General Japanese Culture Thread

I am not sure if that is gonna be possible soon but anything can happen.

Considering the momentous demographic and cultural changes the country is going to go through, many things are going to change in the coming decades.

Say what you want about the writing but the artwork in those series is some of the best in all comics, regardless of region. :p every character in those series has a consistent, realistic design that remains the same regardless of angle, expression, etc. you need a very large amount of technical skill to pull something like that off, which comes from working hard almost single-mindedly.

i would name something from japanese film or literature as an example of their work ethic so i'd sound like less of a weeb but unfortunately i'm not as well-versed in those at the moment.

well, it's not really that clear-cut. I get the impression Miura is just really worn out at this point, he doesn't really have the energy at 50+ to pump out chapters of Berserk's quality at a regular pace. I have no idea if the Berserk release schedule was always this irregular but he's been writing and drawing Berserk for two decades, and i assume at one point releases were a little more consistent because otherwise we probably wouldn't have over 34 volumes at this point. at least when he does release chapters they are just as well-illustrated as the rest of the series.

inoue also had a number of hiatuses with vagabond but it didn't really have anything to do with him being lazy either, it's just that he put so much into it and that vagabond is so important to him that he burnt out and had to figure out where he actually wanted to take the story. there's a documentary about it that used to be on You Tube which was honestly pretty awe-inspiring.

edited 27th May '15 12:52:25 PM by wehrmacht

According to myth, a guy literally died from overwork of all things.

Mentioned before, but it's called karoshi. Happens now and then, along with suicides every day.

So I'd take it you wouldn't like Star-Crossed Lovers?

One explanation I've heard for Japan's work culture is that under the Americans occupation, the military was dismantled but the civil service was deliberately preserved, and they continued running the country on a war basis as they reconstructed, and never got quite out of the habit. It accounts not only for working schedules but also the level of control by managers and the resistance to new entrepreneurs in business.

I was under the impression that such work ethics were a common trait of Confucian influenced cultures(China, Korea, Japan, Signapore etc.), though I can't say why exactly that is.

edited 27th May '15 4:07:16 PM by Mio

Only if they kill each other. I'll feel immense satisfaction when that bother is over and done with.

"Why!?"

"You're on the wrong side" bang

edited 27th May '15 10:45:17 PM by TerminusEst

Aside from complaints from Japanese fans about Mamoru Miyano's wife being pregnant (no source on this, since I can't find anything containing a translation of said complaints) and the whole AKB 48 dating debacle (see this), is this considered Fridge Horror on Japan's entertainment industry, and also, are there any other incidents like these?

Hardly Fridge Horror. You're either in 100% or not at all. There is simply no reason to be late or not showing up to work. If there's a chance that something momentous in your personal life will prevent you from working in your full capacity, it is YOUR fault and you should make sure it isn't a problem in the first place. There are no excuses.

I would agree, in that a relationship has to be taken professionally, but, what should be done is protection of the artist in general. I mean, if you Tarento (yes, I'll be using that term) A in a relationship, and being threatened by crazed fans (not the normal fans), I think there's a problem there.

Was talking from the Japanese perspective. And they'll just use the legendary "personal responsibility" response. Being harassed by crazy fans due to your relationship? Stop having that relationship.

"Personal responsibility" was a pretty common response to the execution of the two Japanese nationals by ISIS. A godly level of indifference.

"Don't Make Waves" is perhaps the three words that can best-define Tokyo-centric Japanese culture (when foreigners speak of Japanese culture, that's what they tend to mean, as there are regions that are much less cold-blooded like Kansai, but Kanto tends to drive things).

The optimum action is the action which will offend the least amount of people, and you should never seek to change others' behavior, only look to your own.

Similar to discussions on libertarianism in other threads here in OTC, it's a great system but only assuming that there are no defectors. The problem with the Japanese mantra is that, in some respects, it gives latitude to the defectors. "What did you expect? They're Islamic Terrorists. What did you expect? You're going to have fans who want you to stay pure. What did you expect? Men have sexual appetites." In all cases "it's going to happen if you do that" is what follows, and the solution, instead of reaching out to tell the other people not to do that thing (behead journalists, harass idols, rape women) and making sure it doesn't happen, you tell the victim to not provoke them.

No wonder every Japanese exchange student I meet never wants to return. That's inhumane.

That explains a lot. O_O

Never want to return to the system. Otherwise, it's nice to go around and about the place.

And yes, Kansai can be a much more warmer place. The difference between Tokyo and Kyoto is pretty big.

It also explains why so much anime these days are elaborate wish fulfillment stories or nonsensical fantasies. Who WOULDN'T want to escape to those after living in such a confined society.

It did trigger my balding at the age of 17-18

GASP! ARE YOU SAITAMA?

Supposedly this mentality also played a big part in the conception and ideals of Bushido - a warrior, as with anyone else, was to assume personal responsibility for his wrongs and failures in life. In his unique case however, failure often equates to losing his life in battle, and thus facing one death in war with dignity was considered to be an act of assuming personal responsibility for a lost battle, especially when applied to officers that had roles in planning the eventually doomed strategy that was supposed to win it. This basically leads to retreat and living to fight another day being associated with cowardice and irresponsibility - the end result being the commonly known penchant during World War II for Japanese troops to commit suicide or make many a hopeless Last Stand whenever their fortunes in war turned against them.

and

The only superpowers I gained were those of the gaijin.

I wonder what would happen if people widely knew about how young and artificial bushido is and how dirty the sengoku politics were? People switiching allegiances as fast as you could blink. Maybe pragmatism fell of the cart at some point...

edited 28th May '15 11:29:38 PM by TerminusEst

No, see, bushido was for retainers, followers, underlings. Clan leaders were allowed to be cheating, cruel, irresponsible, cowardly, backstabbing monsters. It's the ultimate tyranny.

Well, they probably weren't exactly allowed stuff, but being a cheating, backstabbing bastard is generally how these people became clan leaders in the first place.

Chop your own lord's head off, and then deliver it to his rival. Instant promotion!