What mistaken impressions do people get about Japan by consuming solely anime and manga? What mistaken impressions do people in Japan have about people in, say, America? And what are some manga and anime that do a good job representing the lives of LGBT people and other minorities in Japan? All this and more on our latest panel discussion!
Participants
Jay – Publisher, Unseen Japan Site and Japanese translator based mainly in Seattle.
Sachiko – Japanese feminist and translator based in Tokyo.
Kazuma – Half-Japanese translator, trans-masc, LGTBQ+. Based in Germany.
Mercedez – ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) and Japanese translator based in Fukushima.
Quotable Quotes
Mercedez, on how people everywhere develop mistaken impressions of people from other countries and cultures:
In my job [in Japan], I was the first Texan anyone met. And everyone’s touchpoint [for Texans] was that drama Dallas from the 80’s. Everyone’s like, “Have you ridden a horse? Do you shoot a gun?”
@pixelatedlenses
Kazuma on LGBT recommendations from Japan:
When I recommend [LGTB-friendly Japanese works] to friends, it tends to be manga versus anime…Anime is usually hugely over-exaggerated and the stuff that does get adapted is usually extremely fetishistic and it’s just there for capitalist consumption versus actual representation.
@JusticeKazzy_
Jay on the “gap” between what Japan has and what the West gets:
There’s this gap where what [anime or manga] gets translated for international audiences is whatever someone at a major publisher or studio thinks is going to be popular with an international audience.
@UnseenJapanSite
Sachiko on misconceptions about daily life in Japan made by anime/manga fans in the West:
I think everyone imagines everyone reading manga on the train – when everyone is, like, on their phones and playing something similar to Candy Crush.
@Ishikawa_Sachi
Links to Books Discussed
English (in Translation)
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness (Manga) – A biographical manga about one woman’s struggle with depression and her sexuality. By Nagata Kabi.
The Bride Was a Boy (Manga) – A story of a transexual woman and her marriage to the man of her dreams. By Chii.
Japanese
日本人の知らない日本語 (The Japanese That Japanese Don’t Know) – by Umino Nagiko. A Japanese teacher tells stories in manga format about how her students would often ask her questions about Japanese that she didn’t know. Amusing and a great read for anyone with intermediate or better Japanese ability.
言えないことをしたのは誰？(Who Did the Unspeakable?) – By Saiki Mako (1961-). Saiki’s work focuses primarily on child protection and child poverty issues in Japan. Unfortunately, her work seems like it has yet to be translated into English.
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