Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!
About
Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! (宇崎ちゃんは遊びたい, Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai!) is a slice of life/romantic comedy manga by Take revolving around the daily life of a female college student named Uzaki Hana and her relationship with her senpai Sakurai Shinichi. While Sakurai displays a quiet and laid back personality, Uzaki shows a more energetic and outgoing behavior and would often tease her senpai for it, much to his annoyance.
History
The manga debuted on Niconico in December of 2017, and began serialization on July 9th, 2018.[1] There are currently four volumes in the ongoing series. An anime adaptation by Studio ENGI directed by Kazuya Miura was announced by Kadokawa Corporation on February 3rd, 2020, which premiered in July of 2020.[2] A second season was announced in September the same year.[15]
Blood Donation Drive Poster Controversy
In 2019, a blood donation campaign was launched in Japan. An official artwork of Uzaki Hana was used to help advertising the campaign with the collaboration of Red Cross Japan and the author Take.
Speech bubble translation: “Senpai! Have you not yet given blood? Or perhaps… are you afraid of needles?”
On October 14th, 2019, Twitter user @UnseenJapanSite[7] criticized Japan Red Cross Society for the collaboration because the character is "over-sexualized" (shown below, left). This led lawyer and feminist advocate Keiko Ōta to voice a negative opinion of the artwork, claiming it was over-sexualized and inappropriate under the context of the campaign who noticed Unseen Japan's tweet and commented upon it. (shown below, right).[3][8]
Her tweet in English reads:
"The Japanese Red Cross Society’s blood donation collab campaign with Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai has led to posters such as these being put up, I believe they are really insensitive. For what purpose they would use this kind of illustration has left me in a stupor, but putting it up in a public space is similar to sexual harassment. For the time being, I sent my opinion via an inquiry to Japan’s Red Cross Society."
On October 16th, 2019, A PR representative from the Japanese Red Cross Society responded to the inquiry stating that they do not believe the campaign constitutes sexual harassment.[9]
"This promotional campaign is merely providing a novelty gift to people who are kind enough to cooperate with our blood drive, and we do not recognize it as a form of sexual harassment. We have previously received support from numerous anime series in promoting blood drives, and these partnerships have been well-received and increased the amount of blood that was donated. In regards to opinions about the current promotion, we are listening to them sincerely, and will take them into consideration for future activities." [10]
The topic also appeared on the Japanese TV show Sukkiri, and the conversation spread on Twitter on October 23rd, 2019.[11]
The next day @UnseenJapanSite called attention to his appearance on Sukkri, subsequently praising the show and mentioning his positive reaction towards being featured. In responses to the tweet, users informed him he was being mocked during the segment.[12]
On January 31, 2020, Take announced that he is working on a new poster and that he wanted to collaborate with the Red Cross because blood donations saved his life after he was trapped under rubble during the Great Hanshin Earthquake.[13][14]
![文(たけ)■宇崎1~4巻発売中 Follow @syokumutaiman 今日から関東で赤十字コラボキャンペー ン開始です イラストでもよかったんですけどクリア ファイルは両面使えるので今回は2ペー ジカラー漫画にしてみました 続きの裏面は献血後にお読みください 今回も皆様の献血のご協力よろしくお願 いいたします Translated from Japanese by HMicrosoft The Red Cross collaboration campaign is started in Kanto from today. I was good even in the illustration, but I made it to the color cartoon of two pages this time because I could use both sides of the clear file. Please read the back side of the continuation after blood donation. Thank you for your cooperation in your blood donation this time. ま予私 た防午 今接前 度種イ ッレン スたフ んル での 献初今 血め日 ッては スの先 輩 の 血崎 400cct お願います な今 い日 の 採好こ受 っきの付 てな人の いだでお いけか姉 |いさ すんん で あ待マ私 な彼 い女 でで すは まてガこ すて読で い泣 いく 歳か 駄泣針 目いが ッた痛 スらく 6:44 PM - 31 Jan 2020 28,479 Retweets 55,267 Likes O 350 t] 28K O 55K Tweet your reply 丈(たけ)宇崎1~4巻発売中 @syokumutaiman· Jan 31 いろいろご意見あるの知ってますが全部答えてるとキリがないのでひとつだけ 「なぜ赤十字コラボキャンペーンに協力したのか」と言う質問にだけお答えしま す 僕が阪神淡路大震災の当時瓦篠の下から助け出された人間だからです 助けられた恩返しがほんの少しできたらと思っただけ 理由はそれだけです Translated from Japanese by Microsoft I know there are many opinions, but there is only one kiri that answers all I'll just answer the question, "Why did you cooperate with the Red Cross collaboration campaign?" Because I was the one who was rescued from under the rubble at the time of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. I just wanted to be able to give back a little bit. That's all there is to it. O 146 t7 33K ♡ 51K 丈(たけ)■宇崎1~4巻発売中 @syokumutaiman·Jan 31 もうなにも言うことはありません お時間と身体に余裕のある方だけ、どうか献血のご協力お願いいたします Translated from Japanese by Microsoft I don't have anything to say anymore. Only those who have time and physical space, please cooperate with blood donation. O 47 t7 7.3K O 14K (らに](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/848/671/298.png "Second Blood drive")
Online Presence
The manga grew in popularity following the serialization, ranking an average score of 7.39 on MyAnimeList.[4] The series also has a page on TV Tropes[5] and a Wiki.[6] The series is also popular among fan artists.
Related Memes
Western Artists Be Like "I Fixed It"
Western Artists Be Like 'I Fixed It' refers to a series of memes which parody redraws of character Uzaki-Chan and a certain type of redraws in general. The memes usually depict various popular characters imagined chubbier, and are similar to Original vs. Un-Tumlrized.
Search Interest
External References
[2] Take's Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Manga Gets TV Anime in July – AnimeNewsNetwork
[3] Busty Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Blood Donation Drive Poster Sparks Online Debate – AnimeNewsNetwork
[4] MyAnimeList – Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai!
[5] TV Tropes – Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!
[6] Wiki – Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!
[7] Twitter – @UnseenJapanSite's tweet
[8] Twitter – @katepanda2's tweet
[9] J-Cast News – 献血PRに「胸強調」女性キャラで疑問の声も 日赤「セクハラという認識は持っておりません」
[10] SoraNews24 – Busty blood drive anime girl artwork “not recognized as sexual harassment” by Japanese Red Cross
[11] Twitter – Footage of Sukkiri news segment
[12] Twitter – Thread to UnseenJapan's reaction
[13] Twitter – Take's word on the second poster and why he continues to work despite backlash
[14] Twitter – English translation of Take's tweet
[15] Anime News Network – Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Anime Gets 2nd Season
