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The Japanese Invasion of the US
17 years ago
General
As I look around more and more these days, I realize that 'manga' is becoming a household word. That anime is more prevalent than it was in the 1980s, if that were even possible. That some people are getting kana characters tattooed on their calf on the good faith that it really means what they think it does.
Now, I'm all for the appreciation of a culture, and that of Japan is a rich one, full of history and great works of music, art and writing. They are very valuable, and I enjoy many, many aspects of it myself. My boyfriend and I are big-time Gundam fans (Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 being our current hopeful port to the US). I started my induction to anime with Sailor Moon and Ranma 1/2. I'm intrigued by the shamisen. I'm compelled by the historical exploits of the many warriors of the country. But I've finally discovered why the mainstream acceptance of all things Japan in this country has begun to grate on me.
We don't understand it.
That's not some crazy fanatical proclamation that somehow a country has a culture so deep and mystic in its very nature that we Western barbarians could never grasp it. It's just that... well, we don't live in Japan. There's no reason for us to understand what's going on in most anime underneath the pure dialogue that- for the vast majority of us- has been translated. And even if the words came out to mean exactly the same thing, the social significance has no way of translating. Why else would there be so many footnotes in translated manga explaining some oddball facet of the social structure or history that otherwise would leave us absolutely clueless? How many social cues are we still missing?
This leaves me baffled as to why so many storylines I read/watch are so very anime-esque at the base. If you have to take away the social significance, all you have left is translated speech patterns and barebones plot lines. This does not make sense to Western readers like myself, and isn't engaging at all, in my opinion. Characters need personalities that you can't explain in three words or less, or how am I supposed to feel their pain, their joy? If they're weird and spastic, how can I relate to them? I have a feeling this has a lot to do with how younger people now are growing up with a stronger and stronger anime influence.
Another problem is that the Western, particularly American opinion on the blast from the East seems to fall under "Japan sucks, I hate anime" or "GLORIOUS NIPPON." This is a horrible way to look at a culture. If you like something enough, you really have to be able to critique it for its faults as well as appreciate it for its virtues. Their warriors were amazing. But what did they fight for? Their industriousness as a nation is admirable. But did they not as well brush their ecosystem aside for this? Their sense of honor is almost unparalleled. But what about the total demonization of failure that leaves a cloud of unfulfilled expectations and suicide?
I fear I'm only half the writer to do it, but this is actually what I'm attempting to address through Mashato's story, a Tanuki's Tail. She's a Japanese American, so she has a lot more in common personality-wise with those of us on the Western side of the world than the East. Hers is a story of what it's like to not live up to expectations and to essentially have to reject preconceived notions like nationality, family responsibility and gender roles. She is her own person.
So, in closing, I really wish we would just stick to what we know until we learned better. This is not doing good things for kids, or for entertaining stories that make sense.
Now, I'm all for the appreciation of a culture, and that of Japan is a rich one, full of history and great works of music, art and writing. They are very valuable, and I enjoy many, many aspects of it myself. My boyfriend and I are big-time Gundam fans (Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 being our current hopeful port to the US). I started my induction to anime with Sailor Moon and Ranma 1/2. I'm intrigued by the shamisen. I'm compelled by the historical exploits of the many warriors of the country. But I've finally discovered why the mainstream acceptance of all things Japan in this country has begun to grate on me.
We don't understand it.
That's not some crazy fanatical proclamation that somehow a country has a culture so deep and mystic in its very nature that we Western barbarians could never grasp it. It's just that... well, we don't live in Japan. There's no reason for us to understand what's going on in most anime underneath the pure dialogue that- for the vast majority of us- has been translated. And even if the words came out to mean exactly the same thing, the social significance has no way of translating. Why else would there be so many footnotes in translated manga explaining some oddball facet of the social structure or history that otherwise would leave us absolutely clueless? How many social cues are we still missing?
This leaves me baffled as to why so many storylines I read/watch are so very anime-esque at the base. If you have to take away the social significance, all you have left is translated speech patterns and barebones plot lines. This does not make sense to Western readers like myself, and isn't engaging at all, in my opinion. Characters need personalities that you can't explain in three words or less, or how am I supposed to feel their pain, their joy? If they're weird and spastic, how can I relate to them? I have a feeling this has a lot to do with how younger people now are growing up with a stronger and stronger anime influence.
Another problem is that the Western, particularly American opinion on the blast from the East seems to fall under "Japan sucks, I hate anime" or "GLORIOUS NIPPON." This is a horrible way to look at a culture. If you like something enough, you really have to be able to critique it for its faults as well as appreciate it for its virtues. Their warriors were amazing. But what did they fight for? Their industriousness as a nation is admirable. But did they not as well brush their ecosystem aside for this? Their sense of honor is almost unparalleled. But what about the total demonization of failure that leaves a cloud of unfulfilled expectations and suicide?
I fear I'm only half the writer to do it, but this is actually what I'm attempting to address through Mashato's story, a Tanuki's Tail. She's a Japanese American, so she has a lot more in common personality-wise with those of us on the Western side of the world than the East. Hers is a story of what it's like to not live up to expectations and to essentially have to reject preconceived notions like nationality, family responsibility and gender roles. She is her own person.
So, in closing, I really wish we would just stick to what we know until we learned better. This is not doing good things for kids, or for entertaining stories that make sense.
The last anime that I watched that actually grasped me was "Ghost Hunt" because a lot of the secondary and tertiary characters got to change their roles and show different sides of them. More importantly, even though they had some sort of power or force, it was never so significant that it overshadowed their humanity.
And.. I haven't read much of Mashoto's life story. :X
It's about a group of paranormal investigators in Japan. Specifically it's about a high-school girl who gets a part-time job as a gofer for this guy who runs a paranormal investigation agency. Other characters include his super-butler, who is an Onmyoji, a middle-aged woman who works as a Miko, an exiled Bhuddist Monk, and a young Catholic Exorcist from Australia.
Most of the time, the ghosts are real and those guys deal with them. It's lots and lots of fun. ^.^
It's good for character and interesting stories, anyways, but I'll bet you don't know what an Onmyoji is, and you might not know what a Miko is either.
...Sorry, kind of got off-topic, but I think it needed to be said. But in relation to the earlier statement of the above paragraph, shit like Hi Hi Puffy Ami Somethingorother and that Nickolodeon cartoon whose name blissfully escapes me (It had a themesong that bordered on offensive with how bad and stereotypical it was), just... augh.
Hi Hi Puffy Amiyumi was pretty messed up. Near as I can figure, they were riffing off the popularity of Teen Titans. The band, Puffy Amiyumi are the ones who recorded the opening theme to the show. They wanted to give it an authentic japanese anime feel by getting authentic j-pop musicians to play the theme. In some episodes they used a japanese version of the opening credits.
And while I normally don't mind anime so much, especially considering that I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, when the only good US animation was Looney Tunes reruns and we started getting Battle of the Planet (a Sandy-Frank-ized version of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman) and Star Blazers (Space Cruiser Yamato), anything currently running on Cartoon Network is better than Dragonball*Z and its innumerable sequels.
Okay, anything except the post-Chuck Jones Tom & Jerry and anything Yu-Gi-Oh!-related. I'd rather watch Rubik & His Amazing Cube.
The shows that work for me are things like Justice League, Johnny Bravo, the Powerpuff Girls, Genndy Tartakovsky's Clone Wars (the new 3d one isn't terrible, but Ahsoka Tano has to go), Samurai Jack and Courage the Cowardly Dog. There is some anime, especially in Samurai Jack, but it works to the shows' advantage.
What's funny is that I've heard some U.S. animation goes over huge with a small cross-section of rabid otaku, and the rest of the country just doesn't get it. Hm.
World: "Aw, that's really sweet, U.S.! But we never hated you for that!"
# "You... you didn't? Really??"
World: "Of course not! We hate you for other reasons, and we'll continue to do so." ^_^
The old saw of "Never assume malice when stupidity will work as well" (paraphrased) applies to a whoooole lotta cultures/locales.
The old saw of "Never assume malice when stupidity will work as well" (paraphrased) applies to a whoooole lotta cultures/locales.
Not technically an anime, but a real japanese cultural classic.
The huge titted blond girl in Ai Yori Aoshi figures heavily into the second season that focuses almost entirely around her. But in the end, it's knowing your audience. The crazy foreign character is usually going to be Chinese or Korean. While the refined rich girl is probably going to be from Europe, due to some weird Japanese stereotype that all Europeans are wealthy and live in mansions. Which is what it comes down to really. Stereotypes. Remember that episode of Dexter's Lab where he moves to Japan? That was almost borderline racism. All he needed was a guy walkin around all clenched jawed and squinty eyed going "So many Chinamans! BRING ME SOME CHOP SUEY, KIM SING!" Like a pulp comic hero from the 40s.
you want a cool anime, watch Ah My Goddess... you want a cool manga, go read angel densetsu -- http://www.onemanga.com/Angel_Densetsu/
then after that, tell me why american cartoons or comics can compare in storytelling and interest...
haven't read a really good american comic since Watchmen and Transmetropolitan...
-The Goon (Hilarious and awesome comic series involving a grunt and his peanut-headed, loud-mouthed sidekick)
-30 Days of Night (great comics, haven't seen the movie, can't comment on that.)
-Dark Rider? Damn, I can't remember the name right now. I'll have to get back at you.
I'm gonna ask a friend of mine next week, he'll give me an updated list of some really good ones as well. We have the same tastes.
As for other good american comics..
Watchmen and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Two excellent series by Alan Moore. Although don't bother with the third LoEG book..It's nowhere near as good as the first two.
Gold Digger. Yes..it's amerimanga..but damnit, it's good amerimanga! XP
But yeah, Gold Digger is neat. It's a weird kind of amalgam of pop culture and geek life. What with all the referances and what not. But it doesn't try to be a manga or an anime, it just goes at it's own pace while drawing from these sources. Friggen hate comics that star nothing bot asian characters with names like Satsuki Tamakitanpondoridorirom-Chan or something. You know, I once played an RPG maker game, the whole setting was fantasy japan. The main character used a Kenshin face graphic and his name was like... Charles. Oi...
Also, Transmetropolitan gave me the BIGGEST comic boner EVER.
I myself am a good lover of Japanese history and culture and would do anything to go there! But they have a strange racist theme along with their governemnt's tendacy to gloss over the events of WW2 (The Pacific War).
The things I've come to like best about anime and manga are:
1. A good sense of humor, mixing wit and slapstick when it translates well.
2. Relationships. They are much more defined than in American cartoons and often more complicated.
But are these the things that attract the mainstream? Sadly, I don't see it that way. Perhaps in a decade things will die down and less of that glaring side of America's interest will be prevalent.
Anyway the more I watch and read, the more I wanna know about the place since I want to understand the things I love ^^... those who don't understand why they like the stuff and the culture are just wannabes :P... and I would REALLY hate being labeled as a weeaboo >.>
Although I May have japanese, english, or even friends from finland who bother to IM me up when they get the chance (DAMMIT Scotia, youknow who you are!), they feel as close to me as they would if they lived in the states. The very idea of a passport or whole citizenshipry surrounding the concept of visitation seems alien to me....
I think that with more and more people getting online, the more that people begin to realize the only borders are the ones we impose on ourselves....Just a random IMO, but even Japan to me just feels more like that crazy, perverted neighbhor next door one can't help but love. >.> Like Quagmire.
As long as I can force my copy of Watchmen into their laps at the same time they force their DESUDESDESU, I'm happy.
...
And wouldn't an anime version or variant of Rorshach just kick ass?
Kinda like reading Wingdings aloud >.>
MAILBOX! HEART CIRCLE HEART HEART PINEAPPLE MAILBOX! OPEN MAILBOX! MAILLLBOOOOOX!
but that is why Japan embraces American culture so much too n.n
Global Domination.
Maybe it isn't a conspiracy, perhaps I read too much into Clive Cussler's Dragon, a Dirk Pitt novel *Snigger.* But....something about this just makes my skin crawl.
F-Zero GX. SEGA kept record of the time trial information that was sent in, and then sent out plaques or trophies or something to the best of the best. Problem was, they didn't see any reason to disqualify the Japanese players who got a combined three-lap total of FOUR SECONDS on a track in which it takes several times that long just to reach the FIRST TURN. These Japanese players used a physics exploit to fly off the track at the start, fly around in a circle and cross the finish line, so that it thought they completed a full lap. And the Japanese decided that was fair play.
I don't hate the Japanese as a whole. Not by far. I certainly admire their industry and the importance they place on politeness. But I will tell you right now, any people who will run a contest like THAT have no honor.
Cheating in a game usually doesn't matter for much. It proves that the person obviously sucks so badly at the game that they had to resort to the game, and it also proves that they have no sense of honor or integrity. But it also shows a deep disrespect to the people they are playing against, and to the game and its developers. Being someone with a deep passion for game design (I've already released a map for TF2, after refining it for over a year now) I am doubly offended by this disrespect.
But when someone cheats to win an actual contest, with fame and recognition and real, tangible prizes at stake? THAT is different than just cheating in some random round of TF2. At that point, they're not just disrespecting me; they're cheating me out of something real and tangible. Stealing it from me.
Does that make sense to you now, Nori?
You hear me, Japan? I'm revoking your positive stereotype. As far as I'm concerned, you're just like us!
Nascar is all about the crashes in the first place. You think people go to watch cars do laps around a plain O shaped track? Hardly. Also, you clearly missed the part about the disrespect you show your opponent if you cheat to beat them, be it in games, sports, cards, or anything else. We're talking about making a personal insult to someone by refusing to play by the same rules they are bound by. It's the ultimate dis-honor.
F-Zero GX was for the gamecube. The biggest issue here was that SEGA claimed that if they were sent in questionable time trials, they would demand proof that the course was run legitimately; however, they did not abide by their own rules and gleefully handed over the shiny plaque and other prizes to the Japanese kids who completed three or four minute tracks in three seconds, thereby making a mockery of all competitive video gaming and every participant in the championship who played legitimately.
It's why competitive video gaming has never gone bigger than an unpopular show on the G4 network. The whole idea of competitive video gaming is invalidated every time someone like YOU steps in and says "Cheating to win a game isn't the same as cheating to win a sport. It's not my fault the game missed a tiny glitch, so I'm allowed to use it to win"
Come to think of it there probably isn't a rule in basketball that specifically says I can't use a jetpack, either.
I do have to say that Mobile Suit Gundam (the original, not gundam wing or G-gundam or gundam seed) is one of my favorite series, from the original, all the way to Char's Counter attack.
I remember anime looking lots better than the US-produced stuff I was watching at the time. Not in terms of animation quality--I only noticed it much later, and then rationalized it away as our cartoons weren't (and weren't going to get) any better. But the art looked like it had a lot more work put into it. And the subject matter that these shows got into just seemed more grown-up looking than anything Hanna-Barbera, Ruby-Spears* and Filmation were giving us. So far as the 1980's went, basically any production that used shading in their animated characters looked like quality back then, compared to what we were used to, it looked like the Golden Years.
I'd be more inclined to bemoan the flood of butt-ugly character designs infesting domestic product (yes, Cartoon Network, I'm looking at you) moreso than anime influenced visuals. Again, that "anything that just looks better than mainstream dreck looks like quality". Also the recent trend of putting child leads in every production, ostensibly because children "can't relate" to adult lead characters. (headdesk)
Back to Japan. Yeah--we don't understand it. That's what makes it fascinating to the masses. At least till they get enough of it that even non-cartoon geeks can spot the cliches a mile away. And yawn. I was about to point out that it goes both ways--witness "Engrish.com"--but someone beat me to it.
As for the aforementioned Canadian imports, I think I'd take either of those over Chowder any day.
...
...
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...(Actually, I already did.)
Yeah, I'm not saying that the US is coming out with much quality lately- it hasn't- but I blame that a lot on Flash, as well. I fuckin' hate Flash and all it stands for.
With so much of this medium in the hands of risk-averse corporations whose central mission is to turn a profit above all else, I don't see things getting much better until it gets so bad that even the tried-and-true becomes an easy ticket to the corporate version of the poorhouse.
also I never watched that movie lol
And people say crusades never work.
also the japanese have been doing some pretty interesting stuff with fetishes
You a fan of Gegege no Kitaro or Kikikaikai?
That said... I don't know if we, the West, wouldn't have the same problem anyway. Laziness and greed are the main issues, really. With media, and anything else driven by profits.
In the beginning, everything was shit.
It's just slowly evolving.
Funny: At the beginning, I liked Bleach (the anime). The story was somewhat interesting, and I thought it might be worth my time.
It started to suffer with a case of what afflicts American comics: The inability to come to a conclusion. That, and two filler arcs that made no sense whatsoever.
So I started reading the manga, and saw where the holes were. 328 chapters later, plus the special negative chapters, and they're still not to the end.
Bleach has been running for how long, now?
I seem to remember when manga used to have a reasonable ending after a small number of seasons, with one 'chapter' per week. That formula worked well, honestly. In a year's time, I can get from end to end of a story, have the satisfaction of having seen the end, and move on.
Lately, this is not so, and it aggravates me.
Over there, I believe Detective Conan has been going on for like...oh, twenty years or so? There's eleven or twelve movies, some 500 episodes. It's not a recent trend. Maybe the amount of series (which I think is a whole three, InuYasha, Naruto, and Bleach) has increased, but it's not something that new.
Also, don't forget One Piece on the other side of the Rim of Fire, at well over 520 chapters, and still going.
Whereas, to contrast, there are 23 chapters of Kōkyōshihen Eureka Sebun (Psalms Of Planets Eureka Seven).
I enjoyed Eureka Seven immensely, to the point that I bought the soundtracks that went with the anime. Touched each disk exactly two times -- once to store on my notebook, and once to store on my Xbox360 for playback.
I had similar love for Bleach in the beginning, since it looked like it was going to be one of those concise series. Now I feel a little dogged out by it, and just want to see something finish.
One Piece took years of convincing me to check it out. I don't think I could be paid to watch the anime, but at least the manga was a little more interesting. It just seems that it's going on forever and a half, though, at 520+ chapters.
I'm not familiar with Detective Conan, and I won't make myself familiar with it, either. Something that's been running for nearly as long as I've lived? Ick.
My example was simpler: when I first got to Japan, I had sushi for the very first time. I loved it. Later, when we went to the fish market and our cultural adviser (I was military) facilitated some discussions with the fishermen and marketers, I liked it better, because I understood some of the people.
Yes, we enjoy a culture's products more if we understand them, but something can taste good without my knowing how to prepare it.
(I'm still learning to make sushi.)
That will, I hope, result in less Dragonball*Z, which as I understand it, is generally regarded as McAnime over there as well as over here. ;)
So yes, sumimasen desu.
No, I know what you're saying. I mean hell, even the basic concepts of a school "club" is a big WTF printed on a series. And then there's summer break coming between the same school year, rather than signaling the end. Just simple little basics like that change a lot of things. For me personally though, I've taken to watching fansubs almost exclusively. I like the little tidbits of Japanese history and culture thrown in. It's almost like Edutainment. Except that girl is a robot dog who doesn't understand the concept of modesty so she keeps hugging her master while naked and licking his face in public causing whacky perverted high-jinks to ensue without being overtly vulgar. Which really, I like the dirty, but the low brow and vulgar is just too repugnant for me. Stuff like the Man Show, or all the fart and burp jokes that populate American cartoons.
But anyways. I like the variety in anime and manga. I can go from reading Chii's Sweet Home to something like Black Lagoon. Which is a funny thing to like about anime I guess. Being as most people bitch and whine about how all anime is exactly the same. And a lot of it is. Girl's Bravo really isn't that different from DearS which is almost the same as any other number of things. But at least they HAVE a story. One that actually flows albeit simply in a single direction towards a logical (Usually) end. Try making any sense of the continuity clusterfuck that is Marvel comics.
Firstly: Yes, you're right, Norithics. We really do need to understand and take into context the Japanese culture and society in order to fully grasp and understand the anime we love so much. Translating it into English (specifically for dubbing) means we lose a whole lot of context and information which can add depth or humor, and it just comes out as bland drivel. Such as their use of wordplay, how a single word can have multiple meanings, or how a simple change in inflection can make an entire sentence completely different...trying to reflect that when it's translated is difficult, if not outright impossible.
Secondly: Negative and positive stereotypes. Every culture has them for every other culture. A massive gripe I have against us, Americans, is that we go to another country and we start asking, "Why aren't you speaking English?" and "You guys call THIS food? Where're the hamburgers and pizza?" This, in turn, makes them hate us as insolent and arrogant pigs who care nothing for the place they're visiting as anything other than a visual attraction, a tourist locale, and nothing else. Japan has lots of references to us as weak or buffoons, or how our government is evil. But look at us, within the last 8 years or so. How many World War games have come out? How many games have we had that have attacked Germany, or Russia? A lot of our humor, as baseless as it is, comes from racial stereotypes. Sadly, stereotypes originate from truth, and then is just blown out of proportion and used upon everyone belonging to that group/race. I think that ALL countries need to open their eyes, broaden their horizons, and at least try to get a grasp of why they do what they do before we dismiss it or accept it. But sometimes, stereotypes are used just because it allows a broad range of people to relate to or get the gist of a person/culture.
Thirdly: Animation and cartoons. Now here's a tricky subject. Not all American animation is crap. But not all Japanese animation is golden and wonderful. Likewise, sometimes a series can have awful-looking or just different art, but can have a great story, or well-written dialogue and humor. For example, I've seen Chowder's name thrown around. While the show looks really, really weird, some of its humor is just hilarious. I admit that I glanced at it, thought it was disgusting or weird...and then my brother told me he loved it. So I sat down and watched it, and found myself laughing or snickering every few moments. Now, I'll go ahead and say that I cannot stand most of America's cartoons, because of how god-awful the characters look. I want to watch something that's got a complex plot as well as being visually attractive, since the looks can detract from my ability to focus when I'm just thinking about how badly I want to lop off someone's freakishly large nose, or I can't even bear to look at them in the face.
Now, a couple good American shows I enjoy: Avatar, Spongebob, Kim Possible (I know, I know.) I mean, there aren't very many I really enjoy and would love to watch anytime. The list of Japanese shows just stretches on and on, far too many to sit and name. A few favorites would be shows like Ouran High School Host Club, Lucky Star, Azumanga Daioh, Code Geass (and R2). Certain ones excel in areas that America seems to have laid to the wayside: art, plot, character growth and progression, story progression...or for those who enjoy it, like myself, visual humor and intelligent wordplay, as well as more low-brow comic effect. I agree with Marsh above: I can watch and consider Japanese animation to be Edutainment, to coin the phrase. I like to learn about the culture (or at least, the portions portrayed in their animated stories), the language, everything.
I realize this has turned into a rant, and I admit that I've gotten a bit off-subject in my fervor to express my opinion. Plus having a cat who continually puts his back legs on my hands when I'm trying to type makes me lose my train of thought... but this is just what I've gained from my own insight. All cultures have their faults, but I'm a little upset that America is so arrogant and slothful for no real reason, just as Japan continues to be split between loving and hating us.
*sigh* I think we all just need to be less lazy and try and get a grasp for things from the opposite side's perspective.
Rant over! :3