Japan and Art

So I just got back from two weeks in japan with one of my best friends.  She's been there for almost four years teaching english.  She speaks fluent japanese, so she was my translator and train figure-er-outer. XD

The whole time I kept thinking about something a very popular concept artist on DA said and how much it made me mad at the time and how much angrier it made me while i was spending time in Japan.  I'm paraphrasing here, but he basically said that Anime was the downfall of young western artists and that there weren't any good anime anyway except one or two- but he admitted that he didn't really watch anime at all and hadn't seen much... all based on the fact that he couldn't find good art that inspired him, a professional artist with amazing talent, on a site that is mostly filled with amateur and young artists from around the world.  

Even without the anime influence, I think DA would be filled with the same level of art it is now.  the close ups of vaginas in the photography section certainly wouldn't change.  *I* am old enough to remember the early 90's when the most popular art style to emulate was Rob Liefield.  Yeah.  That was just SO much more... accurate.  /sarcasm

I admit I often thought it would be easier to be 1/4 japanese instead of 1/4th korean- because japanese culture in america is more assessable than Korean culture, but I've never been a weeaboo or a japanaphile.  I enjoy anime because of the plethora of stories and genres in cartoon form, but I don't romanticize the culture.  I know it's got it's problems the same as the US does.  I wouldn't have ever even thought about visiting except that I miss Roxy terribly and my husband has always wanted to go to japan(he studied Japanese for three years in college... and Roxy's husband is also one of his best friends).  I was pretty scared about visiting somewhere that i could barely speak the language.  I'm terribly shy in person and sometimes I get so shy that i can't string together a coherent sentence in english- let alone a language I only know specific phrases in.  

But I went.  And I had an awesome time.  I even went out shopping on my own with D.

We visited some shrines, most notably Toshogu, the shrine/burial site of Tokugawa and spent most of my time in a rather rural city, Tochigi City.  Every two years they have a parade with giant dolls on floats carried by people(not dragged by cars like we do here) and we went to see the museum with them.  The city is very old and was untouched by WWII, so it was great to see the really fascinating eclectic architecture in the city.  Then we went into Tokyo a couple times via the train, and did very typical things like go to Akihabara and comb my way through Mandrake- a used toy and book store.  In fact we managed to hit three Mandrakes... since toys and books are my downfall.  And we visited the Bandai museum where I got my picture taken with a giant Gundam and I got to hold a huge Haru.  They had the Voltron toys there as well as the original Go-bots.  That made me so stupid happy.  

In Mandrake and a few other manga/art book stores we visited there were huge sections devoted to doujinshi- fan comics.  Some of them were drawn really well, and some weren't... but people were still enjoying them.  And I thought, "Wow, I wish we had more like this in the states.  People just enjoying reading each other's stories regardless of the quality of art."  Yeah, there are some artists, professional or amateur, that apparently have never seen a grown man shirtless, but still.  People were enjoying themselves.  People were fans.  I know that in japan fandom is more closeted than it is here in the states, but it still seemed a lot less drama filled and insulting than it is here.  There was a whole floor dedicated to girl's comics.  None of this "Girls don't read comics!" bullshit.  There were magic girls and yaoi as far as the eye could see.  There was another floor with all the guy's stuff, with booby pillows right out front to greet you. No one seemed to care.  There was something for everyone- which was so different than here in the states, where most entertainment is geared toward young men.

We went to a Maid Cafe too.  The girls there were super sweet and so nice.  And yes, there were a few kind of creepers in there... like the 40 something business man on his own who did not crack a smile but was enthusiastically waving a glow stick.  but there were also high school kids, little girls with their moms, young married couples, and lots of tourists like us.  The japanese friend that took us there, who's the same age as we are(30's) said, "I'm too old to be in here... but I don't care!"  

On a whole, processing everything I've heard from people who've been to japan or lived there, it's nothing like what they say and yet exactly like they say.  I think everyone has a different experience and sees a different aspect of the culture.  Being with someone who lives there and speaks the language made a big difference for us... and I can't wait to go back sometime.  People were friendly and encouraged my extremely bad japanese.  That's a big difference than here.  Here, if someone speaks poor english our culture treats them like they're stupid.  In other countries people get excited that you're making an effort to even learn.  


So fuck you, elitist man.  I'm sorry that because the average person on the internet can't draw well enough to inspire you, you want to condemn the animated entertainment history of an entire country or turn a blind eye to what a fascinating place it is.  Sometimes the places you least want to go are the places that will inspire you the most.