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they seldom go beyond the stupid "manga" as if that's the core of Japanese culture.
Most Westerners who have "Asian fetish" have no f&&cking idea about Asia. For Christs sake, at least speak one Asian language fluently. Otherwise it is always "manga manga manga", or food.
I agree.. except on the language part. When you're working 60 hours a week as an adult and have to study other things for your career, you don't really have time.
I became interested in Asian culture due to a number of things back when I was a kid and over time tried to learn a lot of different things about it including history and different countries. Animation, food, martial arts and video games was certainly part of the initial draw when you're a kid but it was other things as well as time went on.
That's a good thing right since the US is always criticized for trying to capitalize on the spreading of culture.
Like I said I'll totally agree on the manga/anime wierdos though and people that are just obsessed with a single country or group of people or something.
I agree.. except on the language part. When you're working 60 hours a week as an adult and have to study other things for your career, you don't really have time.
I became interested in Asian culture due to a number of things back when I was a kid and over time tried to learn a lot of different things about it including history and different countries. Animation, food, martial arts and video games was certainly part of the initial draw when you're a kid but it was other things as well as time went on.
That's a good thing right since the US is always criticized for trying to capitalize on the spreading of culture.
Like I said I'll totally agree on the manga/anime wierdos though and people that are just obsessed with a single country or group of people or something.
manga and video games are not an important part of Japanese life or culture. Those who love those are totally missing the point. It is like loving Czech Republic due to some porn stars.
And without sufficient mastery of the language, one can never claim any degree famillarity with the said culture. Languag is everything. You can't learn everything about Japan in the English language. that's just impossible.
Plenty of people learn a foreign language outside a good career. It is a matter of dedication. Time is never a good excuse.
I don't believe any of these western media news stories. They are usually written by journalists who are trying to sell a story, in a place that the western editors readily accept without any verification.
Japan suffers from tons of these stories..the dirty female panties in vending machine story? Remember how often that was perpetuated in western news media outlets?
It's just a place for journalists to get a story published, that western media outlets accept too readily.
yeah, the western media.
And those who expect to understand about other cultures exclusively with English language media, pathetic.
manga and video games are not an important part of Japanese life or culture. Those who love those are totally missing the point. It is like loving Czech Republic due to some porn stars.
And without sufficient mastery of the language, one can never claim any degree famillarity with the said culture. Languag is everything. You can't learn everything about Japan in the English language. that's just impossible.
Plenty of people learn a foreign language outside a good career. It is a matter of dedication. Time is never a good excuse.
Sorry I completely disagree 100 pct, but it doesn't matter. That's like saying rock and roll or Hollywood isn't part of American culture. Anyone that says that, is crazy sorry. You don't see Americans getting upset about Asians that love American music or movies. We love it when people like our things.
I only agree in regards to people only trying to learn 1 or 2 things and obsess over one specific country or something.
Being from the US it's partially about practicality if I was going to take the time fully to learn a 2nd language it would be a hispanic language unless I thought I was going to move to a specific country in Asia.
Asia has too many different langues to be practical about it from a worldview standpoint and I'm certainly not going to take the time to become fluent in every language in every country I travel to.
Here's an interesting video I found on YouTube that will talk about some of the reasons for the birth rate declining and why some women are choosing to stay single.
Very true comment. I know several people with those "Asian fetish" but usually those people do not even know much about the Asian cultures they admire. No doubt that Japanese chicks are among the hottest in the world, but besides that they are women like any others. My gf is Korean and while I find many Korean women physically attractive (not necessairly much more than other countries women - nationality does not really matter for me), they are just like most other women: Individuals. No general things to say. I know many of her friends who are very different and many who are similar.
Same for Koreans, there are often some documentaries about how many singles are living in Korea, both male and female concentrate on studying, working and hobbies (computer games, pets, etc.) and do not want to bother with a relationship. They just interviewed a young lady who has 2 jobs in Gangnam and a small dog who says that she is anyways working 14 hours a day and in the remaining free time can not deal with a boyfriend, because they may expect her to stay home, to cook, or whatever.
Of the 120 mln Japanese it almost seems like half of them can be found on certain videos on certain websites where they censor certain body parts during certain activities.. seems they are not all that shy.
There are a lot of otakus that belive all Japanese people love anime. One of my male friends embarrassed me one time because he was shouting out quotes from animes while we were at a Japanese restaurant and then saying Kawaii really loud while throwing the peace sign. One Japanese guy turned around and called him an idiot lol. He didn't know what the guy said but I did since I've taken a semester of Japanese when I was in my early twenties. If anything my friend thought that the guy liked what he said.You can tell a lot by body language as well, if someone is upset or offended it will show with their body posture, facial expressions etc. I was so embarrassed that I wanted to hide under the table. 😂
I learned my lesson to never bring an otaku to a Japanese restaurant lol.
Japan is one of the countries I have been interested in since I was little. One day I would love to go to Japan! One of my favorite things about Japan is the history, especially medieval Japan. I also like reading about the more bizarre stories, superstitions and urban legends. Although not many will talk about them but I like reading about the Ainu people as well.
There are a lot of otakus that belive all Japanese people love anime. One of my male friends embarrassed me one time because he was shouting out quotes from animes while we were at a Japanese restaurant and then saying Kawaii really loud while throwing the peace sign. One Japanese guy turned around and called him an idiot lol. He didn't know what the guy said but I did since I've taken a semester of Japanese when I was in my early twenties. If anything my friend thought that the guy liked what he said.You can tell a lot by body language as well, if someone is upset or offended it will show with their body posture, facial expressions etc. I was so embarrassed that I wanted to hide under the table. ��
I learned my lesson to never bring an otaku to a Japanese restaurant lol.
Japan is one of the countries I have been interested in since I was little. One day I would love to go to Japan! One of my favorite things about Japan is the history, especially medieval Japan. I also like reading about the more bizarre stories, superstitions and urban legends. Although not many will talk about them but I like reading about the Ainu people as well.
Honestly I just call them losers when I run into one in RL I seriously want to punch them in the face. To me it's the same as Star Wars geeks or something. It's like seriously get a life. It's guys that never leave their house and sit on a PC all day in their moms basement, or have their nose in their smartphones all day. Embarrassing is the definitive word for it.
Honestly I just call them losers when I run into one in RL I seriously want to punch them in the face. To me it's the same as Star Wars geeks or something. It's like seriously get a life. It's guys that never leave their house and sit on a PC all day in their moms basement, or have their nose in their smartphones all day. Embarrassing is the definitive word for it.
One of my otaku male friends hasn't been on a date in a decade. He prefers to stay home and watch anime all day then complains why he can't get a girlfriend. I feel bad for him it's like I have to force him to hang out sometimes just to see what the world is like outside lol. It's like if he prefers having an online romance, never meeting the person and just flirting off of FB. I find that sad. Then him and his male friends have super high expectations of how they want a future gf to look like. They expect to find a woman that looks like a jpop star.
Sorry I completely disagree 100 pct, but it doesn't matter. That's like saying rock and roll or Hollywood isn't part of American culture. Anyone that says that, is crazy sorry. You don't see Americans getting upset about Asians that love American music or movies. We love it when people like our things.
I only agree in regards to people only trying to learn 1 or 2 things and obsess over one specific country or something.
Being from the US it's partially about practicality if I was going to take the time fully to learn a 2nd language it would be a hispanic language unless I thought I was going to move to a specific country in Asia.
Asia has too many different langues to be practical about it from a worldview standpoint and I'm certainly not going to take the time to become fluent in every language in every country I travel to.
Let me repeat: manga is hardly an important piece of the Japanese culture and those who think they love Japan because of manga are just sadly misled.
No need to learn Japanese but just accept you will never understand Japanese culture without it.
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You can tell a lot by body language as well, if someone is upset or offended it will show with their body posture, facial expressions etc. I was so embarrassed that I wanted to hide under the table. 😂
