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Message: <blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8969511" data-attributes="member: 6790260">Japan is a complicated case because, while exploitation is still quite possible, as you say they have gained a great deal of prominence. [USER=6801252]@The-Magic-Sword[/USER] has already said much of why it is unlikely to be as much of a problem as (say) depictions of the Roma peoples or lifting stuff from the Navajo or from Australian Aboriginal cultures, so I won't repeat that. What they said is good and worth remembering.But you can still stumble. E.g., using anime tropes without context. Consider the importance of Journey to the West, the myths of Momotaro/"Peach Boy" and The Bamboo Cutter, or the Imperial Regalia (sword/mirror/gem.) All old, and dense with cultural context. You must learn not just the work, but when and why it was written, and how it (and how it's seen) has changed over time. Consider Momotaro. Once little more than a minor folk-tale, until Imperial Japan re-purposed it into a national founding myth specifically to rev up nationalistic fervor and anti-American sentiment. Momotaro = the Emperor (and thus Japan/the govt); squabbling animal-friends who must learn to work together = the people of Japan under the Emperor's guidance; evil pillaging Oni = the United States (because propaganda be propaganda, Imperial Japan's horrible war crimes be damned.) But grokking why Japan wanted this, its importance to them, and the complexity it took on after the US defeated Japan, is...really difficult! Even though we're allies now, the folktale itself remains highly relevant, e.g. it's a critical part of Dragon Ball. Which was one of the first "big" anime to make it to America!Point being, this is just one, small example, but already sprawling in complexity. You have entire Eastern philosophical traditions, cultural concepts (e.g. the Mandate of Heaven or "cultivation"*), and social/political/mythic backdrops with few to no proper parallels in Western cultures. E.g., contrast Joan of Arc and Hua Mulan: both mythologized warrior-women who successfully waged war for their country, yet Joan was (and to an extent is) deeply controversial, while Mulan is (and always was) deeply beloved, as were the fully historical Qin Liangyu and Liang Hongyu. Thoughtlessly using Joan of Arc tropes with Liang Hongyu would almost certainly result in backlash.But! That doesn't mean you can't do interesting things with this stuff. Disney's animated Mulan is, as I understand it, generally fairly well-received in China nowadays, even if the original launch was fraught with political issues. Dreamworks' Kung Fu Panda, on the other hand, is legit loved in China, and sparked debates there about why native Chinese films can't seem to achieve the same effect.** By comparison, the live-action version of Mulan was a massive flop in China, with reviews on some social media platforms dropping to less than 5/10, because it was seen as pandering, exploitative, heavily leaning on Western stereotypes of Chinese culture, and riddled with unnecessary and weakening rewrites (especially making Mulan have tons of qi, essentially giving her superpowers.)The animated Mulan and the KFP franchise show that it is eminently possible for entirely Western groups to create stories that lift actual myths or stories and cultural trappings and do it not only well, but possibly very well. Conversely, the live-action version shows how it's possible to not only mess up, but mess up on something that had previously been reasonably well-liked, even while actively trying to make it more likable, more culturally-fitting.From this, we should not take the false lesson that no one is allowed to remix cultural things. Instead, it should tell us that remixing cultural stuff is hard, and comes with a certain duty of care. We must rise to the occasion, not quail before it, nor complain that we are expected to do so.* It's sort of a hybrid physical-training/spiritual-enlightenment thing that justifies in-story "real" character levels. Higher cultivation = more transcendental power. Cultivation fiction, aka"xianxia" (lit. "immortal/saint heroes"), is EXTREMELY popular in China. Partly, it's because of the IRL practice qigong, "life-energy cultivation." Qigong involves exercises/practiced motions to promote physical fitness, mental/spiritual wellbeing, and martial arts training. It's a big and complex thing, but poorly understood in the West...and very easy to get VERY wrong.** The TL;DR there seems to be "we defer and idealize too hard, creating perfect main chars without flaws and thus with no compelling story." And I get that. Chars like Golden Age Superman (or Captain America) were often shallow patriotism loudspeakers, rather than interesting characters. Thankfully that's changed with time, e.g. Superman: Red Son or the DCAU.</blockquote>

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