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Japan's Empire of Cool

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the anime-is-just-part-of-the-picture dept.

The Wicked Priest writes "The Washington Post is reporting that culture is among Japan's leading exports." Talks about Anime, Manga, Music, Video Games and so forth. Interesting reading.

3 of 406 comments (clear)

  1. Japanese Music ? by tealover · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I haven't been paying attention to the Billboard top 100 recently, but are there some Japanese rock bands that i don't know about ?

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    -- You see, there would be these conclusions that you could jump to
  2. It's because they're different by SamSim · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think basically what the West is beginning to realise is that Japan is an entire culture which, while being easily as technologically advanced as America (and in many ways more so), is totally different from America. It's new, it's unusual, it's different, and a lot of it is stuff that Westerners have never even contemplated before, let alone seen.

    Kids are insane over Dragonball Z because super-kung-fu-firing-fireballs-from-fingertips-fly ing-about-kicking-people-through-mountains genre just doesn't exist in America. Sure, it's an appalling series on many levels, but it brings something new to the table and for them, that (combined with its testosterone content) makes it worth watching.

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    qntm.org
  3. Is Japan Really Cool ? by tealover · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How many hot girls do you know that love manga, anime and videogames ?

    And please, no anecdotes about "my wife does!"...I'm talking in the general case. Walk into a bar on the Upper West Side talking about Castle in the Sky to the 6'0 Brazilian supermodel and she'll stare at you blankly while planning her escape.

    Japan has a niche with a certain segment (nerdy people) but their culture doesn't have broad appeal to the masses. Sure, videogames pull in a lot of money but they're typically bought by young men.

    The readers of this site will love the article because it will affirm something they want to believe in, but it doesn't really make it true.

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    -- You see, there would be these conclusions that you could jump to