PG made a lot of valid points that I mostly agree with. Even if comparing Wall-E (a 100 minute big budget feature film) to Naruto (a 6-year-old franchise cash-in) is a little misguided, I won't contest that point.

The whole thing about 'Japan being the center of the technology universe' may be gradually changing though. At least in the video game world, major Japanese game developers are admitting that the Westerners have surpassed them in many ways. As has been mentioned already, Japan in general is pretty closed-minded, and would traditionally refuse influence from external sources--especially international.

Still, they're doing some pretty wicked stuff outside of anime and video games.

I went there in '06, mostly to check out the Tokyo Game Show but also to meet with some colleagues that I was corresponding with at my job at the time. And I had a blast. The most fun I had on the trip was actually getting lost in a suburban area because I had caught the wrong train, and had to walk about 6 miles to get where I wanted to go. I do want to go again for a visit, though I'm not sure I would want to live there for an extended period of time. Fonz talked about being a 'black sheep'... well, I am actually Black and 6'1. I really stood out. Not such a big deal in Tokyo where you would expect to see a bunch of foreigners, but when I was stranded in that suburb I really felt some eyes.

So yes, I guess I am a 'Japanophile', but I certainly don't subscribe to that or the 'otaku' label. I may be pretty deep into the anime and the video games and a bit of the language and culture, probably a lot deeper than most people who would call themselves 'otaku', but it isn't something I take to the ignorant extremes I sometimes see.