Does Anno Hate America?

[TheLobe]

probably true, but from another countries perspective its hard to think, I don't like what America does, but I like the people who are part of it.

[BrikHaus]

All Japanese people are xenophobic and incredibly racist, so, yes, Anno does hate America(ns).

[TheLobe]

All Japanese people are xenophobic and incredibly racist, so, yes, Anno does hate America(ns).

cause saying that isn't racist in the slightest

[THE Hal E. Burton 9000]

^you^ do know Brik-kun is being sarcastic?

[Evayo]

Indeed, I'm partially Japanese and proud to not be racist. Though I can understand where Anno could possibly be coming from, since it seems I'd much rather be in Japan then here.

[GAP]

So does Anno hate Americans or are we just making it up?

[Evayo]

No one of any race can determine exactly how another race feels about them. I think this whole "Anno hates America" thing has just risen from America's own insecurity. So no, I don't think Anno really does.

[xtr00kvltcorex]

like most countries i've visited, they are impartial to us. anno is anno, and only anno can truly know if he hates america or not.

[oOoOoOo]

Shinji is America.
Asuka is the rest of the world.

If the US-Canada border closed, both countries economies would collapse. They need each other desperately. Yet, take my city, which is one of Canada's largest and diverse. Here, calling someone "American" in the right tone is enough cause for a violent encounter. It is the same as saying "You are arrogant, hypocritical, greedy, materialistic, and a bully". America is a symbol of everything wrong in the modern world. Yet, it is also a symbol of success, where every artist wants to go, where everyone wants to make a new life. It is a love/hate thing. The average non-American can easily go through adoration/hate/love/envy towards America in the span of five seconds.

Why does nobody rag on Saudi Arabia all the time, or complain about Nigeria? It isn't because America is "worse" than those countries. It is because nobody cares about those countries.

It is what happens when you are the new "Rome". Britain used to suffer the same thing. Gandhi said the British were a useless civilization with nothing to offer him. Yet, it was in London that Gandhi first read his own religious scriptures. It is natural to have this attitude towards the greatest power on earth.

[chee]

So does Anno hate Americans or are we just making it up?

[Sailor Star Dust]

The average non-American can easily go through adoration/hate/love/envy towards America in the span of five seconds.

There's a HUGE difference between hating a country's government, and hating the people that actually live there, as somebody else in this thread already stated.

It isn't because America is "worse" than those countries. It is because nobody cares about those countries.

People complain about whatever country they have problems with, for example in terms of how the government is or the politics of that country. Although America being a world power is part of the reason why other countries are concerned with it compared to other ones, yes.

Something of a personal example: In regards to America, I know my family (who happens to be from Poland) doesn't always like how the government can be run (eg: 8 years of Bush), or in the case of my mom who's somewhat racist, she doesn't like how ethnically diverse this country can be.

Personally, If there's something I don't like something about another country, more often then not I don't like the fact there's a war going on there or it involves the government/politics. I can't think of any case where I didn't like something about another country because of hating the actual citizens from there. (Not saying that you're saying this, oOoOoOo, I'm just pointing this out.)

I can sense this could possibly turn into a debate, so I'll split this later on if need be (Just keep all this civil please).

In regards to Anno hating America, I still say there should be actual source provided until I'd believe it. There was a similar accusation of the Creator of Sailor Moon, Naoko Takeuchi supposedly hating her American fans, and that just ended up being a result of a misunderstanding with how her staff/helpers for that convention (Mixx/ToykoPop) were running things. Quite to the contrary, Takeuchi herself stated as loving the States whenever she visits. (I don't have the actual source for either on hand, but she mentioned in one of the Sailormoon manga how much she loved visiting NYC with Marmalade Boy creator Wataru Yoshizumi.)

[BrikHaus]

Anno hates America, get over it.

[oOoOoOo]

I can't think of any case where I didn't like something about another country because of hating the actual citizens from there. (Not saying that you're saying this, oOoOoOo, I'm just pointing this out.)

I do actually hate millions and millions of Americans. I hate the people in California who voted to ban gay marriage. I hate the 36% who think all Muslims should have special identification. I hate the evangelicals and the gun-nuts. I hate the puritanical culture. I hate the Confederate flag-waving people I've run into every time I visit the South (even Florida, for crying out loud). As a non-heterosexual, a lot of what I see on the news can make me (irrationally) angry. But I also love American artists, American thinkers, and plenty of American friends (even the odd Republican, despite our feisty debates). It is a large and diverse country. We do ourselves a disservice up here in Canada when we lump all of America's faults into one stereotypical "American".

America is a unique country. It is the only Western democracy that executes children, for example. It is the only Western democracy (aside from Poland) that has an evolution debate in its school system. It is both backwards and highly advanced at the same time. Little things like this horrify and fascinate people. Bono wanted to call the "Joshua Tree" album "The Two Americas", because he himself both loved and hated this huge, strange, amazing place.

In regards to Anno, I wanted to illustrate that perhaps his "hate" isn't much difference than the average person's love/hate relationship with America. All of the "anti-American" things that people think they see in Evangelion... these things could very well just be a reflection of the average person's view of the superpower. As a Japanese citizen, he likely appreciates some of the cultural things the US introduced, yet cannot help but feel somewhat bad about the occupation. I'm sure he doesn't have an irrational "hate" for the US, but he probably is suspicious of it on some level. A lot of Americans I knew were really confused when 9/11 happened, because it never occured to them that people could dislike America. The depiction of America in Evangelion, from what I recall from my most recent viewing, is not unfair or malicious. As a non-American, it doesn't strike me as an outlandish representation of a fictitious pseudo-near-future United States . I suppose it is all about that perspective. As a Canadian, I can't imagine anyone hating us, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who do, for various reasons that make sense on a level I didn't realize. But I'd like to see some more quotes from him, on the topic, if anybody has any. The US-Japan relationship is a very unique one.

[Sailor Star Dust]

I hate the people in California who voted to ban gay marriage.

Being a Bisexual living in Cali that voted AGAINST Prop 8, that makes two of us.

It is the only Western democracy (aside from Poland) that has an evolution debate in its school system.

That sounds like a shot. >_>

Pope John Paul II (the majority of people in Poland are Catholic) stated that evolution doesn't contradict God's word:

On 22 October 1996, in a speech to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences plenary session at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II declared the evolutionary theories of Charles Darwin as factual, and wholly compatible with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.[123][124][125][126]

The pope said “If taken literally, the Biblical view of the beginning of life and Darwin's scientific view would seem irreconcilable. In Genesis, the creation of the world, and Adam, the first human, took six days. Evolution's process of genetic mutation and natural selection-the survival and proliferation of the fittest new species-has taken billions of years, according to scientists ...”[123]

Regardless of your stance on religion vs science, as I liberal/democrat, I'd rather be living in a country that actually ALLOWS debate of different viewpoints instead of not.

And, "executing children"? That's a new one.

We do ourselves a disservice up here in Canada when we lump all of America's faults into one stereotypical "American".

This can be said about people's feelings on any countries.

A lot of Americans I knew were really confused when 9/11 happened, because it never occurred to them that people could dislike America.

They're simply ignorant.

Now that the replies are out of the way, please, back on topic.

[oOoOoOo]

I may have sucked the life out of this thread. X_x Sorry sorry!

Is there anything left to say about Anno vs. America?

[THE Hal E. Burton 9000]

Shinji is America.
Asuka is the rest of the world.

while I'm not one of them, many see it the other way around, with all the talk of "empire" and a superiority complex a la American exceptionalism, Pax Americana, etc.

[etjusticepourtous]

You guys act like little babies. He may dislike America, but not you as an individual living in America. If you say oh why does he hate "us" he might really dislike you. Anyways, he looks like my step father his a wacko and a pastor. lol

[Ornette]

You guys act like little babies. He may dislike America, but not you as an individual living in America. If you say oh why does he hate "us" he might really dislike you. Anyways, he looks like my step father his a wacko and a pastor. lol

Did you even read this thread?

[Alaska Slim]

I think this whole "Anno hates America" thing has just risen from America's own insecurity.

Two Iowa-class battleships destroyed, the U.S.S. Ramage, so named after a Medal of Honor recipient who earned the award in an attack on a Japanese convoy, crushed under Unit-02, a mentioned U.S. fleet decimated, bullied into accepting a budget we were against, both U.S. made Eva units destroyed before ever seeing effective use, one even captured and used by "the enemy", the entire second branch located in America wiped from the map, and considering the size of the affected area, likely Las Vegas and Nellis AFB themselves along with it. And then in another show, a “Japanese Empire” fought a war with the U.S., won, and occupied Hawaii.

But no, I’m just being “insecure“, it’s not possible at all that, Mr. Anno, being the military otaku he is, feels resentment in how not only was Japan defeated, but that we effectively took their military away from them, and instilled their mentality of being mere children that Mr. Anno so vehemently wishes to do away with, and in fact made Evangelion, in part, a statement against.

Did you even read this thread?

Hell, he's the third person to suggest that, and I've yet to see anyone actually say it. It's apparently a given assumption people will make, but I still find myself contemplating over tracking down and ripping the throat out of the next person who suggests it...

[Ornette]

And like I said, if those were British ships, then Anno must hate Britain, right? And the people who made Rocky must hate blacks and Russians. Or any other work of fiction in theatre, motion pictures, or literature that portrays a certain nation or group of people in a slightly bad light must mean the creator/author must hate them.

But no, I’m just being “insecure“, it’s not possible at all that, Mr. Anno, being the military otaku he is, feels resentment in how not only was Japan defeated, but that we effectively took their military away from them, and instilled their mentality of being mere children that Mr. Anno so vehemently wishes to do away with, and in fact made Evangelion, in part, a statement against.

Correct. Solely based off of what you've brought up in this thread, you don't prove anything. You're taking your own interpretation of events in these shows and spinning them to support your belief. I, and some others, don't interpret them that way, therefore your points don't really persuade.