Yesterday wo Uttate, Arte Dropped:

Yesterday wo Uttate fails to understand that uninteresting characters can't be made into a story.  If your characters are a bunch of depressed losers going nowhere doing nothing in particular, that doesn't make for a story.  Stories are about decisions and their consequences.  Or as shonen jump would say, hard work, friendship, and victory.  Not drama, smoking and inconclusive meandering conversations.

As for Arte, it really should be retitled 'Feminism in Florence.'  I actually agree with this episode's lecture -- it's sexism whether you scornfully look down on women's abilities or kindly try to help them because they're so helpless and pitiable without you.  It's just two different facets of the same contempt.  Heck, I agree with the first episode's lecture too -- it's sexist to deny women jobs just because they're women.  I'll probably agree with every future episode lecture too, I'm sure there's still plenty more to be said about who and what is sexist in 16th century Florence.  But dear God, that's not the world we live in.  This is the 21st century where the real victims of sexism have been men for decades now.  Who gets affirmative action in this country?  Men or women?  Who can effortlessly make hundreds of thousands of dollars just by showing off their bodies?  Men or women?  Who can have children whenever they want?  Men or women?  Who lives longer?  Men or women?  Who gets better grades and is more likely to graduate college?  Men or women?  I think it's awful to write an entire series about how sexist and evil men are in a period when we're the oppressed victims.  An artist is supposed to be society's conscience, pointing out our failings and wrongdoings, speaking truth to power.  When art is instead used as a weapon to demonize an already marginalized and victimized group, all you're doing is encouraging Rwanda type genocides.  Have these animators ever heard of 'punching down' versus 'punching up?'

'Feminism in Florence' would've been great if it had been written as a Shakespearean play in the 1500's.  But right now what we need is an anime brave enough to expose anti-male sexism in the 21st century.  I have no patience for cowards toeing the mainstream line, or worse, man hating bigots who simply exult in kicking us while we're down, dumping on men yet more when we're already the worse off sex by far.