also talk about Anime Boston as I have been for almost 10 years now.

Something I’ve noticably been making an effort to do more of is delve into current events in Japan outside Pop Culture. I have also been expanding things outside strictly Japan especially when I talk about Manwa (Korean Manga) and Manhua (Chinese Manga), more so because of their increased international popularity in recent years.

It goes without saying Japan won the Cultural War it declared on the West in the Mid to late 90s. Western Cultures scoffed at what they viewed to be a “niche” subculture in the early 2000s but by the early 2010s, it really started to take off. Now, it’s more or less considered mainstream. To say Western society is obsessed with Japanese and Asian/Pacific Culture(s) now goes without saying. A lot of that has to do with the fact let’s be honest, Western Moral Values have become virtually non-existent over the last 20 years. Of course, much of that is because of our own doing–violence, sexual immorality, profanity and crime glorified in our entertainment–so the results of that on our society shouldn’t surprise anyone.

People are looking for decent entertainment that has a lot of the good morals that used to be be all over TV’s first few decades. Until about 30 years ago, parents in America didn’t need to worry about what their kids watched on TV. Obviously, now parents do and then some. I’ll spare you the history lesson but basically, people are just tired of the garbage that is today’s American TV. This is also what makes Asian Programming in general so attractive to Western Audiences. People are seeing things in the vein of what they saw when they were young or in the case of younger viewers, they’re seeing something wholesome.

China and to a lesser extent Korea are known for producing Period dramas alongside Dramas set in the modern age. The Period dramas set in the past give Western audiences a look into life in either country’s history even when there are historical inaccuracies or a hard lean into Fantasy elements. After all, Anicent China was the home of both Buddhism and Confucianism though there are also elements of Taoism as well.

Most of the modern shows I watch highlight the cultural struggles in China and Korea with the influences of Capitalism and other Western influences with established longtime cultural values. When the 2018 American movie Bohemian Rhapsody was released in China, the Chinese government agreed to allow the movie to be shown in the country but there was a catch: The movie had to be edited to remove references to the lead character being Bisexual. The Chinese government does censor international movies, literature and TV shows not just on moral grounds but for political reasons. Of course, the will also censor anything that mocks or goes against or threatens Chinese cultural beliefs as a whole. Yes, really.

While just the idea of government censorship is enough to trigger well…everyone in the U.S., you won’t find a lot of people who oppose the idea of the American Media Industry getting cleaned up. The problem is the industry has made it clear it has no interest or will to police itself so…yeah. I’ll stop there since it’s a topic for another blog though.

All that said, I am WELL aware of the Sexually Explicit and graphic violence in some Japanese Anime and Manga. I hate it personally and more so when I feel a lot of it is unncessary. I also hate the fact Sexually Lewd content in particular has seeped into video games from Japanese developers being localized in the West. Why do they do it? Because in Japan, those types of games are deliberately marketed to adults. Same for “Girls/Boys Love” Ecchi and Harem genre games.

Don’t even get me started on charcters regardless of medium featured that are physically “child-like” but are actually 18+ AND teenagers under 18 with exaggerated physical proportions being put in sexually suggestive situations or scenes. All that said, the Japanese goverment finally stepped in a few years ago and more so because of Anime like Higehiro where unfortunately concerns someone would try to replicate what they see depicted actually did. This was never a concern for Japanese society in the past but that was before so much of their mass media was as saturated with Sexual Content as it is now.

What I was pleasantly surprised to learn in recent years is there are people on both sides of the Pacific who are basically saying “Enough. All this [Fan Service] isn’t necessary”. It’s commonly known as Fan Service which in Anime/Manga is almost always females being sexually suggestive or Lewd, usually in an over the top or deliberate way. Those in Japan are tired of being stereotyped over it first and its not as socially accepted in Japan as people might think second. Even more so these days. Those outside Japan are pushing back hard against those who oppose content makers who edit out or change sexually explicit content. When you’re older, you realize “less is more” anyways.

 

Moving on. I snuck this in at the end of the last article but I set up a Discord Server! I started using Discord for the first time ever this year and I see it as a potential alternative to some social media platforms. I have Discord on my iPad as well so I’ll be able to follow conversations anytime and anywhere. I’ll add more channels to the server over time as well so it’s not a bad idea to drop in at least.

 

 

I do plan to add a section for Japanese Foods with complete recipes.

Instant Ramen and Cup Ramen have been around for over 50 years but did you know you can and it’s reccommended you spice it up to look like it does in Anime? Instant Ramen and Cup Ramen imfamously got a bad reputation in the late 1990s to mid-2000s in the U.S. but that changed after the Naruto Manga and later Anime were released. Anime Fans in particular began to realize they were mostly eating it wrong their whole lives: The Flavor packet was for the broth BUT it was assumed you would add the protein and veggies yourself. If this isn’t a reason to learn how to cook, I don’t know what is!

I’ll add a new section for Japanese foods before the end of this year. Of that you can be certain. I’ll announce in posts when content is added as well, don’t worry. I won’t just post recipes but more importantly, how you can make certain things without access to an Asian Grocery Store like Super 88. Most Supermarkets in the U.S. do have an aisle or two lined with Sauces, Spices, Seasonings and other Asian ingredients or food products. Those will cover everything I plan to feature over time but if live near an Asian Grocery store, you can ask staff about specifics.

If you’ve never seen the Produce section of your local supermarket, most do sell Daikon–it’s a type of Radish for those who don’t know–as well as Shitake Mushrooms as well as Leeks (Green Onions). If you want Kobe Beef, you would have to go to either go to an Asian grocery store or a Butcher Shop though it won’t be cheap. Alternatively, you can use other cuts of beef instead. Oh and I won’t just feature Japanese food. I also plan to feature foods from South Korea, The Philippines and China to name a few places.

I also plan to add a section for the Idol Industry in Japan and South Korea as a whole to explain some things many of those outside South Korea and Japan may not understand culturally. The Western World knows who BTS is now but until very recently, they were only known in South Korea. The Dark Side of K-Pop and J-Pop Fandoms is touched on in other media but I’m gonna make a section to show folks what could have been the U.S. Pop Scene about 25 years ago. I feel it’s important for folks to be aware at least.

 

…Whew.

Yeah, I know this is quite a lot of big things I have planned moving forward. Your continued support will be greatly appreciated moving forward. Really, I mean it. Thank you ^_^

 

 

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Also, I now have a Discord Server! You can find it here. My Discord name is mraurabolt.

Breaking News: The Misfit of Demon King Academy Manga Cancelled due to Author’s Health

 

A few days after it was announced the Manga would be on hiatus, news broke over the weekend that the Manga based on the popular Light Novel series will be cancelled due to the author’s declining health. It was first announced the Manga would be on hiatus but that was later updated to Cancelled. The studio where Kaya Haruka works revealed after this shocking and sad news that they were aware the author was battling Pancreatic Cancer since 2019. Things clearly took a turn for the worst recently for the story to be put on hiatus and now be cancelled. As of July 13, Kaya Haruka has passed away.

Do note this Manga was adapted from the Light Novel series of the same name. Meaning someone else could make a new Manga adaptation of it at some point in the future. An anime adaptation was released last year. Season 2 is set to be released sometime next year. The manga’s 10th Volume is set to be released next month. While the current Manga will clearly be ending soon, that doesn’t mean that the story can’t contine in a new Manga series and chances are good that is what will likely happen.

 

 

More disappointing news: Season 2 of The Rising of the Shield Hero has been delayed to April 2021.

The most likely reasons are the surge in COVID-19 cases in Japan and recent concerns regarding overworked studio staff that’s been widely publicized in recent months. Originally planned for an October 2020 premeier, the extra 6 month delay doesn’t surprise me at all and more so given Season 2 was originally planned to premeire last summer. That was postponed due to the Pandemic.

Naofumi, Raphtalia and Filo joined Isekai Quartet’s second season, likely in response to the anime’s massive popularity. A third season and a movie were both recently announced. We’ll have to wait and see if characters from other Isekai join and there’s quite a number of popular ones to choose from.

 

The Japanese government announced most of the Tokyo Olympics events will take place without fans in attendance and the news comes almost two months after the Japanese government announced the events would be closed to foreign spectators. Many athletes that qualified have started dropping out in response to the new announcement saying they don’t see the point in participating without any fans in attendance.

Japanese citizens have been protesting the Olympics for months, citing the surge in COVID-19 cases since March. Despite this, the clearly tone-deaf International Olympic Committee still plans to hold the Olympics as scheduled. Why is the Olympics, which was postponed from last year not being postponed a second time?

It’s simple: Broadcast and Advertising obligations.

In the U.S., ESPN and NBC Sports will carry the bulk of the media coverage for the Tokyo Olympics. The fact of the matter is even without live fans in attendance, that won’t keep camera teams from doing their jobs. This is exaserbated further by the simple fact most in the U.S. have NO CLUE what has been going on in Japan since the spring and honestly most of those people have no damns to give.

This is more of a thing I would normally cover on my blog for politics but I felt since this is Japan-related, it’s fair game to inform people on this blog on what exactly is going on.

 

 

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The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: 10 Years Later

 

March 11, 2011.

 

I remember following the news coverage from the day it happened to several weeks later. It was also the biggest topic of conversation at Anime Boston, which was 7 weeks later. Although only two areas of Japan was directly affected, it impacted the whole country and sparked a broader conversation on Nuclear Power and disaster preparedness globally.

The disasters claimed the lives of almost 20,000 people, another near 7,000 were injured and to this day almost 2,600 are still unaccounted for. Millions were left homeless or lost their jobs due to property damage or destruction. The initial earthquake was felt in most of the eastern half of the country but most of the destruction and casualties was concentrated in Fukushima Prefecture.

 

It is worth noting most of the damaged areas were repaired or restored within 5 years. That’s astonishing if you don’t know Japan actually does experience earthquakes on a regular basis annually. Most of the rail lines in the affected areas reopened though some rail lines were so heavily damaged, they were permanently replaced with bus service where the rails used to be. Japan obviously cares a lot about its infrastructure so the speed at which they got things repaired or restored isn’t that big of a surprise. There are still several hundred thousand permanently displaced people who are living in temporary housing.

This includes many who are afraid to return to Sendai where the Fukushima-Daichi Nuclear Power Plant, which suffered a catastrophic meltdown during the disaster is located. The power plant was quickly shut down and sealed off though concerns of radiation sickness is why some are refusing to return. Since 2012, Japanese government officials and UN officials have both separately said the area is safe for people to return.

 

 

The 2016 feature film Your Name (Kimi No Na Wa) by Makoto Shinkai is loosely inspired by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake in Tsunami. In the movie, a meteor strike wipes a small town off the map in 2013. That is where one of the two protagonists, Mitsuha Miyamizu is from. According to the story, everyone in the town who isn’t killed by the impact dies from the Tsunami that washes away the town including Mitsuha. A supernatural phenomenon links her to Taki Tachibana, a boy living in Tokyo in 2016. After doing some research, Taki realizes Mitsuha lives in the town just before it’s destroyed 3 years earlier.

The red cord of fate that connected them makes it possible for them slightly change history and most of the townspeople survive the disaster. The two meet in person for the first time in 2022 during the movie’s final scene. Both also make separate cameo appearances in Shinkai’s 2020 movie Weathering With You, which takes place in 2021. Based on this, many believe they will appear together in Shinkai’s next movie if it’s not a direct sequel to their movie.

I gave an overview of Your Name but was careful not to spoil too much. If you haven’t yet seen the movie, you definitely should. I have it on Blu Ray but apparently it’s available on Netflix.

 

 

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Anime Boston 2021 Officially Cancelled

I opened my Inbox today to find this email from the New England Anime Society, which is the parent company for Anime Boston. Here it is in full:

Notice of Cancellation

We at Anime Boston and the New England Anime Society (NEAS) have been closely monitoring the status of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and its effect on events of our size. Although the recent developments with vaccines is fantastic news, the governor’s order prohibiting larger gatherings is still in effect. With less than two months until the scheduled dates for Anime Boston 2021, it is extremely unlikely the ban will be lifted before then. As such, we unfortunately have no choice but to cancel Anime Boston 2021.

Our executive board has reviewed the possibilities of postponing the 2021 convention for later in the year or hosting an online version of Anime Boston. After careful consideration, we have decided it would not be feasible to do either at this time. We are a completely volunteer organization and all of the preparation is done on our personal time. Reorganizing the convention for later this year would be extremely difficult to achieve especially with the added uncertainty.

For our pre-registered members who had 2020 memberships transferred to 2021, by default we will be transitioning your memberships to Anime Boston 2022, set for May 27 – 29, 2022. Anime Boston is operated by the non-profit New England Anime Society (NEAS) and all revenue goes back into the operational costs of our convention and NEAS. Members who allow us to transition their membership to 2022 help us remain financially stable and cover expenses we already incurred for 2020 and 2021.

We understand that not everyone is certain if they will be able to attend Anime Boston 2022. Anyone who would prefer to be refunded for their Anime Boston 2020/2021 membership, please contact Registration Customer Service. Please include your full name and the email address used when registering. Please allow at least three to four weeks for processing of refund requests, based on the volume of requests. Please also note that refunds will be delivered by mail because it has been more than one year since the card transaction. This means that there will be a further delay between processing on our end and the refund getting back to you. A request for refund must be submitted by March 14th, 2021. Any memberships without a refund request will be transferred to Anime Boston 2022.

Hotel reservations made directly through a hotel must be cancelled through the hotel’s website or at their phone number. Reservations made via a third party vendor should be cancelled through the same vendor. Please refer to your reservation confirmation for refund information for direct hotel or third party bookings; Anime Boston is unable to intervene in these circumstances.

Participants of the 2020/2021 Artists’ Alley who have already been confirmed and completed their registration will be migrated to the 2022 Artists’ Alley. Similarly, for our exhibitors in the 2020/2021 Dealers’ Room, we will be migrating all who completed their registration to the 2022 Dealers’ Room.

Participants of Anime Boston 2020/2021 programming, such as the Masquerade, Cosplay Games, Idol Showcase, AMV Contest, panels, contests, and other events will be contacted in the upcoming weeks by their event coordinators.

We appreciate your patience and understanding while we worked to figure out a new path for Anime Boston 2021. Though we had considered cancellation earlier, we had certain contractual and financial obligations that made it difficult for us to cancel on our own before a certain time frame without jeopardizing the convention long term.

We hope you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy, and we encourage everyone to do their part in getting a vaccine when it is available to you. We hope to see you at a better time at the next Anime Boston, May 27 – 29, 2022.

 

At least this time they let people know more than a month out. As noted, red tape prevented them from officially cancelling AB2020 and AB2021 until certain conditions were met. Like last year, they ruled out postponing the convention to later this year–even in a virtual format–because their staff is 100% volunteer including their executive board. They do all the planning and preparation on their personal time.

Hopefully the third time will be the charm next year. As noted, Governor Baker’s ban on large gatherings is still in place due to the Pandemic. I don’t see that changing until the COVID-19 vaccine is widely available first and there is a huge drop in transmission second. Hopefully both of these conditions will be met by this coming Fall.

For those who may be wondering, the local pro sports teams have been playing with no fans in attendance last summer (and excluding the NBA Bubble in Orlando of course). As for the Japan Boston Festival–usually held in August–we will have to wait and see. If the current restrictions are still in plance by mid-June, that’s likely to mean it won’t happen either. I do follow news on that and if anything comes up later this year, I will provide an update.

 

 

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For those who deam of living in Japan, it’s much harder than you can possibly imagine

 

Japan is considered one of the most peaceful modern countries on the planet. It’s funny given its long history of war and conflict spanning its entire history until the end of World War II. In the 8 decades since World War II–it’s now 2020 as of this writing–Japan has established itself as bastion for all things video games, Anime and Manga. It has an open door policy for tourism and business as its shares its unique, storied cultural history with the rest of the world. It’s a far contrast from a country that at one time closed its boarders the outside world for almost 100 years. Speaking of. Shades of Japan’s past isolationist policy is ever present and obvious in its immigration and refugee policies. Japan is known to have the strictest immigration and refugee policies of any developed nation for a reason.

I recently watched an editorial on NHK Japan about a family originally from East Africa–I believe they were from Ethiopia originally–that for reasons I can never understand decided to move to Japan…as refugees. It made absolutely no sense to me given what they went through. For SEVEN YEARS, the couple’s daughter was not legally considered the father’s even though she was born in Japan. The reason? Their marriage was not legally recognized in Japan. The reason for that is because the father did not yet have Refugee status and so his marriage was not yet legally recognized in Japan. Thus, legally his daughter was not his daughter as far as Japan was concerned. Only her mother was her legal parent.

Think about how that must feel for a father who helped create and raise a child to know the government did not recognize you as her father. What made the situation feel even more complicated to me is at the time the editorial was filmed, the mother was pregnant with their second child. It made no sense to me for them to even think about having another child knowing not only does the Japanese government not legally recognize you as the father of your first child but if your current status is revoked, you will be deported immediately. By the end of the editorial, they finally did get legal recognition from the Japanese government.

Japan is not the U.S. They don’t play around when it comes to immigration and deportation. The Japanese government announced last week they executed a foreign death row inmate for the very first time it its history. It’s unheard of because they prefer to deport foreign-born persons who commit capital crimes even if they become a citizen. They rarely use the death penalty on their own death row inmates too and in fact, they don’t even tell those on Death Row when they will be executed. The day of is when they find out.

Getting back on topic. The irony of Japan’s strict immigration policies is they have an aging workforce and a declining birthrate. The U.S. has the same problems but has always used Immigration to replentish its population. Not so in Japan, which faces an economic crisis due to its aging population and workforce that can’t replentish itself. Japan doesn’t have any drastic population control policies like China’s controversial One Child policy. It’s simply paying the price for having a closed door policy is all. I’m not saying Japan should have an open door policy but it feels pretty hypocritical to me with how much Japan markets itself as a tourist destination.

This past summer, Japan announced they were basically giving away vacant homes for free to anyone who wants one. What they conveniently left out is they will not fast-track immigration for foreigners who might want to take advantage of the offer. The vacant houses mostly belonged to people who moved away on that note. I won’t pretend to know Japan’s immigration process–and my apologies for misleading folks into thinking I do–but the little I have researched so far is like their gun permit application process: Meaninglessly drawn out and complicated on purpose to discourage people from actually trying. That’s my impression anyway.

 

 

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Japan’s Emperor Akihito abdicates after a 30-year rule, Crown Prince Naruhito to succeed him as Emperor

 

Effective April 30–I’m being mindful of the time zone difference between Boston and Japan on that note–Emperor Emeritus Akihito (above, Right) has officially abdicated the throne. His son, Emperor Naruhito (above, Left) has succeeded him as the 126th Emperor of Japan.

Akihito’s father and the previous Emperor, Hirohito was spared prosecution for war crimes committed by Japan during World War II for political reasons in short. It was sold publicly that top military officials acted without Hirohito’s knowledge or permission despite obvious evidence Hirohito was aware of everything and nothing happened without his knowing about it. In short, no one bought it but since the U.S., which Japan surrendered to was pushing the story that’s how history was written. It pissed off almost a third of the world that Hirohito basically got away with War Crimes so the US Forces occupying Japan wouldn’t have to deal with an insurrection. Hirohito ruled until his death in 1989 and was succeeded by the now Emperor Emeritus and his son, Akihito.

I’ll pause for a minute to add this. After World War II, The Imperial Royal Family was officially stripped of its power and influence in political matters. In short, the position of Emperor is nothing more than a figurehead with no real power in matters of State. This was the (steep) price paid to be spared prosecution. The REAL executive power is in the hands of the Prime Minister, the current one being Shinzo Abe.

There actually weren’t any laws on the books in Japan when Akihito expressed concern in 2016 he doesn’t think he’ll be able to fulfill his duties as Emperor for too much longer. He actually expressed his desire to abdicate in a close-door meeting with his advisors several years earlier. The Diet (Japan’s equivalent of US Congress) made a new law so The Emperor could Abdicate. It is the first peaceful transition in 200 years and second in which the existing Emperor Abdicates in the same timespan. Akihito became the first Emperor to assume the throne after World War II when his father, the previous Emperor died in 1989.

 

Take a look at this:

 

 

For clarification, Japan’s line succession goes to the first male heir of each generation. Naruhito, who is 59 has an 18 year old daughter. The second in line after him will be his brother Fumihito (aged 54) while the third in line will be Fumihito’s third child and only son Hisahito (aged 13). The marriage of Princess Mako to a commoner last year renewed debate in Japan’s Diet about changing the rules of Succession. Naruhito doesn’t have a male heir so his brother Fumiko will become the new Crown Prince on May 1.

The matter had been discussed before but was dropped after the birth of Fumihito’s son Hisahito in 2006. If the rules were changed to how it is in Great Britain, Princess Aiko would become Crown Empress and her uncle would be second in line to the throne. It could also mean changing the rules on the status of Princesses when they marry a commoner. As it stands now, Princesses automatically forfeit their status as royalty when they marry a commoner because their last name changes to that of their husband. Not just their title as a princess but imperial finances and even access to their former residences as well. Some would like to see the rules changed to allow female royalty to retain some of their status and more so since unlike in Great Britain, the Imperial Royal Family is nothing more than a figurehead anyway.

If the rules were changed, after Aiko and Fumihito the next in line would be his second daughter Princess Kako–since Princess Mako lost her status by marriage to a commoner last year–and then Prince Hisahito. One person would come before Fumihito and one person would come before Hisahito just like that. Would Fumihito mind his niece becoming Crown Empress ahead of him? Probably not. I also doubt his 13 year old son Hisahito would mind his older sister Kako–12 years his senior–jumping ahead of him in the line of succession either.

Barring the unforseeable, I do think Emperor Naruhito will eventually Abdicate like his father did. His brother is five years younger than him so his reign will likely be shorter than their father’s, who reigned for 30 years starting at age 55. Emperor Naruhito is now 59 years old. He may reign for 15 to 20 years before deciding to Abdicate. This could be done to fast-track Hisahito’s son becoming Emperor while still young. Time will tell.

By the way, only the current Emperor (and Empress) are referred to as “The Emperor” (and “The Empress”) like the current Pope is referred to as “The Pope”. The previous, living Emperor (and Empress) will now have the title Emperor Emeritus (and Empress Emerita). The Emperor’s Ascension Ceremony will take place on October 22.

 

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…To date, no donations have come in since I started including this in my posts across all of my blogs. I am now asking those who have especially come to enjoy my postings no matter how long it’s been to please donate. Without going into all the details here, I need your fiancial support. If you’re able donate but want to talk to me first, you can email me at btboston1@gmail.com.

Yes, Japan has a significant number of “shut-in” young adults called Hikikomori

 

While doing an image search, I found this article on the topic extremely helpful. I highly reccommend reading it.

Suffice to say, the rest of the world is starting to really pay attention to the phenomenon in Japan called Hikikomori. The reason Hikikomori is extremely rare in the US compared to Japan is primarily cultural. In the US, most parents will not tolerate their adult children isolating themselves in the home indefinitely and more so if they’re not working or in college unless they have a significant health condition. In Japan, Amoe is the reason adult parents of Hikikomori will continue to take care of them.

For those who don’t know, Amoe basically means “No matter how old they are, they are still your kids. You should love and take care for your children always.” Of course, some Japanese parents are (far) more tolerant than others. In some extreme cases, parents will hire people to forcefully remove their Hikikomori child from their bedroom and drag them outside (with disasterous results of course). Some Hikikomori do live on their own, sometimes in an apartment being paid for by their parents. That said, not all Hikikomori are young adults. The overwhelming majority–80%–are young men. There certainly are female Hikikomori but since culturally and historically it’s considered the norm for unmarried women to live with their parents in Japan, they often go unreported as Hikikomori. From what I’ve been reading, almost all Hikikomori live in cities as well.

 

 

Hikikomori has become a serious problem in Japan and now quite common. Numbers put Hikikomori at over a million a few years back.

As a reminder, Japan is home to the largest senior population in the world. Most of its aging population is retired, close to retiring or is of age to be retired. Between that and Japan’s merit-based immigration policies, their workforce is in danger of being seriously compromised. No one has been able to figure out a singular reason or cause for the start and continued rising number of Hikikomori. Everyone has a theory of their own.

That includes me:

…Karoshi.

It means death by overwork in Japanese. It’s a serious problem in Japan and has been for almost 30 years now. On average, over 2,000 people commit suicide in Japan due to severe overwork. This is to aside from those who literally drop dead from a heart attack or stroke directly related to severe overwork. Again, the reason such a thing is so common in Japan is mostly cultural. It’s the norm in any society to want to work hard to earn a raise or promotion. The problem is in Japan, too often many employers exploit their employers and labor ethics commonplace in most of the developed world is not in place in Japan.

Japan is taking some steps to address the problem that is now simultaneously threatening their workforce and economy. One is requiring all employers to give everyone an hour to sleep during the day and requiring non-essential employees to be off the clock after 3PM on the last Friday of the month so they have extra downtime. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who promised to spearhead Labor Reform actually vetoed legislation that would have put limits on how many consecutive hours a week employers were allowed to let their employees work. He vetoed it because the bill did not account for Public Transit employees, who are considered Essential Employees in Japan. For those who might not know, yes Japan does have paid Maternity Leave guaranteed for all (The US doesn’t have this mandated). As a reminder: Tokyo will host the 2020 Summer Olympics.

…Getting back to the main topic now.

It’s hard to believe there isn’t some kind of connection between Karoshi and Hikikomori. Those who are Hikikomori have basically given up on society and isolate themselves as a coping mechanism. Enormous Stress is placed on many of them from the moment they enter their senior year of high school. They’re expected to have a job or college waiting for them by the time they graduate. That’s something those of us in the West can relate to if that was all. The difference is it’s an unwritten graduation requirement to be accepted at a well known college or goo-paying job. Not just for the family but the high school as well. Same with college students in their final year. They are expected to have several job offers waiting for them by the time they graduate and…yeah.

There’s no way these Hikikomori are not aware of Karoshi. They feel like they’re in a lose-lose situation where success is unattainable but giving up in not an option. So, they shut down socially.

 

The issue of the Hikikomori is being taken very seriously as it should be. Some non-profits, business owners as well as former Hikikomori are putting their heads together to find ways to reintegrate the isolated back into society. One venture that recently made the news worldwide are “professional” girlfriends or boyfriends. In short, families can hire someone for their son or daughter to befriend, fall in love with and spend time with. The idea is to get them to willingly want to get out and back into the world.

In many cases, some non-profits offer job training to Hikikomori who have either been away for years or want a refresher before the start looking for work somewhere. In other cases, former Hikikomori turned business owners offer jobs to recover Hikikomori to help them build confidence. There is a lot of promise and progress but more needs to be done.

…This is my first time writing a blog post that had nothing to do with Anime or Manga but I felt it was too important to not talk about. I definitely plan to write more blogs like this in the future!

 

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