General Japanese Culture Thread

You NEVER lock a fire safety exit. Even if someone is abusing it to take smoke breaks. If that's a problem, install a fucking camera or something and discipline whoever is doing that. Harshly.

Because if you lock a fire safety exit, guess what? People can die.

Edited by M84 on Jul 19th 2019 at 9:08:02 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised

I don't know anything about Japanese fire codes, but in the US at least it's straight up illegal to lock a fire exit. If that isn't the case in Japan, then that's something you could argue they should review. I mean, it might have two possible exits, but if one is locked then there's effectively only one exit.

This is straight up the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire all over again. But in 2019.

Yeah, if it's legal to lock a fire safety exit, then what is the fucking point?

Edited by M84 on Jul 19th 2019 at 9:10:44 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised

It's exactly the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire. Let's hope it changes something in either fire safety codes or management techniques, because the whole point of fire exits is that they are always openable. If someone is using it for smoke breaks, discipline them, don't lock the goddamn door.

It's been fun.

Generally these things are done because incidents such as this are relatively rare and people get complacent.

It's an unforunate fact of life that sometimes tragedy needs to strike for people to remember why certain rules are needed in the first place.

Are the police also investigating the locking of the door? As one would hope that the person responds would be charged with manslaughter for the deaths they helped cause.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran

The door wasn't locked, fire fighters were able to open it from roofside. It may still be possible that the employees were unable to open it from the inside for whatever reason, or it could simply be that the first ones to the door lost consciousness before being able to open it and the rest followed suit while stuck behind them.

PSN ID: FateSeraph | Switch friendcode: SW-0145-8835-0610 Congratulations! She/They

All the conflicting news surrounding this reminds me that maybe it is best to wait a few days before forming any opinions on such things. It is also a reminder that a Twitter feed is not necessarily the best source of news.

Disgusted, but not surprised

the arsonist is likely getting a death sentence, i personally hope he is killed after Kyo Ani rises from the ashes

Bumbleby is best ship. busy spending time on r/RWBY and r/anime. Unapologetic Socialist

Practically guaranteed, unless his history of mental instability is a mitigating factor.

Edited by TerminusEst on Jul 20th 2019 at 3:55:01 AM

Si Vis Pacem, Para Perkele

his claims of plagiarism reminds me Dimebag Darrel's death, the guy who shot him claimed that Pantera was copying his lyrics, he was also diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia

Bumbleby is best ship. busy spending time on r/RWBY and r/anime. Unapologetic Socialist

Looks like Kyo Ani’s considering to get rid of the burned studio once the investigation is over.

Can’t blame them. It’s sad they lost a home

after what happened at Kyo Ani, i'm considering binging some Kyo Ani anime, so far i have found that Dragon Maid, Free and Sound Euphonium are available on Crunchyroll in my country

Chuunibyou, Hyouka, Lucky Star, Amagi Brilliant Park and Beyond the Boundary are on crunchyroll, but not available in my country

Bumbleby is best ship. busy spending time on r/RWBY and r/anime. Unapologetic Socialist

Seeing how Yasuhiro Takemoto is still apparantly 'missing' I would rec some of the animes he directed, namely Haruhi Suzumiya, Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu and Second Raid along side your listed Lucky Star Amagi Brilliant Park Hyouka Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid.

Edited by Memers on Jul 21st 2019 at 3:31:48 AM

Fullmetal Panic Fumoffu and The Second Raid are on Crunchyroll, but not available in my country

Edited by MABfan11 on Jul 21st 2019 at 12:46:42 PM

Bumbleby is best ship. busy spending time on r/RWBY and r/anime. Unapologetic Socialist

Useful thread on the filters through which you will be reading news on the arson.

What's precedent ever done for us?

Fro those that can't/won't use twitter, the thread explains that.

• the mass media in Japan behave in a manner similar to paparazzi and tabloids.
• there is a tendency to blame the otaku subculture for crimes, much like how people in the west (read: gun nuts attempting to deflect from gun control) blame video games for mass shootings.
• The Japanese right wing will also try to blame ethnic minorities for this, unlike the west, i don't think they overlap with the people blaming otaku.
• also mentioned are armchair psychology, unethical fact-gathering and blurring the distinction between those with more ethically gathered facts.
• Western news media Reporting on Japan might also fall into the same traps.

Might be a few things I missed, but that seems to be the gist.

Edited by MorningStar1337 on Jul 21st 2019 at 3:51:48 AM

That thread itself is a bit of a misinformation spreader, Otaku isn't "Quirky fan" like it means in the west, it is legitimately some one with the kind of mental health issues that cause damage to there own lives or the lives of others with there single minded obsession.

so this is 100% untrue, it not a "fan" or a "casual connection" its a single minded and dangerous obsession.

Which means that this is untrue as well, they DO need mental help.... again, its not a casual fandom, its a single minded self destructive obsession.

That's what the word means in Japan, but is it used like that? Or is it a label thrown towards anyone who doesn't toe the factory line, so to speak?

Remember that once upon a time the term "Social Justice Warrior" wasn used to descredit anyone who questions social injustice.

Edited by HailMuffins on Jul 21st 2019 at 10:56:04 AM

Nowadays in Japan it seems like otaku is no longer as stigmatized as it was back in the day. It still kind of is, but not as much. Probably because people realized there's a lot of money being made catering to otaku interests.

It's interesting to note that the Nomura Research Institute divided otaku into five groups back in 2005. There's the "closet otaku" who keep it private. There's the otaku who want to be special in the world. There's the otaku who have diverse interests. There's the outgoing extroverted otaku who promote their hobby publicly. Lastly, there's the otaku who are big on making fan works.

There's also growing interest in online gaming and dating sims among otaku too.

Edited by M84 on Jul 21st 2019 at 10:02:21 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised

I think you can be an otaku about anything in Japan, from anime and manga to military vehicles and LEGO.

The word's association with Anime and related stuff is a Western-only phenomenon. AFAIK, at least.

It just means "obsessed about X", what I doubt is that people are labeled that only when they actually take their hobbies to unhealthy extent or if the word is simply an easy way to suppress any ounce of individuality as I suspect it is.

Edited by HailMuffins on Jul 21st 2019 at 11:04:54 AM

TBF, the word started out associated with anime and manga even in Japan. It has since evolved.

The negative stigma associated with the word largely seems to be due to the 1989 "Otaku Murderer" case.

But nowadays, more and more people in Japan are becoming comfortable with the label, to the point of self-identifying as otaku and engaging in self-mockery. Much like the term "geek" I suppose.

Which isn't to say otaku culture doesn't have legit problems. Same with geek culture again.

Edited by M84 on Jul 21st 2019 at 10:07:42 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised

And before that it was a personal pronoun, I think.

Regardless, it can be applied to anyone, not just anime fans.

Unless, of course, things have gone full-circle and now it is an adjective applied only to anime fans, which might very well have happened. Spoken language's a bitch who refuses to stay still, after all.

No. If anything, the term has been spread out even more. Otaku culture actually has a pretty significant impact on Japan's economy. Like I said, there is a lot of money being made catering to them.

Disgusted, but not surprised