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Somehow I only ever find you on the more lefty channels Justin Y. I swear, you're like the ever-present specter of communism. Keep up god's work Big J.
8/10 Perfect comment. I also don't see you often in Pedantic Romantic's videos, so this is a surprise. As to the comment, "What a title" is something I'd expect you to say more, but you never seem to.
Two female characters: _"Hold hands, make each other laugh, share common interests, be there for each other, flirt, kiss and is confirmed gay by the creator."_ People: "I don't think they're gay." _"One of the female characters looks at a guy for 2 seconds, and doesn't even blush."_ People: "See? Undeniable proof. I told you they were straight."
haven't seen gridman, but what you're talking about reminds me of what happened when the last episode of kill la kill aired and how many people tried to argue that mako asking ryuko on a date and literally kissing her on the lips was somehow totally platonic...like, harold, they're lesbians
Yo thas wild bruh, me too. The whole mech thing kindu botgers me but that last ep:) one moment im scoffin the ethics & mechanics the next im like "damn that ther is one hell of statement bout escapism & human creativity" i swer
@@thepedanticromantic2515 I think anime fans have just gotten way too accustomed to literally everyone having the same body shape. Y'know outside of "weirdly large" or "the fat one" or etc.
Thing with anime, is that the legs are rarely given any attention, even between those who really have meat on their bones (which are a rarity in themselves nowadays). So to finally have an anime with lots of leg service lets the legs leave more of an impact, even if they are just average in size.
@@edl01reviews You be surprised how dense people can be, me included. I didn't notice the yuri in Flip Flappers until the bedroom scene. Even then, I wasn't exactly sure if the feeling I got was the writer's intent or just me wanting to see yuri until Zeria(?) made his video on the show.
You know, it's kinda funny all this came from a series inspired by a 3 decade old tokusatsu series about a digital giant man fighting digital giant monsters.
Id rather trigger just make them explicitly gay instead of filling it with coded shit. The fact that there was only ever a direct statement of a heterosexual interest while all the gay stuff has to be interpreted... Of course it being a little ambiguous is just a clever way to appeal to both those who want yuri and those who dont, but I really wish more shows were just unapolagetic about this stuff.
Look guys why the fuck do you care about this shit Seriously why do you want so much gay in anime (there is no need for it, there is already enough of it) Also if you havent realised it yet, most of anime audience is stright and male and while there are some yuri lovers out there, people just like a nice good old fashioned romance because news flash gay romances suck in anime (they suck so hard that the best people have is yuri on ice, which is shit)
WAIT this comment made me realize something for the first time. It’s clearly staed that Yuta likes Rikka, but doesn’t that mean that Gridman is actually the one that likes her due to the twist at the end? Is the interdimensional policeman looking for love?
Your comment can be translated to : "this male character isn't triying to have any romantic or sexual interaction with every woman he talk's to , he must definetly be asexual" This is not a f***ing harem.
@@risingsuperstarfrost3096 Did you forget that the Yuta we saw this whole time was a creation between Gridman and the real Yuta? Looks like the feelings that the real Yuta had for Rikka carried over to the Yuta we know.
Did i watch this entire video without knowing anything about gridman just because it has the word gay on its title? yes, but now i actually want to watch the show, so thank you!
Helena Anjos it’s uh It’s not very good And the only character with substance is Akane... Also it’s not very queer at all A lot of what she says is some pretty powerful baseless reaching. They actually did it in Kill la Kill And it actually has substance in kill la kill Watch that instead.
@@Allen-yv5xg i'm not going to argue you on your points because, as i stated, i haven't watched gridman, but please refer to thepedanticromantic as a woman, for she is one. thank you for the kill la kill recommendation though, i've been meaning to check it out
Helena Anjos I don’t respect this video because I think it’s overall it’s very very bad (I respect that they have an opinion at least) but yeah I corrected myself I’m not gonna be a dick about that.
Ghornsan thanks for correcting yourself and don’t worry, you have every right to disagree with this video. when i have the time i’ll check gridman out and then watch the video again to see if i agree with it or not
@@ether14 none of that and thankfully so, Note: I don't mind that stuff but SSSS gridman wasn't aiming for that and I'm glad this anime universe kept that in mind
This is actually my first RU-vid comment ever, and it'll probably get lost in the recesses of the comment section, but I just wanted to thank you for talking about issues of sexism and homophobia/heteronormativity in anime and the otaku community. I love anime, and I'm willing to tolerate that it comes from a different culture where traditional gender roles are more prevalent and society is less open to lgbtqa+ people. I just wish that more anime RU-vidrs acknowledged the elephant in the room and talked about how sometimes the discussion around people like us gets cringey or creepy. Bottom line, I'm really happy you exist on this channel and I hope to continue seeing this kind of content in the future.
There’s a prevailing theory that both Akane and Rikka are one and the same. And most of the substantial evidence that has been presented are pretty rock solid. With that in-mind the relationship of Akane and Rikka are re-conceptualized as “self-love”. Which makes a lot more sense because it reinforces the themes and messages of Gridman, as well as Akane’s journey. I don’t blame anyone for rationalizing this to “they’re gay”. I just found it has a deeper meaning, and so have many others.
@@gooberviewer6341 Well I think its less of "self-love", and more of accepting how one is. Since we know real world Rikka Is lonely, and is of a meager household has pent up frustrations and what not, and created a fantasy self, an ideal self. Alexis then swooped in, and turned her fantasy into reality. What needed to happen was for Rikka to accept herself, as she is in reality, and let go of her fantasy self. That is why, I think atleast, they cant be togather, that Rikka has to abandon her fantasy self, and accept herself as she is in reality. There is my 2 cents, have a good day.
Yeesh, did none of you ppl replying watch that section where this is specifically addressed in the video? Conceptually, sure, Rikka and Akane can represent different parts of real-world Akane. But in the world the anime takes place in, they are /not/ the same person. Think of Rikka as a clone, or a double, or a past self or anything else you find helps you understand the themes of the show; but she's still, within the show, a separate person, with separate thoughts and feelings. When two separate people love eachother, its love; not self-love. Just like two straight characters with many similar characteristics need to accept those characteristics about themselves before they can accept and engage in a healthy relationship with someone else they see those characteristics in. Or how many people feel they aren't ready for a relationship because they're hung up on their own faults and refuse to believe someone else could honestly love them or that they could be a good S.O. to someone to loves them anyway. That Rikka accepts and loves Akane and Akane slowly accepts her feelings for Rikka, despite their shared conptual origin, does not invalidate their feelings.
Every time an LGBT character comes along there is this stupid argument regardless how blatant and obvious it is that the character is LGBT. I genuinely think that a character introduction could involve them turning up in a rainbow coloured blimp with YMCA blaring at full volume and people would still manage to find a way to deny the truth staring them in the face. It is frankly remarkable the extent some people will go to deny that any character they like is LGBT.
The funniest part is every time it's actually explicitly stated that, yes, character x is *definitely* gay and the show brings attention to that fact, the men-children in the audience talk about how "shallow" that is and that "gay is not a personality trait". You literally cannot win with these people, they just want to live in their weird little fantasy where everyone is straight and every woman is sexually available to them. Best course of action is to just ignore them and power through. Change the way we create our media *in spite* of their demands to the contrary and have them learn to deal with it.
Funny how anime fans have a track record of forcing LGBT pairings but when a character is canonically gay (or bi especially, bi erasure is a thing) nobody wants to hear it.
@@Arrakiz666 What you are describing I have never seen anyone ever do. And gay isn't a personality trait, as evidence by the fact that anytime a person says that someone else acts gay, then the SJW types freak the fuck out.
And there isn't any romance in SSSSSSSSS gridman, so claiming that a character that isn't proven to be gay is gay, and then calling anyone who thinks that character isn't gay a bigot, is honestly just retarded. Believe it or not there's such things as opinions, and not everyone is going to share the same one you have.
@@Arrakiz666 keep ur women moments to your self, nobody in the world thinks that every female is available. i think YOUR living a FANTASY forcing girls that are friends into a gay relationship.
@@cumulonimbusderie If you stopped being hyperbolic, and frustrated over the norm changing then that wouldn't be the case. Most people are just upset being marketed something that "isn't for them".
I buy more into the theory that Rikka is Akane's real world self that she rejected, which is why she was created to live in a junk shop with her mom, because the close friendship she and Akane used to have represented Akane loving herself, but when she entered the digital world, created an 'ideal' body different from her own, and gradually became insane because of Alexis, she lost the connection she had with herself/Rikka and tossed her aside. Even Yuuta being in love with Rikka adds to the idea that Rikka is based on the real Akane, because if Gridman's real mission was to save her, it would make sense to possess the boy who was in love with Akane as she used to be and not the version she created to be.Even the ED scene you're referring to can support this point. Because of this, I don't see any of their scenes as romantic as much as it is self-loving and addressing the issues Akane has. I don't mind the idea of any of them being gay or bi, but some of the statements in this video are a bit abrasive (but to be fair, the opposition is honestly disgusting so I see your point as not nearly as bad as they are) especially because it's all subjective and nothing is concrete. The show leaves a lot to interpretation.
I mean, even if Rikka is a representation of real world Akane, it wouldn’t be selfcest. It’s technically a dream, but that dreamworld continues to exist after Akane wakes up, so it’s not reliant on her. I’d say that that Akane just made Rikka look like her, and past that Rikka is a different person entirely. Besides, under that theory, Akane has the body she wants instead of the body she had, which separates them further
I never got the impression that Rikka was supposed to be like Akane in any way. Why would she make her perfect friend to be something that reminds her of the world she left?
@@ryanford2965 Yeah, dude's grasping at straws SO hard because 2 girls being friends isn't an option to this guy for some reason lol even though Rikka showed interest in Yuta, which she didn't pursue at the beginning because WHY WOULD SHE CHASE AFTER A BOY WITH AMNESIA. It's even made clear at the end of the series, when regaining his memories, that there's a hint of romance budding between Rikka & Yuuta. Not saying that they're definitely NOT gay or bi or whatever you wanna label them as, but there just isn't sufficient evidence, dude. a rainbow sticker & a poster for an LGBT club isn't definitive proof.
This kind of reminds me of the whole The last airbender: Legend of Korra situation that happened when the series ended with the main girl starting a relationship with the other main girl. certain fans of the show kept stubbornly arguing that they definitely weren't a real couple because we never saw them kiss, despite the show making it incredibly clear that they were in a blossoming relationship. They were claiming that till we saw them kiss it wasn't real. Later comics were released following the two characters, where they do explicitly kiss. The goalposts were quickly moved as the comics were deemed "not cannon" by those same people, presumably because this was never about who those characters are, its about what those fans what them to be.
The problem with Korra (from my point of view) was the cowardice of the creators. The romance with the boys was very shitty, so naturally everyone started enjoying much much more the relationship between Korra and Asami. The two worked together on screen with good chemistry, no one would have complained if the two had started an official relationship during the last season. After everything that had happened and how close Asami got to Korra would be even a natural conclusion. But nope! Let's only give two ambiguous seconds during the last shot of the last episode. It really happened, it's just you that didn't wanted to see you homophobic! Wow! So progressive! Isn't fair with the spectators. Gay couples don't bother me, but they're only existing outside the episodes, this bothers me so much.
GlitchKing I agree with Panino here, the way the creators essentially stuck them together at the end was incredibly lazy. They definitely were not planning on it originally, as the usual teenage boy drama ensued throughout the show how anyone would have expected it to, but none of the relationships were particularly strong. I think a portion of the relationship deniers are those who see it as illegitimate. Adventure Time did this better imo, they developed a possible lesbian relationship throughout the show, and ended it with an actual kiss.
Eh. I dunno about that. Personally I was incredibly disappointed how non-committal the creators were to this relationship. Like they could have done sooo much more with it. Generally Legend of Korra had incredibly clumsy and stilted relationships, so it really wasn't that different from the rest, but I don't know if that is a compliment for the series.
Panino Manino You're entitled to your opinion of course and I don't necessarily think you are wrong in many of yours complaints. But I think part of it is explained by the odd situation the production was in. The show was teetering on the edge of cancellation through its entire run, and the creators have said in interviews that part of the reasons for the ambiguity of it was simply that they didn't think they were going to be allowed to actually make that relationship happen. There are hints to the relationship throughout the series if you're looking for them but again, it was all kept vague because they didn't think they would be allowed to do it, for somewhat good reasons, the show was greenlit on a season by season basis, meaning it was really hard to build towards anything that wouldn't come to fruition until seasons they weren't sure they were going to get. Now I'll grant you that things could have gone better and in the end it was rushed to actually fit into the last season because they finally asked for permission and got it. The last season was also hampered by large budget cuts and a strict timetable though.
If this is your takeaway, then okay. But frankly, I believe the strongest lesson from this show was how retreating into a make-believe world was not healthy and would lead to looking into some horrible influences.
the only argument for them not being gay is that they're bi. if someone watches rgu and doesn't get that utena and anthy fall in love with each other.........i honestly don't even think that's possible, they clearly know and are just in denial. it's like........come on, stop it, you need to face reality and accept that utena and anthy are in lesbians with each other.
I gotta say, since the vast and overwhelming majority of things I saw about Gridman were comments on Rikka's thighs, it really made me write off the show as a substanceless fanservice show about fun but shallow giant robot fights and blank-slate mascot girls with minimal character beyond 'girl hot' (made especially creepy due to the fact that they're teenagers). It really didn't do the show any favors for me. If I'd heard "there's gay subtext between the two female leads" at that point, I'd have still written it off as fanservice yuri without any substance either, just mascots rubbing boobs for the audience. But after watching this video I'm actually interested, it seems like a legitimately interesting character study with some good romance too. And of course, giant mecha fights.
Unfortunately there is a group of the anime fandom that try their best to make everything disgusting. They are a big part of the reason it's so hard to get new people into the fandom as it's assumed it's just a bunch of sexualised nonsense. Of-course some anime is disgusting and should be avoided but there is allot of good there as-well with clever themes and well written characters. It's just a shame some people seem to put effort into deliberately not seeing it.
"Setting aside the creepy implication of a mass of adults obsessing over how sexy a high school girls thighs are" THANK YOU You're going straight for the jugular with a critical leftist/LGBT lens and I am soooo in love with it. Keep up the amazing work!
Utterly Wrong. Rikka is based on real life Akane. Akane wants to be close to Rikka because it's a repli compoid based on her real self. Part of her wants to be the idealized Akane and throw her old self away, that's why Rikka lives in a literal junk shop. But also a part of her refuses to let go, that's why Rikka lives next door to Akane in the digital world. When she wants to be together with Rikka it's her statement that she wants to love her flawed old self.
In fact in the interview by Animedia to Amemiya Akira, he said that Liika don't have love feelings about Yuuta. And Liika's voice actor Minamoto Yume said Liika has feelings that is above friendship towards Akane....Which means something.
@@thepedanticromantic2515 The problem is, it's on a real magazine and I couldn't found any online vision of the interview, have the japanese screen shot in photo though.
@@thepedanticromantic2515 cho-animedia.jp/anime/73661/2/ I found something, here the voice actor said, she think Liika was never in love with Yuuta, it is more like friendship.
I mean, yeah I noticed the symbolism in the ED, but it seemed like Akane was into Yuuta what with the dream-world sequence where they're dating, and Rikka's love for Akane is programmed, so can we really say it's roman- >A literal LGBT poster in the background ... huh... EDIT: There's much more convincing stuff in this video, it's just that the literal LGBT poster sitting right there in plain view is kinda blowing my mind
I'll be real, while I actually agree with you and I think you totally right, I personally just didn't want there to *be* romance and ill explain why without writing a novel. basically i feel that while lgbt relationships deserve to be celebrated, intimate friendships also deserve to be shown in a strong light and celebrated without being confused for a romantic relationship. i have no problem with Lgbt relationships, but i do have a problem with consistent romantic assumptions in something when they could legit just be friends. Gridman is very explicit about Akane and Rikka, but i do just wish that strong and intimate friendships, regardless of gender, got more recognition
This is something I liked about Yuru Camp and Yoromoi. I might just be blind, but I didn't read anything but platonic friendship in those groups of friends, and I found that to be very special.
@@greg4811 those are two excellent examples honestly. They show how important friends are and how strong and intimate those bonds be. If there was romantic coding in those shows, I feel it would be detrimental to the overall message and goals of them because it implies to me that you cant have this bonds without romance being intrinsically linked to them.
While I don't disagree with you - I also think portrayals of intimate friendships are important and I want to see more of it - I also think that anime does a much better job of showing amazing female close relationships without there being much romance coding. Shows like K-ON, Hanasaku Iroha, Love Lab, Ichigo Mashimaro, Yuru Camp, Kamichu, and many all girl slice of life shows all have amazing portrayals of close intimate friendships. This, as opposed to actual romantic relationships between girls, where I can barely come up with any examples of when this has been done in anime at all. In Gridman's case specifically the relationship was so romantically coded that I can totally see how anyone would want it to stand as one of the few good representations of female romance as opposed to one of the many, many already great representations of female friendships. Speaking of, in the realms of good, intimate friendships, I've always felt that it was male/female friendships the ones that were lacking without there being heavy romance coding. I can barely come up with good examples of shows with non-romantic male/female intimacy beyond Tokyo Godfathers, which also has a representation of a pretty great intergenerational friendship
@@NothingToNipahAb0ut I think im just tired of consistently adding in romance where romance isn't needed or sometimes even wanted, and where a stronger more intimate friendship enhances the message you give ala Yorimoi. i just feel that anime in general, regardless of gender, tends to skip over the most important part of any relationship, be it platonic or romantic. I'm not saying i don't like it, its a joy to watch, i just feel like the idea of intimate friendship is lost in so many series that could really do with it. its a win win either way for me, but one is still a bigger win if you get what i mean.
Some hets will jump onto a straight ship at the single smallest implication, and invalidate a gay one regardless of how OBVIOUS it’s made. It’s incredibly frustrating that they can’t see their double standards
As a straight cis male with no sexual investment in Rikka and her ‘thiccness’, I want to thank you for opening my eyes to another enjoyable layer of my favorite show of 2018.
Speaking as someone who is bisexual, and all for more representation in the media... I don't agree. Maybe it's just because I find the idea of them being lesbians to be uninteresting, but I just don't agree with these videos. I mean, to me, the show is so much more interesting seeing Rikka as the leftovers of the 'real' Akane. Akane, when building her perfect world, made herself this buxom, anime girl in a huge house. She then took this copy of her old, drab self and threw it away at basically a junk store to be forgotten about. Yuuta was meant to be Akane's love interest, but with Gridman's interference, didn't. Instead Yuuta fell for Rikka, and Rikka got everything Akane would have wanted. Yuuta, a friend that's into Kaiju, and the adventure of a lifetime. Akane almost lost everything, in comparison. It just makes for a more interesting story, instead of the usual anime 'teasing relationships' BS. Another point I want to make, why is it that straight people get put down for finding Rikka attractive, when gays or lesbians get attracted to other fictional characters? What the hell is up with this idea that we need to put other groups down so ours can be treated equally? I'm freakin' sick of it.
@@thepedanticromantic2515 Well, for one thing, if Rikka isn't technically a real human, her feelings for Akane are just preprogrammed nonsense. No free will, no real choice. That's kind of a big deal when it comes to having feelings for another character. Part of the reason I don't really like the idea of these two together is because Rikka's feelings are based on something she can't control. Akane wants everyone to love her, so Rikka worships her. While these feelings may grow towards the end, they're still based on a lie. I don't know. To me, I like the idea of Rikka being the original Akane, and their last scene together being more about Akane learning to love herself, and the idea of her looking at Rikka as anything more than a friend defeats the whole lesson of the anime. Like it's okay to be consumed by your fantasy, when the anime pushes hard how important it is to be a part of reality.
@@thepedanticromantic2515 No need to be so insulting. Honestly? I didn't get far. The condescending and insulting title, the annoying subject matter, I couldn't get far, and what I did see, I skimmed through, and then gave it a dislike. Yes, I agree that Rikka and the others do matter, but honestly we agree on the end point of those feelings. I'll stop wasting my time talking to you. This just seems like it isn't getting you anywhere. Bye.
@@blade10000 On your comment: "...I don't really like the idea of these two together is because Rikka's feelings are based on something she can't control" - lets try to start from basics. How do one differentiate between false (programmed) and true feelings aside from being told (proven) by outsider? I mean, you don't get a debuff icon on the side of your eyesight or something. Further on, how do one differentiate between true and false feelings, while they are basically same? Now give me a chance to explain. From Rikka POV, she, lets presume, loves Akane. Now, there's a 3rd person who thinks that this is false, wrong feeling, but based on what? It is not like Rikka feels different love from every other person/character. And if they are the same, does not that make a difference between true and programmable love non existent? And, well, if we are going even further, If one person thinks that their love is true, and not based on some prejudice or lie, in 99% cases they just cannot notice those small factors that in fact made the biggest impact on this so called free, profound choice. In other words, it is same thing Akane does, but for individual to themselves. In the end, it only matters if this fact of programmable affection is known or not, otherwise there is no real harm or difference for Rikka. P.S. I appreciate your point of view in disliking this relationship, I just think this way of relation is not bad.
Wow, that was actually a perspective on the relationship between Rikka and Akane I hadn’t even considered! I don’t really understand sexuality, so I generally leave this type of thinking about sexuality in anime to other people. Although I really like analyzing anime and their political ideas and implications, I pretty much reach my limit when it comes to this stuff. I recently thought about the political and social commentary in “DARLING in the FRANXX,” but when I started thinking about the sexual implications of the FRANXX design and how it relates to the portrayal of sexuality as well as nudity in the dystopian society portrayed, my brain basically broke because I didn’t understand anything anymore. Anyway, until now, I found “SSSS. GRIDMAN” kind of underwhelming in juxtaposition with the other work of Studio Trigger, but I’m definitely going to rewatch it and keep your comments in mind while doing so. Thanks for enlightening me! I stumbled upon your channel through Contra’s recent video, and I really like your work!
Well, I still dig the interpretation that Rikka is what Akane's like in real life more. Especially consider the shot where they are wondering why Gridman chose Yuuta, Akane's comment on the junk shop. And the ladt shot in real life, with the actress resembles Rikka portraying Akane ( who is not the vosice actress btw) And I'd say it interpretation ties up more loose ends to see it this way.
@@kaidouseishin4614 Considering the staff made it quite explicit that the show's central theme was "take care of yourself" and that the whole show is about facing reality, it just makes so much sense that Rikka and Akane are two parts of the same person.
@@INTCUWUSIUA the whole argument about code and stuff really went over my head to be honest. i honestly didnt think people gone that deep just to find the gay in everything
SSSS.Gridman is absolutely Trigger's best anime and I wish more people watched it. I never grew up on anything Tokusatsu-related, and wasn't super interested in the series based on premise alone, but the direction was so good in the first episode I kept up with it, and it became one of my favorites of the year. I even ended up watching it twice, subbed and dubbed later with a friend. I do lean slightly into the theory that Akane created Rikka in her own (real world) image, within Akane's own fantasy world (mostly due to why Gridman's chose to possess Yuuta and little things like self-loathing Akane putting Rikka in a literal junk shop like trash), but I agree that doesn't mean either of them can't be into the other, or whatever that weird argument was. Once she's made them, its pretty clear they have agency and their own feelings and emotions with certain exceptions. The whole finale with Rikka being the final goodbye and having the most meaningful conversation of the lot was so emotional and kind of heartbreaking, I have a hard time believing people wouldn't see that as more than just platonic feelings. Its also nice to see all the extra behind-the-scenes stuff I wouldn't have found out about on my own!
Katt1721 I’m a very dedicated tokusatsu fan, and I used to watch the weekly toku streamed live from Japan every Saturday night (Aunday morning in Japan). I love toku even more than anime, and I was really excited about an anime adaptation of an obscure toku series with references to an onscure Transformers comic series. I didn’t see the rainbow flags when I watched it, and the fact (at lest some of) the creators are legitimately LGBT positive and not just yuri fetishists makes me love the series even more. I usually only get emotional due to the occasional romance or Clannad-type anime, but I cried after finishing Gridman.
I think my issue in the end with most videos of this nature is this process you seem to take where you analyze a show and prove that its themes are innately homosexual or express homosexual ideas (which I think is great if just from an analytical viewpoint), but then proceed to make moralizing and judgmental statements against those who do not conform to accepting those themes as truth. I think it's an incredibly arrogant assumption to make to state that those who do not perceive the themes of a show a certain way fall into being classified as "ignorant to the truth" or "inclined towards heteronormativity". To be clear, I think the points you made in your video are solid, and I am moreso inclined to believe that Rikka and Akane share romantic feelings for each other. It's just this idea that if someone DOESN'T see it that way, they are wrong and blanket statemented away into a deep abyss where the supposed alt-right anime crowd hides away. It's almost like your content serves to further a particular agenda rather than actually analyzing and giving praise to a show that does a good job of expressing homosexual themes and providing decent LGBT representation. If you were to just celebrate this show's achievements in that ballpark and explained why it is a good thing that these themes are being expressed (along with decent analysis, which you've already got down), you would get much farther than taking your current route; which seems to be comprised of looking down upon those who do not agree with your arguably well substantiated points and using aggressive titling to "get those homophobes mad about some characters they thought were straight".
OH Thanks God I found you! I'm so tired of people shaming me for not wearing shipping googles! They are incredible rude, and call me cisgender like it's some sort of insult (Really, I had to look it up and have tons of references to realize that the person was trying to insult me). They even don't ackwolege the fact that Japan has diferent values than U.S and to judge their main stream content based on our problems can't be done!
What often bothers me too is this US VS. THEM thinking-pattern when talking about LGBT or some other sensitive topics. A really good example for that is 11:57 where she makes the assumption that heterosexuals just don´t get it, like you need to be LGBT to understand LGBT, which I think is counterproductive. The whole point is that everything is normal and should be tolerated and celebrated as such, noone should stand on a pedastal and it should be no suprise for anyone whether someone ist straight, gay or bi (which isn´t the case right now sadly). I understand that as a protection against a way too big amount of people who do not tolerate LGBT, you build an inner circle where you can encourage each other and celebrate yourself, but I think you should let others in on that to move forward and try not to be too exclusive.
Thank you. This is why I've unsubscribed from PeDro a long time ago. It's this hamfisting of LGBT themes into as much analysis as possible, which is a long departure from the analysis I admired her for. Now it's this absolutely arrogant and judgmental shtick that I find repulsive and not conducive to dialogue.
Oh my god thank you so much for this video jfc this is the best defense for this couple I’ve ever seen. People keep trying to say it’s just “subtext” but everyone knows damn well if one of these girls was a dude, the whole anime community would accept them as a couple immediately. Fuck heteronormativity in the anime community, we deserve so much better than this
Now that you have pointed it out, there is a lot of nurse office scenes in yuri manga/anime. That is the main genre I read, how did I not notice this? Anyway, with the realization that I don't notice things out of the way, this was a great video man, keep up the great work!
That last counter argument about Rikka being based on Akane is even weaker when you analyze the show some more. It is heavily implied throughout the show that RIkka isn't based on Akane's real world appearance, but actually the "real" Akane in the world, and the Akane in the show is the fake version of herself she creates. One of the strongest bits of evidence for that is when Akane, talking about where Rikka lives in the fake world, says "this is where you put the things you don't need". And there is similar stuff sprinkled throughout the series that implies that Rikka is the thrown away, real version of Akane. And all of that makes the gay relationship work so much better, as now it is a beautiful relationship that also carries with it a powerful message about loving yourself.
Fun fact that might give this argument more weight: in the ED, when akane talks the lyrics say "was it beautiful?" And when it closes up in her eyes it says "do you love me?" According to Google translate at least
There is definitely more evidence here than I initially thought before clicking on the video. Although excluding the real life Akane looks like Rikka thing, I still believe the love Rikka had for Akane was meant to be a metaphor for loving yourself more, which I think definitely coincides with the themes of the story more, whether you take that as romantic is just open to the viewer. Besides, Gridman Universe looks like it may be clashing with this theory.
@@_GuiltyGhost it was great! For a 2 hour movie it manages to give everyone in the cast a spotlight more or less. But it is only for people who have watched Grid and Dyna, I don’t recommend people to start with Universe at all.
It's kind of bothersome that the counterarguments are framed as creepy, dishonest, and otherwise oblivious straight people just trying to straightwash everything. Personally being a gay trans girl, the few signs of queerness in Gridman weren't enough to sway me into thinking the characters were explicitly written to be into each other. Maybe that's because I don't personally stan much for gay undertones and try not to get my hopes up. It's also possible you also didn't intend for your characterizations of the counterarguments to be taken that seriously. And it is true that a lot of these debates do have genuinely shitty people trying to downplay queer subtext for shitty reasons. But it is always kind of disheartening to see non-queer interpretations treated as somehow inherently heteronormative. That's not to say I think the queer reading is wrong, but in any case IMO if Gridman really wanted to have queerness such a central element that it's required to see the characters as definitely gay or bi to understand the work, I would like the work less because of how much it fucked up in actually portraying them that way.
This; I think it's fine to have an interpretation of the show's characters, because I think it was purposefully vague in those respects, but making statements like 'If you didn't see this vague gesture this way, you're clearly ignorant' or 'I'm sure some hetero guy will try to argue this point' is a bit much.
The idea that part of the straight-male audience would go into this show with a sense of entitlement over a character's sexuality, only to be angry that the character might not be into people of their gender, glosses over the interesting detail that an anime character being a lesbian is more of an immersion-breaking threat than them being like...a fictional anime character. Anyone else watch these videos without seeing the anime being talked about and still find them enjoyable? Thanks, Anime Mom.
well thanks for this game theory of evidence, but i feel like either way it doesnt matter too much to the point of the show if theyre gay or just close friends. even if they are gay, it would just mean that akane has some kind of female fantasy as part of her character but it doesnt really change much beyond that
Calling it a "game theory" is exactly how I feel about this vid. It just feels too forced and contrived, reading too much into sub plot that really doesn't matter much in the end
i guesss that the series is about self love more than just yuri and THICCness here is how the story goes: For not having friends Akane feels confused and doest knows her place in the world, while thinking that, she watches the original tokusatsu series (all heroes have the SAME NAME - Rikka Yuuto and Naoto, the hero Gridman and the PC named Junk - as the original tokusatsu series and the fact that one of the other characters says that Akane presence changed the world, not just as the characters are but even the origin store of how Gridman meet the three kids, shows that), as she watches the show, she falls asleep and get "locked" into her dream, the dream goes on while she meets Rikka, in her dream Rikka is the perfect version of her, the personifcation of what she craves, loves (including yuri love) and want to be/have, as she meets everyone and goess on and on, she learns what she needed on her life,, at end , before wakes up the dialogue is more about her accepting hersself, and knowing that even if she is not perfect girl like Rikka is. she will have that little qualities on her (ofc it is all disgussed as friendship/yuri love/call as you want) and all she need tp be is be confindent, then she wakes up and the OP MV shows that, she being confident and making friends at end. At end when Yuuto/Gridman say that he love Rikaa and Rika blushes, i have two therries 1- it is beacuse now that Akaneis left, the world starts become as it was before Akane interference (on the original series Akane and Yuuto had some type of relationship) or 2- As much Akane likes girls, she likess boys too (so she isnt just lesbian but actually a Bi),-the way she gets intrested on Yuuto showss that she may have some curiosity (and maybe love?) in boys too
I actually don't believe there gay for each other and not because of any bias, because I still think they loved each other and here's why. With the ending being the way it is "her waking up" I see akina's world as an inner reflection of herself as shes going through depression and although I could get really indepth with the characters I'll save that for if anyone asks. As far as rika is concerned I think she represents the idea of her innerself every human in the anime represents either an aspect or an idea. While in depressions all these different personalities and thoughts are jumbled and diorganized trying to find out and remember where there suppose to go while the actual personality plays clueless with the rest of them. She knows who she is. That shes kind like yuuta and nerdy like the one boy with glasses but most of all that she is first and for most rikka the adorable average girl. And rikka as this average self trys hard to find what she feels is missing but in reality she's had it all along right next to her. Both realize that they do love each other but its more her learning to love herself which. I suppose could be taken how you wish but using it metaphorically just sorta makes me feel like its less about being gay. Now his side story if cannom can be the part of her that represents her hidden desire to be accepted for her wants which would be fine I personally just feel like its not straight up gay with rikka and akina
By that logic, couldn't you make the connection that Akane has some...gender stuff going on? In terms of personality, she's closer to Utsumi than either of the other two in her hobbies. Yuuta represents her desire to fit in, Rikka represents her real world self. But why have two of the three aspects of herself, including the one representing "normalcy", be boys? You could read the story being struggling with whether your attraction to people of a certain gender is because of sexuality or of gender identity - do you want to be them, or want to be with them? It would certainly explain why out of the dozens of cultural festival tropes she could have chosen, she had her class do a cross-dressing cafe. Personally, I find the Akane!Rikka explanation more compelling, but if you don't, that's an alternative that fits with your interpretation well.
