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It’s spreading like a disease…
OP7: “HALO” by tacica
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Maybe it’s not a bad thing that I have so few carryovers this season, given how large the Fall schedule is. Space Brothers has been a staple of my weekends for a very long time – almost as long as Hunter X Hunter (Sunday feels very strange without it) and figures to be around for a good while yet. The show is going in a bit of a new direction now, though, specifically as it relates to Hibito. It’s safe to say we’re seeing him in quite a different light than we have before.
The headline this week is that A-1 has foiled my plan to avoid racist cartoon theatre by actually inserting it into an episode and making it part of the plot, which is a real pity because it’s every bit as offensive as ever but now I have to at least watch it. Hopefully this is a one-time thing, but the connection is going to be with us a while. That’s Olga, the daughter of Ivan Tolstoy (I fully expect an English astronaut by the name of Nigel Shakespeare to show up) the veteran who’s been put in charge (by old pal Azuma) of Hibito’s rehabilitation from his worsening panic disorder.
The funny thing is, Olga is the “hot Russian doctor” I thought I saw in the preview last week, and she’s supposed to be 15 years old. I get that folks of European descent often appear older than they are to Japanese folks, but Olga sure as borscht doesn’t look anywhere near 15. She’s a fan of “Mister Hibbit” (so would Vladimir Putin be, I suspect) and immediately struck by how different the real guy is than the animated character. In short, this Hibito (Ivan has nicknamed him “Hibichov”, fitting given how proud Russians seem to be of their dour nature) is a mope – a listless and depressed guy who “doesn’t have the face of an astronaut”.
There’s a larger symbolism at work here, for certain – the Hibito we’ve seen up to now is something of a cartoon character, the Moon Bunny who hops through life untroubled by hesitation or worry. This Hibito is a lot more vulnerable, a lot more real and a lot more interesting – but I wonder where the series is going with the Olga angle. They can’t possibly be playing up a romance angle with a 15 year-old (though I would have said they can’t possibly portray an African-American as a gorilla) apart from a schoolgirl crush, no matter that she looks 35. Hell, they wouldn’t even show her drinking alcohol (though it wouldn’t be such an odd thing in many cultures, including this one). Maybe she’s there to play up the contrast between the face Hibito has been showing the world, and the real guy inside. The fact that she’s a dancer may play in too – perhaps she’ll show him some plies as part of his therapy.
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ED7: “New World” by Kasarinchu
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richfeet
October 6, 2013 at 12:30 pmJapan mostly designs their black characters as big strong guys. Duke, Barrett, Bob: Big strong black guys. The are using animals for this cartoon. The gorilla Buddy is an analogy to the Big strong black guy stereotype design in most anime. Seriously I'm not defending it. I'm black myself, so I'm at least trying get what Koyama is getting at in regards to Hibbit anime. I like Uchuu Kyoudai. Buddy gorilla to me says Japan's gotta stop with the big strong black man stereotype pronto.
Thanks Enzo. It's good to know I have someone to be offended for me. Now I can watch it in peace.
admin
October 6, 2013 at 12:39 pmHeh, no problem richfeet. I'm happy to be offended at the drop of a hat, but I'm not at all politically correct. This just crosses the line into outright insulting.
richfeet
October 6, 2013 at 1:18 pmNaw man. Its awful. for sure. I get the problem though. It looks like a human face put on gorillas body instead of looking like an actual gorilla. No excuses for that man. Definitely looks racist for that design choice. I'm cool with buddy being a gorilla if it actually looked like a gorilla.
And there was a movie called
richfeet
October 6, 2013 at 1:20 pmignore the last part of the comment. I forgot it was there.
richfeet
October 6, 2013 at 1:22 pmAnd I don't speak for every black person about the gorilla. It's my opinion on the matter.
Gary Cochran
October 6, 2013 at 3:04 pmI'm white and I hate the black gorilla stereotype too. Makes me embarrassed to be an anime fan knowing the amazing and clever folks that created anime also are this clueless.
Ronbb
October 7, 2013 at 2:42 amI honestly don’t know what the people behind Uchuu Kyoudai are thinking. Why do they want to poke fun on the American history, and do they really think that it’s funny to depict people as gorilla? I really can’t understand their sense of humour and the intention behind. On a separate note, we have tons of shows making mature female adults act like young girls, and now we have a 15-year-old looking like a 35. Well, at least Olga still acts and thinks like a teenager. Other than that, I actually like how the show explores the other side of Hibito. He’s always been a likable character but a bit too two-dimensional. Showing his vulnerable side — and what he thinks and how he feels during this less glorious time of his — is interesting to watch.