My introduction to Japanese Culture

Pokémon

I remember waking up excited every morning just because I knew I would have the answer to “Who’s that Pokémon!” Sure enough, I always did. Pokémon was the first show I  remember watching religiously, it’s the first movie I saw in theaters, and it was the first game I had ever owned. There was a point when I could name all 150 Pokémon off the top of my head and, to this day, I still go back to those first Gameboy games and experience the nostalgia of Pokémon. Yet, I was too young to even realize that this was not an American cartoon and, little did I know, I’d be introduced to another hit series right after.

DragonBall Z

This show pretty much sealed the deal for me, and if you’re a millennial, chances are it did the same for you. This is only the second show in my life that I made sure I watched EVERYDAY. After every weekday at 4:00 pm, I was on the edge of my bed just watching the z-fighters and their enemies talk for half an hour. No, seriously. The Goku vs. Frieza fight lasted 20 episodes, effectively making it the longest fight in anime history. I don’t think any show could have done that without a massive fan base.

Here I was, addicted to a culture that I had only  really encountered once before but these encounters only became more frequent. Toonami, an animated programing block on Cartoon Network, began to show anime like nobody’s business: Cyborg 009, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, Naruto, Bleach, OnePiece, Inuyasha…the list goes on.

 

I continued to watch anime frequently throughout my high school years. It was during this timeframe that I was introduced to Manga (japanese comics) by my friend and wrestling teammate, Tony. He was an avid reader of the Naruto Shippuden series and made great strides in showing me exactly how awesome Naruto had become. I didn’t even have to read the manga to know how powerful Madara or Itachi were, or how Naruto mastered Sage Mode and had become Hokage. His love for the show and manga eventually inspired him to get this sick tattoo.

Tony’s tattoo, Inspired by Itachi’s crows and Sharingan

 

My exploration of japanese culture only grew with time. In my sophomore year of college, I was introduced to the different kinds of anime, like Shonen and Josei. Before this, I thought all anime was pretty much the same, but I was terribly wrong. In realizing that I wanted to learn more about these differences, my friends, and fellow student government members, Hill and Wynn, allowed me to borrow Mushi-shi and Honey and Clover. These two dvds allowed me to see the drastic differences in anime styles.

From there, Hill and Wynn also brought to my attention the late talent of Nujabes. Nujabes amassed a massive following before his death and was a well-respected artist. He is also known for his work on multiple records for the lovable anime, Samurai Champloo. The first song of his that they referred me to was Luv Sic parts 1-6  and I’ve been hooked ever since. As a matter of fact, Hill and Wynn are composers themselves and you can check out their blog here.

 

Hill and Wynn

I was actually able to get a statement from Wynn on how Japanese culture, specifically anime, has impacted him.

Well, like many, my interest in Japan comes from watching anime. It started out with the dubbed stuff from Cartoon Network, then I became more invested and started watching it in the original language with subtitles. Then I started watching anime you can’t see in America (usually streaming with subtitles). Through looking up their language, their customs (portrayed in a lot of anime), their Shinto religion, and other forms of media (music, variety shows, ect), I have grown a great interest in the culture of Japan outside of anime. Of course there’s good and bad in all countries. I really like how everything in Japan is done, like everyone is a family. However, they can have a collectivist mindset which can make it seem like there’s no individuality. However, Japan is usually a very respectable, hard-working, and welcoming place. Their traditions can make them very closed off and difficult to approach though. They’re almost completely homogeneous. They’re 95% Japanese only, I think. Anyway, there are a lot of great things about Japan. If it wasn’t for anime as my springboard, I never would have delved so deep into such an interesting country.

Many of my friends and family are lovers of anime, manga, and japanese artists.

Everyone loves anime!

 

My girlfriend may be even more of a fan than I am, introducing me to shows like Rosario x Vampire. We both love the culture so much that we’ve promised ourselves that we’d learn japanese in order to avoid the annoyance of mistranslations. All in all, I’m grateful for the chance to be a part of, even if a small part, a culture besides my own.