Manga & The Arabian Nights

One of the more irritating attitudes of "everything offends us" bullies is the insistence that not only should their colleagues and the public genuflect to their opinions on race and sex, members of other countries should as well. The West, they claim, appropriates other cultures, which are entirely pristine and pure (note the condescension).

The video below from Eugene is a good example of how the ideas of American critics may simply not hold that much sway abroad.

My favorite part is the young women who determine that the blond hair & blue eyes combination common in manga is "fascinating"--characters with said combination show up in manga because Japanese people find them unusual and interesting "and blond hair only suits foreigners." 

Not only may Westerners appear "exotic" to people in other countries, characters, stories and tropes that appear "exotic" to Westerners may appear equally "exotic" to others. The world does not revolve around a bunch of offended academics in THE WEST. (Ivory Tower pundits truly give new force to the word "insular.")

In Japanese manga, two excellent series tackle the historical Middle East, specifically the historical Arab Middle East:

Black Sun by Uki Ogasawara: A medieval European knight, Leonard, is taken captive by Jamal, a general who serves the Sultan. They become lovers. When a treacherous, double-dealing commander of Leonard's kills the Sultan, Leonard helps Jamal support the least treacherous of the Sultan's sons in taking over. The series ends with Jamal and Leonard released to more diplomatic duties. 

The politics are less interesting than the relationship between the protagonists. Leonard specifically moves from idealism to disillusionment to balanced confidence in his new lover and his new life. The trappings provide the plot. They don't define the characters. But the complications of the trappings--and the beautiful illustrations--underscore context and conflict.

Gorgeous Carat by You Higuri: Gorgeous Carat is all trappings. It is Rider-Haggard-comes-to-manga, and a whole lot of fun. In turn-of-the-century Paris, Florian is handed off to Ray Balzac Courland, a jewel thief. In the course of the first volume, Florian leaves his poverty-stricken noble home, gets locked up and exposed to BDSM by Ray, and helps a kidnapped boy. Ray runs around in embroidered dressing gowns and has a Arab young woman, who wears a turban, as a companion/side-kick. At one point, Florian, Ray, and the scoobies go to northern Africa, where Florian gets hooked on opium while everybody else is trying to find treasures associated with the Knights Templar. 

In a later book, Ray and Florian et al. tackle a Gothic tale in England. 

You Higuri also created a series about the Borgias.

It always a good idea for Westerners to stop fretting about their supposed influence on others and start wondering if maybe they might be "fodder" for other's art instead.