Oh look, it’s our favorite Japanese loli in France!
Oh so close
Yune quietly observes Claude while he works, but Claude feels a little put off by this so he tells her that she’s free to do whatever she wants. For some reason, the poor girl finds this troubling:
The anime is just on the cusp of self-awareness: “Why does she get so excited when she’s given something to do? Doesn’t she want to do anything on her own?” So how does Oscar reply? “The Japanese have a group mentality. She gets worried if she’s not doing the same thing we’re doing.” Really? So that’s why the girl stands beside her man until he gives her an order?
Yeah, that’s the ticket — always make sure you’re just a few steps behind your man at all times.
The West is so unfriendly!
A prospective customer reacts poorly to Yune’s sales pitch and Claude blames her for smiling too much. Why do I feel so mis-characterized here? Gosh, the last time I worked retail, I had to be super cheerful and wear a shit-eating grin at all times. But according to Claude, people in the West wouldn’t trust a smiling loli as far as they could throw her:
Oh come on, that’s not true whatsoever. I can’t believe “Ikoku Meiro no Croisée” is already scraping the bottom of the barrel for “differences” between France and Japan already. Few customers would actually be turned off by an outward-going employee like Yune — that’s just ridiculous. Of course, Claude’s advice backfires on him when Yune gets herself lost a little later in the anime and she becomes fearful of every Parisian — what a strawman.
“Everyone’s like, OMG, equal in Japan! We value everyone, rich or poor!”
Ahahahahahahahah!
Oh man, that’s rich. Y’see, Claude’s trying to warn Yune about certain people, especially street urchins — they might steal something from the shop. Yune is stunned: “You treat customers differently depending on how they’re dressed?!” Like, OMG, that’s judging a book by its cover! Oh, by the way, I’m going to run away from this random dude in a well-lit alley because he looks like he might rape me even though he hasn’t shown the slightest hint that he is a bad guy:
Way to stand by your principles, Yune! Oh, this is such a silly show; it’s entertaining in spite of itself.
Yune is so invaluable!
“You’re probably the only one who can polish the lamps throughout this store so efficiently.” Good job, Yune. You’re a good polisher! /snicker
The anime’s not entirely a joke
This screenshot looks nice, at least:
That screenshot is damn gorgeous. I going get past the first episode of this show and it’s a pity because the background art looks fantastic.
The art’s okay for the most part if you exclude the silly looking loli skulls. The music’s not bad either. The actual meat of the anime is just so…vapid.
Um… you do realize that the Japanese do have a group mentality right? That they are a much more collectivist society than America, Canada, Australia, or most of Europe?
Not everything comes back to gender issues, and gender issues alone.
One interpretation does not cancel out another. Just because I think there are deeper gender role implications at work doesn’t mean I’m denying every other viewpoint. Of course the Japanese have a group mentality, as do many Asian cultures. I never once denied this. But is the issue solely limited to Yune’s conformism? When an anime has a diminutive, subservient female asking a male character for orders, the anime’s creators should realize what they’re getting themselves into.
When a congressman recently compared Obama to a tar baby, can he simply plead innocence and deny the racial implications in his words? He could try, but when you put anything out there in the public, whether you’re a goddamn anime or a congressman, you open yourself up to all sorts of interpretation and criticism. You can’t just hand wave everything away with “NO, THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT.” Authorial intent is an antiquated notion; there is no god in the text.
We’ve had gender issues since the dawn of civilization, but whatever you say, man. I guess I’m wasting my time because there are just so many anime blogs out there ranting and raving about gender issues too.
You may think I bring up gender issues too often, but you always seem to oppose my interpretations every single time I bring up potential sexism.
Oh, and Yune is basically filling a role very similar to a Butler. Her gender has nothing to do with that – both genders can fill such roles.
She “stands by her man” in the same way that Alfred stands by “his man” Bruce Wayne.
Hell, this anime even reverses the gender aspect of the Claude/Yune relationship with Alice and her butler. Do you see anything wrong with Alice’s butler standing by “his mistress”?
Yes, I do. Is the situation exactly the same? No, but it’s troubling in its own ways. Since the butler spends less than five minutes on screen, however, I did not write about him when there were, in my opinion, far more pressing issues to address.
From casual observation, I just find it strange how this show seems to be working on dual fetishization of the cultures involved. Uguu, Japan treats everyone equally! Uguu, Yune doesn’t know what to do with French freedom because Japan doesn’t have that! What on earth is this damn thing even trying to accomplish?
…oh, duh. Its just cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute.
It’s okay, she now has a manly back to follow. That’s all the freedom she needs.