Kuma to Usagi wa Tomodachi dewa Irarenai - Ch. 41 - I Wanted to Say It Out Loud

[BanzaiYuri]

It's a design trope, and it's gotten to the point where characters are designed this way as a shorthand for "womanizer playboy." And is it biased? Sure, but I also wouldn't say it's "racist." The design is based on vaguely Japanese people like everyone else in animanga.

And if you think that this is what a black or middle eastern person looks like, you've clearly never seen one before in your life. He looks very obviously Japanese, especially when compared to the other characters in this manga.

But even in the source you mention, even if the Mukokuseki character is "very obviously Japanese," they're still meant to represent foreign images. So why the pairing of dark skin and blonde hair on a guy means he's a delinquent womanizing playboy? Sounds like the stereotyping of some old gentry duffer. If race is too politically-loaded of a word for the online, how about "colorism?"

 

[Lunkli]

But even in the source you mention, even if the Mukokuseki character is "very obviously Japanese," they're still meant to represent foreign images. So why the pairing of dark skin and blonde hair on a guy means he's a delinquent womanizing playboy? Sounds like the stereotyping of some old gentry duffer. If race is too politically-loaded of a word for the online, how about "colorism?"

You're thinking too far into this. It's an established character design that functions as a shorthand for "womanizing playboy" in the same way something like "girl with short bluish-gray hair with reddish eyes" is shorthand for "emotionless robotic girl" or "dark hair in twintails with tsurime eyes" is shorthand for "tsundere girl" or— in more western media— how "buff bald guy with sunglasses and stubble" is shorthand for "military captain."

Sure, it's a stereotype, but that's just how visual mediums like these work. By taking inspiration from a previous design, you give your readers / viewers advance warning on what sort of character they're looking at. Sometimes these are subverted to surprise the viewer, but it's the fact that these stereotypes exist in the first place that manga like this one even work.

 

[MrTurtleMan]

Ay you can be a shinnichi, but no need to name me the racist. He's just a big huggable bear. You can say "he's coded" but I don't get the vibes.

You when calling other people racist
You when getting called racist in return

But even in the source you mention, even if the Mukokuseki character is "very obviously Japanese," they're still meant to represent foreign images. So why the pairing of dark skin and blonde hair on a guy means he's a delinquent womanizing playboy? Sounds like the stereotyping of some old gentry duffer. If race is too politically-loaded of a word for the online, how about "colorism?"

You see there is this thing that happens to people when they aren't from Ireland, when they get exposed to the sun this thing happens where their skin turns darker instead of turning red, in the rest of the world we call this getting a tan, Japanese people draw Japanese characters with darker skin to represent that they spend a lot of time outside, not to represent they are a race other than Japanese.

 

[BanzaiYuri]

You see there is this thing that happens to people when they aren't from Ireland, when they get exposed to the sun this thing happens where their skin turns darker instead of turning red, in the rest of the world we call this getting a tan, Japanese people draw Japanese characters with darker skin to represent that they spend a lot of time outside, not to represent they are a race other than Japanese.

NO way! So what you're telling me, if I'm understanding your vastly superior intellect corrrectly, is that Takeru is just a lover of outdoors? He's not a mukokuseki? I read this series hoping to see a delinquent playboy get outclassed a seemingly herbivorous girl, but I guess that's what I get for judging a book by it's cover. What an upset 🤭

Now, kindly fuck off with the reddit superiority complex. If you wanted to provide constructive criticism to how I've presented myself, there were far better ways. So I'll go ahead concede this to you: congratulations, you can collect your karma at the front desk knowing you were the most ignorant person in this discussion.

 

[BanzaiYuri]

You're thinking too far into this. It's an established character design that functions as a shorthand for "womanizing playboy" in the same way something like "girl with short bluish-gray hair with reddish eyes" is shorthand for "emotionless robotic girl" or "dark hair in twintails with tsurime eyes" is shorthand for "tsundere girl" or— in more western media— how "buff bald guy with sunglasses and stubble" is shorthand for "military captain."

Sure, it's a stereotype, but that's just how visual mediums like these work. By taking inspiration from a previous design, you give your readers / viewers advance warning on what sort of character they're looking at. Sometimes these are subverted to surprise the viewer, but it's the fact that these stereotypes exist in the first place that manga like this one even work.

It seems to me we're not discussing the same thing here. Rather, Idon't even know if we are taking this as a discussion. I'm not arguing what lengths to go at, I am not sourcing my points, all I have said is that it feels discriminatory to judge Takeru as something that he is not based on his appearance.

Initially, when he was nothing more than a faceless guy that easily could've been normal, even with his inner monologue offered to us. But given how much we've been given both internally and externally, he's just a big boy that just so happens to have an incredibly dark complexion to the point of being seen as a Y2K Gyaru-Oh.

While I can and will continue enjoy Takeru being a big herbivore and Kiyoka being a lecherous rabbit, it is and will remain a moral qualm that he be judged based on the superficial stereotypes his design takes inspiration from. It's really not difficult fix this to me, just make Takeru an actual playboy. Boom, no qualms, good expectation subversion.

 

[MrTurtleMan]

NO way! So what you're telling me, if I'm understanding your vastly superior intellect corrrectly, is that Takeru is just a lover of outdoors? He's not a mukokuseki? I read this series hoping to see a delinquent playboy get outclassed a seemingly herbivorous girl, but I guess that's what I get for judging a book by it's cover. What an upset 🤭

Now, kindly fuck off with the reddit superiority complex. If you wanted to provide constructive criticism to how I've presented myself, there were far better ways. So I'll go ahead concede this to you: congratulations, you can collect your karma at the front desk knowing you were the most ignorant person in this discussion.

I already did saying you shouldn't call people racist when they weren't being racist, your response was to say "hey no need to call me racist" despite the fact no one was talking about race until you showed up and then in your next comment imply that the main character in a Japanese webcomic set in Japan, with a Japanese name, and drawn with Asian features somehow isn't actually Japanese and actually represents foreign images. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, stop trying to make things about race.

As for my "reddit superiority complex" pretty rich from a guy coming out of nowhere to call people racist where it isn't warranted, that's textbook reddit/tumblr virtue signalling right there.

 

[Lunkli]

I already did saying you shouldn't call people racist when they weren't being racist, your response was to say "hey no need to call me racist" despite the fact no one was talking about race until you showed up and then in your next comment imply that the main character in a Japanese webcomic set in Japan, with a Japanese name, and drawn with Asian features somehow isn't actually Japanese and actually represents foreign images. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, stop trying to make things about race.

As for my "reddit superiority complex" pretty rich from a guy coming out of nowhere to call people racist where it isn't warranted, that's textbook reddit/tumblr virtue signalling right there.

I'm like 99% sure BanzaiYuri's a troll. If not, he's just a a moron who can't distinguish reality and fiction. Just ignore / block him. Arguing isn't worth your time.