@CorruptUser Actually as time goes on Fit Men are slowly becoming more and more uncommon. As of right now, 70% of men in the US are counted as overweight.
You do realize that all the super-buff guys are in that 70%, right? Using BMI alone overstates the obesity epidemic, but obviously the obesity epidemic is still there. Really, if we could just convince congress to stop subsidizing high fructose corn syrup, not everything needs heaps of sugar added...
You know, we Koreans really *don't* appreciate being represented by anything Japan...... Just don't mention Kpop in the first place and that would be even better.
@cassert Why though? Modern Japan and Modern South Korea have much more in common than their dark history alone would suggest. Both countries had changed a LOT in the last half-century. A bet not many Koreans would like to be reminded that just over 50 years ago some South Koreans used to defect to North, as life was supposedly better up there. And yet here we are now, South Korea shaking off the shakles of the past and very much following Japan in becoming a free democratic society with a very strong economy and absolutely massive world-wide fanbase.
@LeeNTien You know that's the common misconception of many Western people. Many Korean still hate Japan (at least the Japanese government) and probably many other asians do too. That's because, unlike Germany that already admitted their faults, punished the involved war felonies and begged forgiveness, they just choose to keep denying the history. Please search for the 'comfort woman' statue recently established in Berlin and what Japan tried to do. Japan haven't even begged forgiveness to Korea, only just gave some dollars for 'celebration'. Some Westerners seem like overlooking the fact that the party that reigns the Japnese government still prays for their war heros (=war criminals, indeed) annually. That whole thing always makes us go nuts.
FYI, when SK was fighting with NK 70 years ago, Japan never joined any force. Just sold military stuff for their pocket money.
@cassert
Most Western countries don't teach classes in Pacific Rim history in school. Some of us who have interests in those cultures (yes, there are western K-Pop and manhwa fans! ^_ might pick up some of the broad strokes, but certainly little-to-none of the nastier details that most certainly get delved into for every educated person in East Asia. Your typical westerner without hobbies that drew them to learn more about countries in your region might never have heard anything about any wars their own countries weren't directly involved in at all!
...And this is fairly normal of people anywhere; history from the opposite sides of the world isn't well-known.
It is the big failure of Japan diplomatically and culturally that it refuses to really accept its behaviour in the 1st half of the last century. Which is also shooting itself in the foot here as it gives easy propaganda to the regime in China and alienates its other neighbours such as your country. Despite the crushing defeat in WWII a sizeable proportion of their culture still seems in denial and unwilling to admit what Japan did during that period.
I also find it disturbing that some of their politicians try and present themselves as victims because of the two nuclear weapons used against them. Despite the fact that more 'conventional' US bombing raids were even more devastating. Suspect this is to try and draw attention away from Japanese war crimes.
To be fair to Japan they wouldn't have been allowed to send forces overseas in the Korean war and given how recent 1945 was at the time I suspect they wouldn't have been welcomed then as many of any soldiers sent would probably have seen service in WWII. Unfortunately Japan wasn't purged of its war criminals to the degree that Germany was nor reallyt forced to face up to their past. As people with experiences of WWII disappear and with the mis-information that passes for Japanese history of WWII I fear its only going to get worse. Especially since with China growing more expansionist and militant its likely that Japan, for all its demographic problems is going to have to rearm and there is the danger that militaristic elements will use that as a path to regain prominence inside Japan. Doubt they will be going on any imperialistic wave of expansion but you could see Japan further isolating itself from its neighbours as a result.
@LeeNTien
They're too close, mate. It's like The USA vs Mexico. They have massive overlap, but this brings their (few) dissimilarities (and their violent history) to the front of their minds. So they react with hate instead of friendship, fratricide rather than fraternity.
@cassert I get that there is a lot of history and resentment between the two countries but isn't it fair to compare the two in the context of this comic?
Both J-pop and K-pop bands have this very different view of stereotypical "masculinity" compared to the western stererotype. This is generalized, of course, because this is just a fun little comic but still
@Kijinii Why should it being a comic make it less offensive? While @cassert may not speak for every Korean. I would trust that as a Korean. He may have an idea of how the people in his country feel. It's not up to anybody who doesn't fully understand the context of the history between the two countries. To try and tell someone how to feel in any capacity on the subject.
@Braytak It's not offensive, it's just a joke.
It's a cliché (and not really wrong) to considere that K-pop and J-pop boys bands are more effeminate, opposed to a more traditional US male model where male is more like a bodybuilder, and how this more effeminate model became influent in a short amount of time. It's not a political speech about the differences and similarities of modern History treatment between Japan and South-Korea.
And brother Japan is drawn as it is a regular character here.
@MagicRooster clearly you miss the point. To @cassert it IS offensive. While I don't know much about J-pop. My interests in Japan falling more around Anime. I would hardly describe male K-pop artists as effeminate. More like athletic, as opposed to the warlord barbarian look. That frankly hasn't been popular in America since the 90s. Sure, there are some men and women that go in for the mass of muscles look. But, they are far fewer than they once were.
@Braytak oh please ! @cassert have been offended by the fact that a japanese character is expressing a cliché which is often true for both j-pop and k-pop, no matter if it's effeminate or not. Once again, there is no attack or insult to Korea or koreans and it's not because you have a dude who misunserstood a joke feel hurted that this joke is insulting.
@MagicRooster Oh please yourself. I once saw a Korean idol go to war with a Japanese fan on Instagram. Just because the fan had the Rising Sun Japanese flag as his icon. So, yeah, just because you can't get it into your head that there is tension between the countries, and are unable to understand that a lot of Koreans just don't like being associated with Japan. Doesn't make you right, and @cassert wrong.
Also, I don't think you understand exactly what a joke is. The difference between the "stereotypical" (not really) American male, and the "Stereotypical" Asian male is at best satirical. Which while a form of humor is not a joke. Which is a short tale or verbal sequence with a humorous ending. Normally in the form of a punchline.
Plus I would also like you to provide the legal documentation that makes you the world arbiter of what is and isn't offensive, and to whom can and can't be offended. Otherwise, if @cassert says it's offensive. They he is well within his rights to be offended.
@cassert Some Koreans are fans of J-Pop band, and some Koreans get along with Japanese. Speak for yourself and if you don't want to watch it look elsewhere.
I strength train for myself. It's essential to my physical and mental health. In my experience, it tends to be that those who strength train just for attracting women only tend to fail at doing both.
My message to men is simple: Invest in yourself, and improve yourself in the things you like to do, and women -- what's more, women that share your interests -- will tend to find you. If you don't like to lift weights for your own self-benefit, don't do it.
That said, Attraction preferences are a two way street. I for one have little interest in the conventional 36-24-36 but a girl that can lift and play rugby with me? PHWOAR!!!
...too bad that so many of them around these parts "swing for the other team", if you catch my drift.
'@spagboy69' What straw "it" are you dithering about? It's literally verified that hormonal birth control flips preferences. There's several other issues, like reduced real fathering with socioeconomic effects of daddy-state replacement, and statistical patterns of mate-selection that correlate with, of all things, the popularity of beards. Women with less masculine fathers or no father tend to regard masculine men as worse/"creepy" and more "other"/strange than women who had masculine father-figures.
Obviously, there's a developmental thing, and women are biologically wired with a potentially broad sexual range. Men are the ones that vary less in terms of what's attractive, and we're also the ones that consistently know we're physically aroused, when research shows women have some kind of block. Unconsciously women are aroused by MANY things men statistically aren't, but they don't usually consciously experience this for some reason. Men are usually straight-shooters in that the unconscious response goes straight into conscious experience. We admit more of what we find consciously attractive even against cultural propaganda too.
@Nephandus Wow. There's so much scientifically wrong material there I wouldn't even know what to unpack first. I vote we just burn the entire suitcase.
@Nephandus Can deny. Don't take the pill because it makes me sick, and chose mates because they were literally the opposite of my father. My parents would always say I would marry a man like my father, and I hated them for it. If a man is strong enough to protect you, he's strong enough to beat you up. No thanks.
'@Faeryn' Deny what? A statistical population effect with a reference point of one?
Besides, anyone not an invalid is strong enough to kill another human, and lesbians statistically beat each other up more than any other pairing, so I wouldn't bet on a neurotic guy being less physically capable of violence that a lipstick lesbian on a bender.
@Nephandus I like how you are pretending you don't know what you just posted.
You're just wrong. I'm not some anomaly, there's nothing wrong with me. I just don't prefer muscleheads. I have no idea why you would talk about lesbians here. Maybe violent lesbians are your thing?
Beware of generalizing. I am an American woman and my favorite masculine figures include Michael Rennie, Anthony James, David Tennant, Peter Capaldi,and other figures who follow the template "tall, dark, and bony." (I list actors that most people might have seen/heard of, lest someone say, "Who's that?") I like Dwayne Johnson *in spite of* his muscles, because he can act and is funny.
@Eruanne This is simply how Brother America thinks things are, rather than how they actually are. And he thinks all women want big, buff, manly, macho men. :P (Which we know is not true at all. David Tennant is rather hot, isn't he? Also Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddleston are really nice).