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NEWS: Article on Japanese Pop-Culture




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Coral Skipper



Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Posts: 223
PostPosted: Sat Dec 27, 2003 9:54 pm Reply with quote
That is incredibly cool. I never realized just how widespread Japanese culture is.
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Carol Maxwell



Joined: 17 Oct 2003
Posts: 359
PostPosted: Sat Dec 27, 2003 11:40 pm Reply with quote
That is intersting to know. But, whoever came up with the whole wearing a school uniform as a fashion, must have been really high. Back when I had to where a school uniform, I hated it so bad. Maybe it's just me because I hate dresses. Oh well.
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gnollman



Joined: 05 Oct 2003
Posts: 535
Location: Richmond, KY
PostPosted: Sun Dec 28, 2003 12:09 am Reply with quote
I used to be rather enamoured of Japanese culture and all that crap... starry-eyed geek, I guess you could call it.


And then I went and lived there, and saw just how uncool the Japanese can be....


So I guess that experience kind of jaded me to all this current Japanese cultural exportation. I just sort of shake my head... Having lived there, I just don't see it as 'cool' anymore....


Kind of an 'innocence lost' sort of thing, if you will... some of the magic kind of leaves your world. At least, that's how it was for me.
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Samurai CDZ



Joined: 22 Mar 2003
Posts: 776
Location: Manhattan, KS
PostPosted: Sun Dec 28, 2003 12:21 am Reply with quote
The article wrote:
"The geeks who read manga as kids went on to become the millionaires of the 1990s,"


That's right kids reading manga today can make you a millionare tomorrow. Very Happy
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RantingOtaku



Joined: 10 Aug 2003
Posts: 219
Location: Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
PostPosted: Sun Dec 28, 2003 12:31 am Reply with quote
Carol Maxwell wrote:
That is intersting to know. But, whoever came up with the whole wearing a school uniform as a fashion, must have been really high. Back when I had to where a school uniform, I hated it so bad. Maybe it's just me because I hate dresses. Oh well.


myself, I didn't mind it at all, much easier to pay attention to what needed to be done then who is dressed 'cooler' than who... it's the only reason I can see pulling off 80%+ in everything because I never studied for anything Confused , but meh, "to each their own"
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Proman



Joined: 19 Nov 2003
Posts: 947
Location: USA
PostPosted: Sun Dec 28, 2003 1:47 am Reply with quote
Carol Maxwell wrote:
That is intersting to know. But, whoever came up with the whole wearing a school uniform as a fashion, must have been really high. Back when I had to where a school uniform, I hated it so bad. Maybe it's just me because I hate dresses. Oh well.

As a guy I find those uniforms extremely sexy and cute Razz . But that's just me Wink.
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Dejiko



Joined: 18 Jun 2003
Posts: 276
Location: Holland (between Great Britain and Germany)
PostPosted: Sun Dec 28, 2003 5:49 am Reply with quote
I'm sort of with Gnollman here. Even though I haven't spend more than two months in Japan, there's been enough going on to make me take a less glamorized stance on things. Don't get me wrong, I immensly enjoyed the experience, but it also made the shells fall off my eyes. A lot of Japanese, not all mind, ARE very phobic of foreigners and don't mind letting you know it.

Why, I remember a horrible shopping experience at the very same Mandarake mentioned in the article. In the hustle and bustle after shopping there with some friends (you need to put your own bags in a locker, prior to entering the store), I lost track of a bag with stuff I bought there. We immediately contacted the store staff. A friend of mine who is fluent in Japanese explained what happened, what was in the bag, handed over the receipt and left contact information, should someone return the bag to the store.

Well... they did, but not in a form we hoped for. A few days later, we went to the same store and saw the same goods (some of which were pretty rare) back up for sale again. We could tell so because they all had the price tags in exactly the same spot, were worn in the same places, or had small holes in the wrapper plastic in exactly the same locations. I felt angry and taken advantage of, but there was nothing to prove. Of course, losing sight of a bag is stupid, but I wonder where the fairytale came from in which left luggage is never removed in Japan.

So for all you all you good otaku kids out there: Japan is not a dreamland, it's inhabited by real people, who can be real asswipes if they choose so. Enjoy manga, games and anime, but don't believe the hype.
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Izlude



Joined: 04 Jul 2003
Posts: 323
Location: Wherever The Wind Takes Me
PostPosted: Sun Dec 28, 2003 3:29 pm Reply with quote
Samurai CDZ wrote:
The article wrote:
"The geeks who read manga as kids went on to become the millionaires of the 1990s,"


Oda? Smile
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Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Sun Dec 28, 2003 3:41 pm Reply with quote
Dejiko wrote:

So for all you all you good otaku kids out there: Japan is not a dreamland, it's inhabited by real people, who can be real asswipes if they choose so. Enjoy manga, games and anime, but don't believe the hype.
That can be said about any country, or culture, that one experiences. It’s often the perceived ideal that is the pull here. The reality is often different to the fantasy. The Japanese are no less, or more, human than the rest us, and so have their share of good and bad individuals as well.
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Proman



Joined: 19 Nov 2003
Posts: 947
Location: USA
PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2003 12:37 pm Reply with quote
Mohawk52 wrote:
Dejiko wrote:

So for all you all you good otaku kids out there: Japan is not a dreamland, it's inhabited by real people, who can be real asswipes if they choose so. Enjoy manga, games and anime, but don't believe the hype.
That can be said about any country, or culture, that one experiences. It’s often the perceived ideal that is the pull here. The reality is often different to the fantasy. The Japanese are no less, or more, human than the rest us, and so have their share of good and bad individuals as well.

Mohawk52, I agree with you 100%!
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Dejiko



Joined: 18 Jun 2003
Posts: 276
Location: Holland (between Great Britain and Germany)
PostPosted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 9:01 am Reply with quote
Quote:
It’s often the perceived ideal that is the pull here. The reality is often different to the fantasy. The Japanese are no less, or more, human than the rest us, and so have their share of good and bad individuals as well.

That's what I was trying tell, yes Smile
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rektagunn



Joined: 04 Oct 2003
Posts: 218
Location: enohana
PostPosted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 10:32 pm Reply with quote
Carol Maxwell wrote:
That is intersting to know. But, whoever came up with the whole wearing a school uniform as a fashion, must have been really high. Back when I had to where a school uniform, I hated it so bad. Maybe it's just me because I hate dresses. Oh well.


here's an article about Japanese sailor school uniforms from anime-tourist:

http://anime-tourist.com/article.php?sid=554
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Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Wed Dec 31, 2003 8:04 am Reply with quote
Ah! The school uniform. It brings back memories of my misspent..... I mean happy days at Catholic school. The girls wore white blouses under a grey cardigan that had the school crest over one breast. Mini skirts were all the rage then to the disapproval of the nuns. The pattern was a brown and grey plaid worn with white knee-high socks. The Monsignor head teacher didn’t make much of a fuss about it oddly enough. I use to have to sit in the front rows of class and those damn narrow desks meant something would most often fall off and I’d have to bend down to pick it up. Very annoying. Shocked Twisted Evil
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