for the record I'm pretty sure this definition of normality is most specifically applicable to Japanese society

How so? The specifics of what is normal differ, but the overarching definition of normal doesn't strike me as applying more there than anywhere else

for the record I'm pretty sure this definition of normality is most specifically applicable to Japanese society

How so? The specifics of what is normal differ, but the overarching definition of normal doesn't strike me as applying more there than anywhere else

Have you never been to America???

for the record I'm pretty sure this definition of normality is most specifically applicable to Japanese society

How so? The specifics of what is normal differ, but the overarching definition of normal doesn't strike me as applying more there than anywhere else

Have you never been to America???

... Lol yeah you could say that. Could you explain why you think "normal is not getting in other people's way" applies more in Japan and less in America instead of just acting like it's obvious?

for the record I'm pretty sure this definition of normality is most specifically applicable to Japanese society

How so? The specifics of what is normal differ, but the overarching definition of normal doesn't strike me as applying more there than anywhere else

Have you never been to America???

... Lol yeah you could say that. Could you explain why you think "normal is not getting in other people's way" applies more in Japan and less in America instead of just acting like it's obvious?

Pretty much at the opposite the ends of the spectrum of society from the community first thinking of Japan versus the me first thinking of America. The rest of the world tends to be somewhere between the two.

... Lol yeah you could say that. Could you explain why you think "normal is not getting in other people's way" applies more in Japan and less in America instead of just acting like it's obvious?

Pretty much at the opposite the ends of the spectrum of society from the community first thinking of Japan versus the me first thinking of America. The rest of the world tends to be somewhere between the two.

That makes absolutely no sense, a definition of "normal" that is "don't get in anyone's way" literally makes more sense describing the ideal permissiveness of a "me first" society, compared to a more strict definition of normal for "community first", one of the ways libertarians define the boundaries of their ideal society is "you can do anything as long as it doesn't get in the way of someone else rights". Stop throwing out cliches please.
Also Japan absolutely does not have the opposite kind of culture to America, not since the 1940s at least. It's certainly far from the most "community first" culture as well. Remember that the character who proposed this definition of normality is a western-style monster, not like a traditional yokai or something.

It's kind of a strange definition because there's lots of things that lead to social exclusion that don't get in anybody's way, most obviously homosexuality. If I had to define "normal" I'd phrase it essentially in a political manner, "the things, traits, and people valued by those with power over society". One of the ways gay people have grown in acceptance in America is by arguing we're a) only a little bit different from straight people, functional to society to most ways, and b) a valuable market demographic. And it sucks I hate my rights being contingent on some cishet in a suit thinking I can make him richer lol.

For B.)
You probably know that the so-called rich suits in big corporations do not fking care about fighting or upholding any LGBT causes, they only care about it being marketable and being used to have cheaper loans like in some video games. Like you said (So-called 'Valuable' market demographic)
Example: Spiderman game removes lgbtq flag in the middle east due to not wanting to offense the people and religion there, plus wanting to make more money to sell to a wider audience (The modder got banned for removing the flag though...it basically shows just simple virtue signaling when they remove the flags when selling to other countries/regions) while Square enix FFXVI Dion being gay was banned there, they refuse to make Dion not gay I think was what I heard??? (The game is probably still being sell there in small stores and etc.)

'Owl house' cartoon would be a better representation that was done well and Japanese manga or stories would give more much better representation since authors/artist focus on creating their 'stories' to sell well. Big corporation only care about making money, they only use Lqbtq stuff to meeting quota to get cheaper loans for their video games/sales projects....Though they mostly end up annoying people and making things worst due to how forced they try to do it lol...

Though yes, there is still discrimination today against homosexuality from stupid people and yes racism still exist too but eh most 'normal' people would just shrug and go on about their lives...The year 2000 to Present time(Today) Probably had much less discrimination compare to the 1900-1950s. But if you want to make people do something besides saying 'huh, well that's cool I guess?' when seeing some representation or people working for a cause then you will be met with backlash because people are lazy!!!! They do not want to put in time & effort to do other stuff (Most depends if they have free time and lot of income= the more money and time you have the easier it is to care about that kind of stuff and lend your help...)

In the end, it mostly about having the group's majority vote and acceptance that can help to lead to changes in society...Witch hunts and gladiator fights to the death was accepted hundreds of years of ago in the past but would be very very much less accepted if someone tried to do it today XD

Each country and society has certain regulation and cultures, heck some of the TV cartoon show (6Teen) episodes in America were banned due to being too risqué or inappropriate for the so-called younger audience and due to minor homosexuality stuff shown or mention lol... In the end it all come down to the majority rule (People votes/opinion) or the people in power/control (People with social and money power). Now today it would be easily accepted in America to shows those episodes~

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(Discussion about this manga)

Though I do want the MC of this manga to learn how to become normal but yet keep her unique personality and traits, learn how to be proud of her unique individuality...To me I think the MC only wants to be normal since she does not fully understand what is normal and didn't have many 'friends' due to being too (weird/unique/quirky).

Once MC has a taste of being normal and experiencing have bunch of normal friends, hopefully she will end up going "Huh, so this is what a normal school life is like...This is nice but I think I am fine with being myself too...Especially since I have my monster friends too."

Japan is a land full of natural disasters so they learned that if you want to keep everyone safe, you have to not fall out of line and act in the interest of the group. That means don't act selfish, don't bother people expressing your concerns, suck it up so the harmony won't get disturbed. There's a reason why so much crime doesn't get reported, mainly sexual harrasment. They learn to keep their mouth shut and act the way that's expecting of them.

If you don't follow the social norm and attract attention, chances are high you get bullied and higher ups won't like you. Always listin to the teacher, what you seniors says goes, even if they are incompetent and just a year older. Japan has a highly oppressive society where appearances are more important than your happiness as an individual.

I love how the monster mentioned the backpack. I kid you not, students have to carry all their books no matter how heavy, they are not allowed to leave some at school like we did with lockers. People were against the idea since it's good for character building and they also had to do it, so those kids must do the same. Its a crazy mentality and young people are fed up with it. But they can't do much against japans huge elderly population and politicians catering to them to get elected.

It's no wonder japanese media is the most expressive and extreme. It's crazy how diverse japanese entertainment is, not to mention all the insane things you can do in the sex industry. People need ways to cope with the extreme pressure and escape their harsh reality.

Tldr what the monster defines as normal is to just act like a good productive sheep for a healthy society, or you will be shunned.

last edited at Nov 2, 2024 6:10AM

Japan is a land full of natural disasters so they learned that if you want to keep everyone safe, you have to not fall out of line and act in the interest of the group. That means don't act selfish, don't bother people expressing your concerns, suck it up so the harmony won't get disturbed. There's a reason why so much crime doesn't get reported, mainly sexual harrasment. They learn to keep their mouth shut and act the way that's expecting of them.

If you don't follow the social norm and attract attention, chances are high you get bullied and higher ups won't like you. Always listin to the teacher, what you seniors says goes, even if they are incompetent and just a year older. Japan has a highly oppressive society where appearances are more important than your happiness as an individual.

I love how the monster mentioned the backpack. I kid you not, students have to carry all their books no matter how heavy, they are not allowed to leave some at school like we did with lockers. People were against the idea since it's good for character building and they also had to do it, so those kids must do the same. Its a crazy mentality and young people are fed up with it. But they can't do much against japans huge elderly population and politicians catering to them to get elected.

It's no wonder japanese media is the most expressive and extreme. It's crazy how diverse japanese entertainment is, not to mention all the insane things you can do in the sex industry. People need ways to cope with the extreme pressure and escape their harsh reality.

Tldr what the monster defines as normal is to just act like a good productive sheep for a healthy society, or you will be shunned.

Lmao this is all true about so many more countries than Japan. Even the thing about lockers, they took lockers away in most schools in the US after Columbine and they continue to shrink with every infamous school shooting. The main difference here being that they ALSO in a lot of places took away the backpacks, or mandated transparent ones, or installed metal detectors and police searches to check them.

I’ve been enjoying this.

While it’s definitely fundamentally about neurodivergence, I’ve been reading Takahashi as relatable from a trans perspective, specifically:
1. The feeling of a need to blend in, and to prove useful to others as a defensive mechanism. This is a huge drive - being useful and “valued” is safety.
2. The real exposure to violence, contempt, and extermination if clocked. In some ways things are better now in America than 10 years ago, but in some ways they are actually imo worse, with increased awareness of trans issues and use as political wedges driving my perceived risk of violence much higher. (Also agree with poster above discussing how corps pay lip service to LGBT support without it being real.)
3. Feeling of transformation/change/shelf life of my physical body and drive to alter it. This probably varies a lot from trans person to trans person. For me, modification and alteration drives are a control thing for sure.

Probably not the most flattering comparison, but I’m happy to have a giant murderous worm girl I can relate to and who speak to how I sometimes feel ~

Takahashi best girl, hope she and Itou hit it off now that they are being more honest with each other.