Posted February 19th, 2008 by Peter · 6 Comments
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You asked for it, and we delivered. This is a post all about Japan and Anime.
Naruto, Rurouni Kenshin, Fullmetal Alchemist, the list goes on… All asians have a confession to make. I know.. it may be difficult, but:
WE LOVE ANIME! It is part of the asian culture. We embrace it. The multi-billion dollar industry has stretched from the minuscule islands of Japan all the way to the comic book shops of Europe, Asia, and the Americas. However, there are many types of anime lovers: those who try to be asian, and those who are full-blooded asians. Being white doesn’t make someone conservative. Being African American doesn’t make someone a professional basketball player. Likewise, being an anime lover does not automatically make you asian.
Here are the 3 main nuisances in the anime community:
1) Those who think that Anime is all Japan has to offer. Let’s get this straight. Japan has other things to offer? What about that Tiny MP3 Player with 40gb of storage. What about that cell phone that works all around the world or housemaid robot? What about those thousand-dollar DLP televisions, fuel-efficient cars, and electronics we could never dream of in our wildest imaginations? Let’s get one point across. Anime is not the only Japanese product.
2) Those who try to become Japanese. Asians are very envious of the Japanese race. They love the fact that it has progressed so immensely over the past hundred years. They love the fact that it is isolated from the communist corruption in China and Southeastern Asia. However, take a second to ponder your roots. If you are not asian, do not try to be asian just because you don’t fit in. Don’t say that you are going to become as “Japanese” as possible, and plan to move to Japan to escape the “freak moniker” because chances are, if you move to Japan to buy all the anime and manga you want, you will be considered a freak not only by the Japanese, but by people you know. Leave the “being asian” to the asians, and quit saying things like: “baka” and “sugoi“.
3) Those who think that reading Anime makes them know everything about Japan. This is the largest pet peeve. Now we all know that forlorn kid that sits in class reading their manga like they own it. They take the Japanese classes and are able to understand the language to the capacity-level of a 5 year old. What’s the point? They aren’t asian. Asians are asian. “they’ll translate idioms literally - like ‘kanazuchi’, meaning ‘bad swimmer’, they’ll call ‘iron hammer’, the literal translation. So you get nonsensical sentences like “Oh that girl, she’s an iron hammer”. They’ll also translate false cognates incorrectly - like ’saabisu’ usually means ‘free’, not ’service’. Anyway, everybody makes mistakes, but when these people make mistakes, their mistakes get taken as truth by hordes of other Japanophiles.” -Bitter Asian Men
There is a wonderful anime fanbase and following. There is also a not so pleasant sect. To avoid being “lumped” in with those crowds, some asians pretend not to like anime. These asians normally go home to youtube their favorite episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist, Gundam, Dragonball, or Doraemon. You’ll never know. It’s an asian secret. To see a list of popular anime series: click here.