Anime

The first part is quite good but where he starts making conclusions he lost me a bit. It doesn't really explore well why K-ON! has attracted this crowd as opposed to other CGDCT anime.

The argument that the nazis like K-ON! in particular because of its never ending purity (permanently 12) does not make sense. He even describes The Tale of Genji as inducing mono no aware in the viewer, which the character in the story lacks. But K-ON! has very clear themes of mono no aware build in. And the characters do grow up and do realise the end of their ideal youth. This is even one of the must pungent parts of the anime. I mod !kon@lemmy.world and the banner depicts just after that very moment. The value of youth has significance in Japanese culture revered for its fleeting beauty often compared to things like the falling of the sakura leaves and the light of the glowing bug that lives only for one day. You could say that like Genji doesn't want to see the moving of time in the girl he likes, the nazis try to ignore the mono no aware that is present in K-ON!. But if this is the argument it wasn't clear to me that this in particular is the argument that is being made. Coming back to the forever 12 thing, there are shows where the characters are in a forever N years old time flow (like Yuru Yuri) so if this is the appeal you would think they would have chosen a show like that.

I also feel like there is a bias in the west against mostly positive shows, put down as empty or just escapism. K-ON! is being compared to siren. And that only dark depressive and gritty media is cool and relevant. If you present an anime that is more positive than real life it is "just escapism" and "unhealthy fantasy", but if you present an anime more negative than real life all of the sudden "it shows the nature of humanity" or something like that. Dark media is often descriptive, holding a mirror up for us to see ourselves in. On the other hand, fluffy media like K-ON! can be prescriptive instead, inspiring us to work towards a better self and world by giving an example of how things could be. For example in K-ON! instead of practicing very hard they drink a lot of tea. In a world mega focused on achievement, many could benefit from "wasting" a bit of time by drinking tea. There is even a whole arc where Azunyan doesn't get that but she learns through time. Personally I take some Zen/Daoist messages from such things in CGDCT. "tanoshii wa tanoshii da yo!" - Hirasawa Yui

Of course, !kon@lemmy.world does not have any nazi stuff so come have a look 🥰