Forum - View topic[Off-Topic] Are you a Wapanese?
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Iritscen
 Posts: 793 |
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I think he really meant
Not that Japan is filled with cute girls. |
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Doctor who
 Posts: 103 |
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Ok, that makes more sense. |
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Asako
 Posts: 751 Location: Hawaii |
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I don't think I'm Wapanese or a Japanophile from the descriptions I've been hearing. I like Japan but I like other cultures and places as well. I love how each place is unique and has so much history.
I may have learned Japanese because my mom made me take it in high school (I originally wanted to learn French and she pushed me to Japanese). But now I see how it benefits me where I am rather than French, so I have my mom to thank for that. As for things like converting to a religion or eating Japanese food making you a Wapanese? Uhm... eating it from the day you were born doesn't apply does it? And attending service at the temple for a while, going to cherry blossom viewings, 3-5-7 children festival, yearly bon dances during obon season, flower festivals, etc. all during you life.. does it make you a Wapanaese? I do like anime and manga, but I don't think it has perked my interest in Japanese culture... I just want to know more about them... I want to know where my family came from and how we got to where we are. So in that reason I have a particular interest in Japan, does that make me a wapanese? I guess that's why I'm confused with the terms.. yes, I like the culture, language, life, history, etc. But does it depend on how you've come to your interest? Or does it just mean it's any person who likes it? 
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SalarymanJoe
 Posts: 468 Location: Atlanta, GA, USA |
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If I were speaking academically, I would use "japanophile" but very rarely do I or many of my friends use terms like "wapanese" or "japanophile" - we prefer the much more derogatory and borderline-slur of "weeaboo" for common speech.
That said, I am usually take most of the weeaboo slurs being that I am an anime fan, listen to some of thier popular music, and speak Japanese. But I know their joking because of the wide variety of hobbies that I do share with many of them not related to anime. To the OP, if you like Japan, read as much as you can about it - both good and bad - and experience it first hand. You might like it, you might not. From my personal experiences and studies, I'm facinated by much of the history, more so than I probably am by strict cultural elements. It's very much on the list of places I would visit, who knows, I might even take a job there for a year or two given that the pay was pretty high and there were adequate tax havens. Other than that, it'd be like nearly every where else I've been. I've traveled to the UK, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria and while they're all great countries and I very much enjoyed my times there, they're not places in which I would choose to live. I see Japan as very much the same way, and it's not even really considering the racial issues that exist there. In short - vacation would be great, contract work would be nice, living there is right out. Drew "Suiko" Sutton http://akibaren.blogspot.com PS - By "living there", I intended living there as a private citizen and not as someone stationed on a military base. I didn't explicitly state it above but just now felt it should be said. |
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Steroid
 Posts: 329 Location: At home, where all good hikikomori should be |
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Well, what I'm saying it, I like the portrayal of dime-a-dozen cute girls that one sees in anime, and on the music group shows like Hello Morning, and even on shows like Iron Chef with its "bimbo du jour." I'm sure IRL the pretty girl:less pretty girl ratio is not much different in Japan than in the US, but in its fiction, not so. |
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blind_assassin
 Posts: 755 |
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I think lots of people would say that I'm a Japanophile but really I just like the way Japanese sounds and their culture is interesting. I don't like the fact that because I also watch anime, if I like Japan too then I'm a Japanophile. Thats like saying anyone who plays Soccer can't watch it on t.v without being bat-shit crazy over it. It's a double standard really but society is full of 'em so whats one more to the mix really.
From my point of view, I'm not really a Japanophile. Maybe slightly, but not enough to actually be called a Japanophile. I'd describe myself more as someone who likes Japan than a Japanohpile. |
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Viga_of_stars
 Posts: 1240 Location: Washington D.C. in the Anime Atelier |
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over this thread i keep seeing weaboo come up. is that another form of wapanese? japanophile? japrican-american?
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blind_assassin
Posts: 755 |
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http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=0PBF61009BC-Weeaboo.jpg#63
Thats where it came from. Apparently it somehow turned into a synonym for wapanese. |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16941 |
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Everytime I say wapanese to myself I think of Burger King and the whopper. Is that just me? |
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DKong
 Posts: 152 |
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Um...for the richer culture argument:
1. I've eaten a good variety of foods (various asian [chinese, thai, japanese, etc], greek, italian, spanish/mexican, polish, american...duh), and Japanese dishes rank pretty high on my non existent list of favorite dishes. 2. With art, I can say Asian art (and it's primarily japanese) is high on my non existent list of favorite art styles. It's not bias spawned from anime, I just always have. |
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d.yaro
Posts: 528 |
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Methinks you're in the same category as myself: Nikkei-jin. A person of Japanese ancestry living outside of Japan who is not a Japanese citizen. I would say that you're correct in suggesting that such a background doesn't necessarily make you a "wapanese". Maintaining and carrying on Japanese cultural activities and practices such as those you've listed is no different than a member of any other ethnic group outside of their native land carrying on their customs and traditions. In that context, having relatively open and quick access to topical cultural exports such as anime or manga is simply icing on the cake. You have an understanding of the traditional culture coupled with a glimpse of modern Japanese life. |
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Wolverine Princess
 Posts: 1100 |
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Amasa, you seem to be a little sheltered about the negative connotations behind the word "Wapanese." You might want to do a little more reading up on the word before you openly and proudly declare yourself one.
Just for the heck of it, I'm personally guilty of from that article: cosplaying, owning Hello Kitty merchandise (I went through a big Hello Kitty stage in 6th grade, but lately I've been donating a lot of my HK stuff to the Salvation Army), Listening to J-rock/J-pop bands nobody has ever heard of, an undying obsession with anime, posting/lurking religiously on 4chan, attending anime conventions, being under the age of 17 (does that really even count?), and indiscriminately buying/renting/watching anime just because it has "some heart-faced little anime bitch" on the cover. Heh, considering the length of that article, I think I came out mostly unscathed... |
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Amasa
 Posts: 340 Location: Japan |
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Hmph, I disagree. That website is quite clearly a caricature and an exaggeration - hell, it is very funny and there is no way that there is anybody on Earth who would match most of the characteristics listed.
Instead of being offended or dismissing the term as a joke though, I'd rather embrace it and have fun with it. So when people say "Wow you sure do like Japanese stuff a lot.." I'll respond by saying "Yeah, I've pretty much turned into a Wapanese." Honestly I'm not self-conscious at all about the labels that come with being a self-proclaimed Wapanese, since I know that I'm not even a quarter as extreme as the urbanDictionary or Encyclopedia Dramatica definitions. |
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Yuri Kawai
 Posts: 31 Location: Lesbos Island, where everyone is Lesbian |
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umm... no. Japanese people are too naughty and ugly IMHO.
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Wolverine Princess
Posts: 1100 |
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I'm fully aware that Encyclopedia Dramatica is a joke site, but keep in mind that this is the kind of image a lot of people conjure up when they imagine typical "Wapanese." Feel free to shrug off accusations of being a little too obsessed with Japanese culture with jokes like, "Yup, I'm practically Wapanese," but saying things like, "Hey, guess what? I'm totally a wapanese! Who else here is one?" will get you more than just a few odd looks. |
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