I want to be endeared by the fact that this show is so clearly a love letter to 80s American cop movies—anime takes on western works and genres are a personal favorite of mine. However, that’s exactly what lands the show in hot water in a way it wouldn’t if the series were about cops in Japan or a completely self-contained fantasy world. Like the Banana Fish anime before it, Cop Craft sets its story in modern day America without taking any time to reassess how the tropes of the 1980s might need to change. As America descends into a fascist hellscape, there is no escapism to be found in the antics of a “loose cannon cop” who we’re asked to believe is a racist for Understandable Reasons with a goshdarn heart of gold beneath. The camera pans over an uncommented-on scene of police brutality in the interrogation room as an officer tells Kei that they’ve gotten a lead.
The show’s opening narration talks about what a diverse city San-Teresa is, but all of the Black and brown characters who appear are either criminals or victims (wait, no; I think I there was one Black cop in the background of a single shot). Meanwhile, any discussion of racism is kept squarely to tensions between humanity and the Semanians, and Tilarna is told that putting up with Kei’s racism because he’s a skilled cop is just excusing his “poor manners.”
While good intentions don’t count for nothing, and obviously a team of Japanese animators working in Japan aren’t going to have an up-to-the-minute understanding of life for marginalized Americans, the disparity here is well beyond that point. It would be well beyond that point if this series had been in the works for two whole years (it was not; and while the light novels started in 2009, any halfway decent adaptation is made with its era in mind). It’s a complete ethical failure.
>waaah Japanese people don't understand my western SJW worldview The author of this review should check their privileges before judging non-white culture. He knows better because he lives in the West? That's pretty racist.
Nathaniel Stewart
BAIT YOU COPIED AMD PASTED FROM ANN /THREAD
Lincoln Sanders
>partner of of 4 years dies >here's your new partner, detective
James Gray
let me guess, this is ANN
Oliver Martinez
WHERE DO YOU TWO GET OFF BLOWING UP A GOD DAMN OIL TANKER? IN MY GOD DAMN CITY? GOD DAMN IT MOTABA. >it couldn't be helped. YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE CAN'T BE GOD DAMN HELPED? LEAVING YOUR GUN AND SWORD ON MY DESK! YOU'RE SUSPENDED, MATOBA, YOU AND THAT POTATO ELF LOLI PARTNER OF YOURS! GET THE HELL OUTTA MY OFFICE!
Shit was legit worse for black Americans in the '80s in a lot of ways. If you think Steve Bannon is bad wtf would you make of Pat Buchanan? The reviewer's a historical ignoramus.
The overreliance on easy tropes and callbacks also gives the show an uncomfortable edge of ignorance, too, since Cop Craft also lifts Hollywood's tendency to stereotype minorities as thugs, gangbangers, and criminals. Despite a prologue that goes out of its way to paint San Teresa as the picture of a multi-ethnic American city, the only non-white character of note we see for most of the episode is Kei. Later, he and Tilarna go looking for Mexican gang members in the seedy part of town, and Kei's informant is a cartoonish black crime boss/pimp/wannabe priest. There's also an incredibly tone-deaf bit where a black bodyguard acts openly racist towards Tilarna for being a magical “alien”, and tries to keep her from entering a strip club. It's the kind of dumb racial shorthand that people were calling out in the West decades ago, and I hope it doesn't crop up in Cop Craft much more in future episodes.
Brody Scott
>but all of the Black and brown characters who appear are either criminals or victims So it's accurate then?
Christian Collins
Exactly what I was thinking.
Connor Sanchez
Isn't there a prominent black cop later on? I think you even see him in the OP Why don't they wait for a couple more episodes to come out before attacking the show for a lack of diversity?
Zachary Morgan
I only wanna watch as a joke because the director did Berserk 2016
Is it good or bad
Josiah Flores
It was pretty good, one of the best premieres of the season.
Kayden Powell
>Seto no Hanayome I think I'm gonna like these threads.
White people can be black/brown too, fucking racist
Joshua Lewis
>As America descends into a fascist hellscape I have no idea what burgers think a fascist hellscape is like. Your president abides by court rulings for one so the checks and balances obviously work.
Zachary Mitchell
everything I don't like is fascist
Elijah Gonzalez
>/thread your own post Newfag spotted
Leo Watson
Not cutting off your dick and prostrating yourself before waman of color is fascist.
Ayden Moore
My only complaint is that the art style doesn't do Muratas design justice, and the girl ended up not being either cute or lewd, only bland. Oh, and the CG.
Connor Morris
Sure feels bad for her.
Ryan Reed
She'll become a racist vigilante hunting down semanians.
Thomas Cox
Why are you on this board?
First Its basically a sequel to a series of light novels. The worldbuilding doesn't appear much. However, it's just the first episode so it needs to set a scene, It's true it is a love letter to buddy cop shows. But have you ever seen Senpai and Kohai the Japanese cop show? It as much a homage to that as it Miami Vice or Dragnet.
America is not a fascist hellscape, you can vote for your head of state, come back when yours is both born into position and the default head of the state religion.
Racist attitudes in America, I can't say, I'm not in a position too, though come here and you'll see how it is when your the wrong colour and the wrong religion, but you have zero protection because of both because of people who cry the R word.
Police brutality, We don't know the interrogation laws, However, when the police read the criminal their rights in the opening scene, no mention of the right to silence is mentioned.
to the second point, People are always, always going to be anti whats different we are programmed to not like what's normal, it takes tons of personal reflection to not feel like this,Add on the fact they just had a huge war with these people. Kei is a war vet, He says this... did you watch? there's going to be tons of bad feelings towards the 'aliens' is modern education this broken? ( want to add humans basically lost)
Lastly, it's not meant to be an ethical commentary, not everything has to have sociopolitical or philosophical views. stop it, stop. this is just an entertaining story. its good and people like you need to stop poking your noses into peoples fun.
Tldr : Don't fucking watch it, And let people who want to have their stuff
Landon Lopez
Do you hunger for (you)s so much that you create an entire thread just to copy paste anifem?
Ryan Wilson
>Why are you on this board? How can you be this bad at recognizing copypasta?
