| yes I feel you I was also dissappointed when I watched family guy and then later it turned out americans don't act like that at all, south park was more accurate |
Zangetssu said: Ramy_Stereo said: yes I feel you I was also dissappointed when I watched family guy and then later it turned out americans don't act like that at all, south park was more accurate it's a shame you didn't even read my text properly. But I'll explain it again: I'm talking more about the fact that Japanese people tend to be withdrawn, introverted and have hardly any free time. On the other hand: The characters in the Animes are always so direct and cosmopolitan. Understood? I understood it the first time boy I'm trying to say that this expectation is ridiculous because entertainment, especially animation, isn't required or even expected to depict reality. why isn't everyone in anime uptight, introverted and withdrawn? because aside from psychological shows where that type of thing is the main focus, it would make for shit entertainment. imagine creating any kind of expectation regarding a country's people based on the characters in their cartoons smh |
| Ever think that things in the anime and documentaries you've watched might have been played up and exagerated for the sake of entertainment value? Ramy_Stereo said: yes I feel you I was also dissappointed when I watched family guy and then later it turned out americans don't act like that at all, south park was more accurate  |
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FacelessVixen said: Ever think that things in the anime and documentaries you've watched might have been played up and exagerated for the sake of entertainment value? Ramy_Stereo said: yes I feel you I was also dissappointed when I watched family guy and then later it turned out americans don't act like that at all, south park was more accurate I know that. It's just a mystery to me why the Japanese, who don't seem so be introverted in many anime, e.g. in schools anime, slice of life, are so much introverted in reality compared to other ethnic groups. If you watch a movie that is set in american high school or an American teenager, for example, then you have many aspects that are really true . But you can't apply that to the Japanese and the Animes. Understood? Both of you? |
Zangetssu said: FacelessVixen said: Ever think that things in the anime and documentaries you've watched might have been played up and exagerated for the sake of entertainment value? I know that. It's just a mystery to me why the Japanese, who don't seem so be introverted in many anime, e.g. in schools anime, slice of life, are so much introverted in reality compared to other ethnic groups. If you watch a movie that is set in american high school or an American teenager, for example, then you have many aspects that are really true . But you can't apply that to the Japanese and the Animes. Understood? Both of you? if you're going to an american high school expecting them to act like in a hollywood movie you will be so unbelievably dissappointed. and again, animation is a different case. In fact, when it comes to depicting people authentically anime is far ahead of american cartoons even though still neither is remotely realistic on that level |
Ramy_Stereo said: Zangetssu said: I know that. It's just a mystery to me why the Japanese, who don't seem so be introverted in many anime, e.g. in schools anime, slice of life, are so much introverted in reality compared to other ethnic groups. If you watch a movie that is set in american high school or an American teenager, for example, then you have many aspects that are really true . But you can't apply that to the Japanese and the Animes. Understood? Both of you? if you're going to an american high school expecting them to act like in a hollywood movie you will be so unbelievably dissappointed. and again, animation is a different case. In fact, when it comes to depicting people authentically anime is far ahead of american cartoons even though still neither is remotely realistic on that level My cousin who lives in the USA (Ohio) told me once that the movies about American schools actually reflect a lot of truth. There are also untruths and clichés, of course, but all in all it's true. And I never talked about American cartoons. I came here to start a meaningful discussion, and to understand why japanese people are that hard different than most slice of life, high school or romance animes. you are sooo stubborn for no reason. Chill and relax. |
Zangetssu said: Ramy_Stereo said: if you're going to an american high school expecting them to act like in a hollywood movie you will be so unbelievably dissappointed. and again, animation is a different case. In fact, when it comes to depicting people authentically anime is far ahead of american cartoons even though still neither is remotely realistic on that level My cousin who lives in the USA (Ohio) told me once that the movies about American schools actually reflect a lot of truth. There are also untruths and clichés, of course, but all in all it's true. And I never talked about American cartoons. I came here to start a meaningful discussion, and to understand why japanese people are that hard different than most slice of life, high school or romance animes. you are sooo stubborn for no reason. Chill and relax. ich bin stur weil es mich unfassbar aufregen würde wenn irgendein Typ meint er müsste alle menschen die hier leben danach beurteilen was er mal auf kika gesehen hat |
| well i think overall anime shows us a reality that isnt true. in anime you find true love, true friendships, beautiful sceneries, etc. thats why we like it so much, because its something that we cant actually have because it doenst exist. the real world is just not that, (im going to sound really negative but its just my opinion) real love is dead now, friendships are toxic and two faced where people are just going to turn their back on you when they dont need you anymore, the world is full o violence, discrimination, and hate: that is just what the world is. (yeah, i do believe there is still beauty in these world and people that aren't what i described but its just really rare, minimum in my experience lol) sorry and thank u for listening to my tedtalk XD |
| @Zangetssu i understand your disappointment, since i started getting into anime i have been wanting to travel to japan and experience the world where all the stories i love and enjoy came form. i understand your high expectations on going to japan and i understand it can be disappointing to see that its not what you expected. before i investigated for my future trip to japan i expected it to have these magical vibe where everyone was happy and friendly, that i would make lots of friends and find a gorgeous anime boyfriend when i went there XD. but even though japan is not what you imagined, it doesn't mean its bad, i think u are really lucky to being able to go there in the future. what i would recommend to you would be enjoying it for what it actually is, go travel and have fun! hope these helps :) and thank u for the interesting topic i got inspired in my last post lol |
| You have japan version of paris syndrome OP. |
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| I mean, yes, Japanase society and people are very uptight, every social interaction is highly formalized and there are a lot of other issue. I'm surprised that comes as a surprise to you. Imo there are enough hints in anime, for example the fact how awkward romance anime always are (harem MCs anyone?) and how sex is such a taboo and the general puritan mindset regarding girls and virginity that permeates through anime. All the hundreds of standard phrases that they have for every kind of interaction (tadaima, Irasshaimase, Itadakimasu etc....) that are just robotically said whenever that situation arises so there doesn't need to be any actual, personal interaction about it. The fact that they censor their porn still but kinda tolerate compensated dating. The fact that shows like gintama get into actual trouble for poking fun at politicians - all that speaks to a culture of censorship and suppressing any unwanted elements. The fact that every school has school uniforms in anime. None of those things make it feel like an appealing place to live for me, and I've always felt that way. Mandatory uniforms in schools are a big red flag for me, among other things. That's not the sign of an open-minded society that values individual freedom and expression. It's the opposite. And then there's a lot of other stuff that I didn't specifically looked up but kinda 'stumbled upon' as a side effect of being into anime and active in anime communities. Like the fact that they still deny some of their WWII war crimes or the fact that mental health issues are still taboo there and seen as a sign of 'weak will' so noone talks about them. The fact that suicide is the leading cause for men between 20 and 44 in Japan and the country ranks #14 in the global 'suicide rankings'. The fact that they love to discriminate against everyone that sticks out and the fact that there are still descendants of koreans who were kidnapped for forced labor in WWII living there without japan giving them citizenship. The fact that many big japanese companies have lists of people who hundreds of years ago were descendants from 'lower classes' and still refuse to hire people with such a family history because of how fucking classist they are. Idk, I don't think I was ever delusional about Japan. I don't know how it happened, but both through anime and just at the side via random information I encountered I learned about japan slowly but surely as I kept watching anime. Both the good and the bad. It's a beautiful country and there are definitely fun places that fall out of the norm, especially in big cities like Tokyo, but as a whole it's a very suffocating culture and society that I would not be able to live in for a prolonged amount of time. Even when I visited there ~10 years ago I encountered multiple instances of hostile racism and I've since heard many stories from people who lived and worked there, none of which made me want to live or work there ever. It's beautiful for a visit, they have great landscapes and cultural heritage sights all over the country, Tokyo is definitely an experience worth having, as are Kyoto and Osaka, Okinawa was super chill, but the next moment you go into a restaurant and they refuse to talk to you because you're not japanese, or you see a club with a big 'JAPANESE ONLY' sign on its door and you know you're happy you can go back to your country again when the trip ends. There's many more things I would have wanted to do there but in 3 1/2 weeks I only had limited time, but if I could go again I would go to Hokkaido, go to sme hot springs, to the seto inland sea, to kyushu, to mount fuji, the three great gardens and of course spend some more time in tokyo, in akihabara etc... I'd also try out more food, even if I encounter racism again, I'd just power through. Just be a visitor and enjoy the trip - expect some racism and some ignorance, but don't be put off by it. |
| I probably regret this post by now. |
| Thats weird bc I've heard from lots of people that japan is exactly like their animes. The biggest difference is that Japanese high school girls look like this irl... |
| I relate to this so much. Why can't people just for once be like I imagine they must be? I'm not asking for much, just for real people to match the fantasy I have of them. It won't cost them anything to fit my idealization, maybe just their self-esteem and identity, but those are expendable to be quite fair, I've lived without them for decades now and I'm fine. |
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| lmao if anime reflected the real daily lives of japanese students and people then it would be boring as fuck, it's called entertainment for a reason all we do is study and work at least the food is good and the sights are top-notch. customer service is also the best you'll ever receive anywhere in the world. |
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BallistikJuice said: I never understood the appeal of stuff such as art, games, or watching media that are based on realism or real-world events, cultures, places, history, and other uninteresting crap. It depends on what sort of game it is I am playing. I don't want a M-4 that shoots laser beams and people that need twenty-five head shots to die. I like Ace Combat but I don't want it to be so realistic that my pilot blacks out out from an extreme G maneuver and sheers off a wing. Imagine flying that big bitch Mig-31 rolling her onto her side and then pulling up going mach 2. |
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| Yeah Japanese people are known for their shy, formal, introverted, and reserved nature. I think it comes down to whether you take anime literally or if you look between the lines. Pretty much all anime characters have really bad social skills. The vast majority of social interactions in anime are really awkward. People being awkward and trying to clear up misunderstandings but not really knowing how is a big theme in romcoms. That's the reason why Japan is so formalized. Formal interactions are relieving to people who are very shy and awkward because you have a set of instructions that dictates how you should act and makes it easy to predict how everybody around you will act. Japanese society is not going to appeal to everyone or even to most people. It especially is not going to appeal to people who are socially confident and see formalized interactions as uptight or unnecessary. Japanese culture is very appealing, however, to those of us who never really figured out how to approach a lot of social situations because Japanese society essentially has formalized guidelines for approaching social situations that are easy to follow. I think the problem with people who move to Japan and then become disillusioned with it is that many of them move to Japan not really knowing what they are getting into and then once they are there start hating everything about the country that they never should've moved to in the first place. I would never move to another country unless I knew several people there very well and perhaps had a girlfriend that I'm moving there for. Don't mistake the introversion and formalized nature for hostility to difference though. Its true that if you went to Japan, you should follow the rules of their society. That doesn't mean people ultimately can't be themselves, its a matter of what you make of it and how you use those rules. I'm aware of the fact that there's restaurants that may not serve me because I'm not Japanese. But that doesn't really bother me because I know there are other ones that will. For myself, I have become significantly more confident over the past year. But I attribute a large part of that to my immersion in the anime community. Before becoming an anime fan, the culture I was immersed in was the culture of my college which is hyper-extroverted. Being in this environment made me increasingly shy the longer I spent in it. The anime community is generally a pretty tolerant place with a lot of introverted people in it. And being around a lot of introverted people can help you become a confident person. When you are an introvert surrounded by confident people though, you become more and more shy because the confident people look down on you for your lack of confidence. Generally shy, introverted people are pretty accepting though. That's why freedom of expression in Japan is some of the best in the world and you see so much weird stuff come out of Japan. People attribute it to their "repressive culture" indicating they think its forced on them, but its really more that being shy is just kind of who they are. Anime culture both inside and outside Japan is one that heavily supports acceptance and is very tolerant of vulnerability. That's probably a major reason why anime is so popular among young people in Japan who are uncertain of themselves. Like other countries, Japan is not a monolith. If you hang out with certain social groups, you could find a lot of acceptance, and in other you may find a lot of intolerance. If you hang out with otaku types in Japan, however, you are much more likely to find a lot of acceptance because most of those people are pretty weird themselves. |
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| I think anime characters are opposite versions of real japan locals Ex= Anime characters has big eyes , japan locals not Anime mans being tall , most of japan locals not I don't know anything about personality changes So , some points of anime world is opposite version of real one? |
| Yeah, I was disappointed to find out the School Council doesn't actually control the school. |
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| Im sorry to be rude but your logic is dummy stupid anime is litterly unrealistic as hell. Anime is supposed to be entertaining to watch they exaggerate it all. Why were you even expecting it to be like you dumbass |
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Ari4 said: Im sorry to be rude but your logic is dummy stupid anime is litterly unrealistic as hell. Anime is supposed to be entertaining to watch they exaggerate it all. Why were you even expecting it to be like you dumbass This is both one of the cutest and also one of the rudest posts I've ever seen on MAL 😂. You did that on purpose didn't you? |
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| Anime is a media that is not only used as escapism and entertainment for us in the West but also for the Japanese. A good non-Japanese example is American high school romcoms, they’re not very accurate yet people from all over the world enjoy them. |
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| The only piece of media that accurately represents its country of origin is crocodile dundee |
| MEA·MENTVLA·INGENS·EST |
| Yeah I mean maybe that's why anime is that way? Because in reality things are so formal, anime exists as a way to channel all that frustration. Or at least that's what I'd interpret things as. |
| I've been here way too long... |
| Because anime is an art of escapism, even for Japanese people, so, the "anime world" is a better world to escape to. A lot more happier in contrast to Japan. Similar to how in movies American high-school is a lot more fun and crazier than irl for example |
| You have to look at anime as another form of entertainment specifically meant to entice a certain group of people. It's fair to assume that some of the aspects of Japanese life could be found within the medium of anime, but it becomes more and more prevalent that Japan is essentially a small country that desires to produce future members of society, just like any other economy driven country that creates introverts. I found that through the international Japanese students in my lectures that anime is a medium a lot of adults in Japan find childish. I think the easiest way to see this is the age demographic that goes to Akihabara. You would be really surprised by the number of generalizations, stereotypes, and shamming Japan shares with the rest of the world. Regardless, I think the gems of japan and something anime gets right most of the time is the countryside and the beautiful outskirts of Japan, for example, Sendai or Kamaikochi. It's a shame you couldn't go to Japan, I was actually planning on taking a semester abroad in Tokyo to better understand the culture and business practices. |
dipItFooMay 19, 2020 5:08 AM
 Anime List │ OST │ Artist |
cayi said: This is a pretty pessimistic take, but it's probably the correct answer to OPs question. A lot of anime is pure escapism (which has, unfortunately, come to be an awfully dirty word). If you're a lonely, introverted person whose high school experience was spent doing nothing but studying for university exams, wouldn't you want to fantasize about forming true friendships with wacky and exciting characters in interesting clubs? If you're unhappy with your life/culture, why consume media that reflects the worst parts of it, rather than sugarcoating the bad and exaggerating the good? By the way, it may seem like I'm making a value judgement here and casting aspersions on those who partake in escapism. That couldn't be further from the truth. Sometimes, you just gotta unwind and watch some feel-good shows. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. i agree with u, there is nothing wrong with wanting to escape your reality. it is actually something that i like doing because its a reality that will never happen irl so i think escaping is good. but i was just commenting to the actual question of the forum that he shouldn't get disappointed of japan if it isn't what he imagined because obviously is not going to be like an anime, because it isn't REAL. thanks for giving me ur point of view in my opinion :) it was interesting to see |
| Well for starters, the colors in anime are more vibrant. Than say real life Japan. This reminds me of a question I asked a Japanese friend. Do you they let you up on the school roof? He said no and it's unlikely you'll meet a cute girl. |
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| Daily life doesn't sell. No one wants to watch someone being stressed to the point of death or experience the declining birth. Media, in general, will hype up the dramatic aspects of life and ignore the dull. Hence your disappointment |
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