BR / Charisma

[Don Brown]

>all.  I'm sure Japanese kids are attracted to BR's violent 
>reputation, but
>at the same time I suspect it's not hard for them to find videos and 
>comics
>that are even more gratuitous.
This is the key flaw of the politicians' argument - you never hear the 
slightest murmur about the stacks and stacks of violent rape comics and 
their 'simulated' porn-video counterparts, and yet when Battle Royale comes 
along it's treated as the worst threat to the country's youth since 
Tamagotchi.  This is all playing out against the backdrop of the current 
furore over youth crime, a trendy subject for the media and politicians, 
and probably number one on the current Moral Panic Top Ten, followed 
closely by crimes by foreigners and rancid milk.  Recent news broadcasts 
have concentrated heavily on the drunken high-jinks at public 
"coming-of-age" ceremonies around Japan, with much tut-tutting about young 
people these days.

>When I saw the film 
>there
>was a line of high schoolers and college-aged kids stretched around 
>the side
>of the theater.
Well, not having seen it myself, at least the film seems to have this 
saving grace.  It's rare to see such enthusiasm for a Japanese film amongst 
young people, let alone adults.  With such a controversial publicity 
campaign it could hardly go wrong, but it's still surprising to see the 
chapatsu hordes lining up in such numbers to see homegrown product.

>Aren't there any comments on Charisma?  ;-)
Well, my top 10 won't get published (for good reason probably), but 
Charisma was my number one.  Plus, it's always nice to see Yakusho Koji in 
something other than a TV commercial.  Isn't the guy rich enough that he 
can stop making an arse of himself?
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