Sunday, January 3, 2010

Women and Gunpura - Round 2

Perhaps a re-occuring topic at this blog.

Thanks to everyone who commented in that last post. I read my gf some of your comments and she was very surprised at a lot of your reactions because she thought that it was something normal to do. You give the people you care about something that they like for Christmas. It's really that simple to her. And I suppose it is to me too.

But some of you mentioned how your gf or mother dislikes the fact that you are into gunpura. And I started to wonder... what makes it such a bad hobby to begin with?

Is it too otaku? Would it be better if we built tanks or airplanes instead? Would that be more acceptable?

Even though I live in Japan I rarely outright tell people that I'm into Gunpura even though many people know what it is. I tell some of the men because I automatically become more 'Japanese' and thus more approachable. That works with women sometimes too because I usually get an automatic reference to their father or ex-bf or something.

I tend not to talk about it in public unless someone asks me directly. It seems as if there's a stigma attached to it at times?

Anyone else our there feel that way? One final question out there to all of you and I really want to hear your opinions on this.

Why on earth do so many women (regardless of race, culture or ethnicity) hate Gunpura so much?!

Finally a couple of up to date pics of my progress on my X-Mas models. Exia is finished. Just need two more LR41 batteries to finish off the GN Drive. Zplus C1 is getting there. Lotta pieces for that guy. Way more difficult build than the Exia but that should be expected considering it transforms.


25 comments:

  1. Whenever I look at MG Exia, I feel my HG Exia is so different...

    For woman and Gunpla, well, I've never seen in my real life a woman loves Gunpla... not once. That's just the way it is.

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  2. Divinelight's comment prompted me to comment.

    I'm female and I certainly don't hate gunpla. I guess the reasoning that most mothers tend to use is that it's a waste of your hard-earned money, why spend it on toys instead of useful things like food, clothes or a home theater system [that's right, my Mom asked me to stop spending on gunpla and saved, and turned around and bought a home theater system. Hmm.]?

    My classmates don't know about my gunpla collecting either. Might be because of the whole "gunpla=toys"/"gunpla modelers=single nerds" mentality, both of which annoy me. Because Master Grades are totally targeted at children, yeah.

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  3. wow! you finished with exia already? x)

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  4. Well, from my general observation, other people who are not in the hobby (not just women) perceive gunpla as stuff for kids, thus they think that you're immature. I certainly don't get their point though.

    I still wonder if building something with 200++ tiny parts is for young children.

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  5. yeah i wonder about that too. especially when i look at the models people enter into contests. the majority of the entries are from men in their 30's or higher. its something for kids but if you want to make them look really good it requires adult patience and skills i think. not to mention the money.

    divinelight i've seen a couple actually. not with my own eyes tho. i did meet a girl who built ONE but that might have been because of my influence! hehe

    evangelisque - thanks for your comment. i can certainly understand the points and toys and money and how we could put our money to better use... but couldnt everyone? everyone needs an outlet i think. and i'd rather spend my money on something i can keep and look at and play with now and then.

    astray - finished but not finished if you know what i mean

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  6. Evangelisque hit the nail on the head. To any mother, Gunpla is seen a childish waste of time and money. Only recently did I reveal it to a close female friend of mine, and she actually likes it as a form of arts n crafts.

    And amazing how quickly you put together your MG Exia! No additional work on it?

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  7. the exia is looking good. well i think women hate it becuz maybi some of us spend to much time and money (maybe just me i dunno >.>) and some mite actually think wut else can you do. personally i dont care but yea i dont talk about gunpla unless someone talks with me directly or if i noe da person is into gunpla or not so yea dats my view on the matter

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  8. well actually if we can explain with an understandable answer, they will accept it.. or maybe turn out to like it..
    Example: my sister, some of my friends..

    looking forward for your Exia gallery :3

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  9. thanks guys. yeah thats the exia straight 00B. didnt do anything to it except but the decals on the head and face. it is a very good looking kit and very simple to assemble. a bit flimsy tho.

    thanks for your opinions guys!

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  10. yeah, my mother also looked at my Gunplas (still only 3 of them) in eyes like "Why you bought these..."

    Well, in one blog I read that he started building gunplas when he reached nine, 1 year after gunpla resistance (up to 8 years are prohibited written in the box)

    Well, that also true that "Gunpla=Beginning of OTAKU" which why my friends were reluctant to show interests in...

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  11. haha well at least he followed the instructions! guess we just have to accept the fact that we're otaku to a lot of people!

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  12. Well... I would say most of my female friend are not interested in gunpla at all (they don't bother to look at it).

    However my GF is pretty supportive when I want to do Gunpla, provided it is not too smelly and no spray in room... I'm grateful that she even want to try painting a SD kit since she likes handy craft.

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  13. well first off since im not from japan (im from the netherlands, europe) what does otaku mean ? i guess it means weird or something like that.

    second to answer your question in my case.
    my mother doesnt like it because 1 the space it takes (and my lack of keeping my room clear) 2 i keep all the boxes wich really is a pain in the ass to her.

    third (lol keep on giving answers)my gf likes it till it takes to much time, wich she wants if she comes to me.
    she isnt against it but she wants my time all 100% when she is around.

    and then i have a question for you, yes all of you (maybe an idea if you post it busterbeam?)

    how do you react when your friends make fun of your hobby like gunpla in this case ?
    since they are doing it more and more its getting anoying.

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  14. Why women hate gunpla?
    I went though a lot of these experiences, though my mum is not really against me buying these stuff. Ok, these are a few comments from my gal friends:

    "You crazy? That Gundam $100?? Hey, I can buy good clothes with that money!!!"

    "Waste money only, i can buy Gucci handbag..."

    You see, that's the problem with most girls. They complain us guys waste money on anime merchandise and gunpla but they are willing to shop for branded garments and bags when they already have an over-loaded cupboard of handbags, clothes, shoes etc. That's wasting money... =.=

    Moreover, girls see gunpla in such a perspective that they are toys for kids. Only kids play robots, and i also get comments from some friends in facebook that i am childish. In reality, girls waste money more than guys.

    When my friends questions my hobby, my answer is simple: I won't doubt spending on stuff i like the most.

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  15. BTW, do you have any problems with the stability of your Exia? My Exia loves to lie down instead of standing. No matter how I adjust its position, even just standing, it will topple over in 15 minutes... I tightened the ankle and it seems that the feet is the problem...

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  16. b-mecha - actually i had an opposite reaction once. one woman that came to my place saw my sinanju and loved it and even took pictures of it on her cell phone. she couldnt get over how detailed it was! good to hear that your gf is willing to give a sd model a try. its really cool when gf's try to learn about your hobby!

    marc - otaku means 'geek' or 'nerd' basically. you mother has valid points. in my case it does take up some space and i dont even have that many models (i live in japan so i dont have a lot of space anyways) and the boxes... i kept a couple for a while but now i only keep boxes that have spare parts or not displayed models in them. now i cut my boxes up and scan the box art.

    i can understand your gf's point too but at the same time i feel its a bit demanding too. 100%? not 90%? haha

    in case people start making fun of my hobby, i just let them talk. they cant understand so i dont try to explain it. my hobby is my hobby. thats it.

    K' - you said it buddy! i dont get those designer handbags. they're so expensive! any woman that buys stuff like that cant complain about a couple plastic models here and there.

    exia... yes i've had problems. with extra points of articulation in the ankles and the feet. its fixable but its not a very good design to begin with.

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  17. @Marc:
    I just let them make fun of it, since in my opinion, collecting anything does not degrade you or anyone else for that matter.
    (Or other times, I just make fun of them, their hobbies, etc etc, only 3x harsher)

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  18. yeah thats probably the best thing to do, let them say what they want to say and ignore it.

    glad i bought a house, now i dont have to worry about the space for a while and my mom cant complain about the boxes any more hahaha.

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  19. Howdy!!
    A few my japanese co workers were surprised that I was into gundams. They had mentioned that there is a certain stigma attached to that hobby. Socially inept, over weight, shy, etc...

    They also talked about the different levels of fandom. "Mania-ku" or Man -knee - ah - ku was extreme.

    Although a few of the younger japanese ladies often stop by and say "Hey gundam dork"

    I didnt even know about gundams until I was over in Nagoya.

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  20. my mum thinks that i am wasting money on gunpuras.. o.0 but i put my foot down.
    p/s: do you think exia ignition is good? or should i buy a strike freedom MG instead

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  21. Aha, come across your blog again today... interesting post.

    As for me, I got Gunpla because of a friend of mine which was a girl about 2 years ago by now. At that time, she just recently started buying. XP

    At that point of time, I wasn't such a big fan of Gundam yet but got hooked after watching Gundam 00. Exia became my instant first favorite. A bit later when I came across some Gunpla in the department stores were selling under sale, I decided to try out Gunpla... plus a little push from my sister. >.>

    Furthermore, my mother doesn't really object to it as she still lets me buy em' (but still some complaints here and there from her and other family members in my house). ^^;

    Ah, the Zeta. I remember I got a bit frustrated putting the parts of the torso for the A1 last year. One of my earlier MGs and I pitted myself to something harder than I thought.

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  22. A bit late to the post, but throwing in my 2 cents.

    My wife does not like my gunpla, but she puts up with it, as well as my gaming, because thankfully she likes enough of other areas/qualities/values what have you that I have. I also put “put up” with her shopping for clothes (thankfully she isn’t a brand freak, no LV or Gucci here!) despite my not being interested in fashion so much. It’s call give and take, and important in not just a marriage, but in a relationship, and even friendship. We balance out well, with her occasional shopping for some nice item and my gaming and gunplay. I will say I have bought her one nice brand item, but it was our honeymoon in Italy and what the hell right? Lifetime warranty for the win as well.

    I won’t lie, I go to Akiba and you see those girls who are the gamers, or I’ll see cute girls buying gunplay occasionally, and I think, man that’d be neat… but for the most part I’m happy with what I’ve got. As for the rationale behind it, evangelisque is right, a mother’s perspective would be to think about needed necessities, rather than unneeded wants, and that’s enforced even more because it’s a _mothers_ perspective, if I had a child, my perspective as a father would be the absolute kid. Should I have kids, I’ve already told my wife that Gunpla purchases stop. It simply doesn’t happen until I’m sure things can be taken care of enough to justify the unneeded wants. As is, I’m childless and we can get buy, save, and justify our needs as is, so as a couples perspective, it’s generally “why buy this when we can instead save and take a trip somewhere, or go out to eat” Personally, I like travel, but don’t get the nice dinner thing. I’m happy with a 10 dollar meal rather than a 50 dollar meal, because it all shits out the same, pardon the image. But that’s an aside.

    Now, on the attitude of “that’s a toy, you could be buying a 500 dollar coat/bag/shoes instead”. I’m just going to say, right back at you. Instead of buying a 500 dollar coat/bag/shoes you could stock up on gunplay and then some. Obviously, hobbies and interests are in the eye of the beholder, and any true friend knows that, and while joking about it, shouldn’t be giving you shit about it. It’s called respect, and more people need it.

    On how people treat you at work, or school, I dunno, shallow people? I have my HGUC Hi-Nu sitting on my monitor at work, in a regular Japanese office and most people just say neat, or joke or laugh about it, but no one gives me shit or does it to be mean. But I’m also around 30, and in a position of management where I get respect for what I do, so who’s going to give me shit if I build models? We have a guy who goes surfing every weekend. Another who parties each weekend. Another who does flower arrangement, and another yet who’s into marathons. It’s a hobby, and I’ve noticed the people who give you the most shit about it are people who don’t have hobbies of themselves.

    In the long run, I think you can replace Gunpla for any kind of hobby, collection, or sport, and still have this same conversation. It’s not the gunpla so much as it is people who maybe just don’t get your hobby.

    Oh yeah, one thing I don’t get? I like Disney, I’m a Mickey Mouse fan, I won’t lie, but I _swear to god_ there are some Disney maniacs in this country. Just go to Disney land, you’ll see a ton. That, and Dollfie fans (Sorry Danny!) scare me. Dollfie really scares me.

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  23. Whoops, the line should read:

    "my perspective as a father would be the absolute same"

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  24. marc - like i mentioned before. a house trumps any gundam purchase. props to you man. now you can put up as many gundams as you want.

    ryu - those japanese ladies need a slap. thats pretty rude. where in nagoya did you first see gundam? thats where i live.

    zen - i do think it is good. but i cant say which is better since they are both different kind of ms. also i dont know about the mg strike freedom kit in detail. i know that it is one of the most popular kits ever tho...

    cd - a girl got you into gunpla? and she builds kits herself?! and your sister also pushed you to get one? my goodness. unusual circumstances to say the least.

    asm - it all shits out the same LOL that was funny but i get what your saying. not that i agree tho! haha i do spend money on nice food now and then. but you have a great response by saying "do you know how many gundams you can buy for that?" way to turn the tables. thats how it should be man. nice comment. there are a lot of hobbies that i dont get (disney and dolfie combined amongst otheres) but i dont hate. to each his own. most people dont get gundam but... diversity is what makes the world go 'round!

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  25. Man, my gf and motehr think that anything otaku is nerdy. My mom at least thinks that modeling is a good hobby but when your gf comes over and sees them, they go "why you have little figurine dolls in your room?"

    Idk if they will get it or not.......

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