The Wakayama Prefectural Police revealed on May 8, 2024 that Your Name. movie producer Koichiro Itou has been referred to prosecutors for additional violation of Child Prostitution & Pornography law in Japan, after it came to light that he had paid an underage girl for sexual intercourse.

The latest case involved a 17-year-old high school girl from Yokohama. Investigators believe Itou knew the girl was a minor when he paid her 30,000 yen for having sexual intercourse at his residence in December 2023.

He is also suspected of taking and saving photographs of the act.

    • CheesyFox@lemmy.sdf.org
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      4 months ago

      Damn. Sorry it has to be you, but i just can’t remain silent, as this agenda of “the creator of an artpice made horrible things, so the artpiece itself is also horrible and therefore must be forgotten” just drives me so fucking mad. I guess it’s hard to cope this thought, but an artpiece is still an artpiece and should be evaluated such. The author itself could be an absolutely terrible person deserving a death sentence, it doesn’t mean his metaphorical child couldn’t be as beautiful as of others. There’s no guilt in admitting it if you remember that even the creation of the most marvelous masterpiece in the universe cannot be an excuse for the creator’s sins. Not to mention this your way of thinking lots of time works other way around, painting famous creators as idols that cannot do nothing wrong. As soon as there will be both morally good and downright awful creators aknowledged of their particularly artistic skills, the aura of some kind of deities around creators of any kind of art will be demistified, therefore they will be finally judged just as any kind of other people, therefore it will be harder for them to cover up the fucked up shit, some of the hollywood directors are known for for example.

      The artpiece should not be forgotten, so the wrongdoings of its creator won’t be forgotten as well. I think its a lot more fair, just and harsh at the same time.

      • skulblaka@startrek.website
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        4 months ago

        I absolutely respect art irrespective of the artist. The problem arises when said artist continues to profit from my respect of the art. Take as a personal example, JK Rowling and her Wizarding World. I grew up with those books. I love that setting. But I’m not buying any of their merch or their video games or going to visit Disneyland to go to Potterworld because I don’t want Rowling getting her mitts on my royalties. She created a series of books that captivated me and many others as children and I respect the hell out of that. But I’m not going to continue to fund her tirades because of it.

        A movie seems like a similar case.

        • pixxelkick@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          Also, often the art itself suddenly changes before your eyes when you review it with a new eye for who the artist has revealed themself to be.

          Like the fact the only asian person in the entire set of books is a girl to serve as plot fodder named “Cho”

          Or the fact that there’s like 2 times that a girl gets specifically assaulted by a masculine representing figure in a girls bathroom while alone. (Troll attacking Hermione in book 1, and Myrtle by Riddle+Snake in book 2), its one of those “If I had a nickel everytime that happened, Id have 2 nickels, which isnt a lot but its weird that it happened twice” sort of dealios.

          The list goes on and on, theres a lot to pick apart in the books if you go back and re-read them. There’s a lot of stuff that makes you pause and go “hmm, what?”

          Like perhaps the “goblins” with pointy ears, sharp teeth, glasses, short statures, who strictly only show up working at the one big bank, and are commented on about hoarding money and acting greedy…

          (Basically a play by play classic set of caricatures of jewish people the nazi party used constantly to dehumanize them… >_>;)

        • CheesyFox@lemmy.sdf.org
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          4 months ago

          A fair and completely agreeable point. Thank god piracy exists :)

          P.S. have you heard of our lord and saviour Eliezer Yudkovsky? His turn on the aformentioned saga is actually better than the original imo

        • TheRealKuni@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          or going to visit Disneyland to go to Potterworld

          You’d be sorely disappointed anyway, Disneyland doesn’t have anything related to Harry Potter. That’s Universal.

      • Zammy95@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Seconded. Weathering with You is also good, but Your Name and Suzume are absolutely top notch

        • neatchee@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          I was so salty when they gave the Emmy for Best Animated Film to Boy and the Heron instead of Suzume. Absolute travesty and so clearly only because of Miyazaki’s name and art style.

          Suzume is honestly my favorite of the three and one of my favorite films of all time. I adore how well all of the fantasy and imagery connects with real human experiences. It comes so close to providing perfectly clear, direct metaphor without actually arriving at it and to me that is the most beautiful type of storytelling: where you can see characters, themes, etc and feel deeply how they connect to your own life but never with a concrete “this thing specifically represents that thing”. You can get really close with Suzume, but it never quite coalesces, leaving you with a powerful story, intense emotions, and a sense of wonder that sticks around long after viewing.