JJK's latest episode truly showcases the divide between Western and Japanese fans
Scrolling twitter this morning, my timeline was full of both western and Japanese fans discussing the latest episode of jjk, S3 EP4. Never before have I seen such a divide between the two fanbases, the last time being Chainsaw Man season one. After reading countless opinions, contextualising it to the viewpoints and cultures of both sides while gathering a general consensus of why such a disparity of opinions exists, I've come to one simple conclusion:
The Zenin family massacre is viewed from two separate stances.
\- One being a dramatic and satisfying tale of revenge
\- The other being an absurd and tragic tale of Maki's story.
Both these viewpoints make sense when you look at both cultures: Japanese people tend to hold family, clan lineages and generational bloodlines very highly. It is a large part of their identity, something to be proud of, a home that'll always have your back and support you.
Western fans are, generally, a lot more individualistic and independent from those values and hold more value in being true to yourself without being confined to the circumstances of your birth and living freely. I know I'm generalising a lot here and American might be the better term instead of western, but the stark difference in viewpoints still applies.
Yes, this is a surface level take and there's many many other reasons for JP's backlash, ranging from weird wide angle shots, blurry faces and wacky background music. But that difference in viewpoint feels like the core of the issue here, and MAPPA directed the episode in such a way that JP fans feel that it does not match the dark, gritty vibe of the manga. Meanwhile, western fans really enjoyed the episode and gave it a rating of 9.8.
The back and forth on twitter between both sides is quite interesting. I know Twitter is the minority and the largest voices are often the most radical and not representative of what most people think, but I still think it's worth mentioning:
JP fans are extremely surprised by the western support and accuse them of only caring for "insane animation and aura moments" while disregarding the original manga's work. Western fans are also perplexed and accuse JP's criticisms of "worthless trash because they approved five seasons of rent a girlfriend". Another popular remark was "JP fans didn't have enough fan service to keep them engaged so they're complaining". In the end, I believe both just have completely different perspectives on how the Zenin massacre should have been adapted and this reckless discourse is just an inability to understand or appreciate another culture's POV.
This divide in opinions and the discourse surrounding it will only grow more controversial as more animes take different approaches to adapting manga and novels.
The Japanese will always value "sticking to the source and matching the panels, vibes and artwork as best as possible, the anime is an adaptation not an original work and therefore should never deviate from the source".
Many Westerners may disagree with and counter with "adapting to another medium requires an appropriate level of deviation to fit into the new medium and even elevate it".
Both opinions have a ring of truth, and considering anime is continuing to grow internationally, JJK won't be the last victim of opposing western Vs Japanese values.
The Zenin family massacre is viewed from two separate stances.
\- One being a dramatic and satisfying tale of revenge
\- The other being an absurd and tragic tale of Maki's story.
Both these viewpoints make sense when you look at both cultures: Japanese people tend to hold family, clan lineages and generational bloodlines very highly. It is a large part of their identity, something to be proud of, a home that'll always have your back and support you.
Western fans are, generally, a lot more individualistic and independent from those values and hold more value in being true to yourself without being confined to the circumstances of your birth and living freely. I know I'm generalising a lot here and American might be the better term instead of western, but the stark difference in viewpoints still applies.
Yes, this is a surface level take and there's many many other reasons for JP's backlash, ranging from weird wide angle shots, blurry faces and wacky background music. But that difference in viewpoint feels like the core of the issue here, and MAPPA directed the episode in such a way that JP fans feel that it does not match the dark, gritty vibe of the manga. Meanwhile, western fans really enjoyed the episode and gave it a rating of 9.8.
The back and forth on twitter between both sides is quite interesting. I know Twitter is the minority and the largest voices are often the most radical and not representative of what most people think, but I still think it's worth mentioning:
JP fans are extremely surprised by the western support and accuse them of only caring for "insane animation and aura moments" while disregarding the original manga's work. Western fans are also perplexed and accuse JP's criticisms of "worthless trash because they approved five seasons of rent a girlfriend". Another popular remark was "JP fans didn't have enough fan service to keep them engaged so they're complaining". In the end, I believe both just have completely different perspectives on how the Zenin massacre should have been adapted and this reckless discourse is just an inability to understand or appreciate another culture's POV.
This divide in opinions and the discourse surrounding it will only grow more controversial as more animes take different approaches to adapting manga and novels.
The Japanese will always value "sticking to the source and matching the panels, vibes and artwork as best as possible, the anime is an adaptation not an original work and therefore should never deviate from the source".
Many Westerners may disagree with and counter with "adapting to another medium requires an appropriate level of deviation to fit into the new medium and even elevate it".
Both opinions have a ring of truth, and considering anime is continuing to grow internationally, JJK won't be the last victim of opposing western Vs Japanese values.
Commentaires
It’s suppose to be her letting go and moving forward, not the start of a somber/regretful journey
maki and mei were abused and tormented for there whole lives and not seen as worthwhile because they didnt live up to the super conservative family values. having maki stand up to that and tear it all apart sneds a very clear messege of what she thinks of those values thats why it was so satisfying, the music and that was a nod to a western movie but im sure most ppl have seen it and can appreciate how it was used as reference for the episode.
Even if the panels doesn't meet 1:1, it doesn't by any means to criticise it
JP are crazy af
The spectacle was the point. Maki and her sister were treated like garbage for years (to the point where people actually just said they wanted them dead) and their clan was so garbage that they decided to kill off two of their own simply because of stupid sexist politics and internal power grabs. Everyone in that clan was a garbage person upholding a garbage system. Maki was 100% justified in everything she did the moment she entered that room with her father and Mai. And was justified further for reasons that I won't go into due to spoilers.
It was years of pent up rage and discrimination and the clan crossing the line that caused Maki to do what she did. Youre supposed to root for Maki, but also realize she is an entirely tragic character that ended up doing what she did to survive in a world that treated her and her sister unfairly and that left them for dead.
I thought it was fantastic. But, Im an anime only, so any complaints about specific things from the manga missing I dont particularly know. But, from a purely artistic perspective, this episode was a masterpiece.
I think most people who have read the manga are at the very least surprised that they took this episode in the direction they did
everyone's fine with criticizing an adaptation when it's undercooked like The Witcher, but as soon as its something they like it's beyond criticism for some reason
E: That change isn't just not intrinsically bad, but in many ways necessary or elevating in the process of bringing over a story to another medium and format is the part I think is lost on a lot of people who do panel comparisons and the like.
[](#happyclap)
In my opinion, more tragic portrayal of it, basically powerlessness to save anyone, so she decides to just remove the good with the bad would have been more thought provoking. But I don't think many people have much doubt about this being justified revenge, considering how it has been portrayed.
Japanese fans like their adaptations 1 to 1 and tend to strongly resent creative licence.
Western fans, especially those who haven't read the manga don't care - especially when that creative expression is directly referencing western media like Kill Bill.
That's all. It's not some great cultural divide about the perception of Maki's actions.
I wonder what Kill Bill's popularity is in Japan; it's a Western work heavily inspired by Japanese works.
sukuna vs mahoraga, though. THAT is how you adapt a very important moment
https://x.com/i/status/2014642777338896617
Note: I accidentally deleted my other comment.
You might compare it to the manga a few times to understand this; of course, a 1:1 adaptation isn't usually a positive thing, but it's quite common in low-budget anime, especially romance anime.
>Music, motion, voice acting, direction, sound design et
Obviously, I'm only counting the sound aspect, not the visual one.
As for the direction, most directors are so incompetent that their direction amounts to nothing, as I said, a 1:1 adaptation is not a good thing most of the time.
The important thing is to balance things out, improving the scenes from the original and increasing the impact of the original canes, but without transforming the original work into something different and unrecognizable.
The changes in JJK often don't make narrative sense; they're just for show.
Damn bro, just go for the kill like that.
It’s like you said though, twitter is just the loud minority.
People say these things online because nuance is dead so no one wants to read a post with more than 2 sentences and inflammatory, dismissive statements are more likely to rise to the top more quickly. Extreme opinions require fewer words to make and fewer words to refute.