Teen japan fans

[tanuki]

AkusuruKun, please get rid of that *huge* signature image of yours. There are limits.

EDIT: Oh, you did while I was typing this. Thanks.

[onigiri444]

well I have done stuff like not capitalizing my I's and other computer slang but only on certain websites, at school I would never do that in school because it is a place of education and since this website is also a place of education the same goes here.

another reason why English test scores have been dropping is immigrants who come into the country do not know English yet I'm not saying immigrants are bad or anything like that I'm just saying when they take the standardized tests they don't always do good because they are just learning English

[the_haunted_boy]

Anime and manga is fun, but it is nice to see a more realistic view of Japan. Also a lot of the people that do not have too much of a warped view of things have anime and manga as the thing that got them into Japan and the language in the first place.

[Pork Chop]

I'm not saying the scores have been dropping per say, but they've actually made the tests easier. The SAT has undergone at least 2 revisions since I took it in 1994, apparently making it easier each time. Before going to Japan, I went to high school in San Antonio, Texas at a magnate school that was majority 1st and 2nd generation immigrants from Mexico. They had some of the highest SAT scores in the state.

Hearing my brother's stories from school and seeing his study habits, the school system in general really seems to have gotten a lot easier and stress-free.

[onigiri444]

well I think it should get tougher but I also think we're starting to get off topic (^.^);

[Daiki]

There was this one girl in my class that asked the teacher,"Is Japan a part of China?"
(she also thought they spoke the same language)
Then again, she was a lot like this:http://youtube.com/watch?v=RdpKwwomO_A

[CometBelle]

Daiki wrote:
There was this one girl in my class that asked the teacher,"Is Japan a part of China?"
(she also thought they spoke the same language)

Sometimes I wonder about people.

Anyway, it seems to me that some people believe that all teenagers are like the ones you complain about. It's not right. I recall plenty of times I've discussed with people (usually individuals in their higher teen years) about countries, languages, and cultures of all kinds, each time I spoke of having a love for Japan, and the one I'm talking to accuses me of being one of those teenagers that are seemingly too ignorant to learn more about foreign languages and cultures. Again, it is not right. It annoys me to the point that I no longer speak of countries and cultures to people who I know would think these kinds of things.

I admit, the teenagers who are obsessed with anime and manga and know nothing about the real Japan do get on my nerves a bit, but it's not all teenagers who love Japan, I'd like people to know that. It's one of those stereotypes that many people are guilty of thinking.

[SenescenceReign]

Up until last August I was a teenager, and seeing posts like this would only make me complain about teenagers too, due primarily to the fact that this stereotype became a stereotype by being true for the most part. While we all complain about this, I highly doubt that any one of us here believes that 100% of teenagers who like Japan are these sort (and anyone who does is prejudiced!)

[Yumiko125]

Well when u really think about it you shouldn't aim directly at that age group because there are 18+ yr old that are even worse!(probably more than 9-15yr olds) They think japan is all about hardcore lolita, or anime and mange comic books, etc.. Many of them don't just get the idea from just anime bust real Japanese people as well. When you think about it Japan isn't like it used to be, and many young Japanese teens do dress like anime characters and such or like hardcore lolita dolls and such. I do, however, agree with you it is embarrassing to see people act this way becuase it reflects on where you live, or better yet it reflects on how well their parents may or may not have raised them. Honestly the way I see it is, the people that do act that way or think that way that are in that age group(or older of course) really don't know any better.

Thanx for the post maybe it will open some peoples eyes(I hope!)

|--Yumiko--|

[Jotrin]

I get grouped in with the anime/manga group a lot because I have been dying my hair unnatural colors for the past year. It'd be nice if people didn't assume since I got bored of watching anime 2 or 3 years ago.
But I think we should cut the younger kids (9-12) some slack. At that age, it's nice to have a little "obsession". Something to be crazy about (be it anime, Harry Potter, horses, soccer, whatever) seems pretty normal for that age group. Older than that, though...I just feel sorry for them. To have no life outside of "Japan = Paradise" and "OMG Takeshi is soooo0o hott!11" strikes me as being more sad than annoying.

[Extraghost]

I got into the Japanese culture by watching anime and their tv shows. I wanted to learn to understand the language and people instead of having people subtitle shows for me. But the more i studied the language, the less anime and shows i watched. Using anime or tv shows i think is a good way to practice being able to understand that language, but some people get too much into it and develope odd ideas about the culture.

[Amie]

Keiriichan wrote:
*sighs* sadly, the reason I got into Japan was to understand what they were saying in the "Super Princess Peach" Video Game commercial. There, I said it.

What I don't understand is why people feel ashamed of the way they became interested in Japan or the language. There's no difference from discovering something you're passionate about from a commercial than from something more "credible." (Whatever that may be...)

In the long run, all that matters is that you love what you are learning, not from where you first were introduced to it, right?

[Hiroshi]

Ah yes...it bugs me to no end how people who like anime automatically think they know about Japan. Anime may be Japanese, but Japan is SOOO much more than anime. I know a few kids like that who are Naruto fanatics and believe they know so much about Japanese culture yet don't understand that being an expert in one anime doesn't make them an expert in Japanese culture. I've even seen that on this forum where people will join thinking they know about Japan because they know about anime...they're completely different.

[Xurma]

The problem isn't that where you get the interest for Japan.
If you get the interest to Japan via anime or manga, and later realize that Japan is much more and put the anime aside, it's okay.

But if you adopt all the sense of Japan from anime, it's very stupid.

[lemonaid]

I've observed some interesting behaviour among most of the japanese undergrad students here in my university. I've tried to write it down as accurately as possible.

One should automatically assume that something is of superior quality if it's of japanese origin. Automatically assume the superiority and uberkawaiiness of japanese people and japanese girls in particular. If it has japanese print on it, IT IS COOL! You can like generic japanese pop and at the same time hate the english equivalent. If asked why you like it, answer "duh, because it's japanese...". It is acceptable to discard someone as uninteresting if the person looks japanese and you initate a conversation with said person and finds out he/she is korean or chinese. If news about Japan pops up in local news media, stand up, point and laugh, nudge or hit your neighbour while talking in ineligible "japanese" (we have a TVs in the university common room). If you have only seen 20 animes, like 10 j-pop artists and can identify them all, you are still not otaku. Otaku is only reserved for those who are really really really really really really really into Japan. You are, of course, only moderately interested...