We all have televisions and the internet. We've all been exposed to the weirdness of popular culture in Japan. Now, we explore:
1) Japanese Game Shows
Japanese game shows are so insane they deserve their own article. I think there's a special place in the great halls of insanity for Japanese game shows. Often American culture (especially since the horror known as reality TV has been thrust upon us) has been accused of being cruel. Japanese game shows take things to another level. There is literally one show where all the contestants repeatedly get hit in the balls. There are also rules that have no rhyme or reason, like one show where all the contestants must pretend that they are in a library and speak in hushed tones. There are weird costumes, competitions against animals, strange sound effects, pain, things you couldn't dream up in your worst nightmares. For a reference point, let's take a look at that nut shot show i talked about:
Let's just take a look at one more for good measure.
2) The Poop Obsession
Yes, Japan has a poop obsession. You might not have known this, but it's real. Travel to Japan and you will undoubtedly run into any of a number of poop products. From a golden poop cell phone charm to poop stickers to poop children's toys to poop hats. There's even poop candy. Poop appears to be a friendly character in Japanese pop culture.
Look! It's the Japanese Jonas Brothers!
3) Tentacle Rape Monsters
I think this one speaks for itself.
4) Robots
Japan has outpaced everyone when it comes to developing robots. It seems like every couple of months there's some news story about a new robot launch in Japan. This is insane for 2 reasons. One, when the robot revolution comes where the robots rise up and enslave humanity, we'll know who to blame. I knew we should have translated the Three Laws to Japanese! Second, some of these robots are damn creepy.
I remember a friend of mine commenting on Japanese culture, saying that Japan is a country of extremes. They are extremely conservative yet also very liberal all at the same time.
Poop toys are oddly cute and the Japanese have an odd sense of humour but you gotta love them and all the awesome goodies they bring us.
There should be a list of why japan is not insane:
cars, electronics/technology, etc
But yeah, they are kinda out there... haha. Half my people... -__-"
I still love them for sushi!
HAHAHAHA
Vending machines with used panties...& all the porn shops in the city...beneath it all they are really sex crazed.
I think that the society is soooo unbelievably repressed (everyone- including low level job people wears black suits and don't talk to each other on the subway on the way to work) - in so many other ways they are coerced into acting, walking, sitting and talking a certain way so it's no surprise that they rebel in other ways.
A country of dipolar opposites that's for sure.
I love their Lolita fashion though, and I wouldn't mind visiting again!
Their obession with fighting.
Obessession with pornography in everything including anime.
Is it really true that in Japan there are 4 women to every 1 man? If so that explains their obessession with porn. Their not getting any sex because there's no women.
I think Japan letting a US base on Okinawa insane. Japanese girls keep getting raped by soldiers, and there's not really any severe penalty or punishment for these soldiers.
Okay, to not be cynical (because I did it for the horrible lulz), maybe a good reason as to why Japan seems insane to the rest of the world is them not having the FCC to stop them. They have their own censorship laws, but they're able to show a lot more hardcore shows.
I guess one example is how America turns some of their shows into kid shows through censors and edits. I know you've listed "anime" as one of the reasons why they're insane, but that's relative to the shows and writers. Two shows, however, that have reached America, have been toned down to kid shows (and I mean 10 and lower). The two shows I'm talking about are Zatch Bell (known as Gash Bell in Japan) and One Piece. The sad part is watching the English versions, then watching their original Japanese versions and noticed how much they've censored or edited to make them kid friendly. This is a bad thing though. A very bad thing.
Japanese people are SO smart... Why do they need porn shops everywhere... Can't they just use their imagination? They're creative...
Pretty sure Itchi The Killer is Korean, actually...though I may be wrong...
I think you're judging this stuff just because you don't understand the cultural background they come from. It is the Japanese definition of cute coming from centuries of influence and the Japanese definition of what is funny from the same thing also.
I currently live in Tokyo, and the only qualm I can find with any of the entertainment here is that the commercials are too happy and the variety shows too colorful. There are times when I miss the good old fashioned american pessimism, but I've learned to ignore most of the happy here.
Besides, what do you think the Japanese think of us when they see shit like Jackass, pimp my ride, the bachelor, and our obsession with making baby animals cute? Just because it's different and outside your box doesn't make it any worse than what trash your own culture produces.
@should_I_Tell_You@xanga - To begin, soldiers haven't raped anyone since world war two- what rock have you been living under? And the Japanese raped and murdered okinawan women and children themselves- they don't need help from outsiders in that department. Okinawa wants to be their own country, but of course Japan's not going to hear a bit of it.
The US base in Okinawa is to keep the peace in the Pacific ocean and surrounding waters for times like these when North Korea wants to launch "satellites" (goldeneye, anyone?) over Japan, and god bless them for being there. The news here in Tokyo just said they've rolled ground to air missiles into the center of Tokyo as a precautionary measure and I'm really glad for it. Sure, you think it's shitty, until you have to live there and face getting blown up by another country. I'm glad as hell that the Americans, Japanese, and South Koreans have their act together right now and have Kim surrounded.
@NoHeroesForTomorrow@xanga - Yeah, nothing gayer than hard gay who is actually straight and got married about two years ago to a woman. :P
Don't get me wrong, I love hard gay- he makes his fellow Japanese nervous as hell and that's always entertaining since just about everyone walks around like they're in their own plastic personal space bubble that should never ever be shattered. But really he's just a really amusing act at the end of the day. :/
@wolfie - Japan's culture is based on personal honour. Back in the day, that used to mean sword fights, even after the shot gun was introduced. Guns were considered cowardly and wielded by those who were so poor in spirit to not even be skilled in a sword. Therefore, fighting is a way of proving honour. You can emotionally scar a person for life with your words and with arguments, but if you duke it out in a fist fight and it turns out to be a really good fight, you may end up gaining respect for your opponent and even make a new friend and comrade. Therefore, it is more honourable to fight than to toss words around.
As for porn, every culture has an obsession with sex- the only differences is that most countries keep it private and to themselves, and Japan has no problem showing it off. Same amount of porn, just different way of dealing with it.
in japan u can buy girls "used" panties from a vending machine...
Arnold is amazing.
They have a Hello Kitty amusement park (think Disneyland, but -everything- HK!) I think that's got to be quite high on the insanity scale....
But, you know...I love their insanity. It's so much better than American (gun-toting) insanity. I have -never- felt more safe then when I was in Tokyo. And...their insanity is so optimistic and cute! How can you not love it?
you're just jealous
Yeah, I've heard all of those before. But I love Japanese game shows! I watch MXC on Spike like every Saturday night!
I wish I could understand what they are saying in the videosÂ
Look! It's the Japanese Jonas Brothers!
5) American Stars in Japanese CommercialsTerrifying
Comments (115)
i got high from watching that commercial
@xxstuckfixatedxx@xanga and
@MyFreedomWings@xanga - LOL true. :)
i<3bigreddot :D
Japanese Jonas Brothers?! LOL
That killed me.Â
ahhhhhhh hahahhahaha I love you. xD
@thinkin_up_dreams@xanga - Nothing gets gayer than Hard Gay. >=]
I remember a friend of mine commenting on Japanese culture, saying that Japan is a country of extremes. They are extremely conservative yet also very liberal all at the same time.
Poop toys are oddly cute and the Japanese have an odd sense of humour but you gotta love them and all the awesome goodies they bring us.
There should be a list of why japan is not insane:
cars, electronics/technology, etc
But yeah, they are kinda out there... haha. Half my people... -__-"
I still love them for sushi!
HAHAHAHA
Vending machines with used panties...& all the porn shops in the city...beneath it all they are really sex crazed.
I think that the society is soooo unbelievably repressed (everyone- including low level job people wears black suits and don't talk to each other on the subway on the way to work) - in so many other ways they are coerced into acting, walking, sitting and talking a certain way so it's no surprise that they rebel in other ways.
A country of dipolar opposites that's for sure.
I love their Lolita fashion though, and I wouldn't mind visiting again!
Their obession with fighting.
Obessession with pornography in everything including anime.
Is it really true that in Japan there are 4 women to every 1 man? If so that explains their obessession with porn. Their not getting any sex because there's no women.
I think Japan letting a US base on Okinawa insane. Japanese girls keep getting raped by soldiers, and there's not really any severe penalty or punishment for these soldiers.
Okay, to not be cynical (because I did it for the horrible lulz), maybe a good reason as to why Japan seems insane to the rest of the world is them not having the FCC to stop them. They have their own censorship laws, but they're able to show a lot more hardcore shows.
I guess one example is how America turns some of their shows into kid shows through censors and edits. I know you've listed "anime" as one of the reasons why they're insane, but that's relative to the shows and writers. Two shows, however, that have reached America, have been toned down to kid shows (and I mean 10 and lower). The two shows I'm talking about are Zatch Bell (known as Gash Bell in Japan) and One Piece. The sad part is watching the English versions, then watching their original Japanese versions and noticed how much they've censored or edited to make them kid friendly. This is a bad thing though. A very bad thing.
Pretty sure Itchi The Killer is Korean, actually...though I may be wrong...
I think you're judging this stuff just because you don't understand the cultural background they come from. It is the Japanese definition of cute coming from centuries of influence and the Japanese definition of what is funny from the same thing also.
I currently live in Tokyo, and the only qualm I can find with any of the entertainment here is that the commercials are too happy and the variety shows too colorful. There are times when I miss the good old fashioned american pessimism, but I've learned to ignore most of the happy here.
Besides, what do you think the Japanese think of us when they see shit like Jackass, pimp my ride, the bachelor, and our obsession with making baby animals cute? Just because it's different and outside your box doesn't make it any worse than what trash your own culture produces.
@SuperEvilPopTart64@xanga - Ichi (there is no 't') is Japanese. Ichi is not a korean word.
@should_I_Tell_You@xanga - To begin, soldiers haven't raped anyone since world war two- what rock have you been living under? And the Japanese raped and murdered okinawan women and children themselves- they don't need help from outsiders in that department. Okinawa wants to be their own country, but of course Japan's not going to hear a bit of it.
The US base in Okinawa is to keep the peace in the Pacific ocean and surrounding waters for times like these when North Korea wants to launch "satellites" (goldeneye, anyone?) over Japan, and god bless them for being there. The news here in Tokyo just said they've rolled ground to air missiles into the center of Tokyo as a precautionary measure and I'm really glad for it. Sure, you think it's shitty, until you have to live there and face getting blown up by another country. I'm glad as hell that the Americans, Japanese, and South Koreans have their act together right now and have Kim surrounded.
@NoHeroesForTomorrow@xanga - Yeah, nothing gayer than hard gay who is actually straight and got married about two years ago to a woman. :P
Don't get me wrong, I love hard gay- he makes his fellow Japanese nervous as hell and that's always entertaining since just about everyone walks around like they're in their own plastic personal space bubble that should never ever be shattered. But really he's just a really amusing act at the end of the day. :/
@wolfie - Japan's culture is based on personal honour. Back in the day, that used to mean sword fights, even after the shot gun was introduced. Guns were considered cowardly and wielded by those who were so poor in spirit to not even be skilled in a sword. Therefore, fighting is a way of proving honour. You can emotionally scar a person for life with your words and with arguments, but if you duke it out in a fist fight and it turns out to be a really good fight, you may end up gaining respect for your opponent and even make a new friend and comrade. Therefore, it is more honourable to fight than to toss words around.
As for porn, every culture has an obsession with sex- the only differences is that most countries keep it private and to themselves, and Japan has no problem showing it off. Same amount of porn, just different way of dealing with it.
in japan u can buy girls "used" panties from a vending machine...
Arnold is amazing.
They have a Hello Kitty amusement park (think Disneyland, but -everything- HK!) I think that's got to be quite high on the insanity scale....
But, you know...I love their insanity. It's so much better than American (gun-toting) insanity. I have -never- felt more safe then when I was in Tokyo. And...their insanity is so optimistic and cute! How can you not love it?
you're just jealous
Yeah, I've heard all of those before. But I love Japanese game shows! I watch MXC on Spike like every Saturday night!
I wish I could understand what they are saying in the videosÂ