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Post #616848
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12:34 pm, Oct 5 2013
Posts: 166


It varies. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a bullying manga, but most times I'm not...

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1:30 pm, Oct 5 2013
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I don't really read stuff with bullying, but whatever works if it is well written.

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1:34 pm, Oct 5 2013
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I guess it depends on the country; where I live bullying is not a common thing but some movies show that for example in the USA its normal. I don't know in Japan.

Last edited by LilyNanami at 2:14 pm, Oct 5 2013

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Post #616869
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5:23 pm, Oct 5 2013
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Quote from LilyNanami
I guess it depends on the country; where I live bullying is not a common thing but some movies show that for example in the USA its normal. I don't know in Japan.

I've always wondered about that. I watched a lot of american movies and TV series that show cruel bullying in schools in the US. Does that really happen? I don't think that happens in schools in my country. I can't imagine students dunking heads in toilets or pulling up other people's underpants or tying naked guys on the school flagpole.

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7:31 pm, Oct 5 2013
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meh, i don't care. some bullying is too over the top, but then it just shows the whole manga sucks so it's not the bullying part that is bad. i dont care about character development or if the bullies got what coming for them - if the story is entertaining, then that's that.

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9:11 pm, Oct 5 2013
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I voted for cliche. In most of the manga i've read, the bullying feels unrealistic. Just the way they usually act just doesn't seem to fit. It's not like it's over the top, its just...poorly executed. The bullies just seem like ...plot devices.

and I don't know how many i have read where this one little kid gets a bunch of rocks thrown at him by a group of other little kids.

Edit: didn't like what i said.

Last edited by Millennia_Curse at 2:17 pm, Oct 8 2013

Post #616912
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11:12 pm, Oct 5 2013
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I'd leave it up to the authors discretion, since it's usage is dependent on the authors skill. I've no quarrel with those who try to integrate anti-bullying motifs into manga aimed into the younger generation. In fact I think it deserves to have a place in manga but putting it elsewhere such as a seinen aimed piece either requires significant oversight on making unique and personal to the character's struggle. As the age of the demographic increases, the pool of motifs the reader can grasp invariable increases, thus the presence of bullying shouldn't exceed its worth but it should still be present if required.

Yet it can also be a very personal issue, and any absolute stance such as "Bullying should never be included" is a crude rule. If a manga is more relate able to some readers because they experienced an event similar to the protagonist, let it be. It could also help people who had bullied others in the past understand the pain it invokes in the victims, which helps build empathy and develops the reader psyche.

As a side note, I've withdrawn readership to many manga because of the stiff utilization of themes related to and including bullying. It takes a wise author to understand when bullying is useful and when it is detrimental to the reader.

An example of where bullying is useful as a plot device can be seen it "The Breaker" or "Girls of the Wild". I've seen more cases were it wasn't used very well though.

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4:24 am, Oct 6 2013
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What a poorly phrased poll. The poll should actually asking two things:

1. Is the use of bullying in manga realistic?
Or.
2. Is the use of bullying in manga cliche?

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5:37 am, Oct 6 2013
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I think verbal bullying is more believable in a plot, than, eg. trashing their locker or desk. Cuz, really, normal teacher's would notice that. But then again, if the mangaka is aiming for borderline non-realistic, for whatever reason, then they have a lot of bullying methods to choose from, maybe just because they can (or maybe to emphasize a metaphorical point?)

Actually, I'm also not sure some of the clichéd methods like toilet dunking are really used, but then again, I read an article once about how parents organised afterschool brawls for their kids so I guess anything is possible.

Ah, personally I like it when the characters use innovative and refreshing ways to solve the bullying problem, normally it's a comedic plot that has this though.

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2:31 pm, Oct 6 2013
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Compared to how I was bullied until 9th grade back in Russia, bullying in manga seems cliche and boring. I went for cliche part when voting.

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8:22 pm, Oct 6 2013
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I think it depends. It is unrealistic most of the times, but usually it does help the story. This isn't like 'let's have it because it helps developments' either... It just needs to be wisely used as a part of a story.

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1:40 pm, Oct 7 2013
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Depends.. right now I can't recall a name of a manga where the bullying was done in a believable way, but sometimes it fits.
But usually it's really cliche and over the top. The least realistic one I've come across would be Hana Yori Dango. Pushing bullying to an organized event, bordering on making it a school tradition.. that's a no for me.
Maybe I'm wrong, but bullying reminds me of either purely psychological abuse (excluding from a group, nasty remarks, blackmail) or actual, pure violence (colloquially: beating to a pulp after school).
Quote from General No.6
I think verbal bullying is more believable in a plot, than, eg. trashing their locker or desk. Cuz, really, normal teacher's would notice that.

No to mention that such methods would be appropriate in a, maybe, elementary school. Imagine a 17-year old , "serious"school bully trashing someone's desk?

Post #617110
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4:49 pm, Oct 7 2013
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Thinking in terms of shoujo manga, bullying is usually handled really badly. The bullies always do the same thing and it's never realistic. Of course, I'm speaking in generalizations, the truth is that the vast majority of shoujo manga that I've read that includes a bullying arc has a tendency to lean on the usual contrived forms of bullying that shoujo uses (ie; groups of girls surrounding the MC and manipulating her "Mr. popular only hangs out with you out of pity.")

If it was used really well, I think bullying would make a fantastic tool for character development in manga, but most authors tend to choose the easy route.

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7:34 pm, Oct 7 2013
Posts: 354


I'm not very comfortable with any one choice in this poll especially since it's saying whether or not it has a place in manga. For one, the options aren't very relevant to each other (each have their own points therefore you can opt for mult answers). But I also feel as though these options are understating bullying the way they're poorly phrased.

#1 In bullying mangas, of course it helps with character development (or at least that's supposed to happen) but I wouldn't say so matter a fact-ly "let's have it" just because it does that.

#2/#4The amount of realism of bullying in mangas isn't so relevant I think because no matter how shallow/cliche/extreme/horrifyingly unrealistic it may seem, what we read in mangas no matter how improbable (and cliche), it is not impossible. Therefore even in extreme bullying mangas like "LIFE", although it looks excessive, it's just painful to know that that is how real bullying can get.

#3 I wouldn't say it's good to have bullying because they get what's coming to them but I would say bullying in manga is a good way to represent the issue in one way and get people aware of it

#5 I'd say this isn't a good excuse for not wanting to see bullying in mangas. It may be unpleasant but it feel like this option is ignoring the existence of bullying.

When I read over other people's posts, they mention the cliche bullying in shoujo mangas. (kind of like all the things that Kyoko from Skip Beat said happened to her when she was in middle school with Shou.) Mmmm...I understand where people are coming from in that regard but again, no matter how improbable, it is not impossible. (even if it is 1 in a million)

I also don't know what people mean when they say bullying done in a believable way. I mean when you hear about violence in the news and what's being reported, sometimes it's absurd yet it still happened no matter how "un" believable it is.

Last edited by mysstris at 7:40 pm, Oct 7 2013

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