How not to not sound like a racist troll on Japanese related topics

[anotherdamnwatanabe]

Hello, I am a Japanese-American lady gamer who is sick of gamers misconceptions about Japan. I made an Escapist account to share a list of facts for nerds who get all of their knowledge of Japan from the Internet, and because the Zero Punctuation Yakuza review was so wrong. Foreigners and Japanese alike who are not nerds can be racist, but I find otaku anime nerds or gamers are the very worst racists next to racist elderly people.

1. Japanese people favorite anime is wholesome family friendly like Chibi Maruko Chan, Sazae-san, and Miyazaki films. Boys like action like One Piece and sports. Men think action anime like Dragonball and Gundam is nostalgic. Disney is very popular Anime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSKLTuGc75M&feature=related

2. Japanese live action drama most popular genres are romance, comedy, horror, and detective. Foreigners don't understand Japanese TV or comedy always. Music that is popular are singer like Ayumi Hamasaki, Dreams Come True, and South Korean SNSD.

3. Otaku anime is only known by otaku except for Neon Genisis (I don't like) and Gundam. Almost every woman actually hates otaku because they are pedophiles. Visual novel and moe fans are like the perverted trolls who always say bad things in YouTube video comments: Just embarassing guys you try to ignore.

Now, please don't say ALL Japanese like perverted or are crazy. I am not crazy or a pervert and neither is anybody I know.

/goes back to playing games now that that's off my chest

 

[darth.pixie]

I'm...pretty sure everybody knew that.

But misconceptions make fun jokes and it's easier to resort to stereotypes than think of normal people. Because normal people are boring.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Onee-chan... hitoshii baka ni shinaide kudasai

Care to give us a translation? I got "Older brother" and "idiot" out of that, but I speak about as much Japanese as I do German (read: a couple of words, not even phrases) and Google Translate has completely failed me.

OT: OP, welcome to the forums. This was kind of a random way to introduce yourself, especially because this stuff is mostly common knowledge. The Escapist doesn't have a particularly high proportion of absolute weaboos, largely because the cutoff age for membership is 13, and most people either grow out of the phase or mature enough to learn that everything you just said is true at or shortly after that age. Although some people really need to hear what you said about Otaku being a dirty word in Japan...

Edit: And I just realized the irony of posting this with a Mobile Suit Gundam avatar. Rest assured that I'm not some huge stereotypical anime fan; UC era Gundam just happens to be some of my favorite science fiction, from any country and in any form of media. I put it right up there with Star Trek and Stargate.

 

[BlueMage]

But .... half the fun is stirring the white/black (whatever, non-Japanese) otaku up and then watching the shit fly

Captcha: loneene thinking. Screw you captcha, my thinking is not 'loneene' at all.

 

[FalloutJack]

*Blink blink*

Actually, to an uninformed crowd, this message is really an eye-opener, as I can back up at least part of what is said here. (Everything I don't know, I don't know, obviously.) But umm...yeah. If this was spoken in all seriousness, then I can understand the point of view.

However, not all foreigners are without understanding. Somewhat a generalization here.

 

[Aurgelmir]

Hello, I am a Japanese-American lady gamer who is sick of gamers misconceptions about Japan. I made an Escapist account to share a list of facts for nerds who get all of their knowledge of Japan from the Internet, and because the Zero Punctuation Yakuza review was so wrong. Foreigners and Japanese alike who are not nerds can be racist, but I find otaku anime nerds or gamers are the very worst racists next to racist elderly people.

1. Japanese people favorite anime is wholesome family friendly like Chibi Maruko Chan, Sazae-san, and Miyazaki films. Boys like action like One Piece and sports. Men think action anime like Dragonball and Gundam is nostalgic. Disney is very popular Anime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSKLTuGc75M&feature=related

2. Japanese live action drama most popular genres are romance, comedy, horror, and detective. Foreigners don't understand Japanese TV or comedy always. Music that is popular are singer like Ayumi Hamasaki, Dreams Come True, and South Korean SNSD.

3. Otaku anime is only known by otaku except for Neon Genisis (I don't like) and Gundam. Almost every woman actually hates otaku because they are pedophiles. Visual novel and moe fans are like the perverted trolls who always say bad things in YouTube video comments: Just embarassing guys you try to ignore.

Now, please don't say ALL Japanese like perverted or are crazy. I am not crazy or a pervert and neither is anybody I know.

/goes back to playing games now that that's off my chest

That is why I stick to my "Only in Japan" line. Because it doesn't generalize, it just states that Japan has a lot of subcultures that are just so different from the rest.

PS: Not really sure what your list wanted to accomplish though. Would be nice to list the misconceptions and come with counter arguments.

 

[NiPah]

Don't worry, Zero Punctuation is for entertainment and not meant to be in anyway truthful.

Now, please don't say ALL anime fans are perverted or are crazy. I am not crazy or a pervert and neither is anybody I know.

 

[StormShaun]

I actually like Japan, so I cant be rasict towards it, they are pretty awesome.

 

[Fanta Grape]

I'm Japanese. Watching the Sazae-san song brings back memories...

 

[Toriver]

As an American currently living in Japan, I can verify that everything in the OP is true.

[sub][sub]And exactly what I've been saying on every Japan-related topic, yet nobody believes me, pulling out some random VERY OBSCURE things as "evidence"...[/sub][/sub]

 

[Kortney]

I believe completely obsessing over and pretending you understand a culture that you are completely ignorant on and aren't a part of is creepy and stupid. Lots and lots of people do this with Japan.

That's my only gripe towards anime fans. I realise that most anime fans don't do this.

 

[similar.squirrel]

Most of us take our information from Cracked.com with a sizeable pinch of salt. Japan has some weird subcultures, but so does everywhere else.

 

[Ghengis John]

Hello, I am a Japanese-American lady gamer who is sick of gamers misconceptions about Japan. I made an Escapist account to share a list of facts for nerds who get all of their knowledge of Japan from the Internet, and because the Zero Punctuation Yakuza review was so wrong.

Don't worry. It's not that he hates or misunderstands Japanese people specifically. He does that a lot. I'm Irish-American and "Yahtzee", the Zero Punctuation reviewer, constantly displays his overt hatred and racism for many groups with no shame. Kindly watch his review for The Sabotuer and imagine how I felt about him after that.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1353-Saboteur

Perhaps it's not right of me to say not to worry though. It might be better if more people did. But I commend you for stopping by and defending your people, it was illuminating as well.

goes back to playing games now that that's off my chest

This board could probably benefit from having you around. His sort of thinking isn't exactly rare you know. Then again, that might just mean a lot of frustration for you.

 

[RN7]

Any time Japan's mentioned with any sort of obvious misconception around me, it's meant as a joke. Granted, most of the people that I've interacted with, that have brought up such a topic are educated an aware. Outside of this, I haven't actually seen much stereotyping that isn't obviously satirical or meant for humorous purposes, especially not on the Escapist.

 

[BonsaiK]

1. Japanese people favorite anime is wholesome family friendly like Chibi Maruko Chan, Sazae-san, and Miyazaki films. Boys like action like One Piece and sports. Men think action anime like Dragonball and Gundam is nostalgic. Disney is very popular Anime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSKLTuGc75M&feature=related

2. Japanese live action drama most popular genres are romance, comedy, horror, and detective. Foreigners don't understand Japanese TV or comedy always. Music that is popular are singer like Ayumi Hamasaki, Dreams Come True, and South Korean SNSD.

3. Otaku anime is only known by otaku except for Neon Genisis (I don't like) and Gundam. Almost every woman actually hates otaku because they are pedophiles. Visual novel and moe fans are like the perverted trolls who always say bad things in YouTube video comments: Just embarassing guys you try to ignore.

Now, please don't say ALL Japanese like perverted or are crazy. I am not crazy or a pervert and neither is anybody I know.

/goes back to playing games now that that's off my chest

All of this is 100% correct, especially 3. Don't call yourselves "otaku", folks - at least, not if you want to make friends with any Japanese people or go to Japan at some point.

Yahtzee's just taking the piss though, don't take him too serious.

 

[Tekkawarrior]

You take Yahtzee seriously? clearly you need to watch more ZP. Also I'm a gurl gamer.

 

[Erana]

I really despise this notion of "fantasy perverted anime Japan" that is found in many Westerners these days. In college, I minored in Asian Studies because I felt that learning about completely different cultures expanded my mind and my understanding of the world. One professor was the heart of the department, and his studies were focused on Japan, so it became the focus of my studies, too. I've spent over a month in Japan total, mostly in Tokyo, and can honestly say that I love the place but don't fit in at all. Multiple people assumed I was French. >.>

Because of this deluded image of Japan, having one's work being influenced by anime is a terrible stigma for artists, and I I had to spend valuable time in my art graduate program interviews clarifying that my interests in Japanese arts are in printing and Japonisme, rather than pop-culture.