Anime

Gen Urobuchi's Psycho-Pass exhibits varying themes of both implicit and explicit violence. I would be interested for the various kinds of violence depicted in Psycho-Pass to be explored: violence enacted by the government onto certain characters, violence inflicted by one character onto another, or even violence directed by a character onto themselves. Some thinkers that I have considered on my own when thinking about this topic are Hegel, Nietzsche, and Caillois.

Which anime series or films have been successful at accurately portraying characters who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or part of any group in the LGBTQ community? Which ones have failed? Give multiple examples and explain why.

With autism becoming a growing phenomenon, it has become large enough to get official as well as ambiguous depictions in Western fiction. However, the disorder seems to be largely ignored in anime… Or is it? Analyze anime characters who, while not explicitly autistic, exhibit symptoms and behaviors associated with autism spectrum disorders.

There has been increasing popularity in the West over Japanese anime and manga, prime examples being Avatar: The Last Airbender and Naruto. Although the West is not a stranger to Japanese anime such as Dragon Ball, the shows and books that are being localised are portraying more Japanese characteristics than ever before. Even JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, that has a dedicated following in Japan, has had a faithful adaptation with Western localisation that has developed an almost cult status in certain niches.

Since Japanese media has seemingly distinct quirks that distinguish it from normal Western media, it would be interesting to analyse why western audiences are craving for more Japanese media.

Studio Ghibli's films, even in their English dub, incorporate subtleties about Japanese customs. For example, When Marine was there presents a Japanese festival scene and Spirited away and Princess Mononoke both present ideas of gods and spirits. Even though all of Ghibli's films are fiction, to what extent are true Japanese customs presented ?

Queerbating is the attempt to reel in viewers by providing false hints that there is a potentially queer relationship. One example is Sound Euphonium, a series about high schoolers playing instruments where two seem to have an almost-lesbian ending.
Is it harmful to the queer community? Or is it helpful that at least we get a little representation? Do writers/producers do it because they respect us but have to censor themselves or because they really just want a variety of viewers?

I'd like to hear someone explore the fan interest in World War II, but rather how it crosses over into Japanese animation and graphic novels. I have noticed that there has been a growing presence of WW2-inspired anime and manga such as Kantai Collection and Girls und Panzer. I think it would be worth discussing the Japanese view towards their own role in WW2 and how this view has led to a different handling of the subject in Japan. In many anime and manga, one can see that there is a hesitation to portray Axis-aligned countries strictly as villains. Often times, I have seen Axis-countries being portrayed from a neutral position like in Girls und Panzer and Axis Powers Hetalia, or WW2-esque settings being entirely re-written and replaced by alternate settings like in Strike Witches or Sora no Woto.

Now a days the new anime that come out either depict two of the following: 1) Action w/ a romantic interest who barely has any clothes on or 2) A romantic interest who's over-sexualized. Most of the time it's a combination of both.

The question now becomes, does the over service of 'fan service' take away from the anime itself (artwork, story line, and character development)? Or does it bring to the table something that we have yet to notice? (This I doubt, but just to cover the basis and everyone's views).

Examples of these would be: Free!, Food Wars, Keijo!, and Okusama ga Seitokaichou! !.