I don't like the slapping around, either. The two things I hated most when I first saw them on TV was the flashing of Jun's white panties and the slapping of Jun by Ken and Joe. To me, the panties were not just impractical, but also embarrassing rather than sexy. (The least they could have done is paint them pink, instead of white! )

During the Meiji Era (1886-1912) it was socially acceptable for men to slap their wives around if they didn't like the taste of miso soup, or whatever petty thing bothered them. Women didn't have the right to vote, either. My theory is that since the creators at Tatsunoko during the 70's were children or grandchildren of fathers or grandfathers of the Meiji Era, they grew up with that idea. So in their minds, it was okay to have female characters slapped. (Of course, it was no longer acceptable in real life, but in fiction it was okay for them.) During the 70's, the slapping around was the "in" thing especially in manga or anime that dealt with either sports ("supokon") or fictitious war like in Gatch.

So thats why i when trying to keep to cannon I try and justify or make Ken or Joe feel very sorry for it afterwards... IRL I don't really like the slapping all that much either between them. Its not like they're in training and its needed to learn how to defend themselves better against it coming from an enemy.

ITA-Iborgia, I get bored with characters that are to perfect in everything they do. Some superheros drive me nuts for that reason. It like they can do absolutely nothing wrong and never step out of line. To black and white...characters need some grey in there since not all situations they encounter are straight black and white. Messing it up or not getting everything perfect all the time doesn't make a character bad. Its the intentions and why they did it and the drive behind it that can really determine if they are truly flawed in a way that's evil. Just my thoughts anyway. I've had to think about it a lot of late when writing.

Minsaki- Some Aussie men could be like that. (Being a man meant you don't cry and show your emotions in public. Especially the romantic kind.) I guess that's why a lot of Aussie women melt when a guy does something like by flowers for his wife or does something romantic. (Its taken a long time for women to drop teh 'second class citizen' outlook.)

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Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up- Pablo Picasso.

Its a hard call isn't at times since women can be just as good at as men can be. I think they look at more as a women are often smaller and not as strong as most men are. Yep there's a lot of slapping all round in Gatchaman. At least in that they all get a go at it!!!

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Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up- Pablo Picasso.

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