But that scene wasn't drab and grey, it was filled with blue and magenta hues during the boarding portion. And the lost and found attendant was full of vividly realized colors. I'm not saying you're wrong, just saying that I disagree about it. The film IS a coming of age partially, so saying its entirely divorced of the movie's main focus of how families themselves grow and evolve over time through individual actions is definitely a stretch imo. The themes are intrinsically linked.
I realize what a furry is, and the characters in those filmmaker's works ARE often humanized, but furryism DOES also apply to simply anthro animals. It's why films like Zootopia are cynically labelled as "furry bait.".
The "baby bump" was obviously framed as a "progress" picture though. Couples do this all the time when they're expecting. Also I was referring to you when saying I thought it was strange to take innocuous things and make them sexual. Because I don't see Hosoda doing that, I see you projecting that onto his works. It's easy to say someone has a pregnancy fetish, but when the films where it's showcased briefly are literally about children being born into the world (Wolf Children and Mirai), it makes total sense to me. Again, the worst I could accuse Hosoda of is being completely enamored by the bringing of another life into the world. Maybe if he were to include vividly depicted drawn out scenes of characters giving birth (like, say, when Mirai herself is born at the beginning of the film), I'd see your assertion as more digestible. The only reason shots of pregnancy are a constant is because practically ALL of his films are about family. I just don't see how showing a "pregnancy picture" in an opening montage is fetishistic. Parents actually do track that progress through snapshots.
Another comparison I could make would be to say that Miyazaki is a lolicon because half of his films showcase at least briefly children taking baths (with adult men! :O ). It's a ridiculous insinuation because all he's doing is giving a straight depiction of a normal human thing. Now, if you went into these films with the mindset of "Miya is a lolicon" then those scenes might seem way more coded than they actually are.
I don't think a lot of people would agree that there is a level of obsession because you're the first I've come across whose seemingly found it to be unnaturally focused upon. The "Hosoda is a furry" thing is a meme anyway so I know that's talked about at least in otaku circles (mainstream audiences on the other hand seem to be completely unphased by these elements) even if I still think it's ridiculous to actually believe such a thing.
Also I haven't seen any of Ozu's filmography so I can't compare his works to Hosoda's, but if there's pregnancy in-scene in any of them I'd be curious as to how he portrayed it. It was a different time period when they were released, which is something to keep in mind as well.
Reading this, I realize how ridiculous the topic of this back and forth really is. "Is Hosoda a furry" is just an inherently baffling discussion to have, and had it not been for the internet I don't think I'd have ever discovered that some people actually believe it to be true. But ultimately, I don't see much point in getting upset over a fantasy film featuring a talking bear dude or a kid pretending to be his dog and gaining ears and a tail. I just don't. Even less so does the genuine visual depiction of a child about to be born (of which the aftermath of is the entire film's focus) in a two second still image bother me. But if it does for you, well, I'm sorry it's that distracting.
I can't believe I spent half an hour writing this. And I really hope I'm not compelled to further debate this.
No, you see I was using the "then miyazaki must be a furry" point to illustrate how silly claiming hosoda to be one is. Perhaps it wasn't the best comparison point, but by these apparent metrics, let's say any Disney or Bluth film that stars anthropomorphic animals was made by furries.
Also bruh, how else do you easily visually convey that someone is pregnant other than showing a belly shot? lol. It's not sexual at all, I think it's really strange taking a natural phenomena and trying to warp it to be sexual. It's portrayed completely straight. I feel like the fetishization tropes in many anime might be partially to blame for people in the community taking totally innocuous moments like that out of proportion. The man is a father of two dude, he's merely coming from a place of experience.
I don't agree that the scene is thematically out of place but well I already gave my reasoning for why I felt that was absolutely connected. Visually, sure I'll give you, but that's the entire point, since its a nightmare fantasy world.
I disagree that the climax in the train station is the worst scene in Mirai. In fact, I'd say it was one of its best. Great use of harsh contrasting colors, a wonderfully nightmarish tone that really sold Kun's desperation and the two disparate lines he was straddling in terms of the ultimate direction of his growth, and some amazing usage of computer animation such as with the lost and found attendant.
I also don't see how realistically depicting pregnancy in *one* still shot is somehow translatable to being fetishization. IMO the only thing Hosoda arguably fetishizes is family life as a concept. Similar feelings with the "furry" comment, as it's nothing Hayao Miyazaki hasn't done countless times before. Heck, there was an entire film adapting a Kenji Miyazawa story called Night on the Galactic Railroad that had its entire cast transformed into anthropomorphic cats. I wouldn't even call that furry-pandering and that was a *far* more severe case than what you see in Mirai.
I've seen the debate, for some reason. Found it quite difficult to watch. I don't care much about Digibro anymore, but it's hard to watch him punch massive holes into the image of anime and its fandom every time he collaborates with other media. Not that I care much for Destiny and his fans either.
No problem if you can't recommend any writing right now. While I would like to be able to write that well, I mainly wanted to tell you that I like your writing style and wondered if you studied literary criticism or whatever since it seemed quite competent to me.
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I realize what a furry is, and the characters in those filmmaker's works ARE often humanized, but furryism DOES also apply to simply anthro animals. It's why films like Zootopia are cynically labelled as "furry bait.".
The "baby bump" was obviously framed as a "progress" picture though. Couples do this all the time when they're expecting. Also I was referring to you when saying I thought it was strange to take innocuous things and make them sexual. Because I don't see Hosoda doing that, I see you projecting that onto his works. It's easy to say someone has a pregnancy fetish, but when the films where it's showcased briefly are literally about children being born into the world (Wolf Children and Mirai), it makes total sense to me. Again, the worst I could accuse Hosoda of is being completely enamored by the bringing of another life into the world. Maybe if he were to include vividly depicted drawn out scenes of characters giving birth (like, say, when Mirai herself is born at the beginning of the film), I'd see your assertion as more digestible. The only reason shots of pregnancy are a constant is because practically ALL of his films are about family. I just don't see how showing a "pregnancy picture" in an opening montage is fetishistic. Parents actually do track that progress through snapshots.
Another comparison I could make would be to say that Miyazaki is a lolicon because half of his films showcase at least briefly children taking baths (with adult men! :O ). It's a ridiculous insinuation because all he's doing is giving a straight depiction of a normal human thing. Now, if you went into these films with the mindset of "Miya is a lolicon" then those scenes might seem way more coded than they actually are.
I don't think a lot of people would agree that there is a level of obsession because you're the first I've come across whose seemingly found it to be unnaturally focused upon. The "Hosoda is a furry" thing is a meme anyway so I know that's talked about at least in otaku circles (mainstream audiences on the other hand seem to be completely unphased by these elements) even if I still think it's ridiculous to actually believe such a thing.
Also I haven't seen any of Ozu's filmography so I can't compare his works to Hosoda's, but if there's pregnancy in-scene in any of them I'd be curious as to how he portrayed it. It was a different time period when they were released, which is something to keep in mind as well.
Reading this, I realize how ridiculous the topic of this back and forth really is. "Is Hosoda a furry" is just an inherently baffling discussion to have, and had it not been for the internet I don't think I'd have ever discovered that some people actually believe it to be true. But ultimately, I don't see much point in getting upset over a fantasy film featuring a talking bear dude or a kid pretending to be his dog and gaining ears and a tail. I just don't. Even less so does the genuine visual depiction of a child about to be born (of which the aftermath of is the entire film's focus) in a two second still image bother me. But if it does for you, well, I'm sorry it's that distracting.
I can't believe I spent half an hour writing this. And I really hope I'm not compelled to further debate this.
Also bruh, how else do you easily visually convey that someone is pregnant other than showing a belly shot? lol. It's not sexual at all, I think it's really strange taking a natural phenomena and trying to warp it to be sexual. It's portrayed completely straight. I feel like the fetishization tropes in many anime might be partially to blame for people in the community taking totally innocuous moments like that out of proportion. The man is a father of two dude, he's merely coming from a place of experience.
I don't agree that the scene is thematically out of place but well I already gave my reasoning for why I felt that was absolutely connected. Visually, sure I'll give you, but that's the entire point, since its a nightmare fantasy world.
I also don't see how realistically depicting pregnancy in *one* still shot is somehow translatable to being fetishization. IMO the only thing Hosoda arguably fetishizes is family life as a concept. Similar feelings with the "furry" comment, as it's nothing Hayao Miyazaki hasn't done countless times before. Heck, there was an entire film adapting a Kenji Miyazawa story called Night on the Galactic Railroad that had its entire cast transformed into anthropomorphic cats. I wouldn't even call that furry-pandering and that was a *far* more severe case than what you see in Mirai.
No problem if you can't recommend any writing right now. While I would like to be able to write that well, I mainly wanted to tell you that I like your writing style and wondered if you studied literary criticism or whatever since it seemed quite competent to me.