much ado about puffy

[Mark Mays]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Aaron Gerow" <gerowaaron at sbcglobal.net>
To: <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Sent: Saturday, October 23, 2004 8:50 PM
Subject: Re: much ado about puffy


> About the cute: I remember buying copies of such fashion magazines as
> Cutie about 5 years ago and seeing plenty of models just like Puffy. It
> was just one of the cute styles at the time.
>
> That said--and to get things a bit more on track--I was struck how the
> animators have decided to portray them. Although the music video on the
> site shows them in their usual jeans, the animated characters have been
> designed to emphasize a kind of Mutt and Jeff combination, with Ami
> being the "ultra-preppy schoolgirl chic" (to quote the website) with
> her kind of 60s miniskirt and flower in her hair (no blue jeans here!)
> and Yumi being "the hardest rocking chick in showbiz" with dark
> eyeliner, spiked neck band, skull T-shirt and boots. Maybe a narrative
> necessity, but it is always interesting to see how Japanese items are
> being repackaged for the US and what image of Japan is being created as
> a result.
>
Yes, possibly a narrative choice, perhaps an artist's rendition of the inner
Puffy, however the pop art designs reminds me a lot of the Powerpuff Girls'
(anime-lite) style. Since the Girls' kitch attracts a lot of older viewers,
perhaps Puffy was an appropriate choice. Utada Hikaru's a case of her
repackaging herself, it's interesting how she talks about melting pots and
other misegenation themes, the first promo photo of herself for the US
release had her hair done like Tetsuwan Atom. Other examples of this
repackaging in film? (please no Lost in Translation, heh)

and David sez:

Bad translations in newer
Manga also destroy a chance to use Anime to introduce Japanese Culture and
Mentality to the Foreign World.

On the "introducing culture" tip, I noticed in one of the preview clips that
the characters speak English for the most part, however in some situations,
flying across a room for example, they speak Japanese idioms -- kinda like
Speedy Gonzalez.