Eye of the Dragon
DreamLyrics Play-by-Post
Who's Online Now
2 members (Gypsy, Tusk), 16 guests, and 12 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
ShoutChat
Comment Guidelines: Do post respectful and insightful comments. Don't flame, hate, spam.
Dice Roller
You will need to enable Javascript in order to view the Dice Roller.
Games Recruiting List










Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#882535 Mon 12/06/17 18:04 UTC
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 5,667
Wolf Offline OP
Moderator
OP Offline
Moderator
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 5,667
You know, there are some things I just don't understand, and its something that has caught my attention for more than a few years, and so, well I've been mulling about it for a while.

Its probably obvious that I watch a lot of Hulu, and that a ton of it is anime.

And I've gotten used to the friendly voice that says the the is rated TV-MA and is recommended for mature audiences.

What really struck home, however, was yesterday, when in an escape the heat break I decided to watch a somewhat favorite anime (favorite as one I don't mind watching more than once) and realized I just got hit with the TV-MA rating for Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne - also known as Rinne no Raguranje: Flower Declaration of Your Heart.

Now before you go - oh no, what is Wolf watching now ... Lagrange is a pretty harmless giant robot show. It has all the good working tropes - spunky high school student heroes (in this case heroines), gorgeous robots that only they can pilot, decent animation, your beach and slice of life episodes, a decent supporting cast and one of the best "oh I was lying" gags in anime.

But wait! This is anime! It has to be eechi or hentai! Well, uhm, nope. Fine, it has some racy camera shots, a couple poses that at best have you going oh my ... which then resolve into something very normal. The girls are pretty but anything beyond hand holding - which plays out a whole lot more like dedicated friends than anything else - anything *gasp* sexual? Uhm. Nope. Well fine. There is that scene when a group of schoolgirls mistakenly think a guy is one of the heroine's boyfriend, but even that gets no further than high school giggling, teasing and you aren't good enough kind of things.

But wait! This is anime! It has to be violent! Well it does have robot fight scenes, a kendo scene and such, but they are kinda interspersed with a whole lot more slice of life and character development stuff. It's amazingly bloodless, and when, the one time, a bleeding body is shown, it's major a plot turn and not at all gratuitous (and of course the victim gets better at the end).

So I looked at the rating system Hulu uses:
Quote:

TV-MA

This program is specifically designed to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 17.
Some content may be unsuitable for children under 17. This rating was originally TV-M prior to the announced revisions to the rating system in August 1997, but was changed due to a trademark dispute and in order to remove confusion with the Entertainment Software Rating Board's (ESRB) "M for Mature" rating for video games. This rating is very seldom used by broadcast networks or local television stations due to FCC restrictions on program content (the broadcast pilot of the short-lived series Brooklyn South being a notable exception), although it is commonly applied to television programs featured on certain cable channels (particularly premium networks) and streaming networks for both mainstream and softcore programs. Programs with this rating commonly include strong and frequent sexual content, extreme violence, or both.


YOIKS! That's pretty strong stuff! So I then looked down and found a less oooozy rating:

Quote:
TV-PG

This program contains material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children.
Programs rated TV-PG contain material that parents or guardians may find inappropriate for younger children. Programs assigned a TV-PG rating may include some mild to moderate profanity, some sexual content, suggestive dialogue and/or violence.[10]

TV-14

This program contains some material that many parents would find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age.

Programs rated TV-14 may contain some material that parents or adult guardians may find unsuitable for children under the age of 14. The FCC warns that "Parents are cautioned to exercise some care in monitoring this program and are cautioned against letting children under the age of 14 watch unattended."


Well let's see ... TV-PG ... mild to moderate profanity, some sexual content, suggestive dialogue and/or violence. Fine, that's a fair cop; some racy poses, hints of skin (anything more framed so that you don't even need censor steam ), some suggestive dialogue (mostly for humor) and robots beating up on each other. Yup, Lagrange is definitely TV-PG territory.

Now what else could it be? Maybe its what makes Lagrange watchable - good character development and its gray-and-gray morality. What makes Lagrange work is that there really aren't any bad guys; just different people each with their own points of view, concerns and responsibilities and guess what - just like in the real world they don't match up and that's how arguments start. The whole show is about how you need to work through these issues, look at the other person'spoint of view and come to a lasting solution.

Now, hmmm ... that may be TV-14 territory. Depending on how smart your particular kid is or is not, a gray-and-gray world mite be a mite confusing.

But TV-MA?

To use an Internet phrase: WTF?

And then I looked back. I looked back at all the shows I have seen on Hulu and when the TV-MA warning came up and I wondered if a joke I had made years ago might be true; when another mostly harmless show - El Cazador De la Bruja - got the same label.

There's nothing wrong with violence, there's not even anything wrong with a little innuendo - but give a Girl a Gun and wham! You are immediately on a one way trip to TV-MA land.

Am I just reading something that isn't really there or is it a possible trend; strong female characters taking up what is thought to be traditionally male roles (they being the one to bop folks) and all of a sudden the show's rating gets a little skewed?




Last edited by Wolf; Mon 12/06/17 18:05 UTC.
Wolf #882538 Mon 12/06/17 19:44 UTC
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 42,106
Likes: 5
M
Member
Offline
Member
M
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 42,106
Likes: 5
Damn, can't find it on NetFlix <sigh>

My =guess= is that, since most anime really =is= designed for adults, it is easier to just go with that label rather than fighting the 'review boards' over every scene. For example: the 'accentuated' mammary glands in the 'skin tight' 'costumes' (just guessing, have not actually see =that= show ... yet, but I =have= seen a lot of anime <wink> )


MikeD
Wolf #882542 Mon 12/06/17 20:31 UTC
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 5,667
Wolf Offline OP
Moderator
OP Offline
Moderator
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 5,667
LAUGHS!

Actually, the show's trademark uniform is a jersey and sweatpants, kinda dumpy and it even hides the most well, uhm endowed, heroine's assets!

lets see ... non-scandalous school uniforms; robot piloting plugsuits no worse than a one piece swimsuit and not even the swim race kind, a refreshingly average spread of bust sizes across the school population ...

If it was some OTHER giant robot show mebbe ... but this one? Nah.

however the 'this is the lazy way out' explanation could be true!

Wolf #882544 Mon 12/06/17 21:39 UTC
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 42,106
Likes: 5
M
Member
Offline
Member
M
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 42,106
Likes: 5
It sounds more like that now that you have described the show. I still hope to find it on NF some day <g>


MikeD

Link Copied to Clipboard
Newest Members
Talon475, Randal Trimmer, Kimf, Yvon, Xiang Chin
177 Registered Users
Today's Birthdays
There are no members with birthdays on this day.
Member Spotlight
Posts: 15,948
Joined: May 2010
Forum Statistics
Forums103
Topics2,814
Posts139,431
Members177
Most Online296
Jan 19th, 2020
March
S M T W T F S
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
†Restricted forums can only be accessed by DreamLyrics members of the age of 18 years or older. Access which is granted by the Behind Closed Doors Procedure.
™DreamLyrics Play-by-Post. DreamLyrics Play-by-Post does not own copyright on DreamLyrics texts or graphics, except trademarked DreamLyrics logos and logotypes. The works contained in DreamLyrics are copyrighted (automatically, under the Berne Convention) by the original authors and may be available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence. (See Copyrights for details.)
Privacy Policy
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5