Japanese for a truly unique first class visual experience, but has the show pushed the limit
s of sexuality on television too far? Gainax has always loved to show a little skin, but Panty & Stocking not only show skin, but Panty, the main character, has sex every episode with random people she meets on her adventures fighting ghosts. To take things farther her partner, Stocking has a fetish for being tied up.
The premise is that they are fallen angels trapping ghosts to collect coins to get back to heaven. These spunky angels transform their underwear into w
eapons in pole dance transform sequence where they remove their garments.
Yes I did just say that.
Now, you may be asking, "How do they fight with underwear?" or "That's appalling!" or "*Drooool.....*," but the real issue here is weather of not the general public should be exposed to this.
Let me ask you something. Who are we to judge?
How do we define the qualifications for this role, should it be the most perverse individual or the least?
The fact is we, as humans, don't have a perfect mediator to decide and moreover cannot. Kids know what underwear is and kids know what sex is. They are no more innocent now, due to modern sitcoms and court TV, than the rest of us and if they are, they won't be. You can't keep lying to people forever. [Unless you're an evil mastermind]
I realize that this is a harsh representation of reality, so let me give you something even harsher. Another show airing in Japan right now is Seikon no Qwazar, a show about religious devout warriors, who have trained to fight by controlling chemical elements such as copper. The way they get their powers?
Fresh breast milk.
When I was growing up, it was shows that pushed the limits that I looked forward too. Dragon Ball Z had intense fighting sequences with meaning and Sailor Moon showed me that beautiful girls could protect the universe too.
I believe that the world needs to change and move forward. Keeping limits on things that have no real way to judge or reason to do so, is not progress. It hinders our perceptions and keeps those who don't have access in the dark. The only way to advance is with change. Since there is nothing that can be substantially wrong in these concepts of our physical nature as humans, there is no harm in portraying them.
It's very true that it's too late to try to censor sex and violence out of children's programs.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I can definitely say some of the things I see in anime are silly even if not inappropriate. I may not have the right to determine what is inappropriate or not as a human, but I can definitely define silliness as fighting with underwear. :-)
Great post, a lot of good thoughts here. I love what you're doing with pictures.