^^^ThisQuote:
Originally Posted by GeckoYamori
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^^^ThisQuote:
Originally Posted by GeckoYamori
This. I can't stand even looking at today's anime. Just look through the shit they have on youtube and hulu. Everything seems to be about 12 year old girls with g-cups. It really is disturbing. This is why I mainly stick with stuff from the 70s and 80s, when anime and Japan had a soul.Quote:
Originally Posted by GeckoYamori
As a youngster I found the Japanese culture interesting, but never enough to become one of those creepy Weeaboo's
who collects anime dolls and every stupid anime movie no matter how bad it is. (and don't forget the stupid wallscrolls)
These days the Japanese thing has become stale, and even outright repulsive with their embracing of the whole emo thing.
Like I'm a "fan" of the Godzilla movies, but I found the last movie (godzilla final wars) hard to watch because of all the damn emo aliens!
No seriously, all the "Aliens" are dressed as emo matrix agents! >_<
http://www.celluloid-dreams.de/conte...nal-wars-2.jpg
So yeah, not really a culture I'd want to identify myself with, there's stuff I like but not enough to want to decorate my house with it.
When any interest or hobby becomes an identity, I think it gets a bit out of hand. Japanese fetishism as you call it is no different or worse than any other sub-culture, but I can't really understand any of those things. A lot of the "otaku" or whatever who I have met were so close minded to anything BUT Japanese things that they weren't able to discern quality within their own hobby. Everything was Japanese or bust, which in my opinion is a really awful attitude, since some things are just categorically terrible. Even worse are the people who want to "move to Japan" based on the fact that they enjoy anime or video games, as if that will somehow immediately immerse them in a culture that, honestly, they know nothing about. One of my interests for a long time was Japanese culture, not because of a love for anything that came from there but just because of how oddly unique the country is. I mean shit, that entire country is about the size of the province I live in, yet look at the influence they have on American culture, it's really impressive and that made it interesting to me. But after a lot of time, I realized I could never really understand or perceive the scope of that culture because, quite simply, I am not Japanese, and I really do think that is a minimum requirement in really "getting" it.
I think it has something to do with feeling alienated. Most of the self described Otaku I have met really don't seem to feel comfortable in their own skin and tend to have a lack of confidence when they aren't around "their kind", so to speak. But I have known people from different sub cultures who feel equally as strangers when they aren't surrounding themselves with like-minded folks. In that way it definitely isn't a unique behavior, and I don't think its particularly strange. You probably don't "get" metalheads, or goths, or "bronies", or furries any more or less. I think the communities that form around these interests are what keep people immersed, and there are probably a few people out there who don't care nearly as much about these products as they let on - but being more "into" it gives them a certain cred among those people, and keeps them "in the loop".
It was Japanese hard- and software, sold in the West - and that simple yet effective marriage reached its peak in 1992, the year of Sega's greatest success financially AND quality wise. From there on Sega of America took control in regards to the US market. That's why it suddenly felt that Sega was completely detached from what made them great during the earlier years. It meant less Japanese games got localized, region lockout, more SOA developed games - including no more Disney games from Sega of Japan (at least not for Genesis, SMS and GG still got new Disney games made by SOJ), and let's not forget FMV, activator, Sega VR, 32X, etc. pp. The rest is history. Never change a winning team, I guess.Quote:
Originally Posted by havok666
...and then destroyed it.Quote:
Originally Posted by havok666
Indeed.Quote:
Originally Posted by zetastrike
Where's Tasuke when you need him?
I do still watch some anime once in a while, but it's hard to sift through all the crap anime. Most of it is plagued by crappy magic pseudo philosophy that makes no sense in the realm of logic, and/or 10 year old girls holding weapons that are bigger than they are and flashing panty shots, and/or have cookie cutter characters who you couldn't give a damn if they died (In fact, you kinda wish they would).
As for Japanese products in general...It's not really something I think about. I do drive Hondas, but I like them. So shoot me. They have great yet simple technology in them. If anything, I have a tech/science fetish rather than a Japanese fetish. However, I will say that my regard for them has taken a bit of a dive after about 2001 when they effectively neutered the US line up of cars.
Consoles aren't even worth getting into. The least that can be said is that Japanese consoles have had the longest reign of dominance in the industry, so the exposure to them if you are even remotely interested in video games is inevitable. As for games, meh... I don't care who makes it, as long as it's good. However, turn-based or RPGs otherwise laden with the same problems I have with most modern Anime really aren't my thing. Home theatre electronics, again I have a nose for the tech. Right now I have a Panasonic display and an Onkyo reciever, but I wouldn't mind a Harmon/Kardon or a Samsung that outperforms at the same price range.
Overall, I do like and own many Japanese products, but not exclusively and arbitrarily.
Just give us big mofo robots, Nippon!
http://yeinjee.com/wp-content/upload...4-tetsujin.jpg
I remember Speed Racer from the old days. The mouths would move, but the words would not match. Also, the animation was almost stop-motion jerky at points. As for modern anime and manga: What is their fascination with pedophilia? I mean schoolgirl looking characters with exaggerated female characteristics. It is certainly weird stuff they are putting out these days on the animation side of things.
I saw a program about raccoons recently. They were saying that in the 1990's, there was some wildly popular cartoon in Japan that had a raccoon character. Well, the Japanese kids wanted raccoons for pets, but the problem was that there were no raccoons in Japan. Presto, they started importing baby raccoons from North America for pets. Well, you can guess what happened next. The raccoons were cute until they grew up, became wild, bit the owners, and had to be dumped in the wild. Now, Japan is inundated with nuisance raccoons invading their Shinto temples. They set traps and shoot the animals, but will never get them completely out of the countryside. Japanese are strange indeed...
Interesting thread so far! I also grew up in that time period in the US where it seemed like the Japanese economy was going to dominate the world, but once the bubble popped it didn't seem to change my interest in the culture. I had friends (twins) who were of Japanese descent growing up and introduced me to not just the games/anime, but the language and culture really early on and it struck a chord with me that seems to have influenced my life.
Similar to TheSonicRetard I learned the language in college and learned so much more about country and their culture that reinforced how enamored I was the country that I even lived there for awhile in 2005. It does seem that their cultural identity is being transformed, but the media from them that I enjoy the most was based off when they had those huge amounts of prosperity. An interesting manga to read though is one called Living Game, because it was written and published during the end of the bubble. A lot of it is based around the crazy real estate prices during that time, with a story about the evolving relationship of two characters.
Anyway, regardless of it all my wife and I still enjoy games and anime, but a lot of our collection is more focused on earlier stuff, and it's rare if we pick up a PS3 or 360 game, even PS2 is pushing it sometimes. But that's not to say that I don't still enjoy some of the current games that are being put out. Tales of Vesperia was amazing, and I'm a big fan of GUST and enjoy many of the things that NISA and XSEED bring over, but gone are the days that I will give anything a try just because it has anime characters or was developed in Japan.
So far, I am amazed by the posters on this thread who seem to be enthralled by Japanese cultural offerings. What kind of trance does this stuff possibly hold over you? Even if I grew up in an era where the Japanese cartoons were being to pumped to my house on a daily basis, I would have to turn the channel.
What extreme revisionist history. First and foremost, Sega always had strong western software. Remember games like Toejam & Earl? Ecco the Dolphin? The Genesis version of Michael Jackson's moonwalker? Not to mention that, in 1992, the Sonic series moved from japan to the US.Quote:
Originally Posted by Christuserloeser
second, in no way could 1992 be considered sega's financial peak - that would be 1994, the year they overtook nintendo in the global market.