Too Japanese for Me: when the truth doesn't matter because no one tells it

So I'm watching shojo anime La Cordo de Oro when it happens again. I find myself saying, "Not again!  Are you kidding me?!" as the heroine, betrayed by a jealous and shrewish lying liar of a comrade, refuses to tell the truth to those in authority, preferring to take the unfair reputation hit herself for some (probably obvious to Japanese) reason.

My next thought is something along the lines of "This is why I am not a shojo heroine because if I was, I would tell the truth and let justice be done, and then later on when I needed to be helped/saved, there would be no people I had graciously helped to assist me."  (That sort of thing where justice is served and the villain is redeemed to come back and save the hero seems to happen in shonen manga and usually involves fists as a definition for justice.  [Dengeki Daisy is an exception in this case, but DD is, well, an exception-al shojo manga in so many ways.])

It happens again a little later.  [SPOILER] One of the reverse harem members misses a performance because a jealous enemy locks him in a closet.[/SPOILER]  At first, when it could have made a difference, the kids don't explain, but later it sounds like they tell the authorities, not that it makes any difference for some (most likely obvious to Japanese) reason.

I just don't get this.  Is it simply a shojo manga trope, or is it really a reflection of some inherently Japanese cultural mindset/characteristic?  If so, which one?  I find myself very curious. 

Tokyo Vice Redux

Okay, so maybe you know I read and liked Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein.  Maybe you even read it yourself and really enjoyed its unique insider/outsider perspective of the first American to work as a journalist for the Japanese language newspaper Yomiuri.  (Yeah, that one.) 

Did you know he did a spot at ANN's podcast?  He did.  It's pretty long, but I got a kick out of hearing his voice and learning how to pronounce his name.  It's definitely worth a listen if you liked his work in Tokyo Vice, which is also out in paperback now and is still worth a read.  Actually, might be time for a reread for me . . .

Why Salaryman Kintaro Is Awesome

I've read some very unfavorable reviews about Salaryman Kintaro, so I thought I'd balance things out by talking about why this show is outstanding for a certain audience.  Sure, it's not nearly as fun as Dai-Guard, but it's not trying to be.  It's an earnest, sincere, heartfelt drama about a former biker gang leader becoming a white-collar office worker and kind of gathering a harem/flock of admirers of all genders all while learning to navigate the jungles of office politics and being a single parent and helping people all the time.

Things that make Salaryman Kintaro a challenging show to enjoy:

• It has no dub.  I do not think this is a problem (ever, really), but I know it can throw some people off their stride.  However, I think the decision not to dub this was the right one because we really don't have an equivalent for the biker-gang thug/tough guy speak that Kintaro sometimes lapses into.  I've seen some not-quite-successful attempts in other dubs, and, overall, there's just something that makes it work in Japanese.
• It's about a guy working at the office of a construction company.  Can't get around that.  There are corporate politics and policies and procedures.  It would be deadly dull if not for the sociological fun of observing another culture and having my expectations slapped back and forth.  Well, and all the action livens it up, too, what with the bike and car chases, disasters, sabotage, and saving families before their cars fall off a cliff, and stuff.
• It is SO Japanese.  There are assumptions made (I would like to state that grown men ogling nekkid photos of 14-year-olds is NOT OKAY EVER).  Values are after-school specially emphasized.  There are Lessons Learned.  Something these lessons make No Sense to Americans, but are obviously Completely Understood by Japanese.  There is a lot of foreign culture incoming (foreign because it's Japanese but also because office culture is its own culture, and Japanese office culture is just exponentially strange.)  There are no helpful footnotes.  You kind of have to know your Japanese culture, or this will be even stranger (and possibly more offensive and/or impenetrable) for you.
• It has not-so-great animation.  It's very dated.  Purposefully so in some ways, but, well, it's not lavish or amazing.  I think that just adds to the overall cheesy synergy of the whole, but your mileage will vary.

So, if those things are deal-breakers for you, I feel bad that you'll be missing out on the following

Things that make it an awesome show to enjoy:

• It's MANime.  But not nearly as bad as it could be.  GTO was gleefully offensive (this is more YuYu Hakusho than GTO anyway).  Moonlight Mile was kind of gratuitously masculine.  Yugo the Negotiator got pretty psychological and brutal.  Area 88 . . . was actually shonen, wasn't it?  Anyway, we don't get much seinen drama here in the States, and while some of the adult content might bother people who'd be too bored to watch it anyway, it's not hentai.
• It's roMANticized.  And the romance makes sense.  It's very male dreamworld, like Westerns for American men.  No milquetoast lead here, folks, no flavorless, easy-to-identify-with-loser everyman.  Kintaro is a MAN, not a macho poser, not someone who throws his strength around to control or browbeat the weak, not an over-sexualized mass of testosterone, just a very Japanese Manly Man.  People admire him, fear him, respect him, look up to him, even love him in a variety of ways.  The harem gets a tad out of hand, but it's still within the realm of believability, and the show gets major points from me for that.  He's a single father, but he's not even looking for any kind of relationship.  He actively resists them, in fact, politely and without angst or martyrdom.  The fact that so many different people are so drawn to him--and the reasons why--are shown in such a way that you will not have to deplete your willing suspension of disbelief or want to claw your eyes out when you see them following him.
• It has outstanding extras that offer unique insights on what goes on in the anime director's and producer's chairs.  Each volume has part of a longer interview with the producer and the director, and they get honest and in depth about stuff you will probably never hear anywhere else.  This is great stuff. 
• It will feed your inner armchair sociologist.  (Translation: It will teach you about Japan.)  Are you interested in Japanese culture, not just anime?  Did you read Tokyo Vice and love its insight into American perceptions of Japanese culture?  Did you think (one of) the best parts of Nerima Daikon Brothers was those awesome commentaries/interviews where the same director talked to very different people, giving a really clear and completely unintended lesson on interaction between Japanese people?  Kintaro is equally informative but also more baffling.  You may think you know where the afterschool special is leading, but then Japan will step out and beat you with a crutch. 
• It makes you dream/wish/long/hope for a moment that maybe your corporate culture could be changed, too, by someone willing and able to stand up like Kintaro and tell it like it is (with or without that great, rolled-r, guttural, gangster-y cadence).  Or maybe you just wish he'd come in and tell off your boss.  Anyway, that spark of hope that rises in you is a beautiful, beautiful lie, but the hope that flares for a time makes you feel all warm inside your frozen, corporate drone heart.  If you (still) have one.

Anyway.  Here are some other voices on Salaryman Kintaro.

Needless to say, I got a huge, huge kick out of this show for its quirky and offbeat oddness.  If it sounds like a show you'll love, it probably is.  If it sounds like something you'd rather live through that first Asian arc of Yugo the Negotiator than go through, it probably is.  You know where your tastes lie; I just figured I'd give you some additional info to find out if Salaryman Kintaro is where your tastes lie.  I hope it is.  If so, please let me know how you liked it.

Why you might like Tokyo Vice

If you are an adult who is interested in Japan, you really should read Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein, the only American to work for the big Japanese language edition of the Yomiuri.  Follow him from his job hunt all the way through to the end of his time in Japan (burn-out, death threats from the yakuza, and an increased awareness of the evils of human trafficking alive and well in Japan).  Each chapter is a mostly self-contained tale about a particular person, story, or topic, and I enjoyed them all.

If you are a Japan-o-phile, you can:

• Find out what's fact and fiction in your anime and manga.   The funny thing is that a lot of the stuff you thought they were making up is actually the true stuff.  It's something of a shock.
• Learn about the culture from a gaijin point of view.  When you read manga or watch anime, you are seeing the culture from a Japanese perspective, through the lens/filter of Japanese minds.  This is probably part of what attracts you to manga and anime.  I personally love getting a different point of reference for shared events and customs.  For the most part, you never get to ask the questions that you as a non-native really want to ask.  Adelstein asks some of them.  The answers are surprising.
• Learn about aspects of the country you won't learn about in anime or manga.  Many manga readers and anime viewers bemoan the fact that there isn't much out there in legal English for mature adults.  Well, there's a lot in here. It will probably blow your mind, and it will most definitely make you think.

The book is well thought out, well put together, and just really well done.  A journalist's perspective as an outsider on the inside isn't new, per se, but this incarnation of it is engaging, entertaining, and informative.  If you're a foreign fan of Japan, this book will give you access to a world of stories you'd never otherwise have.

Check it out from your local library, and if you love it, please buy it.  I wish it had been twice as long . . .

Economics for Otaku

I read a great quote from Jason Thompson in this article. 

"The easy availability of scanlations (online bootleg translations of manga) makes it even easier for hardcore fans to self-marginalize by removing any economic weight from their opinions."

Yep, especially in this economy, the fan dollar is the way to vote.  Cast your votes wisely!

Tokyo Vice

And now for something completely different! Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan

If you're interested in Japan in general, you might want to check out Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein.  He's an American journalist who spent years in Japan on the crime beat.  Needless to say, this is kind of rare. 

Any nonfiction book that starts out with the yakuza threatening the author's life is bound to be dark and probably compelling.  Knowing that the author survives gives the book its own kind of tension.  Does he pursue the story?  How does he not get killed?  What led him there?  What led him to later combat human trafficking? 

I've been interested in the topic of the justice system and the Japanese underworld pretty much since I read my first manga touching on it maybe six years ago.  I must say that I am intrigued by the lens Adelstein provides the opportunity to look through in this case, and I'm looking forward to seeing what insights I gain through the course of the book.  I may check back in after I've read it.


Do you know of any good nonfiction books about aspects of Japanese culture?  Do recommend.