Usually I don't bother much with upcoming releases, Japanese or otherwise, but the reaction to
Isshoni Training has been kind of priceless.
Mostly it's surprise, followed by a sort of dismissive "only in Japan" chuckle. (Doubly so after people see the
DVD back cover.)
But this isn't a new idea at all. I mean, getting beyond the (silly) idea that, like figure skating, exercise videos are thinly-disguised excuses to show scantily-clad athletes, even this kind of blatant fanservice has been done in America.
I first learned about
Aerobicise when I saw copies for sale at last year's Wondercon, complete with people standing around and reminising about how the series single-handedly saved Showtime. It was. . . kind of an uncomfortable experience. The
Wikipedia page for the sequel sums it up nicely:"One selling point of the show was the young attractive girls exercising in leotards, notwithstanding the fine aerobics. . . Some stretches were performed with legs spread apart, hands on the ground. The girls stood on a revolving platform, so the viewer got to see the girls from every angle." And, lest we have any doubt as to whether it was deliberate, it was directed by the man Hugh Hefner called "The King of Erotica".
So yeah. And if you say it's strange purely because it's animated -- well, we've already gone over that. See Madarame's rant on the 2D complex from Genshiken.
words from chris, 2009-04-19 23:49:21, los angeles
