Is Japanese culture too influential today?

[Tetsunokintama]

In the last fifteen years or so, it seems to me that the influence of Japanese culture on popular culture in the West has grown exponentially.

Most video games seem to have been designed in Japan, many (if not most) of the cartoons on TV are either dubbed anime or domestic copies of the style, Japanese comics and card games are freakishly popular, and it seems like the art in every other webcomic or internet artist's gallery I see displays heavy manga influence.

Japanese culture is alarmingly pervasive in the modern West. What is it about all things Japanese that so fascinates young Westerners?

Now, I don't have anything against the Japanese personally; I spent a little time there a few years back, and I didn't hate it. Heck, I spent three years in college studying the language, and still like to flatter myself with the conceit that I'm pretty good at it. Languages were what I studied in college, and my interest in Japanese was primarily linguistic. The Japanese Culture Envy bug never bit me.

The problem doesn't lie with the Japanese; the blame can be laid at the feet of modern youth in the West.

There's clearly an enormous market over here for Imported Japanese Coolness. Things like anime, manga, Pokemon cards, and Final Fantasy video games wouldn't have so much space given over to them in stores and on the airwaves if there weren't such a huge and hungry herd of cultural disciples, eagerly awaiting the next OAV or card-game expansion. Its ubiquity permeates every facet of the American entertainment industry: toys, games, clothes, books, movies--a portion of nearly every department will be sure to contain a selection of Japanese merchandise, or Japanese-themed merchandise, domestic copies of Japanese stuff, or domestic merchandise that's obviously been heavily influenced by Japan.

It seems like nearly every young person I meet nowadays sports a T-shirt with an anime character, wants to visit Japan, is playing a Japanese video game, wants desperately to learn Japanese, draws a manga-style comic, peppers their speech with Japanese words and phrases, constantly talks about what's happening in Inu-yasha, or has a kanji tattoo. It's almost as if these people wish they were Japanese...

Seriously, what is it about all things Japanese that appeals to kids today? What do you find so lacking in your own culture that you find in such abundance in Japan's? What causes you to reject your own heritage and run off to worship at someone else's cultural altar?

I'm not trying to start a fight or anything; I genuinely want to understand this cultural phenomenon. What makes Anime/Manga/Pokemon/Yu-Gi-Oh/Final Fantasy/et-multiple-cetera/ad nauseam so popular? What drives this Japanophilia trend? Please help me understand...

 

[kohei]

As a Japanese, I'm fascinated by the fascination of our culture by westerners.

I mean, I was surprised by the amount of non-Japanese people in Akihabara when I went there three years ago, because despite knowing Akiba is a popular place for tourists due to the electronics they sell there, most tourist I saw were carrying shopping bags of various doujin stores (Melon Book, Tora no Ana etc.)

Being fascinated by a culture is one thing, being deeply affected by it is another. Sometimes when I hear a person saying "wow that's so kawaii desu ne!" at school, I feel sad.

However seeing how us Japanese were deeply influenced by English culture in the Meiji period (to a point that ballroom dancing was the pinnacle of social life), who are we to complain? Plus, I prefer American games myself, and loath most Japanese games (especially the recent Final Fantasy games.)


*Anticipating other posts*

 

[Cherrim]

When I was younger--and this is about ten years ago--I was first introduced to Pokémon on TV, which was the first time I learnt what anime was. (I'd watched Sailor Moon religiously even earlier, but I thought it was like any other cartoon.) What drew me into anime in the first place wasn't necessarily the style; a lot of American cartoons at the time had even cleaner animation than the anime we got on TV. It was the plots that eventually got me. Now I'm not saying Pokémon, Digimon, or Dragonball Z, which were primarily what I watched back then, are the most complex or even interesting shows, but they had continuity unlike most shows I watched. With a lot of American cartoons then, they were just collections of skits or else if you watched one episode and then missed 10, it would be like you hadn't missed any. I liked having a reason to watch everyday so I didn't miss a thing; I think that's why I was initially drawn in.

Of course, I too went through the whole "OMG JAPAN KAWAII BAKA ANIME YAY" phase. It's a little embarrassing now that I think on it. But I started reading everything I could about Japan, relating anything I could to Japan, and trying to learn the language. I don't even know why. It was something different that I'd never learnt about before, and it was cool. In ninth grade, I found my school board taught Japanese classes on Saturdays for a credit, so I took that. I found the more I learnt the language, the less my appreciation for the actual culture went down. I love languages so it was fun to learn it and I concentrated more on my grammar and application rather than anime or the Japanese culture that was taught in class. I'm glad I took the actual classes or else I'd probably still be as much of a fanatic as I was before--which isn't a bad thing, but I know it annoys a LOT of people. :x

Now that I've detached myself from anime to some extent, I'm more of a gamer. Most of the things I play do come from Japan because I tend to like the plots and gameplay of JRPGs and a lot of what English companies pump out are sports or FPS games. :| Those don't interest me in the least so it's not the whole "JAPAN YAY" thing that draws me into Japanese games, it's the games themselves. Since Japanese is a rather unique language choice, I really have no way to use it right now aside from translating things for myself. So basically, I tend to import manga, books, games, etc. if they relate to what I'm interested in. I obsess, but not over things because they're Japanese.

In all, it's not that there's a deficiency in my own culture, it's just the thrill of learning something new that did it for me. Considering this isn't just an American thing--it's all over North America, Europe, different parts of Asia--I'm not sure you could blame this on local culture. And I'd continue, but I have to go right now. I'll edit later if I can.

 

[*~Ashley~*]

This would probably be better suited in the Japanese Entertainment forum.

*moved*

 

[Ryoutarou]

Most video games seem to have been designed in Japan, many (if not most) of the cartoons on TV are either dubbed anime or domestic copies of the style, Japanese comics and card games are freakishly popular, and it seems like the art in every other webcomic or internet artist's gallery I see displays heavy manga influence.

Not true, at least in the US, it's pretty surprising to learn that anime really doesn't make up more than a few hours of TV a day. It has more play in the weekends, but this is something I've found has actually decreased over the years.

Seriously, what is it about all things Japanese that appeals to kids today? What do you find so lacking in your own culture that you find in such abundance in Japan's? What causes you to reject your own heritage and run off to worship at someone else's cultural altar?

People like discovering new things, and it just so happens that a lot of people are attracted by anime culture, note, I said anime culture, not Japanese because generally those who say they're so totally in love with the Japanese culture really only like the anime side and have next to no understanding of what the real culture and history of Japan is. Really, I think that a majority of America only likes the "Hollywood" side of Japan and their culture, samurai, ninja, big breasted anime girls, action packed shounen shows.

I love my natural heritage, I love my home country, our history, most things that are associated with it really (I honestly don't think I could say the same if I considered the US culture to be my background), but I still love Japanese culture. At first I started out like everyone else I guess, really only into anime, it's just in the last three or four years that I've grown beyond that. I'm really not as into anime as I once was and would rather watch a good J-Drama myself.

I'll be the first to admit, the Japanese entertainment industry is one of the big reasons that I was drawn to Japanese culture, but I understand that it's just that, entertainment. I don't claim to know or like everything about the Japanese culture, far from it, it's such an old culture and there are many things that honestly bore me to death, as I'm sure it's the same for a lot of native Japanese, but I think that the Japanese culture is one of the more interesting ones out there.

I'd rather watch a Japanese show or listen to Japanese music than most things in English, I'm slowly learning the language, hoping to make it my third totally fluent language. I'm a huge fan of the Japanese entertainment culture, but I try not to fanboy about it too much, I study Japanese culture at great lengths every now and then, but most of the time it's just reading about certain stories and such, I try not to bore myself with it by going overboard. I definitely want to visit Japan one day but I'm not sure if I'd ever want to live in Japan mostly because of the stories that I've heard about how hard it is to fit in if you're not Japanese or don't look the part and various other things, but I've also heard that's mostly only with the older generations. Though I hear finding housing is ten times more of a pain than it is in the US.

Once you get beyond the pure fan stage of it, you start to see Japan for what it is, another country with another culture, some people, like myself, see it as a truly interesting culture and want to learn more about it. Most people that claim to love Japan really only like the anime of Japan, and I can understand why, I don't think there's anything wrong with it, it's the people that want to forget their culture and think Japan is a haven for otaku, say that they love everything about Japan, yet never bother to do much learning about anything outside of anime that annoy me. I have no problem with people that like Japan for its entertainment, as in things outside of anime as well, Japan does have a different way of telling stories and getting points across, especially in animation geared towards younger children. More than anything, I think the love for anime/Japan/whatever starts out with kids not wanting to be talked down to or treated as dumb as media tends to do in the US (not that I think Japan is totally free of this either) and along the way, people take one of three roads, quickly forget about it, only care about anime, or they come to have a greater appreciation for Japan as a whole.

Myself, I'm probably a 70/30 split in my liking of Japan, with the greater liking being geared towards the popular culture (books, movies, music, shows, sports, manga), but I don't think that it's a bad thing because Japan's popular culture tends to be just as rich as their native culture.

 

[Kimicatdemon]

Really, I think that a majority of America only likes the "Hollywood" side of Japan and their culture, samurai, ninja, big breasted anime girls, action packed shounen shows.

Exactly. When you study Japanese culture you will see many refrences to anime, however, alot of the anime fandom comes from the legends and history of Japan.

I haven't ever gon through the "OSAWRI!" stage and I don't intend to because when the freshmen at my school come in the anime club like that, you can tell they are being total ...err..morons.

I personally like the japanese culture and wouldn't mind visiting it one day to see their culture for myself. I'm not saying I don't like anime. Anime is the reason I studied the Japanese culture. I'm just saying Japanese culture and the influnce of anime are two diffrent things.

 

[ashley m]

I did that whole Japanophile thing, which is desperately obvious in that a lot of my online stuff goes under the name "samurai-ashes." When I was 17 I didn't identify with people at school, and instead found people I could be level with online in the whole anime/fanfic world. I also fell out of it just as quickly, because it's entirely too easy for people to have an entire life crafted online, without having any real life friends or social activity.

So in some way I think that's part of it; it's easy to associate all the friendly people online with the country the whole thing sparks from. And for some people Japanese culture is the culture for them, and that's fine.

But, long-winded rambling aside, I tend to agree; it's gone from being kind of cute to be desperately obnoxious -- it's one thing if it's a hobby, but good god, look in a mirror once in a while and remember where you're really from.

I love my natural heritage, I love my home country, our history, most things that are associated with it really (I honestly don't think I could say the same if I considered the US culture to be my background)

I get that the whole thread is kind of pick a side culture-wise, but that's a really nasty thing to say -- without having it as a cultural background, what makes you think you can make up your mind about it? Yeah, I'm not proud of everything in my country's history, but I'm still proud of it overall. We didn't piss in your Cheerios, so save the anti-US sentiment to people who have right to it.

 

[Ryoutarou]

I get that the whole thread is kind of pick a side culture-wise, but that's a really nasty thing to say -- without having it as a cultural background, what makes you think you can make up your mind about it? Yeah, I'm not proud of everything in my country's history, but I'm still proud of it overall. We didn't piss in your Cheerios, so save the anti-US sentiment to people who have right to it.

First, just because I don't identify it as my cultural background means I have no right to make a decision about it? I have lived in the US for many years, but I grew up in ethnic areas and was more exposed to my parent's heritage than the US culture, which is why I've come to associate that as my own and not the US, at a point I even lived in a town where a fluent English speaking person was extremely hard to come by. Second, please don't put words in my mouth, I'm not even suggesting that I dislike the US, in fact I'm pretty indifferent to its modern state, I understand that there have been many amazing things this country has done, just that there aren't too many things for me to personally be proud of in its past. I feel no sense of true culture from the history of this country, outside of the Native Americans, and that's a whole other can of worms I don't want to get into.

So just as you're proud of your culture and country despite various things in its past, I'm proud of mine in the same way. You can be proud of the country you were born in, great, I'm happy for you, but I went too many years without even knowing what I really was and I've finally come to the place where I can honestly be happy with my decision.

 

[Rivvon]

People are never happy with what they're given.

The reason Americans like Japanese culture so much is because it's so much more different than ours. And if I'm not mistaken, in Japan, the people there are almost as interested in our culture as we are theirs (but not too that degree, no, we're way too obsessive)

I myself strive to be a mangaka, watch Japanese shows, am currently learning Japanese, want to go to Japan, and buy things from there and wear/read/carry them with pride. Why? I think it's cool, interesting, different than what I've been living with, growing up with for the last 14 years of my existance.

I used to have an obsession with English culture, too (I still have a bit of it left over, might I add >.>) But it's for the same reason as above: it's different. Not to the extent of Japanese to American, but it's different.

The problem I find is that the anime-obbsessed Americans think that they themselves are Japanese, when all they know it that they ocassionally wear kimonos and yukatas and say the most basic words like "Kawaii" and "Konnichiwa" in all of their sentances. They honestly don't know anything about Japan, it's history, it's culture, it's style, it's language...not that all anime-freaks are like that, some are very fluent in Japanese and have even been there.

The problem is that there are too many people like that. Japanese culture is influencing us, on the outside, maybe, yeah, but when you think about it, deep down, not too many people have actually taken the Japanese influence by heart. They still go by their own culture, with a little bit of basic Japanese built in.

 

[Chikara]

No, no. Not at all! Just because you stop crunching up your ramen, and start eating it the right way, with chop sticks, doesn't necessarily mean you're gonna start thinking you're Japanese.

As Rivvion said, it's different. I think it's actually really cool, but I'm not going to move over there, I learn enough on the internet. *Stops typing for 20 minutes*- Dodgeball came on! XP Anyway, I like the whole Japanese culture, but I really do think it's sad when you like it SO much that you move there. I mean, this is America, and it doesn't get much better than this. IMO of course. I'm not looking for people to spew disagreements at me, that's just what I think.

 

[Ariolander]

Well it's two fold here in America. One hand (particularly in here California) we are culturally accepting while on the other hand we are highly Ethnocentric and maybe even Xenophobic at times. I know it is oxymoronic by but that is a great way to summarize us Americans. I mean over the past couple years Teppanyaki restaurants with their hibachi grills and various Sushi bars and Japanese restaurants. In typical American entrepreneurial style I didn't see one Asian let alone Japanese worker at the local "Sushi Time" when I went there. Funny how that works a Japanese restaurant without a single Japanese -_-;;

Beyond just food a great example of this American oxymoron is our media. If I may quote my own blog on this topic:

One of the things that continually bugs me is the skewed way in which many people approach Japanese animation & manga. I mean how many times after naming anime & manga as interests have you received responses of along the lines of "tentacle porn? or "it's that 'hen-thai' stuff right?". These kind of responses simply make me cringe and at times almost fear to mention my love for anime and manga to others.

The American media does nothing to remedy this with its ethnocentric view of anything foreign fanning every American parent's xenophobia and fear of the unknown. How is the media ethnocentric? The mainstream media has the tendency to look at the world from the perspective of American culture and failing to account for cultural relativity.

It is natural to compare something new to something that is familiar to us I understand but after they put their 'spin' on things you often end up with distorted headlines such as "Anime that's not child's play" as was on one local paper. What was originally an article discussing Ukiyo-e, a genre of Japanese woodblock prints, and Shunga, erotic artwork, from the Edo period is twisted into the subtitle "Pokemon, Hello Kitty, tentacle porn? We out why sexually explicit cartoons are so popular in Japan". Such is the nature of many American reporters that after reporting that manga is a growing market, one worth over $180 million, and a passing comment about there being many genres they jump right into "hentai" & "lolicon" not even giving notice to the Shonen & Shujo genres that make up Viz's monthly manga-zines.

People naturally compare something new to them to something familiar. When comparing cultures that is called Ethnocentrism. People naturally fear the unknown and when that concerns strangers and something foreign that is called Xenophobia. Both of these are very prevalent in America. Anime and manga are being imported from a foreign country and culture so it is natural one must approach it with an open mind to accept or understand it. That is not something the American media has been famous for over the years so I guess their reactions are to be expected. As anime/manga continues to grow here in American I hope we can one day we can move past these the images of "hentai", "tenticle porn", and "lolicon" and approach this import from the land of the rising sun with an open mind and eventual acceptance.
https://ariolander.livejournal.com/15427.html

I mean do a Google News search for "Anime" or "Manga" and take a look at what many of the smaller non LA/NY Times have to say. You can see their dramatically skewed. At the same time however we have movies like the Matrix Revolution though American the directors were highly influcenced by Japanese animation and media.

I wouldn't say it's too influential I mean many older peoples and much of the last generations still consider their kinds of media strictly for children and maintain a condecending attitude. And whatever pushes Japanese culture makes into our own society will be slowed by America's ethnocentric nature and compare how superior our culture is to others.

Remember culture is not a one way street. Its a mutual exchange where we both influence eachother. Surely we influence them back in return. How many American products, rock bands, and movies make it to their shores? Surely more than theirs to our own. By thinking that they might be too influential means that you are comparing your own culture to theirs and on a lower level asserting the superiority of your own culture. No offence or anything but this is an example of ethnocentricism in action even at lower unintentional levels.

 

[SBaby]

They're ten years ahead of the rest of the world technologically and show no sign of slowing down. Not to mention, they have some of the most disciplined people in their workforce, and one of, if not THE lowest crime rate in the world.

Of course they'll be influencing other countries.

If Windows was developed by Japan, we'd be up to Vista Zeta 3000 by now.

 

[Tetsunokintama]

Unto Ariolander:

I understand all of what you're saying (though I dispute your assertion that we are driven by ethnocentrism--the staggering popularity that anime/manga enjoy here is testament to our xenophilia, if anything...); I know that we influence the Japanese (and plenty of others across the globe) just as they influence us. What I want to know is what is it about anime/manga/Japanese culture in general that draws you to it?

Moreover, I want to know why American Youth's popular culture seems to have latched on so tightly to Japan in particular. Surely you must concede that, for at least the last decade and a half or so, foreign influence on Western youth has been pretty lopsidedly Japanese. Why is this so? Why Japan? Why not, say, Brazil? Or Thailand? What makes Japan so much more "kewl" and appealing in your eyes than any other nation?

I have yet to encounter anyone who hears the word "anime" and immediately thinks only of the less salubrious varieties of it as you describe. But the stuff is everywhere! It seems like at least half the programming on Cartoon Network is anime. And I swear that every other kid I encounter these days sports some anime-themed accesory. Now, I am sometimes asked to lecture on certain topics at local schools. On one occasion, about two months ago, I happened to be addressing a class of behavioral-problem junior high children (not violent or unruly ones, mind, just daydreamers and hyperactive kids and such). Taking a look around the room for a moment, I observed that nearly every kid in the room bore some token of anime/manga culture with them: Some wore Dragonball Z T-shirts, some had binders covered in Pokemon stickers, and still others had well-worn copies of Naruto, Sailor Moon, One Piece, etc. manga on their desks.

Japanese entertainment culture is omnipresent.

I ask again: What do you find in anime/manga and all the peripheral appurtenances that accompany it that you aren't finding on your own shores? What is the attraction? What makes you love it in spite of all its warts--the bad translations, the faux English names and titles, the spiky hair and all the other myriad genre conceits? What appetites does it feed that your own culture's entertainments leave unsatisfied?

 

[Ariolander]

@ Tetsunokintama
I woul say that our facination with the Japanese has to stem from WW II. They went from nothing after the American firebombings to the 3rd richest nation in the world with very little and and near no natural resources. As with everything economics drives things. Beyond that you must none untill recently (read: war in Iraq) Japan's fate has been closely tied with the US as it was stripped of it's right to have a military and it being surrounded by historic enemeies that it is always at odds with be it land disputes or more.


I can't speak for others but I am facinated with their culture not just anime, manga, etc. but their medeivel history and mytology. Actually all of the Asian culture because it is all so foreign to me. I myself am Filipino. We are already culturally impared finding ourselves switching back and forth from english to tagalog and unable to make up our minds weather or not we are asian, pacific islanders, or how exactly we are related to America 'cause we were once a pseudo-colony of theirs and they have forevver affected us.

Really culturally confused and to top that off I am second generation in America and I have been to the homeland once in my whole life. I never learned the language hell my mother can't speak her own language fluently anymore using english as a stopgap in her conversations with my aunts. With no other culture I guess I am American but am I really when all I read about in history are thesethese white pople from western and easterm europe. I don't think I can relate to any of them. At least African Americans pulled themselves together and created something here in the States.

With no culture of my own I picked up that bright and shiny thing across the big pond and was completly facinated by it. Perhaps the most unique thing about Japan, however, is that until a few decades ago it was the only non-western country to have been successfully industrialized?

After experiencing the superior military power of the West in the mid-19th century the Japanese essentially decided to reform the country from a highly developed feudal state into a western democracy, complete with industrialization, a western educational system, capitalism, etc etc. What is astonishing is that they actually succeeded in doing this in three-four decades, to the point that they managed to defeat Russia in the 1904-1905 war. The result is that today Japan is the only country with a non-European culture which as been modern for a considerable time.
https://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/104.html

Maybe that's why we are facinated by them? A modern culture of non-western orgin and so different from our own. One of the only instances of a non-western culture defeating a western one?


I think that just might be it. Japan was the only non-Western power to withstand both US and European colonialism. Since they modernized with minimal western help their culture hasn't been effected or mixed much with our own till now. Maybe that is why they are so pervasive today? It is one of the only cultures trully "foreign" to us and now with the tearing down of the east-west barrier and communication on unheard of levels via internets and technology they are finally reaching out and touching us?

 

[<Nico>]

I have to quote airolander.. That's pretty much my idea..

I live between the USA and Italy so I'm lucky enough to experience lots of different culture types.. I must say common people believe that japanese culture in general is simply akward and ungeneric..

Sadly that's just a misconception, and it's just obvious that any foreign culture that you don't relate too looks weird to you..

And remember that japanese culture isn't just manga/anime, actually it's becoming less and less of that since japanese keep reporting that the whole manga/anime market is in great decline in it's motherland..

 

[Toshinden]

I really wish certain things would stay in Japan, or at least be known, and not changed when the come to North America. Specifically, certain kinds of anime (Naruto being my favourite example). Every time a good anime gets licensed by a North American company, they have to dumb it down, and make it more kid-friendly. The end result is every good anime turning into a little kid fad, and it makes it so much more embarassing for the people who are fans of it's original format (with whatever violence, swearing, and mature themes were intended).

 

[yvette]

Yes, Japanese culture is starting to get really influential, probably from the anime. So many animes today are being translated to english, and a lot of people are watching them, and seeing the Japanese aspects in them. Naruto is a much-loved anime (speaking from experience, I've seen people go ga-ga over it. Not only Naruto, but anime in the 1990's (Excel Saga, Pokemon) when first introduced were met with both controversy and popularity. Look at Pokemon today. People both love it and hate it. It's the same with Japanese culture. People are going crazy over it, they keep exclaiming "How KAWAII!" or say "Domo Arigatou!"

I don't want to offend anyone, and I do not mean to offend anyone, but it seems to me that Japanese Culture is the new cool thing to do.

I wish all of Asia would become popular... India hasn't done anything cool yet, 'cept for producing Mahatma Ghandi.

 

[subaku]

My opinion about the whole Japanese culture being too influential...hmmm...I would have to say no way. My reasoning for this is as follows. One, Japan has us beat in animation hands down. There is no contest. I myself, am fascinated by the culture as a whole. Especially by the politeness, something our society is sorely lacking. I think our country could learn a lot from a country that prexists our own by thousands of years. I think Japan is truly an amazing country, especially how their economy has improved vastly over such a short amount of time. All of the best and latest technology is usually of Japanese origin. That is why all the latest games and such are coming from there. The animation (like I've already stated) is top notch with storylines that Americans usually don't even think about. It frustrates me to no end when ignorant people call anime a cartoon. I guess what I'm trying to say is I think the idea that Japanese culture is too influential is just...well I don't want insult anyone. Don't forget this country has been founded by other country's influences...that is part of what makes it so great.

 

[yvette]

My opinion about the whole Japanese culture being too influential...hmmm...I would have to say no way. My reasoning for this is as follows. One, Japan has us beat in animation hands down. There is no contest. I myself, am fascinated by the culture as a whole. Especially by the politeness, something our society is sorely lacking. I think our country could learn a lot from a country that prexists our own by thousands of years. I think Japan is truly an amazing country, especially how their economy has improved vastly over such a short amount of time. All of the best and latest technology is usually of Japanese origin. That is why all the latest games and such are coming from there. The animation (like I've already stated) is top notch with storylines that Americans usually don't even think about. It frustrates me to no end when ignorant people call anime a cartoon. I guess what I'm trying to say is I think the idea that Japanese culture is too influential is just...well I don't want insult anyone. Don't forget this country has been founded by other country's influences...that is part of what makes it so great.

Yes, but you're talking about Japan as a society. Japanese Culture in the West is really very influential. As well as contributing to the society, Japanese manga/anime is affecting youth. In both a negative and positive way, I suppose.

Have you seen the anime 'Chobits'? How it starts out? Do you really think that is fit for an 11 year old? Now, channels like Cartoon Network or whatever may put it in the late-night adult-swim section, but will that really stop kids for looking at it on the internet?

You see, the Japanese are very, very different from Americans. I suppose that Japanese people don't find it odd to see a woman with a big bust in a cartoon. In America, that is considered sick. The Japanese may follow close to the same customs, yes, like ballroom dancing, dating, baseball. In entertainment, it seems we are vastly different. What we see as morally wrong, and what they see is wrong is also different.

I'm an anime fan, but sometimes I think anime is too hardcore with the violence and sex in an anime/manga. Crude language is also another.

 

[subaku]

Yes, but you're talking about Japan as a society. Japanese Culture in the West is really very influential. As well as contributing to the society, Japanese manga/anime is affecting youth. In both a negative and positive way, I suppose.

Have you seen the anime 'Chobits'? How it starts out? Do you really think that is fit for an 11 year old? Now, channels like Cartoon Network or whatever may put it in the late-night adult-swim section, but will that really stop kids for looking at it on the internet?

You see, the Japanese are very, very different from Americans. I suppose that Japanese people don't find it odd to see a woman with a big bust in a cartoon. In America, that is considered sick. The Japanese may follow close to the same customs, yes, like ballroom dancing, dating, baseball. In entertainment, it seems we are vastly different. What we see as morally wrong, and what they see is wrong is also different.

I'm an anime fan, but sometimes I think anime is too hardcore with the violence and sex in an anime/manga. Crude language is also another.

You are also forgetting that Americans have aversions that Japanese can't stand...such as homosexuality. It is highly frowned upon...yet there are several animes out there (yaoi/yuri) with that in it. Yes here in America homosexuality is still frowned upon but the acceptance level has greatly improved in recent times. In Japan it is not nearly as talked about. I guess my point is that all societies no matter what are going to have their flaws. Yes there are animes out there (in fact mostly) with adult themes that I would not expose my own children to. Which is the reason they are on adultswim and not everyday on Cartoon Network when kids usually view it. But it is up to parents to monitor what their kids watch you can't blame that solely on Japan. And actually I have seen the anime and read all the manga for Chobits and yes it has more of an adult theme. No I would not allow an 11-year old to view it. But there are also animes out there that are for kids and have no illicit content. This discussion isn't just about anime though, it is about Japanese culture as a whole. And as a whole I am still inclined to think that it is not too influential.