Manga

This is almost a too on the nose example of Japan as an ultra conformist society. From Caitlin Moore’s review of How My Brain is Different:

One of the consequences of allowing people to speak in their own words is that there are stories where, even though we share the same condition, I struggle to understand the narrator’s perspective. Iku describes how it feels once the ADHD medication Strattera starts working. Her head feels clearer and she’s able to function professionally, but her emotions feel muted and she’s largely lost interest in most of her hobbies. Despite the disadvantages, she feels positive about her experience with Strattera.

During my brief attempt at taking Strattera, I had similar side effects, which to me put it squarely into “not worth it” territory. I hated the sensation of my passions and emotions being dampened. Horrified at the idea of living like that long term, I insisted on going back to stimulants.

Regardless of my own feelings on the matter, Iku’s experience and priorities are just as valid as mine. This could even be culturally informed; in Japan, Strattera is the first-line medication, with the only alternative being Concerta if the Strattera doesn’t work. All other forms of stimulant medication—Adderall, Ritalin, and Vyvanse, which are popular options in the US—are illegal.

If Japan forbids the use of medication that allows ADHD sufferers to keep more of their personality, while the main drug available is one that turns you into a functional but emotionalless drone, what does that say about the country?

Over at Anime Feminist, Lilian King writes about One Piece and Oda Eiichiro’s backslide in writing good female characters.

Some… things… certainly changed. Long before I ever interacted with One Piece seriously—before I knew anything but the most basic details of the premise—I remember people joking about the huge change in the way female characters looked after the timeskip. This is egregiously sexist character design, enough that people with no vested interest in representing female characters well still took note when it happened. Oda took the timeskip as an opportunity to respond to female complaints and male desires: look, everyone, he said, look at my female characters now.

As Lillian King argues, early One Piece had its flaws in how it treated women, but still had female characters as important parts of the cast. As the series grew in popularity and especially after the timeskip in chapter 597, this changed and they mainly served as fan service rather than important characters in their own rights. King blames this on the stubbornness and vindictiveness of Oda, not being able to handle criticism of his characters and instead doubling down. But is this purely just another example of a famous author getting high on his own farts, or is there more to it? Because I can’t help but think that the criticism aimed at Oda and One Piece here apply just as strongly to a lot of other famous shounen battlers. I wonder if the editorial culture at Weekly Shounen Jump might not be just as much to blame as Oda’s own idiosyncrasies. Especially the references to “a boy’s fantasy” as an excuse for the sexism and stereotyping seem part and parcel of WSJ’s culture. This after all is a magazine that only a few years ago rejected the idea of female editors because they couldn’t understand “a boy’s heart”. I don’t claim to have an indepth knowledge of Shounen Jump, but it does feel to me that it has grown more conservative rather than less in the past three decades, less willing to try new ideas, more stuck to its formula and the sacred readers feedback system. A culture that in its hearts of hearts might just feel happier if only boys read the magazine.

Is this how Japan treats people with ADHD?

Is it just Oda being stubborn or has the Shonen Jump culture poisoned his brain?