Wapanese~

[Peegee]

I completely forgot how awesome Japanese food is. Funny how I have compartmentalized everything good and bad =)

[Fonzie]

Traveling has always seemed like a bitch to me. Therefore, I wouldn't want to go too some place were I'd be nothing but the Black Sheep.

[41-Inches-Wide]

I like manga and anime I collect them and also gacha balls. I also think I'm going to work for Square. And then live in a box apartment in Shinjuku and take a train and old lechers will want to pat my bum when it's elbow to elbow inside the train.

I like Japan. Who cares. If you don't want come with me, kfine. Who cares too.

[KentaRawr!]

Meh, if somebody really super likes Japan, then let them. Once they've saved up their money to get there, they'll realize whatever they had to.

[Rantz]

I like to Japan Japan.

[LunarWeaver]

I don't care if someone is really interested in all that stuff. There's definitely overboard, though. Acting like Japan is a magical place of unicorns and chocolate swans is a bit much, especially when they don't even know anything about it other than they like anime and think the language is hella coo'.

I have had Japanophile friends in the past and the worst thing for me was they refused to listen to any kind of music unless it's named something stupid like Shirananki Tokomoto Sagi~ OneTrueHeart(SukiDesuULTRAmix). They would denounce all music from the rest of the planet. That's what I mean when I say overboard. If you want to listen to J-songs that all sound the same in a language you can't even understand that's fine by me, but don't act like all other music in the world is dumber than Carlos Mencia by default.

[Lynx]

besides godzilla related attacks and that seizure robots tv show it seems like a cool place to visit. and even the prisons look like a resort. and when you want to leave you just walk through the walls. i watch a lot of simpsons.

japan has a lot of companies coming out with interesting technologies. i think most people go over there thinking theyll be able to pick up a pair of hover shoes and put on some virtual reality helmets and fly around and play video games. aka its all the bright lights and new technologies that people think are so cool they want to see and itll be so much fun.

[JKTrix]

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.

[KoShiatar]

I have studied Japanese language and culture. But all those people who say "JAPAN!!" about everything Japanese and spend their lives collecting anime still leave me puzzled.

[Miriel]

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.

Japan always gets the hype for being super technological, but (and I'm kinda biased) I think South Korea outranks them in terms of both robotics and communication technology. South Korea is actually building an entire robotic city starting in 2009 which is kinda nuts. Plus, Korean food > Japanese food.