I understand she's naked every episode, but It bothers me when she is put in a perverted pose. At megacon, my freind said there was not one picture of her eith lawrence or even one with her clothes on. Seriously, where's the love for Lawrence?
February 21, 2012 - 1:02am
#1
Is there anyone else that doesn't like sexualized Holo at megacon?
Huh, I'm not sure which is the topic, a sexualized Holo or Lawrence's lack of a cameo, but I'll chip in. First I'll say that Megacon (where is that held, by the way?) must have hid its secrets very well, because I've seen plenty of wall scrolls, artwork, etc. that feature both Lawrence and Holo, with Holo wearing clothes in more than half of them. That's official stuff, though, so if you were at an Artists Alley, then all bets are off.
And while I don't necessarily like it, I do understand where the sexualized theme comes from. The first reason being that there are a lot of, um, fantasies about half-animal/half-people (kemonomimi in Japanese) in both Eastern and Western cultures. So that's part of it, but I think another part is confusion as to what kind of deity Holo actually is. A lot of people think she's a fertility goddess, which leads to some obvious misinterpretations. She's actually a harvest "goddess," which is a little different. If she were a fertility goddess, she wouldn't bother with making weak harvests. She'd just decide, "All right, the land is more fertile now. All in a season's work." Instead, as a harvest goddess, she controls how well or poorly each harvest is, so that the land isn't overtaxed. Of course, harvest gods/goddesses are rarer in most mythologies, so some people probably go for the more popular idea.
(Wow, that was longer than I thought it would be.)
That said, canonically, Holo, and S&W in general, isn't all that sexual. Sure, Holo is often in the nude, but I personally don't see anything sexual about the situation when she is. It isn't anywhere close to the fan service from ecchi harem shows and whatnot that's obviously meant to be perverted and provocative. When she and Lawrence are talking about what to do with a bundle of wheat, or how they should be careful when hanging around a church, or literally any of the things they talk about when she's naked, it's difficult to get any kind of sexual vibe from the season.
And now that I think about it, in volume 5 of the novels and one of the later episodes of Season 2, Holo mentions (while fully clothed) that Lawrence doesn't get flustered anymore when she's flirting or naked around him. I take that as a hint that what she's doing isn't sexual at all. Or at least, that's not the main focus of those times.
(And that was even longer. Better quit while I'm ahead.)
Proud member of UGAnime, the official anime club of the University of Georgia.
Have not been to any Anime 'con in a while, but have seen the trend you may be talking about?
( It may not even be licensed merch that has annoyed you. )
"fan service" is just part of the anime, comic, (and hollywood, and general music) industry.
certain marketers will focus on certain factors to sell product, whether that be sex, violence, cool mecha, whatever.
Does that make them "Boring Merchants", as Holo would say?
At first I didn't watch it because I'd only seen those images of it -
It does S&W something of a DISservice, because it's a fully balanced dramatic show in animated form.
"What am I to you? No - What are you to me?"
What Holo and Laurence's relationship really IS should probably be discussed in another thread! It's "complicated" for them ( as for real people ) and part of why this is show that stands out from a crowd of flashy, but somehow mediocre ones.
"Bide your time and hold out hope!" - Gankutsuoh ...that we get Spice and Wolf season 3! ( and Monte Cristo on Blu Ray. ) Sign here! http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/SpiceandWolf/ and http://www.change.org/petitions/japanese-animation-studio-brains-base-brainsbasecojp-produce-spice-amd-wolf-season-3
MegaCon is a convention held this past weekend in Orlando, Florida.
I was there and yes there were Holo items from Spice & Wolf, official and fan-made. Did not seem to be anything out of the norm for a popular title at a con like that.
Spice & Wolf is on my "to watch" list, so much Anime so little time.
Mark Gosdin