Forum - View topicNEWS: 'Wanna Be the Strongest in the World' Female Wrestling Anime's Ad Aired
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Anime World Order
 Posts: 389 Location: Florida |
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Hmm...this isn't entirely "wrong" but it isn't entirely "right" either. I'll clarify: The heyday of Japanese women's wrestling--the period when it was at its most popular and profitable--was the 1970s through mid-to-late 1990s. Even though that era is about 20 years past, this is the time period and imagery most people associate with upon seeing or hearing the phrase "Japanese women's wrestling." A critical factor behind the success of this era was that it was marketed primarily towards women, and by that I mean "teenage girls." The most popular pro wrestlers of the time were themselves teenage girls, and they also branched out into idol singer territory. Imagine if the crowds of people who attended say, Miley Cyrus concerts circa 2006-2008 were going to pro wrestling events instead and that'd give you an idea. (I would have said "Beatlemania" but that's too dated a reference for an anime board.) Much like how the success of these pop stars today inspires many young ladies to audition for American Idol in the hopes of being the next breakout star, the popularity of these wrestlers drove thousands of Japanese teenage girls to apply to the dojos. Because the target audience was girls, the hairstyles and attire of Japanese women's wrestlers from this period emphatically did not emphasize their sexual characteristics. The reasons are simple. One: doing that would turn many younger girls away, particularly back then. Two: as the promo video for this anime demonstrates, the second someone's wearing attire that exposes their breasts, buttocks, etc. you're focusing on their body more than the actual storytelling and moves of the match. What changed between then and now? Well, it's very similar to what happened with anime over time. A decision was made to target older fans who individually had much more money to spend than school-aged children, and because of a number of factors most of the people who fit that bill in Japan are men. As younger audiences stopped being targeted, fewer young people sought to enter the system. The established talents got older and split off to become progressively more niche-oriented, keeping themselves at the top at the expense of giving more up-and-comers a chance at the spotlight. Today, Japanese women's wrestling is targeted pretty much exclusively towards adult men. Many promotions are so small that they don't even have rings, or they run their shows out of somebody's apartment, or there are like 20 people present if that. The ladies sell their outfits and do pinup-style DVDs and photos. It's THAT kind of thing. There are still some promotions that bill themselves as more athletic-focused, but even they still have to play up the sexuality somewhat to draw since they're targeted exclusively towards adult men as well. So you are right: this anime series is--quite obviously--made along the lines of the "check out the ladies falling out of their outfits and moaning as they're put in compromising positions!" type of Japanese women's wrestling, per the norms of the day. But that's certainly not what the largest amount of people would have in mind when they think of the term. Last edited by Anime World Order on Mon Sep 16, 2013 10:42 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Chrno2
 Posts: 6171 Location: USA |
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I forgot about this series. Well, I guess I'll sit in hope it's someone good. If it's as good as say Variable Geo then I might consider.
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Running Wild
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These girls are sorely lacking in muscle... or fat.
Nobody is gonna watch a wrasslin' anime with scrawny chicks. |
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MadMan400096
 Posts: 266 Location: Chicopee, MA |
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Sentai gets it. Calling it now.
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bravetailor
Posts: 817 |
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True enough. Air Master is still the best at depicting what fightin' chicks should REALLY look like. |
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mangamuscle
Posts: 2658 Location: Mexico |
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Hear! Hear! |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23786 |
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Er...are we looking at the same images? I wouldn't say many of these girls are "scrawny" ... especially in the chestal region. |
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bravetailor
Posts: 817 |
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Their arms have no muscle definition. You ain't gonna suplex anyone with these noodle arms. |
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mangamuscle
Posts: 2658 Location: Mexico |
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... nor they are going to last long if they receive a suplex or anything else, people love to say "those punches are not real" thinking average people can withstand that kind of damage and leave the ring walking in their own legs. |
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TsunaReborn!
 Posts: 4713 Location: Cheltenham UK |
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To be fair they are no skinnier than a lot of the women in the industry today.
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14766 |
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Well, as they say, pleasure and pain come from the same part of the brain. |
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CrowLia
 Posts: 5505 Location: Mexico |
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Because, as everyone knows, the boobs are the primary muscle required to defeat your oponent in pro-wres, thus why males don't wrestle
Me four. I had a slim interest in the premise -female pro-wres is kind of a cool idea- but if it's gonna be girls moaning rather than shouting battle cries and roars while their boobs bounce all over the place, I'm out. |
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Surrender Artist
 Posts: 3264 Location: Pennsylvania, USA |
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Maybe it’s because it’s not my fetish, but I’m not really comfortable with this series’ apparent concentration on sexualizing women being in distress. I’ve seen that creep into anime before and it seems to particularly ‘be a thing’ in Japan, but I don’t have much tolerance for it and it’s seems like an example of the kind of fanservice that I really don’t like. I could imagine enjoying a show about a diverse group of female wrestlers with exaggerated personalities earnestly, theatrically beating the crap out each other, or trying to convincingly pretend to do so, while being ridiculous and over-the-top. That sounds like it could be a lot of fun. Hell, I couldn’t even really object to lots and lots of improbably giant, round boobs in a show like that, because if you’re making a show like that, you might as well go all out trashy. Add in a perspective character who enters the world of wrestling having honed her athleticism or theatrics who is forced to contend with success requiring both, then working hard to develop a more diverse, complex set of skills than she’d expected and you have a cool set-up for a show. It’d be simple, but great straightforward, sexy entertainment. (Or maybe a show about a shy, socially anxious girl who stumbles into the world of professional wrestling and has to struggle with her complexes. It'd be Watamote meets Ultimate Muscle) What it looks like we’re getting looks like it has a lot of the trash, but not enough of the fun and little of the heart. Maybe it will look better when we see more or maybe it is just because I’m very much not into what it’s selling, but for now this just doesn’t look fun, sexy or compelling. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23786 |
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Well rather than make up my mind based on a brief promo, I'll make a judgment based on actual knowledge. What a concept. If it ain't good, cheesy fun, then I'm out.
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Rahxephon91
 Posts: 1859 Location: Park Forest IL. |
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