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]
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
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