It’s Iimi! A Time to Reveal…

Paula has had her suspicions about Iimi for a while now, but she has kept silent out of not being sure. But when the family goes “glamping,” new events make her wonder if this is A TIME TO REVEAL…

 

Pre-Comic Notes:

It may help to review Issues 108, 156, 167, 169, and 171 to see what Paula saw that led to her conclusion.

Post-Comic Notes:

One thing that Westerners have gotten wrong about manga and anime is exactly WHEN the BL/GL genre applies. As a result, many see homosexual relationships where there are none… in stories and in real life. 

 

First, we need to understand the concept of “Class S” friendship. “Class S” friendship is a Japanese concept borrowed from the French. The name comes from Japanese grading, where a rarely given “S” grade is the highest possible mark. The idea is one of best friends who are very close, but platonic. Unfortunately, in modern times, friends who are that close are assumed to be sexual partners. 

 

Moreover, manga and anime about homosexual relationships exist. Going by various names (BL/GL, Yaoi, Shonen-ai/Shoujo-ai, Bara/Yuri), these stories subverted “Class S friendship” and are about same-sex romantic relationships, which are portrayed as morally acceptable and a matter of preference. Pornographic anime/manga of this genre exists, but porn is only a small subset of manga/anime, just as it is for movies in America. We need to avoid the fallacy of composition here.

 

Demographics may have changed, but it used to be that these manga were aimed at heterosexual teenage girls. It would be interesting to see if this content, which first appeared in America during the “anime explosion” in the United States in the early 2000s, influenced the change of attitudes among millennials on homosexuality. However, I don’t have the resources to make such a study. So I can’t say if this theory is true or a non causa pro causa fallacy.

 

This should not be confused with manga/anime that are not BL/GL in focus but have homosexual characters in them. Some are done for humor that probably wouldn’t fly in America today. Others reflect the moral views of the manga authors. Sailor Moon, for example, is not a “gay-themed” manga/anime. But it does have a lesbian couple of supporting characters, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune.

 

Further obscuring the matter, there are some manga/anime tropes where people misinterpret the relationship (usually done for humor) or non-sexual “crushes” where a younger girl admires an older one.

 

Catholics need to realize that Anime/Manga is foreign in approach and does not always line up with our values. So, custody of the senses and discernment is always needed, whether we read for ourselves or screen what our children read. 

 

It’s Iimi! Opening Skirmishes

When students begin targeting Iimi for her beliefs, she finds that as nothing new, though her friends are less convinced. But now the attacks seem to be coming rapid fire with a teacher seeming to encourage them. Are they trying to push her to a breakdown?

Post Comic Notes: When designing the scenes for Della and Myrna, I wanted to provide an example of how to live in accord with the Catholic teaching on loving the person with a same-sex attraction.

As always, Iimi tries to show how we must act, even if those who hate us refuse to do likewise.

I also wanted to show how difficult it can be for a person with Aspergers to deal with a constant barrage of attacks.

It’s Iimi! At the Edge of the Oncoming Storm

Christians are not given special advantages in the material world.  Nor are we promised a life free of suffering. What we are promised is the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ which brings us to the salvation Christ gained for us on the cross. 

It is important for us to pray always that we not be put to the Test, and Strive to live according to Our Lord's Commandments, loving Him with all our hearts, Mind, Soul and our Neighbor as Ourself, in case Our Lord does call us to the test.

We should keep this in mind always. For we never know when we might find ourselves at the edge of the Oncoming Storm.

It’s Iimi! What Will You Do Once You Learn the Truth?

Paula eavesdrops and hears something she was not intended to hear about news that potentially means hardship for her new home. But did she hear it in context? And what will she do with the information? Meanwhile Myrna tells Della something utterly unexpected that could shatter their friendship if either of them mishandles it. 

  

 

Post-Comic Commentary

So, we have a potential controversial topic here. Some Catholics might see this as “caving in” on the issue of homosexuality. That would be a misinterpretation, however. I support the Church teaching on the topic. This is more of a focus on the Catechismteaching that people with same sex attraction need to be treated with love and respect, even though we cannot support things that legitimize homosexual acts as “good.” So, if a reader is tempted to write an angry comment accusing me of rejecting Church teaching, don’t. It will be rash judgment.

I found the book Gay and Catholic by Eve Tushnet to useful in avoiding stereotypes and in finding behavior that could be showing the love and support such a person might need in living their life in accordance with Church teaching. While I do disagree with some of her opinions, I believe she does intend to live a chaste lifestyle in fidelity to Church teaching. 

In doing research, I realized that one of Iimi’s views in an earlier comic was inaccurate. Iimi’s dialogue of “I used to think…” reflects that.

Myrna’s feelings for Della came around through an unintended consequence from the limitations of the Comipo program. All the female models have a slight blush in their cheeks. But it turns out that the color becomes more noticeable the darker the skin color. Also, when I designed Myrna, I wanted to give her narrower eyes. The combination gave Myrna the impression of looking at Della with affection and devotion. While there were ways to mask the blush, the combination intrigued me. So, I started dropping hints into the things Myrna said while keeping it vague enough to not give the secret away. I decided that as things heated up in Iimi’s school, bringing in someone they already knew would force the characters to shift from theoretical to “these are real people.”