Slashdot Mirror
Japan's Empire of Cool
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.
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...every year? I think it's the result of reporters on vacation at the end of the year, doing a cut-and-paste on the date, and hoping the editor doesn't catch the dupe.
He's a failed American football player, and he's some massive icon there. What's up with that?
There's one thing that Japan has over the United States when it comes to the export of culture, though; that's Hentai. :)
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troll blacklist. Please mo
Japan totally gets all it's cool from the United States, and our beloved Governor of California!
Here's proof!
Execute? [Y/N] _
I, for one, welcome our new Japanese overl-
oh, screw it.
We durn got all our culture right down here in Texas! We got more culture than a Petri dish!
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
I think it's important to note that cultural symbols are not akin to culture itself. Japan can export all the anime it likes but that isn't representative of it's entire culture nor will it affect other cultures enough to make them resemble Japanese culture in something other than a superficial way. For example, Japanese corporate structure and the loyalty given to your company (a structural phenomenon) is unlikely to get passed along through its cultural symbols. Just like American structural phenomenon are unlikely to get passed along through our blockbuster movie exports.
In the end, reality is highly individualized and rarely is a culture made up solely of a selective portion of its symbols.
That since Japan opened itself up to the west it's been a maniac for other cultures. With the exception of the years before and during ww2, Japan has long been a rabid consumer for American culture, along with european culture.
Just take a walk throughout Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ueno or Akihabara. You'll find a massive number of japanese teenagers (and adults) wearing shirts with "engrish" on them. Music is often sprinkled with a hearty dose of engrish as well. Try watching their TV programs sometime, you'll find plenty of american culture. Of course, they like to take it and modify it to their own means and that's exactly what Japan has been doing forever.
This brings up an interesting question: Why are the Japanese so keen to take, modify and integrate other cultures to suit their needs, yet they're still incredibly racist of other cultures? If you doubt their racism, ask why they still have stores and places of business that advertise "Japanese Only"? Of course, for Americans it is a bit hard to understand the concept of being a distinct civilization since we've long been a melting pot, a nation made up of other nations.
But I'm getting off the point. This article is nothing new. The reason why collectables are so expensive overseas is that it's so damned expensive in Japan! Whenever you feel like complaining about the price of dvds, remember that they charge around 40-60$ per dvd, and usually it has half as much as a dvd here in America.
"They told me it was impossible. I replied with maniacal laughter." http://www.mydailyrant.com/
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 ?
-- You see, there would be these conclusions that you could jump to
They make some of the coolest stuff in the world. At the same time, they also make some of the weirdest.
;)
Tentacle sex, anyone?
The Unfolding Project
We all know that the Japanese places heavy emphasis on education and scholarly conduct. Therefore, it surprises no one that even their entertainment (anime, pr0n) is infused with advanced studies of marine biology (tentacles)
There are a huge number of yeast infections in this county. Probably because we're downriver from the bread factory.
Obviously. Japanese manga, anime, etc are really good. I make it a point to watch Ruroni Kenshin every Saturday on Cartoon Network (OT, but does anyone have the English version of the song "Freckles" that they play in the opening title? I can't find it anywhere...)
The thing I like about Japanese anime is that it makes you think. It's not blind violence or meaningless love. Everything has a well crafted story behind it. Just yesterday I was in Barnes and Noble, and was going to read "love hina" but got sidetracked by the new Star Wars book, The Unifying Force.
The greatest thing though, it's a two way street. We get stuff like Ruroni Kenshin, Pokemon, etc, and the Japanese get McDonalds, Coke, etc.
Although the one interesting bit of Japanese culture that's taking over like crazy is manga. If you look at Border's or Barnes, you'll see five or six shelves of Manga, and American comics have been pushed into one small shelf at the end. It's apparently the "in" thing for youngsters, much like Fear Street books were the "in" thing back when I was in school.
Food for thought...
The significance of anime
/.'s search function? It always times out on me for the past two weeks or so, and I have to keep resorting to using Google search (which is not really a hardship, since Google beats out /.'s search function easily, but still, I'd like to at least access it.)
Anime And The Tech Lifestyle
Movie Review: Princess Mononoke
An Extensive History of Anime
This story is not exactly a dupe, but much of it is discussed in these earlier topics.
OT, but has anyone had any success in loading
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.
qntm.org
Well im big on animation and off the top of my head I can only name a few US made animated shows with anything resembling plot and that dont make copious use of the history eraser button, not to mention the "think of the children beat you over the head with a moral lesson" crap so prevalent in US toons. So I predict I and many many others are going to be watching anime for a long time to come.
No offence to any Japanese people, but Japan is actually a major importer of culture. Their strength lays in taking in good things from other people, and improve on them, making them better. Other than anime, the modern Japanese absorbed a lot from western countries.
In the ancient time, most of its cultural customs came from China around the Tang dynasty. Examples include Kimono, Buddhism (which in turn came from India), original style of Samurai sword (the difference been in the straight edge of the blade instead of curved), the ancient form of Japanese language itself, and so on. The things about Japan is while they took on these things as their own and retained them as time went forth, China continoued to change through out various dynasties.
Highly likely the manga they're talking about Ghost in the Shell (recent coverage)
Founder of Mirror Moon - Tsukihime Game Trans
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.
-- You see, there would be these conclusions that you could jump to
So Canada has Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Alanis Morrisette, Basketball, Hockey, Telephone, Maple Syrup and Canadian peacekeepers
Big deal! We've got the best beers in the world, the best chocolate and plenty of hot chicks.
>> And don't forget Tom Green.
We are trying to forget him. Please don't remind us.
>> Next time, maybe you can include Neil Young
>> and and Joni Mitchel if you want to show off
>> Canadian talent.
Hey, if you like Neil Young, please take him.
>>-Basketball (yes, we did invent basketball)
>>Was Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace
>>of basketball, once part of Canada?
James Naismith was the Canadian physical education instructor who invented basketball in 1891. James Naismith was born in Almonte, Ontario and educated at McGill University and Presbyterian Cllege in Montreal. He was a Canadian, regardless of where he invented it. If he invented it on the moon, it would have still been invented by a Canadian.
>> Was Boston, the place where the telephone was
>> invented, once part of Canada?
Alexander Graham Bell is most well known for
inventing the telephone. He came to the U.S as
a teacher of the deaf, and conceived the idea
of "electronic speech" while visiting his
hearing-impaired mother in Canada.
The idea was born in Canada, and he himself is not an American, he is from Scotland.
"Screw manufacturing, lets instead focus on blobs with cute smiles and half-naked cartoon characters."
"Boss, you are a genius!"
Table-ized A.I.
You think US animation is of higher quality than Japanese? Where do you buy your crack from dude? I'd love to get me some of that!
Look at a picture from Looney Tunes, yes, with a name like that, it just has to be epic. I could, blindfolded, reproduce a 95% authentic copy of the ultra low detailed animation, even though I have very little personal artistic ability. Now take something from Iria : Zeiram the animation, and try the same thing. There's more detail in Iria's hand than in an entire frame from Looney Tunes.
Yes there are bad Japanese examples, as well. Pokemon being the worst offender, the overall quality with this monster catching crap does seem to be pulling the overall animation quality down, which is a shame. But overall, I would have very much trouble finding a single US animation with half the detail and seriousness put into it as a Japanese counterpart.
I haven't even TOUCHED into storyline. Tell me, what's the most in depth storyline you got from US cartoons? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Looney Tunes, Scooby Doo?
Animation doesn't have to be solely for infants and toddlers, that's a pathetic stereotyping. US animation is insulting to my intelligence. Now south park I'll watch, but let's not EVEN go into the animation quality there.
Please stop assuming that your hatred of anime is universal and that everyone here thinks like you.
Because it's Slashdot, but that isn't really what it's about it. It's more about Japan taking American (and other cultures), adapting it for Asians, and then shipping it back out to the rest of Asia. For example, they cut their jeans differently for their different body shapes, thus making their jeans popular in places like South Korea. Japan is essentially a cultural filter from Non-Asia to Asia.
Both FFXI and FFX-2 both rock!
The problem is that US Comics are fixated on "Superheros", which are interesting and cool, but you get bored with it after a while.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
Sorry, but American culture started getting into Japan in the 1850s. The first English teacher was a cast-away, and was brought to teach English as a captive, and was later very popular in Japan. He returned to Washington state to die, but there maintained a lot of interaction between Japan and the US after that. Also in Washington were the first Japanese on American soil when they crashed their ship.
Japanese culture was and remains strong having been developed as an island culture.
Japanese culture is heavily influenced by that around it, it's just imperialist and almost xenophobic. The Japanese government forced a closed border to prevent cultural tapping prior to Meiji. Then the Meiji Administration decided to go conquer the whole of eastern Asia...
Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
Some of us care more about a good story than a high frame rate or perfect lip sync.
#naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
Switzerland, but your clock must be broken.
karma karma karma karma karma chameleon, you come and go, you come and go.
While I can't deny that the US occupation of Japan provided a massive exposure of American culture to Japanese people, Japan was already engaged in the importation of Western culture on a large-scale prior to World War II. When the Meiji Emperor (ruled 1868-1912) decided to modernize Japan, Japanese people began to learn very actively about the West. This activity centered on science and technology, where Germany, as the industrial and scientific leader became the focus of attention. Physicians trained prior to the end of WWII, for example, used textbooks written in German and frequently went to Germany to study. Into the 1960s, patient charts in some Japanese hospitals were written in German. Modernizers also adopted or proposed the adoption of many other aspects of European culture. One seriously proposed that the Japanese language be abandoned, to be replaced by French!
A curious forerunner was the developement, during the Tokugawa period (1615-1868), when Japan was largely cut off from foreign contact, of rangaku "Dutch Studies" (from Oranda "Holland" and Sino-Japanese gaku "study, -ology"). The Dutch were allowed to maintain a trading post on Dejima, then an island in Nagasaki harbor, so Japanese scholars interested in things Western focussed on the Dutch. Probably the most important thing to emerge from rangaku was knowledge of European medicine, particularly anatomy.
The US Occupation probably had much more impact on popular culture, but at a more academic and technological level, the importation of Western culture had already taken place.
You missed it completely! Good animation is not about detail!! It's about the story, the charators and overall entertainment. The extreme detail of some anime is what makes it such a turn off, just hire freaking actors. Looneytoons is still going strong today because they are what cartoons are ment to be. Animal based charators with non stop comedy. Use of humans in cartoons is going away from the point of cartoons. Hense why most classic cartoons only used humans where needed, or they are part of a storyline with animals. There are some exceptions, but not to many.
In more moderntimes shows like simpsons, futurame, family guy continue traditional cartoons. They may be full of humans but they would not be what they are without the cartoon format. The detail of them doesn't matter, its all the content. Also only the simpsons could even remotely be done with actors, and it would long since be off the air if it was.
If what your are going for is detail, I sugest you check out movies and tv shows with real live actors, the detail of a human being in just great.
Over the past few years all things Asian have been building up popularity here in L.A. As witnessed by the growth of such new magazines as "Giant Robot". Perhaps we're moving towards Blade Runner world.
I for one am all for it. The Asian design since from Hong Kong and Japan is quite good, and it's time for them to stop regurgitating western culture and come into there own. There also seems to be a ground swell of radical art coming out of Japan. I read this as retaliation against a conformist culture. It's very exciting, I think we are in for ride the equivalent of America in the 60s.
fireI like Japan. It rocks. The food's good, people are respectful of each other, and you can buy beer in vending machines. However, I feel compelled to tell you all that I hate anime. Lots of Japanese people hate it as well. (Similarly, many Americans hate Hollywood films, network television, etc.)
I feel that American anime fanboys like anime mostly because it is different. To be a fan of anime makes them feel special (because ordinary American people are not very familiar with anime apart from Pokemon et al.)
Lastly, what I hate even more than anime are anime-themed RPGs. Thank you for letting me vent. No offense intended.
I should learn more Japanese than "Dozo, ichi biru! Hai! Domo arigato" and the names of assorted foodstuffs. Even Largo knows more than that, wakarimasu ka?
-- I Am Not A Terrorist.
It sounds to me like you're the one reinforcing negative stereotypes. And if as you say there are only about two animes on Adult Swim, then I would suggest that the problem here is that you just haven't got to the good stuff yet. Believe me when I tell you that DBZ - which is probably one of those two - is very near the bottom of the barrel - anime is just like any other medium (movies, American cartoons) as far as highs and lows go.
And if, after that, you still hate anime, then (correct me if I'm wrong) I think there's an option somewhere in your preferences so you can make Anime stories not come up on the main page.
qntm.org
For those people who can't be bothered to read the article, one of the main points was that:
A record 3 million people around the world are now studying the Japanese language, compared with only 127,000 in 1997, according to the Japan Foundation and Tokyo's Marubeni Research Institute.
So, in other words, there is a measurable increase in the cultural cachet of Japan, it's not just a static, ongoing event. And it's not just about manga and anime, but food (sushi restaurants are now ubiquitous in any large city), and jrock/jpop, the prime examples of which are Glay, KinKi Kids, Puffy (known in the US as Puffy AmiYumi so as to avoid confusion with a certain hiphop impresario), Hamasaki Ayumi, the New York born Utada Hikaru and Morning Musume, a group of currently 15 girls that form the most well known part of a pop empire.
Furthermore, even anime seems to be taking up an ever larger bite of the US Cartoon Network's schedule and the traditional Saturday Morning/after-school children's fare. It's even made a few recent ventures into wide release cinema in the US.
However, one could argue, I think persuasively, that's Japan's cultural upswing is part of a larger trend in the Asia-fication of Western culture. What started with egg foo yung and chop suey has now branched out to shabu-shabu and kimchi. What began with Speed Racer and Godzilla has developed into Princess Mononoke, cosplay and Shaolin Soccer.
There are two kinds of people: 1) those who start arrays with one and 1) those who start them with zero.
Ah, now I understand the child pornographic references in japanese mangas. ;-)
With the exception of the years before and during ww2, Japan has long been a rabid consumer for American culture, along with european culture.
One word: Baseball.
Ok, I'm not sure if the inclusion of that American game into the set of Japanese National Pastimes counts as "rabid" consumption, but it did happen decades before WWII. But if by "rabid" you mean "popular," then it was rabid.
Good animation is not about detail!!
US animators are less talented/care less so let's change the subject.
Looneytoons is still going strong today because they are what cartoons are ment to be. Animal based charators with non stop comedy.
I won't accept any animation that isn't like what I grew up with: Pointless slapstick violence with no plot development or characteraziation.
Use of humans in cartoons is going away from the point of cartoons
I don't like realism in art, I prefer escapeism and making the characters humans makes me think to much. Furthermore I am the grand judge of the point of cartoons and none may gainsay my word.
If what your are going for is detail, I sugest you check out movies and tv shows with real live actors, the detail of a human being in just great.
I also don't understand why anyone would want to look at a painting or inkcolor when you could just go out and look at a real, live person. The whole "art" thing is just a bunch of people wasting their time looking at things like the Mona Lisa or Rembrant's Sunflower when they could be looking at ther real thing.
Or in short. I don't like art. I don't like to think. I don't like anything that challenges my worldview. I don't like change. I don't like complexity.
Bloody Philistine.
Little Brother, watching the watchers
This isn't completely new. Remember the Impressionists? They were quite into their "japonaise" (I forgot the exact term...). There are quite a few paintings of European women dressed in kimono, and collecting trinkets from Japan was all the rage, not just among the artsy crowd. I think the reasons are still similar.
Now, however, I think a lot of their exports (anime/manga/video esp) have loads of Western influence anyway. Aside from Inu-Yasha and Rurouni Kenshin (the latter of which is set in the Meiji - a major Westernizing period - anyway), I can't think of very many mainstream titles that involve something purely Japanese. But it's blended with their own culture, which is still different enough to be new and interesting for others.
The floggings will stop when morale improves.
Is evidenced by today's Something Awful Link of the Day. (Not Safe For Work)
[PowerPoint] is a tool for capitalist presentation
The rise of J-Pop documented in the article is really the success of American pop. Just as black rock & roll took over American pop culture when played by whites, American pop culture (boy bands, fast food, comic books, slutty schoolgirls, top 40 music with unintelligible lyrics) is bigger in Asia with an Asian face.
This is a really encouraging phenomenon. Global culture flows bring us all together, giving us something in common. When we want to dance with each other, watch each other's movies, eat each other's food, we want to live together and talk about it. Only Hollywood sees the culture market as nationalistically competitive, because in Hollywood, culture is property is power, not to be shared, except at a self-perpetuating price. When people spread culture among ourselves, rather than from the centralized minaret of Hollywood, their power disappears. C'mon everybody, get down tonight!
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make install -not war
Didn't your mother ever teach you that you look like more of a fool trying to put words in a persons mouth then they could ever look like with their own words?
I am very open to differant things, what you tried to say I was saying was completely wrong. I could co through and translate what you translated of me, but I won't since I'm not childish.
You are simply upset because someone didn't think your anime was the most super perfect greatest thing ever. There is no way you can challenge that more people dislike/don't carefor anime in the US then people like anime. Otherwise you would see anime all over and all major release cartoon films would be of anime style.
In another 70 years, classic WB cartoons will still be going strong. I highly doubt anime from today will be nearly as strong.
And, yet, Iria has no lips and grotesquely proportioned eyes and hair. Personally, I hate the anime style. The backgrounds are gorgeous at times, and the sensitivity to light and shadow is notable, but the characters look awful, and it gets pretty stylistically repetitive. In many ways, the anime "Style" is a crutcj to enable low-paid animators to crank out the toons. (Notice how they often substitute camera movement for actual animation) At least US animation has a little stylistic variety to it. And there is quite a lot of adult storytelling in US animation...it just tends to stay underground. Ever see the Maxx, or Spawn, or seek out any indie films at a film festival? Anime isn't all that. It can be good, and so can the best of American animation. But both countries have their fair share of crap. Anime certainly doesn't warrant it's own name. It's just Japanese animation, folks...
Notice the streets of bagdad and afganistan are being westernised? Wanna know why they don't like that and why alqueda calls america the great satan? If you've read some of the stuff bin laden has written about the USA you'll agree with (some of) his ideology, not his methodology. He says the USA is spreading lies and deciet, which it does do and has been doing although it's people don't agree with this one bit. I noticed a picture up on BBC of afganistan children being given presents from santa this year, and if you understand the psychology of christmas you'll be frightened from that. Christmas such of a fucked up holiday it isn't even funny, as is easter. We celebrate these holidays not because we're supposed to or because it satisfies some deep religous meaning like Hanukkah , we celebrate them because corperations, the goverment, and christian churches wanted them to be celebrated that way. Notice how crazy it's gotten?
Notice the best buy catologe that comes in the mail every year with the star of david on the tree replaced with the star of best buy and the entire tree decorated with consumer electronics? Notice how all the packaging mysteriously has christmas branding on them? How Saint Nick appears in every window and every store front advertising one thing or another?
In our culture, we eat poisoned food, use poisoned stuff (cosmetics, soaps, playstations, cell phones) and buy crap we don't need fulfill some lifestyle obsession gone wrong that is even more poisonous so that crazy people at the top of the ladder can feel powerful. Japanese culture is even more poisonous imo, they tend to mimic ours and run with it as far and as fast as possible. Infact, our number 1 export to japan after ww2 was our poisonous culture.
Our number 1 export to the rest of the world is poisonous culture, and to whoever resists that without force enough to fight it off, we'll kill the parents and teach the kids our ways like we're doing in afganistan. Afterall, there's a reason we warehouse our old off into care homes near the ends of their life; so the ones that know what's wrong can't teach their kids and grandkids what's realy wrong.
Candy-Coated Knowledge
especially with kids. When I was a kid, it was godzilla and kaiju movies, now it's anime and dragonball z and so forth.
... well, there are bukakke fans, but I'm not going to touch that (yechh).
Other than with children, I don't see Japanese stuff being that popular
english too!!!
They still impose heavy tarrifs on American goods.
You should see how much a Mustang GT goes for!
Even though you may speak the language you will never be excepted. You are forever a Gaijin.
We have been exposed to Japanese culture/anime since the 60's, Speed Racer is a classic example.
I aggree with some of the posts above. America is a leader in cultural entertainment.
The Japanesse and the Koreans improve on exsisting ideas, American cars for example.
We(USA) can't make cars worth a shit anymore.
How is it that a country with no natural resources is able to make cars cheaper and better than America who have all the natural resources at our doorstep.
Hey, here's an interesting website website that has an interesting take on japanese culture & women. it's the most misogynistic thing i've read in quite some time.
uhm, everyone hates... CANADA??? Everyone LOVES Canada, you freak! We have like no enemies at all!
It's you people down south that the world is pissed at right now. I don't mind most Americans though, just Bush, and perhaps you right now.
Jeremy
What is good and what is evil? This very topic is explored by some of the deeper anime series and movies out there (IE, not pokemon or pokemon-clones). In many good shows, nobody carries a sign announcing their intentions either way. Take Princess Mononoke, for instance: Are the industrialists who are destroying the forests and the native peoples' way of life evil? Are the natives who are fighting back evil? And then there are the shows that don't operate on the same concepts of conflict that American shows do, such as Haibane Renmei or Niea Under 7, both of which illustrate caste systems and racism in interesting ways.
But this thought-provoking nature is what draws me to these shows. Take the time to watch a "good" show (hint: if its on tv, its aimed at the mass market and is typically not so good. Watch a few episodes yourself, and if its got more flashing lights than an ambulance, its mass market kiddy fare). After you've seen it yourself and feel you're comfortable with the subject, watch it with your children and open the floor for discussion.
If your children are later-middle-school or high-school aged, you should pick up His and Her Circumstances, a romantic comedy/drama that shows that peer pressure and worrying about one's appearance is pretty constant anywhere in the world. If you want your children to become tree-hugging vegans, there's also Arjuna (seriously. Don't watch this if you are the least bit squeamish or offended by environmentalists). Rurouni Kenshin might satisfy your a desire for action, while starring a hero who believes above all else that killing is wrong and who goes to extraordinary lengths to avoid doing so to his enemies (not to say that killing and blood and gore does not happen... the enemies, and even his friends don't share the same morality).
Remember above all else, life is rated PG. If parents weren't required, children would simply pop into existance on their own. Take some time with your children to let them know you disapprove of the shows they are watching, take some time to explain why. Decide if you believe your children are mature enough to seperate what they see on tv from reality, and if they don't, offer some alternatives, whether they be different shows, or reading a book, or heck, go out and throw a frisbee or a ball or something.
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
I haven't seen Iria:Zeiram, but its disingenuous to compare a serious animated series based on a movie to funny, satirical cartoon shorts from the 30s that were used to provide breaks between movies.
Part of it also comes down to deadlines. Looney Tunes were created as new movies came out. Zeiram was in production for months. However, when you compare 1930s Looney Tunes to modern TV quality anime, such as Pokemon or even Rurouni Kenshin, the Looney Tunes art is higher quality and the animation is far more fluid. You have to remember that their competitor was Disney, which you didn't bring up as an example of bad animation for some reason ;)
I agree with a lot of your post, however. Plot-wise, Pokemon is the closest thing to the toy marketing scam shows of the early 80s, which, ironically, were produced by many of the same anime artists before their skills improved. Scooby Doo was a prime time comedy, so its hard for me to fault it for not having a deep storyline. The repeated celebrity appearances in the later seasons annoy me, though.
The good news is that computer generated backgrounds and other tools are allowing both sides of the ocean to concentrate more on the animation with what little deadline they have. Pretty soon, we won't be forced to watch action faked by endless, uneccessary banter in American cartoons ("Oh, I'm hit! Are your hurt! Are you sure you're okay! He's getting away! Where'd he go?") or still frame directional lines and wildtakes in every Japanese anime scene. A lot of the recent fansubbed TV anime that I download have openings with windblown hair. I think they're showing off.
I was going to flame you, thinking an American had said that, but then I saw that you were Belgian (or close enough). It's all about McChouffe beer.
Hilarious. So you are saying that my comment is a copy of my comment? Intriguing. I appreciate the interest but I am far from being a troll. All of my posts, for better or worse (the mods decide), are written by me. Perhaps you are just mad because you are one of the trolls on my troll blacklist?
Sorry everyone. I know, "Don't feed the trolls..." This accusation just seemed so laughable, though. :)
Thanks for the laugh.
*
troll blacklist. Please mo
... PUROFITO!!!
ForeignPolicy.com has a slightly older article (2001) that discusses this same phenomenon.
Well most of them are on the outside of bath houses, massage parlours and other such establishments. To put it bluntly... the Japanese salarymen don't want the Harlem Globetrotters all up in their favorite bar girls... "tearing shit up".
Another big import in Japan is GIRLS... they bring them from all over.... South America, Canada, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe for some good-old fashioned Japanese molestation and defiling. As Yakoov Smirnov would say... "what a country!"
. SLASHDOT: Home of the vicious nerd.
Want to know why American culture is so popular? Survival of the fittest. Many other cultures are stagnant and unchanging, but American culture embraces change. Thus, by default, it is much more interesting than most other cultures.
Japanese culture is another big mover. Do I feel threatened or jealous about its recent popularity? Naw. Embrace and extend, that's our motto. We take the best parts of other cultures, integrate and expand on it, and then export it right back at them. Mind you, everyone else is welcome (nay, encouraged) to do the same.
Our culture is no more "poisonous" than anybody else's. It's just more awesome.
[PowerPoint] is a tool for capitalist presentation
It's unfortunate that this guy is racking up some Troll and Flamebait mods since he's making a good point, albeit a bit inelegantly. There's a now-infamous poll that was given to Americans in 1995 which asked "Name a Famous Japanese Person". The results? #1: (Chinese martial artist) Bruce Lee. #2: (American-born) Yoko Ono. #3: Godzilla. I'm not kidding! I wish a good link to give you but if you're interested a bit of goolging will help you find people referring to this study.
Okay, so that was back in 1995. Ancient history, right? Give me a break. I bet if you give this question to 'the man on the street' again you'd get pretty much the same result. Obviously Japanese has made some incredible contributions to world culture. But until the day you can show the average American a photo of some famous Japanese celebrity and they can instantly recognize them, we should probably use a word other than "empire" to describe their impact in America.
GMD
watch this
There is no way you can challenge that more people dislike/don't carefor anime in the US then people like anime
1. Pokemon, while far from the best Anime, was one of the most successfull cartoons of all time so far as popularity at height goes. I am fairly young (22) but in my lifetime I hadn't seen any other cartoon with quite the popularity that Pokemon enjoyed.
2. I shouldn't have to challenge your point. As you made a positive assertion, the burden of proof should lie with you and you have made NO effort in any of your posts to prove any of your points except to go on your own emotional and subjective prefrences.
3. Walk around a mall (if you can stand it) you will see more T-Shirts with Anime characters/logos than you will see other animation styles. Probably by a HUGE margin.
4. Cartoon Network currently runs, or has VERY recently run: Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball .hack//sigh Teen Titans, Inuyasha, The Big O, Zoids, Pokemon, Yu Gi Oh!, SD Gundum, Transformers Armada, and Cyborg 009. They are constantly trying to get new anime miniseries that are suitable for their audiences (mostly children) and do not seem to have made any effort to stop.
5. To refute your point: Otherwise you would see anime all over and all major release cartoon films would be of anime style. You do see Anime all over. As far as movies go, you are seeing more and more movies becoming more and more Anime-style, even the non-animes. Furthermore Animes often take longer to make and are more expensive. It is often better financialy to pay for second-rate artists (or, to give you the benifit of the doubt, artists who don't waste their time doing TO much detail) and not have to pay them as much than it would be to get the really talented artists (or the artists who waste more time on detail) thus get more profits even though the Anime may have been prefered by the audience. Furthermore, your logic that "all major release cartoon films would be of anime style" is flawed, as that would only be true if ALL people prefered Anime to standard cartoons, not just MOST. Your point would have been better stated "most major ... films would be of anime style." On that stronger argument, my cost analysis counterargument still holds.
6. Best Animated feature goes to... Spirited Away
7. A growing number of students of all ages are taking Japaneese classes, or even teaching themselves Japaneese just to be able to watch Anime Cartoons in the native language. Although this, by itself, does not prove larger numbers of Anime enjoyers, it does provide evidence to the claim by pointing out how far some people will go to enjoy this medium.
8. Many major universities have Anime Clubs, as do many communities. I've yet to see a "classic" cartoon club.
9. Many american cartoons are emulating some aspects of Animes. PowerPuff girls is a notable example. While they are 100% American, many elements of their drawing style is very Animesh. Immitation is the most sincere form of flattery. 10. I am an Education Major, in my practiums in elementary schools, I have heard much more chatter about animes (although rarly was the word "Anime" used) than about the other cartoons. The Dragonball and Gundum serieses in paticular are common topics of discussion. (Although I admit, I might just NOTICE the anime discussions more)
Ok, Not only did I find a way to challenge your assertion, I found 10 DIFFERENT ways. Not all are perfect, i'll admit this. But I think your claim that your position is unchallengably obvious has been shown to be indefendable.
Little Brother, watching the watchers
well it may have been sarcasm, but sarcasm doesn't translate to written text unless you use that little ;) face at the end. If it was actually supposed to be funny, you need to go back to remedial joke school, my friend. Americans sounding ignorant on purpose stopped being funny several years ago.
Jeremy
Example:
In anime, there are many themes which are repeated throughout various series. They are MUCH different than most Western themes. This is because of their culture in Japan, and the way their society works. What we see is only the end product. We do not see why a character might feel a certain way about a situation, because we do not understand the cultural differences. Thus, all we see is the final product, which might seem quite alien/exotic to us, however we never really learn the true cultural knowledge behind it.
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
Only uncool nerds like JPop and Video Games. (Video games coolness is changing VERY rapidly though.) It is, however, very cool to like Anime, it just isn't cool to know what the word Anime means. Especialy among the younger generation (highschool and younger) the Animes that hit Cartoon Network are extremly cool shows.
Little Brother, watching the watchers
Daffy Duck as Robin beats any anime I've ever seen for pure entertainment value. Refute that. His beak! How it pops up! Oh, man.
It also has a certain quality of timelessness that I don't seen in anime.
I find Anime, as compared with other cartoons made in America, to have a much different focus.
American cartoons:
Futurama
Family Guy
Simpsons
Japanese cartoons:
Inuyasha
Naruto
etc.
Now, for a comparison and contrast:
American cartoons, generally in 30-minute less commercials segments, are mostly humorous, and completely unconnected. No bridged eps - you can sit down and watch one show isolated and know exactly what's going on.
Japanese cartoons are generally seeming to be started as a series -- if you come in half way, you'll be lost, and have to pick up what's going on as you go.
Japanese ones also tend to address more mature themes than American ones do. (Mature meaning, high-school-level as opposed to middle school...nothing "deep" but "deeper")
I watch both kinds, and all sorts of non-anmiated shows too...anything to entertain. And, different stuff is entertaining to different people, so it all works out in the end.
TO be fair bukkake isn't a real word; it just sounds japanese.
Bukkake is the name of the soup. The name comes from the fact that the female in a bukkake tape looks as if she accidentally spilled the soup all over her face.
If you don't understand any of my sayings, come to me in private and I shall take you in my German mouth.
....culture would be the movie, Vulcano High.
Mac OS X and Windows XP working side by side to fight back the night.
OK, long-time /. reader, first time poster .. be gentle CowboyNeal! :-P
In the early-to-mid 1980's, for some reason, the Australian commercial-free public TV station (the ABC) broadcast a number of Japanese shows - anime shows Astroboy, Kimba the White Lion, and live-action show Monkey.
Both of those anime are from the god of manga, Osamu Tezuka
These shows got me interested in Japan - at age 8, I wanted to be a ninja..
I studied Japanese at high school and ended up doing it at university too. Now I'm pretty fluent - and guess what, I learned quite a bit from reading manga,watching anime and Japanese movies..
Some people here have mentioned Engrish/Japlish T-shirts in Japan - well, I've seen plenty of Australians wearing shirts with Japanese characters that say, for example, "strange foreigner", "winter", "fire" and "water"..
Why do people wear shirts (and get tattoos) with languages they don't understand? Because they think they look cool!
Creamed corn and chicken soup has lost its innocence.
Use ISO 8601 dates [YYYY-MM-DD]
Well, just judging from the content of the article, the reporter hopped off the plane at Narita, took the train to Ueno, hopped onto the Yamanote to Shibuya (totally ignoring Akihabara, of course, only nerds would want to go there).
Then he walked across the street, right past, and completely ignoring the infamous 109 shopping mall, the very heart of popular fashion and culture in all of Japan! But he was busy looking for an anime store! No time to find popular culture, he had popular culture to write about!
Then he went down the street to Mandarake, kibbitzed with the owner for a few minutes, turned around, ignored 109 again (although he apparently did notice the big screen on HMV, and probably the one on Tower Records too)...and went right back home again.
Oh, and he thinks Glay is a boy band. That's pretty funny. That's a bit like calling Insane Clown Posse a boy band.
When I read newspaper articles about things I know about, I honestly wonder why I believe anything I read about things I don't know about.
umm Volcano High is a South Korean movie.
Chop suey is American.
More than mere navel gazing.
(me from Hong Kong) I have been to Japan twice this year, 3 times in past 2 years.... I can observe that the most famous and the more admired star/person/celebrity in Japan is -- David Beckham. You can see his TV ads, posters everywhere.
i know who you are TyrranzzX... If there was a group of ppl watching a gorgeous sunset, filling them with joy and wonder, you'd be the guy whining about how the colors are unnatural and the result of pollution. While it would be true, you'd rather suck the life out of the moment and destroy it for everyone else becuase you are so bitter. You are a cynic of the worst kind, you repress hope in others AND are self righteous about it. Being a moral crusader will not bring you happiness or friends. Have your beliefs and strive for them, but don't share your misery. Relax Grow Up Stop raining on other people's sunny days See the good in people and yourself
Utilizing the synergization of benchmark e-solutions to pre-workaround action items!
As an addendum to a post I made earlier about Kenshin, seriously - what the hell is wrong with the people who make shows like that one and for the love of all that is holy, Trigun? WHY do action shows that could be cool have to have stupid unfunny comedy segments dominating 50% of the show? Seriously, someone who enjoys Trigun, please explain how it is possible for you to not be an idiot.
Seriously - I tried watching this series when they put it on Cartoon Network. Once again, they advertised it like it was just the coolest damn thing - an action filled gunslinging Western cartoon. Hell I love Westerns. Unforgiven was one of my favorite movies of all time. I was ready for some GOD DAMN ACTION when I turned this sucker on.
Sadly it was not meant to be. The show is filled with main character "Vash The Stampede" making all manner of silly faces, including having his face turn into a cat for no apparent reason, having his face get really gigantic, crying giant rivers of tears, and all manner of insane, inhuman expressions. OH WAIT - IS THIS SHOW A COMEDY OR WHAT? I guess I was supposed to laugh at some point.
My next thought was that this show must obviously be for kids. No such luck there - when there actually is violence (FINALLY) in this "action" series, it's brutally violent. The juxtaposition from slapstick hilarity to gut wrenching action was not handled at all well by whoever wrote this piece of trash. I don't think they felt the need at the time.
I tried to watch it a few more times. I wanted to like it because it was drawn really well (when the characters weren't coming off completely cheesy) and the music was awfully cool, and the action scenes were pretty neat. Every single episode, however, was ruined by some fucking dork writer somewhere in Japan who thought he was funny and was miserably, hopelessly mistaken.
I know I'm going to get beat on by some geeks but...
Japanees popular culture reeks of the same kind of cheap, campy sensations of cheap Vegas tourist attractions. Just go off to a Japanees website that wasn't made with Western web surfers in mind and you'll see what I mean.
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
http://www.flanders.be/public/flanders/economy/ind ex.asp
No, but you are.
No - its an opinion, Mr. Anonymous Coward whose too afraid to put a name behind his opinion
Damn, I love Slashdot. Every time someone disagrees with your opinion, they go on a moderation crusade. Troll Troll Troll... Overrated Overrated Overrated...
Sheesh... grow a fucking dick.
If there is one thing the US does well, it's recreate shows rather then import them.
Many films that have been made in the US are simply remakes from some other country.
The Ring being a good example of a foreign movie that never made it to the big screen in the states (at least not in major theatres as far as I know). Hollywood made it in a way that people from the US will be able to accept and ended up doing something that didn't quite live up to the original.
Interestingly enough, the US version probably got more exported thoughtout the world than the japanese version so I think it's a big loss for the global community.
This is not the only instance that can be mentioned. I believe that a US version of the french movie Taxi is currently being produced. Is it really that hard for americains to accept a taxi driver rolling around the small streets of Marseille? Must it really be happening in the streets of some city like New York for the average americain joe to accept it?
Why is it that hollywood has such a great resistance to movies that come from outside the US?
Yes there is the rare occasion where a foreign film will make it in major cinemas but I can't remember much passed Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (or much before it either).
Since we're talking about anime here I think that if US animation studios took they're shows more seriouly like Hollywood does for it's movies, Japanese animation would never have gotten it's foot in the door here. I've met TV producers of animated shows here and they simply feel that it's best to make the shows as cheap as possible so as to make a quick buck rather than try to make something good.
Dammit, why didn't someone unearth that clip during the recent Recall election here in California??? Looking at Ah-nold with that utterly crazed, depraved look in his eyes...man, that was scary!
California is going to need more than vitamin drink to perk up after the Governator is done with it, alas.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
... that's marketing.
Of course, the greatest consumer of it is the US, for which marketed concepts and culture are pretty much interchangeable. After all, they got the idea from us.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
Does it look like anyone is into Anime and similar things to pull girls? No? Then why are they into it?
Maybe because they think it's... cool!
I can easily get laid without Anime, so why should I care if that brainded bimbo over there isn't going to approve of my taste in entertainment?
Clever signature text goes here.
Princess Mononoke is indeed a good example...
The first time I watched it, I had difficulties with the way that the lady who's in charge of the fort is portrayed. Western style would be that she would be complete evil, exploiting the land, her workers, soley for personal gain/power. We should be cheering for her destruction, no?
Well not quite, because things are not black-n-white like western audiences expect. Villans are not necessarily beyond redemption or entirely evil and heros can make some horrible decisions.
That's one of the attractive things compared to most western fare, it doesn't assume that the viewer is an idiot who has to have a black-n-white outcome.
Wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?
Typical USian exceptionalism. It is so stupid it almost hurts.
US culture is popular because it has stronger means of propagation. Cultures that popularized themselves along the millenia have always been associated to large armies and conquerying warlords.
Nowadays a third visible power is economic one and accordingly economic powerhouses have the most influence culutrally around the globe, not suprisingly India anc China, both growing economically and politically are now hot when it comes to cinema and music, this has nothing to do with flexibility but with economic realities.
During the cold war the language most learned in Soviet satellite states was Russian followed by German (due to many scientists going to study there), that had nothing to do with flexibility of the Russian or German culture, but with the fact that you have to deal with those states with large political influence.
The day the US is not a political or economic power US culture will fade giving way to whatever replaces it as the political power to respect.
It amazes me also how some people invoke Darwin's name at the drop of a hat with such careless disregard for the facts: what Darwin discovered is only applied to biology, in the narrow field of evolutionary theory. It can not be applied to full societies or cultures because simply Darwinism does not cover these matters at all, any Darwinist assumption regarding the adoption of cultural practices is completely flawed.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
McDonald's and Coca-Cola are the cheapest way to fill your belly. They are cheap, thus they sell, nobody cares if the main office is in the US or in Tonga.
The Matrix is unproduceable in any other country. In several countries other movies, locally produced, beat Hollywood exports. Of course US people never get to hear about this.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
I love the Jap game shows shuch as Takeshis Castle. They are nuts and the people on them don't hold back. So many injuries.
-- Karma Karma Karma Karma, Karma Chameleon - Boy George
There are other reasons to hate Canada, you know. Please don't oversimplify.
Other than the language and the food, being in a major Japanese city feels much like any western city. I went to a couple of the large department stores is Osaka looking for Japanese gifts for my family and had a very difficult time. All the clothes were Burberry, French, or Italian labels and the shoes were Nike, Adidas, or Puma. About the only uniquely Japanese sections of the stores were the Bridal, cooking, and packaging departments. (I found the large print scarves they use for wrapping packages to be some of the most disctinctly Japanese gifts for relatives.)
Restaurants were 50/50 western and Japanese. We interspersed the traditional fare with Italian, Indian, Starbucks, steakhouse, KFC, and even McDonald's. For our first late night system install, we even found a nearby Domino's that would deliver.
While there is some cultural backwash coming this way, the vast majority of the cutlural tide is flowing to Japan.
one word:
"Pocky"
These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
Bukkake Noodles.
Bukkake does refer to the action of pouring the noodles over the soup.
If you don't understand any of my sayings, come to me in private and I shall take you in my German mouth.
Thank you, oh wise Anonymous Coward, for sharing your wisdom. What could the world do without it...
Yes, it's a Chinese game originally, but people in the West almost entirely use Japanese terminology to discuss the game.