"Decaying Adults" HELPAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH

nirvana > foo fighters imho

Weird Al Yankovic > nirvana > foo fighters imho

That is wildly unfair. Weird Al is a primordial force of music.

The assumption that your teen years are the best, more shining and radiant part of your life—and that as soon as you reach legal majority you become a decaying thing that can only crawl in the rotting morass of adulthood all the way to your death—is very much a common Japanese idea... but it isn't at all a Western idea; more like the opposite, in fact. I'm surprised nobody felt offended by this strip and reacted with anger.

I'm also going to chime in on the side of people who are like...No, man. This isn't a Japanese idea, this is part of the human condition. It's universal across all cultures. There is a reason why, in the 80s, there was a huge surge of media about the 60s, and in the 00s, the 80s were big, and in the 20s, now the 00s are remembered fondly. In another 10 years they'll be waxing nostalgic about the 10s.

People making media about their youth to appeal to other people who want to remember THEIR youth is a huge part of culture.

I guess we've all already been mentally colonized by the Japanese. :P Come to think of it, I haven't read any rants against lolicon manga in a long time...

Why would we feel offended?

They call "decaying" people of thirty something. It's a pretty strong word.

It's clear that the adults are regarding themselves as decaying, and I'd be willing to bet the artist is being self-deprecating here, as well.

Almost nobody over 30 is going to be offended by a person referring to themselves as "decaying" because we all feel it everyday.

Fellas I am 21 and >I< feel decaying. The 21st century does that to people.
You graduate high school to start a job or go to college and have to deal with real-life then boom, that blissful ignorance is gone. That if reality doesn't hit you in the face before that.
Mitsuki and Aya are cleansing not only because of the power of yuri but because they can do stuff like HAVE A PROPER SUMMER BREAK.

With that said, @nio_neka, I finally updated the doc. Don't know if my friend who is in charge of the playlist already did it tho.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eezro_84dB1jGdWRxwJP3aBx1qXpYH1AT0mVaTf4_dw/

Lizstar posted:

Every week when this updates I check it out and it's consistently like the best thing on this site

Why do you think it's the best? Also, happy (early) birthday!

It kinda just hits a lot of my interests lmao. Lots blushing, pining, grunge punk vibes, huge nerds, idiot couple, very gay. It's all my favorite things, its just right in my strike range lol. And judging by how people react, I think it's that way for a lot of people too.

Also I've mentioned this but the art is really really good. I just love how it looks. Also, thank you!

last edited at Nov 21, 2022 2:00PM

As a Muse fan I can confirm they are great live

The assumption that your teen years are the best, more shining and radiant part of your life—and that as soon as you reach legal majority you become a decaying thing that can only crawl in the rotting morass of adulthood all the way to your death—is very much a common Japanese idea... but it isn't at all a Western idea; more like the opposite, in fact. I'm surprised nobody felt offended by this strip and reacted with anger.

I'm also going to chime in on the side of people who are like...No, man. This isn't a Japanese idea, this is part of the human condition. It's universal across all cultures. There is a reason why, in the 80s, there was a huge surge of media about the 60s, and in the 00s, the 80s were big, and in the 20s, now the 00s are remembered fondly. In another 10 years they'll be waxing nostalgic about the 10s.

People making media about their youth to appeal to other people who want to remember THEIR youth is a huge part of culture.

10 years? I’m already missing the ‘10s. ‘Twas a simpler time, yonder years before the Plague.

Also, yeah, you’re right on that one. The people who tend to hat their teen years are the 20-something’s who just got out of them. The further you get from there, the more you start to look back at those years fondly. Heck, I’m only 26, and I’m already kinda missing my teen years. They weren’t even that good, either, but it doesn’t stop me from kinda missing them.

The assumption that your teen years are the best, more shining and radiant part of your life—and that as soon as you reach legal majority you become a decaying thing that can only crawl in the rotting morass of adulthood all the way to your death—is very much a common Japanese idea... but it isn't at all a Western idea; more like the opposite, in fact. I'm surprised nobody felt offended by this strip and reacted with anger.

I guess we've all already been mentally colonized by the Japanese. :P Come to think of it, I haven't read any rants against lolicon manga in a long time...

Why would we feel offended?

They call "decaying" people of thirty something. It's a pretty strong word.

I know right? The cult of childhood and teenhood in Japan is simply baffling to Occidentals. Especially in Protestant countries: it goes against the whole tradition of Reformed Christianity. Japan is the only country in the world were a woman of 25 is a decrepit old-timer no man would pay attention to.

Fellas I am 21 and >I< feel decaying. The 21st century does that to people.
You graduate high school to start a job or go to college and have to deal with real-life then boom, that blissful ignorance is gone. That if reality doesn't hit you in the face before that.
Mitsuki and Aya are cleansing not only because of the power of yuri but because they can do stuff like HAVE A PROPER SUMMER BREAK.

With that said, @nio_neka, I finally updated the doc. Don't know if my friend who is in charge of the playlist already did it tho.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eezro_84dB1jGdWRxwJP3aBx1qXpYH1AT0mVaTf4_dw/

Wooohooo! <3

and hey, don't feel too bad. my friend who I'm sharing my account to comment on here is 38 years old. you're not decaying, life is.

People may tend to have nostalgia for youth, but I think Japan has a bigger focus on high school, where Americans would look more to college (except maybe for high school athletes).

They call "decaying" people of thirty something. It's a pretty strong word.

I know right? The cult of childhood and teenhood in Japan is simply baffling to Occidentals. Especially in Protestant countries: it goes against the whole tradition of Reformed Christianity. Japan is the only country in the world were a woman of 25 is a decrepit old-timer no man would pay attention to.

. . . Again, I gotta disagree. Western countries are getting better about this, but that's not a japan "cult of teenhood" thing, that's just plain old fashioned misogyny. Women are expected to prioritize getting married. A woman who isn't married in her late 20s used to be considered an old maid in a LOT of western countries, not because they idolize youth, but because they devalue women as individuals.

Genuinely, where did this idea come from that nostalgia for youth is something exclusive to Japanese culture?? I was raised in the midwest in the 1980s, and I saw that shit ALL THE TIME. Also saw women getting judged for being unmarried at 25, BTW.

Wooohooo! <3

and hey, don't feel too bad. my friend who I'm sharing my account to comment on here is 38 years old. you're not decaying, life is.

Entropy always wins.

The adults aren’t being portrayed as old here, they’re just being portrayed as adults. They remember being teens when they see the gay kids.

Japan is the only country in the world were a woman of 25 is a decrepit old-timer no man would pay attention to.

Anime is not real life

it goes against the whole tradition of Reformed Christianity.

I can't figure out whether this is meant seriously or as sarcasm...

Almost nobody over 30 is going to be offended by a person referring to themselves as "decaying" because we all feel it everyday.

You do? That's pretty sad tbh. 30s seem like a pretty great time. But then again most people's idea of normal ageing and maturing is a pretty foreign concept to me so maybe I'm the outlier here

Finally! I have been waiting for this for a long time!!! They have conversation at the store as they now know each other. Mitzuki no longer completely covers herself anymore! Maybe she does not need to take off her piercing while at school.

The assumption that your teen years are the best, more shining and radiant part of your life—and that as soon as you reach legal majority you become a decaying thing that can only crawl in the rotting morass of adulthood all the way to your death—is very much a common Japanese idea... but it isn't at all a Western idea; more like the opposite, in fact. I'm surprised nobody felt offended by this strip and reacted with anger.

I guess we've all already been mentally colonized by the Japanese. :P Come to think of it, I haven't read any rants against lolicon manga in a long time...

Why would we feel offended?

They call "decaying" people of thirty something. It's a pretty strong word.

I know right? The cult of childhood and teenhood in Japan is simply baffling to Occidentals. Especially in Protestant countries: it goes against the whole tradition of Reformed Christianity. Japan is the only country in the world were a woman of 25 is a decrepit old-timer no man would pay attention to.

If you look closely, Catholics aren't really better. Catholic tradition since the Middle Ages is that children (at least under seven but could be older too) are angels of purity that must be protected from carnal depravity. Calvinist tradition (think New England at the time of the Salem witch trials) is that children are corrupt things that must be exorcised through discipline and punishment, kind of like how Carrie's mom raised Carrie. None of them cares about the Kinsey reports and what they taught us about child sexuality. It's not easy to find a religious type who accepts the sexuality of children as a healthy and natural thing.

Somehow the Japanese, even though most of them haven't read Kinsey, have a better understanding of these things. The naughty lolis of Itou Hachi are more like real children than anything you find in American tv.

At least when it comes to post-puberty teens the mainstream media in the West seem to have accepted the notion that they are sexual in nature, as seen in most teen shows and movies... although anything beyond kisses and petting is cast in a darker light. I think the only genre where teen sex happens consistently and is presented in an unjudging way is the horror genre... too bad the slasher always comes and kills them in the middle of it, lmao.

[...] I think the only genre where teen sex happens consistently and is presented in an unjudging way is the horror genre... too bad the slasher always comes and kills them in the middle of it, lmao.

Ignoring the question of how we got to this topic, teenagers having sex should not be presented in any way. It's one of those things where you should tell not show. It's really damn creepy how some media, including horror movies, will establish their characters as underage (or barely not underage) and then show the characters have sex. Especially considering that most sex scenes, regardless of age, serve no purpose and are just there to grab the viewer's attention.

Wow I feel called out or seen by this chapter because that's basically why I read teen romance.

When I see teens holding hands in RL if feel happy for them and a bit happier myself because it reminds me of the youth where all feelings were stronger. I think that's universal. Even if my own youth wasn't perfect in any way, I can't help missing some of it.

And as someone who works in healthcare I feel "decayed" is exaggerated but not wrong. We all decay eventually and can only make the best of the hand were dealt.

last edited at Nov 22, 2022 5:20PM

Wow I feel called out or seen by this chapter because that's basically why I read teen romance.

When I see teens holding hands in RL if feel happy for them and a bit happier myself because it reminds me of the youth where all feelings were stronger. I think that's universal. Even if my own youth wasn't perfect in any way, I can't help missing some of it.

And as someone who works in healthcare I feel "decayed" is exaggerated but not wrong. We all decay eventually and can only make the best of the hand were dealt.

Same here. I'm in my mid-thirties and the decay line gave me a good laugh.

And I work at a non-profit and got wiped out by the pandemic lockdown and post-lockdown pandemic caused issues.

So, while the thirties should be fun, I am exhausted and feel 5-10 years older than I really am...also doesn't help that I am on average, 5 years older than most of my coworkers lol... -_-

aaah the "decaying" adults all look so cute as kids too (am I allowed to say that, I am almost 30, meh I don't care)
This chapter was pure sugar... and man, do I miss festivals... I wanna see Muse too...

last edited at Nov 23, 2022 7:15PM

I'm definitely a decaying 40 year old.

Punk rock lesbians are now my favorite trope in the entire world

Punk rock lesbians are now my favorite trope in the entire world

A highly specific trope but the best one indeed
(Although they are more alt than punk)