Dandadan does not stop getting into controversies

This article includes spoilers for the "Dandadan" anime. Discretion is advised to the reader.

We have already talked in previous articles about Shihei Lin, the editor of Shueisha who has been in charge of manga successes such as "Chainsaw Man", "SPY x FAMILY" and, currently in publication and with an anime adaptation in broadcast, "Dandadan", among others. The editor is quite active on social media, often sharing highlights of the works he supervises, as well as photographs watching anime series inspired by his works.

This is how we arrive at what brings us together today, as Shihei Lin shared his experience watching Episode 10 of "Dandadan", broadcast last week. One of the scenes in question refers to the moment when Seiko Ayase, the grandmother, discovers thanks to the smell of the room that the precious vital fluid that runs through Mr. Mantis Shrimp's body is nothing more than cow's milk.

This not only serves as a minor revelation, but completely changes the perspective of fans towards this character, who goes from antagonist to ally since this information serves to save the life of his son, who needs transfusions of this fluid, almost impossible to find on his home planet.

It's certainly a heartwarming scene, and what follows is even better, offering a spectacular quality of animation that Science SARU studios have maintained since the beginning of this broadcast. But why are we talking about this? Well, Shihei Lin wrote on Twitter, sharing dialogues and his thoughts on them.

"Would having my sausage save your son?" A strange feeling of discomfort wrapped in kindness. "Your blood sucks!" Words so direct that they almost seem pure racism. Okarun: "Hey! How can you say that? It's not politically correct!" I love how short and precise this answer is. And I'm also fascinated by Seiko, who cuts everything off by saying, "Shut up, you idiot! What political correctness or nonsense?'"

Dandadan does not stop getting into controversies

That's right, the dialogues made a reference to "political correctness," but Grandma Ayase immediately cut off the subject saying it was "nonsense." Both this and the fact that editor Shihei Lin applauded the exchange unfortunately soon became a topic of discussion, with comments criticizing the use of "this important term" for a joke:

"I always felt some discomfort about the fact that Look Back did not officially state that it was inspired by the fire incident at Kyoto Animation, but after reading the tweet of this animator (former colleague of the deceased), that discomfort was transformed into anger. I think the responsibility lies more with the producer than with the work."
"Those who are criticizing with retweeted quotes appear to be left-wing and Communist Party sympathizers, according to their followers and previous posts. This air of superiority toward someone working on world-class works is ridiculous. What achievements do they have? I hope you will not be intimidated by this collective left-wing hysteria, which is nothing more than a mob of monstrous complainers."
"The cited section is full of out-of-place comments, saying that the term 'political correctness' is being misused or criticizing the alleged aversion to it. It seems that they only want to talk about political correctness to attack this work. We don't need readers like that. They have already been exposed. Goodbye."
"It's ridiculous how they protect publishers who read erotic manga on illegal sites, justifying even technical problems on YouTube to hide videos, but then being unnecessarily harsh on political correctness. It seems that, in the end, they don't care about creative content at all."
"I can't believe that someone as cultured and with as much antenna as the editors of Jump Plus doesn't understand the correct meaning of 'political correctness'. It is obvious that they say it intentionally to please ignorant otakus. How low."
"Thanks to comments like these, it's easy to decide not to read something. It is appreciated."
"This is simply an observation like 'it smells like milk (no bad intentions).' Perhaps the aim was to criticise those who react instinctively by shouting 'political correctness' without thinking. Really right people don't need to worry about political correctness; they just help others in a natural way."
"I've always felt some trepidation about the ethics of the editors of Jump Plus and editor Shihei Lin in particular, but I never imagined that they would be so brazen in showing their ill intent in public. This post had a profound impact on me."
"How unpleasant... Jump has really hit rock bottom. Is this the same place that published Slam Dunk and Kimetsu no Yaiba? It seems that in Shueisha there is no one capable of distinguishing between 'freedom of expression' and 'bad taste'. I don't plan to buy more."
"This type of jokes about current issues, without any social or ideological background, but which they believe are 'edgy' and 'risky', does not only happen in manga. It's a crappy trend that we also see in comedians in Japan."
"Blocking angry idiots in the dating section would make everyone happy. These people shouldn't be on the internet."
"It's funny how otakus, who complain about discrimination against themselves, believe that political correctness has nothing to do with them. ' To say that otakus are repulsive is discrimination against weak men.' What if it were said: 'What discrimination or nonsense'? I'm sure they would applaud him."
"An appropriate response to the extremists of political correctness who see discrimination in everything."
"Seiko's comment about 'political correctness' is likely to resonate with international viewers."
"The worst thing is that editor Shihei Lin has worked with works that seem 'pro-political correctness' before, but he proves to be superficial about it. This generates criticism from those who know the subject and harms the authors, since it fails to give them continuity."
"Creators and publishers who are not sensitive to discrimination will not succeed globally."
"People who criticize this would probably be angry if Okarun was depicted as a black man abroad. Personally, I didn't like that adaptation or that the voice actor supported it."
"Does this mean that Seiko was literally talking about the smell of milk, and Okarun misinterpreted the whole thing as discrimination? Was the point to show the lack of communication as something humorous?"
"The scene has nothing problematic. Okarun, thinking he heard a discriminatory comment, says, 'Political correctness!' while Seiko, literally referring to the smell, replies, 'Political correctness? What nonsense.' It's a perfectly normal dialogue."
"I think it's time to stop reading Jump. Their content continues to plummet, and mangas now seem more like the work of publishers than authors."
"I don't understand why they criticize this. Okarun uses 'political correctness' in the wrong way, and Seiko simply mocks its misuse. What's the problem?"
"It is absurd to interpret this scene as an attack against political correctness. I can't stand them using my favorite anime for these kinds of debates."
"People who are angry at dating are clearly liberal and feminist. What a no-brainer."
"Jump's manga, including Dandadan, ignore and oppress the rights of more than half of humanity. They seem to think that the world revolves around their short brains. It's disgusting."
"Seiko is not criticizing political correctness. Otakus must stop attacking her for anything. Enough is enough!"
"The term 'political correctness' was used as a simple resource here. Neither the author nor the readers seem to really understand it."
"That publishers speak so much publicly is already problematic. Even more so when they are neither authors nor their assistants. What about ethical compliance in the company?"
"Dandadan's use of 'political correctness' seems more like a reflex attack than something thought out. And yes, it is portraying the silly use of the term by some. If that's problematic, how authoritarian are we being?"