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[Off-Topic] Are you a Wapanese?

People in the "Japanophiles/Wapanese" mindset are extremely narrow-minded. I say this because you just showed how much you are willing to devote yourself to a culture that probably won't accept you for who you are, because of the way you are going about your supposed lifestyle preference. Ask yourself a series of questions. How much research have you done on Japanese culture in general? Are you aware of key events in the history of not only Japan, but the nations that have interacted with the country over the course of thousands of years? Do you know about the ethnic issues within the country? Cost of living? Difficulty with integration into the country? Are you aware that if you want to be a citizen in the country, they do not allow dual-citizenship, and you will have to renounce citizenship in any countries you hold citizenship in (of course, you can still be a foreign resident)? There are many more questions to be thrown at you, many are important if you are seriously contemplating such a step.

I think there's something a bit tragic about people who clearly hate their local way of life and don't feel like they fit in or don't want to fit in and so romanticize and fantasize about another country. Interest is healthy, obsession often isn't.

I think it hard to determine whether a culture is "richer" than another's by only using your own outsider standards. It is hard to see your own culture until you are confronted with something that is different.

If a "rich" culture just means a longer history, then there are several cultures that are more rich than America's or Japan's. If a "rich" culture has variety, one could argue that Japan is richer due to its combination of old traditions with modern life, but they are still a homogeneous culture. As someone mentioned above, America is a melting pot leading to a more varied, and therefore perhaps "richer", culture. Pacific Northwest culture is different from Southern is different from inner city New York is different from rural Wyoming. Put all together, it is amazingly varied across the US.

i guess i am but i perfer japrican-american since im not the W in wapanese.

Same here. Yes, I like anime a lot but I like to do other things too with playing video games as being another one of them. I'm not so obsessive with anime and the Japanese culture that it becomes the entire focus of my life. Being extremely obsessed with things like anime is unhealthy, people will start look down at you like a weirdo if you become to obsessed.

Nerv1 wrote:

Same here. Yes, I like anime a lot but I like to do other things too with playing video games as being another one of them. I'm not so obsessive with anime and the Japanese culture that it becomes the entire focus of my life. Being extremely obsessed with things like anime is unhealthy, people will start look down at you like a weirdo if you become to obsessed.

Hmm well that's not how I interpret 'Japanophile'. It's a fairly casual term and in my opinion has nothing to do with "devotion". I don't consider myself to be unhealthy, obsessive or extremist. I don't think any Japanophile actually devotes every second of their day to something Japanese, that's just absurd. Obviously I have many other interests too; philosophy, environmental activism, politics, computer games, tennis, architecture to name a few. It is unrealistic to just assume that because someone is Wapanese, or loves so much of one thing that they can all be collectivised under one term, it means that they're greasy and driven to sickness by their obsession. I'm not sure if that made sense .

Okay, so I'm getting less and less coherent but thanks all for the great discussion! Keep it coming

(All Japanese readers please disregard this thread.)

So, are all anime fans considered to be Japophiles/Wapanese? Or are there some of you out there that don't care about the latest fashions in Tokyo?

I recently stepped out of "the closet" (tansu) and admitted to myself my extreme Wapanese characteristics. I don't think it's a particularly bad title... I mean it could be worse - at least Japan is more rich in culture than most Western nations.

For me it all started with anime and manga. It got me interested in the language and the cuisine and the fashion, and soon I'm going to be living in Japan .



So how many others are prepared to admit it? Do you love anime a bit too much? Confess Japophiles, Nihonjin wa daisuki desuka?

For starters those terms sound highly degrading. Japophile sounds like you molest Japanese people. If I'm not mistaken any "phile" word has connotations of sexualness to it. If there's any Sociology or Psychology majors out there please correct me if I'm wrong and chime in.

Modern Japanese culture is basically ripped off from the Western world, except more tech-obsessed, and Traditional Japanese culture is... well, dead, as far as modern Japanese citizens are concerned. It makes for great museum fodder, but that's about it.

I feel that Japan has a more rich culture (but not pop/present culture), primarily due to the length of documented history compared to that of America's.

Yes.

I am, by nature, a very sarcastic person.

Unfortunately, the sarcasm becomes a bit redundant if it needs to be accompanied by /sarcasm tags though.

I like the idea of cute girls being ubiquitous