Anime Discussion: Is Japanese media really better than other media?

[Alolan Slowpoke]

A certain hype that has been around for a while (quite a while) is that Japanese media (such as anime, manga, and Japanese video games) are far superior to the media of other countries and regions. People who on the defense of Japanese media generally attack "American" media, claiming that it lacks soul and substance. On the subject of cartoons, some defenders of Japanese media claim that anime cannot even be considered a cartoon because of various reasons, ranging from more in depth plots, a more mature art style, or just the fact that kawaii anime desu.

I do not take either side, but I am personally interested in what all of you have to say on such an unimportant yet easily argumentative matter.

 

[97SaturnSL1]

IT depends on what it is. I do like more of the nintendo series video games (pokemon, Mario,ect) more then most american video games but i do enjoy most american cartoons over most anime. Most american cartoons from the 90s and early to mid 00s have plenty of humor, slapstick and just pure randomness. Most anime just comes off as too serious and has really dry humor. whenever i watch something animated, i want to laugh and have a story be told. And most american cartoons are a lot les KAWAIII DESU. the only thing i find more comediac then american cartoons are the lod japanese movies such as Godzilla and the tvshows such as Johnny Sokko and his Jiant RObot. I call anime a cartoon because IT IS A CARTOON

 

[farewell friend]

I ask you to forgive me for any spelling or grammar errors, as I wrote this out on my phone. I also hope that I have somewhat answered the question without offending any person.

The answer to this is subjective. The logical answer would be that no media is inherently better or worse. Everyone has a certain preference, usually due to many factors, but one in particular being the individuals' native language and country of upbringing.

For example, my stepmother is Moroccan, born and raised. She loves watching dramas, but not Asian ones. She really loves Arabic and Turkish dramas. She doesn't like Asian media. That's her preference.

In contrast to her, I do not like Arabic media, and I used to love Korean dramas and movies (but I stopped liking dramas and movies altogether). Now I just have a preference for documentaries, preferably in English and professional.

My father doesn't care for any of these types of things, but he did enjoy watching Hunter X Hunter dubbed in Arabic (honestly, I enjoyed it too). You couldn't pay him to watch it in Japanese.

The problem, as I see it, is that people are far too defensive of their choices and opinions. This is especially true in regards to Japan, and I see it not just for anime, but also gaming media. Many times I've seen overly-passionate (ignorant?) people fiercely fighting the idea that anime are 'cartoons,' and equally fighting the idea that anything made outside of Japan, even if it is 'anime-style,' can be called 'anime'. The same I've seen for gaming media, in which the opinions and fighting is much worse. Those who passionately believe that Japan and everything Japanese is superior, will speak ill of dubbing, censoring due to a certain country's law(s), and even ridiculous things like 'Westernized localization'. It's truly something else. All I have to say to those people, is that if you prefer the original Japanese so much, then stop complaining and start learning the language.

There's an observation I've made on this matter, as well. It seems, for some reason, that Japanese media is given more liberty and seen with more forgiving eyes in regards to sensitive and controversial topic issues. For example, a game with heavy over-sexualization of females that look almost prepubescent- with their age the only indication of their maturity- will be not only accepted by most of these people, but also fiercely defended, with some individuals going so far as to say this is an example of how accepting Japan is of sexual topics, and then further concluding with a quip about how the West loves violence and guns. Additionally, they will usually state something along the lines of, "Japanese culture," as if it is an adequate defense.

Now I know better than to stereotype, and I most certainly do not want to engage in arguments against any one who disagrees, also adding that I enjoy Japanese media- especially games- and I am currently studying the language. However, my eyes are thankfully not clouded by undying devotion to the country's media, and therefore I can form these opinions.

 

[Robo-Floatzel]

Neither is better than the other, though when it comes to anime fans, most claim that Japanese media is better since it's far more unique and distinct while almost all other countries use the media of the United States as the model for their media.

Because there's so much about Japanese media, let's talk about the most well known form of Japanese media: Anime. We know the US started the animation industry courtesy of Disney, but due to what TV Tropes refers to as the "Animation Age Ghetto", people are convinced that animation is strictly meant for children (even though many of the original Looney Tunes shorts were meant for an adult audience). Most foreign countries have decided to follow the American model and standards for their animated shows. A friend of mine told me on Skype once that it's because of what he calls "a double standard of our human nature" that a lack of more "serious animation" for an older audience exists in the US and western countries, instead using live-action for more serious programming as opposed to what anime does, which can be goofy like American cartoons or more serious like many anime shows have become. There do exist adult animated shows, but because of the American mindset of copying off what's popular, they end up being either clones of South Park and Family Guy, or mindless scribbles that appeal to the lowest common denominator like many of Adult Swim's shows outside of Toonami. One of the few western companies that realize that animation isn't just strictly for children, but instead believes it's for everyone is Disney, while everyone else copies off of what other people do, such as how many CGI movies copy off the style of Dreamworks, resulting in what the Nostalgia Critic once referred to as "Diet Dreamworks"

What makes anime and Japanese media different? Japan was different in the fact that for the longest time, it isolated itself from other cultures courtesy of the Tokugawa Shogunate prior to the 20th Century, in which from 1630s to 1868, Japan heavily restricted contact and trade with the outside world and other cultures, avoiding the trends common with other cultures, and as a result, Japan managed to evolve into the strange Cloud Cuckoo Land culture it is now. Along with the rest of it's culture, it's animation industry developed separately from the western animation industry, resulting in what would eventually become what we now call anime. The thing about anime is that it's an intellectual and creative medium, not just silly entertainment for kids, because many people of all ages could enjoy it.

Neither is better than the other, both have their merits and flaws.

 

[zakisrage]

I don't really think it's any better than any other type of media. Japan has both good and bad media. Plenty of countries have good media. I try not to judge by country when selecting media. It can be hard, but I try.

 

[Serpentsounds]

One aspect to consider is that Japanese media is simply more prevalent than that of many other countries. Japan is among the most well developed and economically prosperous nations, so its industries are naturally that much larger. More of its content gets consumed simply because more of it is produced. Of course, any given person would probably be more familiar with the productions of their own country, but they might not be as relevant on a global scale.

I feel like a large part of this argument always comes back to "Japanese cartoons vs. American cartoons." If it's simplified to this, I would have to give Japan the victory. The industry is simply more nationally relevant in Japan, so the genre has expanded to target a wider variety of audiences. American cartoons tend to be geared towards a younger audience. Adult-targeted works are there purely for shallow comedy. However, if you take a look at Japanese anime, the largest demographic targeted is high school students. The majority of mainstream anime are in a high school setting. I feel like a large number of people who engage this argument are young adults and adolescents, so it makes sense that they would prefer content relevant to their age group. That may contribute to why this question gets brought up. You could also just argue for days in favor of anime and bring up things like "better narratives" or "more fleshed out characters" or "more attractive art", but in the end, that's just like, your opinion, man.

If we go back to media as a whole, the story changes quite a bit. Sure, Japan has a film industry, but neither it nor any other country can come close to the reach and influence of the one in the U.S.. The same could be said of music. I'm no fan of most contemporary U.S. releases, but it's hard to argue that they're not more globally relevant. It doesn't help that Japan doesn't do much to globalize its music industry, either. These are more measures of international relevance than "quality", but it's difficult to quantize something as subjective as quality into any sort of logical argument.

 

[ocelotlrama jaguar]

It really depends on what I fancy.

There are some anime shows I cannot stand, and some I have downloaded onto my computer because I love to watch them when I can. Vice versa with American/European shows. There are some manga that I like and some I wish to throw in a furnace. Same thing with comic books from American and European countries. I am not too much of a comic book or manga fan, so meh.

I will admit that a lot of the games that I like are Japanese made. I also like a few European and American games, but overall most of the games that I love to play originated in Japan. Still, there are a lot of games made in Japan that I dislike a lot and wish they never existed. The same can be said of American and European games.

I like what I like. I dislike what I dislike. As long as I have fun watching or playing, it doesn't matter to me where it comes from.

 

[u69413]

No, not to me. I prefer some western media to a lot of Japanese media because characters in western stories behave more naturally and realistically and have more depth to them than characters in a lot anime and manga that are shallow and have bizarre and over-the-top reactions to everything.