Values Dissonance/Anime and Manga: Difference between revisions

It probably should not come as a surprise that there can be a fair amount of [[Values Dissonance]] when Western audiences watch anything made by Japanese people and intended for a Japanese audience.

 

* Frankly, this trope could probably adequately explain a lot of what seems to be [[Relationship Writing Fumble]] in the eyes of western fans. If you are more used to more open western romances, don't realize that the Japanese are generally more shy about overt romantic affection, what the mythological themes and symbolism mean, and a lot of subtle social cues, you're probably going to be pretty lost.

* As mentioned on the main page for [[Stay in the Kitchen]], a lot of Japanese gender attitudes come across as quite sexist to Western audiences.

 

== ''[[Ranma ½]]'' ==

* In his subsequent [[Filler|anime-exclusive appearance]], when Maomolin the Bakaneko tries to take the male Tsubasa as his wife, Tsubasa declares that if that's his lifestyle, then good for him, but Tsubasa himself is most certainly not interested.

* The anime's slightly different take on the Kasumi/Tofu "relationship" (mainly A: keeping Tofu around and thus giving him the occasional chance to pop up and be stupid because of Kasumi, and B: having Akane be a [[Shipper on Deck]] for the "couple") in ''[[Ranma ½]]'' could be viewed in a similar fashion to the way ''[[Maison Ikkoku]]'' handled its [[May-December Romance]].

** [[In-Universe]] (and possibly for reader) example: In Episode 23, Light refuses L's suggestion to carry a gun to assist in Higuchi's capture, citing that it's illegal for a citizen to own a gun in Japan, while L (who is of mixed ethnicity and is presumably not native Japanese) has no problem with carrying one, and neither does Watari. Similarly, earlier in the episode, Soichiro refuses to take one from the also non-Japanese career criminal Wedy, citing that he's no longer a police officer, and suggests that Wedy shouldn't have a gun, either (Aiber, however, declines to do so [[Does Not Like Guns|for personal reasons]]).

* ''[[Omamori Himari]]'' and the [[Tsundere]] Rinko. While at the beginning it was the normal set up of "love dovey" childhood friend it has evolved into a full abusive relationship. While at the start she was no role model (throwing a cat to a person who is allergic to them... really?) she has been shown lately to punch, slap and hit him with a ''baseball bat with nails'' until he bleeds. And his transgression? To have other girls ogle him, feel herself inadequate in the chest department or show any interest in anything that is not her. And we are supposed to find it [[Dude, Not Funny|endearing]]... It's like with ''[[Girls Bravo]]'' and any number of works: either the Mangakas really had no idea what is a healthy relationship, the ''[[Harem Genre]]'' is heading to its breaking point, or Japanese people are kinda insane.

* ''[[Transformers]] [[Beast Wars II]]'' will never, '''ever''' be officially translated into English for Western audiences. The reason? [[Funny Foreigner|The]] [[South of the Border|Jointrons]], who act like stereotypical Mexicans, are really lazy, and transform into ''bugs''.

* ''[[Maison Ikkoku]]'' features a big one in the main character Godai's relationship with an annoying teenage high school girl who follows him around, insists they're "meant to be", and tries to ruin his maybe/maybe not relationship with his beloved out of jealousy. The problem everyone has is that she's annoying and Godai doesn't really lover her... ''not'' that she's sixteen or seventeen years old, and he's at least ''twenty''. In fact, everyone acts like he just may hook up with her anyways, and they don't particularly comment about the morality of it aside from breaking the "true love"'s heart. Even worse, his "true love" had married her ''teacher'' years earlier, when the age difference was even ''bigger'', and it's viewed as a perfect relationship.