supporting the anime industry

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floatingbubbles07
Posts: 60
Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2016 5:15 pm

supporting the anime industry

Post by floatingbubbles07 »

Hello, you can call me Bubbles. I love music. I play a few instruments and sing. But lately I've been going through a dilemma. There's this anime convention that I've wanted to attend for a while now. A quite well known anime convention too. But I've been thinking, since most anime have adult themes, coarse language, sexualization/nudity, and extreme violence, would it be okay to attend this convention and support the anime industry?
But the one thing that's bothered me the most is this: I'd like to compete in a singing competition that the anime convention runs annually. I have chosen to audition with a song from the popular anime Inuyasha. If any of you don't know, in this anime there are things that I think are a bit questionable if that's what you want to call it. For example, there are a few parts where what looks like temples and statues that look like Buddha statues get destroyed by violence. I even remember one episode that might have given false information about Guanyin. There's also a lecherous Buddhist monk/priest who regularly gropes young girls and even goes around asking them to bear his children, which is quite unusual behaviour of a Buddhist monk. On top of that his name means "Maitreya", which is also the name of the future Buddha if I recall correctly. This monk and the main characters fight and kill many demons, sometimes using sutras to aid in killing them. Therefore, this show has a lot of violence. In addition to all that, this show also has some explicit nudity. No porn/sex scenes are shown, but the nudity can get explicit at times, for both males and females. I'm not sure if I covered all of my concerns, but the point I'd like to make is that I'd like to compete with a song from this anime, but I don't know if paying to go to the convention and participating in this competition is a good thing. Part of me (perhaps because of OCD) even fears that if I compete with this song I might promote the destruction of temples/Buddha statues, wrong information about Buddhism, and inappropriate behaviour from people who want to become monks. Inuyasha seems to be a mix of both Shintoism and Buddhism, so I'm also afraid that I'll get people mixed up with the two religions. So please help me out here and give me some advice. Thanks.
-Bubbles
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Kim O'Hara
Former staff member
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Joined: Fri Nov 16, 2012 1:09 am
Location: North Queensland, Australia

Re: supporting the anime industry

Post by Kim O'Hara »

HI, Bubbles,
You seem to have all the reasons for and against attending and performing worked out - worked out really well, actually.
So your question isn't about what is ethical (i.e., what a "good person" would do) but whether you should follow your better nature or your sensual, conventional nature.

Does that help?

:namaste:
Kim
floatingbubbles07
Posts: 60
Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2016 5:15 pm

Re: supporting the anime industry

Post by floatingbubbles07 »

I'm not really sure what you mean by following my better nature or my sensual, conventional nature. I really just want some advice on whether or not I should go, or if going would be making bad karma.
JJ90
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu May 14, 2020 6:27 am

Re: supporting the anime industry

Post by JJ90 »

Hello Bubbles!

One way to consider is that you go to the convention with pure heart.
You can be mindful and meet friends.

I don't think people really think about these negative things when they hear the song.
I don't believe that the song itself has any bad influence on the audience.

Relax. :meditate:
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Kim O'Hara
Former staff member
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Joined: Fri Nov 16, 2012 1:09 am
Location: North Queensland, Australia

Re: supporting the anime industry

Post by Kim O'Hara »

floatingbubbles07 wrote: Mon May 18, 2020 2:53 am I'm not really sure what you mean by following my better nature or my sensual, conventional nature. I really just want some advice on whether or not I should go, or if going would be making bad karma.
But you know that going would be making bad karma - you explained it very well in your OP.
Your choice is really between staying home (better karma, but not much excitement) and the advantages of going (fun, maybe professional experience, but not such good karma).

:thinking:
Kim
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silentsongful
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Joined: Wed May 27, 2020 7:37 am

Re: supporting the anime industry

Post by silentsongful »

Hi Bubbles,

You listed up quiet a lot of things that you had discovered yourself which don't sit well in your conscience about the anime that the song comes from. I don't imagine that your opinion on this content in the anime will change easily or suddenly. I mean you won't wake up and suddenly think 'Hey I was wrong ..this is a great anime in terms of buddhism'. So that will probably form part of your memory of this anime convention.
On the other hand, attending the convention sounds like it's an important thing for you, especially performing in this competition.

So how about choosing an alternative song from an anime that you find does promote behaviour and views of life that sit well with you? The song may not be the best in terms of matching your voice or your musical preferences , but performing it as best you can could be an interesting challenge and also fulfilling in that you feel you are promoting something that 'sits well ' with you.
In this way you may not win the prize of the competition but obtain a prize of greater worth.

....I'm sorry I can't help with choosing an alternative anime song however ..ha ha. :smile:
Mirror
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Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:53 am

Re: supporting the anime industry

Post by Mirror »

Hi Bubbles,

I agree with silentsongful. An anime may seems bad in terms of buddhism, but actually it can be good. The most buddhist anime I have ever seen is Kill la Kill. This anime is full of nudity and violence, but if you look at the references, you'll find that it's very buddhist. It's pointing out some high realisations on the buddhist path, buddhist nature, emptiness, etc. I was shocked, when I realised how much buddhist the anime is.
Memento mori
Remember that you die
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