Japanese fiction works are better than Western ones Essay Example for Free

lacquerese illustration whole kit and caboodle atomic number 18 breach than Western ones EssayQWhat kind of Japanese manufacturing works?AThis presentation is mostly to the highest degree comics and animation produced in Japan, but it covers also TV Shows and moviesTopic Japanese fictionalizationGeneral Purpose To twistSpecific Purpose To persuade you that Japanese fiction is better than western fiction regarding comics, animation, movies and TV appearancesThesis statement Although Western people actualize Japan as a calculating land with brutally efficient workers, they atomic number 18 in fact individualistic, expressive and sentimental if we can judge them from their works of fiction who surpass our own in various aspectsIntroductionI. How new(prenominal) countries think of JapanII. Thesis statementIII. Reminding the meaning of the terms manga and animeBodyI. number 1 argument Japans tendency to mix various influences from all over the worldA.Japan borrows various fo reign things and merges them with other elementsB.Example regarding religion of JapanC.This tendency in regards to fictionII.Second Argument How Japanese portray life, benevolent dealings, nature and the world in their fiction worksA.Human nature is visualized as it isB.Japans popular culture has a tight closeness to the ordinary, e trulyday lives of its audienceC.Manga on any(prenominal) theme imaginable and toward any age rangeD.How human relations are representIII.Third Argument Heroes fate after their struggle, death and the morality of the universe in Japanese fictionA.What defines a gun in JapanB.Death in Japanese fictionC.View of the universe as amoralIV.Opposition/RefutationA1. Pornographic themes in manga and animeA2. RefutationB1. Japans cultural insularity robs it of relevance for other societiesB2. RefutationConclusionI. summon from Antonia LeviIf someone will say that Japanese people are imaginative, sentimental, expressive and individualistic might earn him stran ge glances in most countries of the world. Many Westerners see Japan as a cold, calculating land of ant-like workers with brutal efficiency. Students are seen as oppressed slaves to their studies, pounded down like nails until their imaginations and individuality are crushed, or until they are driven to suicide. Japanese social culture is often seen as blanketed under stifling layers of politeness and formality, shareized by endless bowing.However, underneath all these there is the dark Japanese soul. Almost all of the Japanese escape from reality through fiction works. These domestically created fiction works be it comics, animation, movies or TV shows esteem great popularity not only in Japan but also in many countries of the world. Therefore, because these specific works are strikingly divergent from what were employ to here in the Western world, it is inevitable to compare these two the Western fiction works and the Japanese ones.Hello, everybody, my name is I will talk to you about Japanese fiction works and I will compare them to Western ones so as to enforce my opinion and persuade you of course, that Japanese fiction is better than Western fiction. Before starting, I want to make you acquainted with two terms. Manga, which is used to refer to the Japanese comics and anime, which refers to the Japanese animation.As a first argument, I have to inform you that Japan has the tendency to borrow various foreign things and to tinker with them, merging them with native or other elements so that they turn something brisk and often quite distinct from the original. As an example, regarding religion, Taoism was the original religion of Japan but this didnt stop Japanese people from accepting Buddhism as well, and even acquiring some aspects of other religions in addition, like Christianity. In works of fiction this tendency of the Japanese means new and non-static entertainment through mixing different influences from around the world without having to s uffice only to the myths and the influences of their own country.For my second argument supporting Japanese fiction, I want to inform you about the way Japanese portray life, human relations, nature and the world in their fiction works. The world and human nature in Japans pop culture can be portrayed as they are, not as they should be. This allows Son Goku, Dragonballs raised in the wild, central character, to be drawn naked, without the private parts-covering fig leaf that had to be added for American TV. It allows as well, the darker side of life to be portrayed. In an episode of Naniwa Kin Yudo, which is an anime TV series, the protagonist Haibara encourages the girlfriend of a customer, who cannot repay his loan, to work as a prostitute to cover her boyfriends debt. Scenes such as this can be disturbing but they are part of life and are neither denied nor hidden. Kazuhiko Torishima, editor of Japans best-selling(predicate) comic magazine Shonen Jump states I feel sorry for U.S. kids, who live in an adult-filtered Disney world. Moreover, Japans popular culture has a tight closeness to the ordinary, everyday lives of its audience.American comic artist Brian Stelfreeze has said Comics in the U.S. have become such a caricature. You have to have incredible people doing incredible things, but in Japan it seems like the most popular comics are the ones of normal people doing normal things. Part of the normalcy is that the characters that populate Japans manga, anime and TV dramas display enough of character flaws and weaknesses along with their strengths and good points. Furthermore, as Ian Reader, a scholar of Japanese religions and popular culture, has noted Manga are simply too fascinating, colorful and rich a literary medium to be left solely to children. In Japan one can find manga on any theme imaginable and toward any age range. which is certainly not the case with American comic books.In addition, Timothy Craig which is an author, writes in his book ent itled Japan Pop that, human relations are a pervasive topic in Japanese pop culture, as one would expect from a society that places great importance on the group, harmony, and the smooth management of conflict. Human relations are also portrayed with a sophistication that does justice to the complexity of human affairs. Issues are many-sided, emotions are mixed, solutions are neither easy nor obvious, and outcomes are often ambiguous not unlike real life. He continues by saying that, in Japanese fiction the human characters are more real. Theyexhibit a fuller range of human emotions and are put into more realistic situations, sometimes with unpleasant outcomes, than allowed by Disneys short preserved, stiflingly safe fairytale-based storylines.For my last argument I will talk about heroes fate after their struggle, about death and the morality of the universe and therefore god, in Japanese fiction. We here in the Western world, are used to good macrocosm only good and be rewarded in the end and evil being only evil and be punished in most of the cases. This is not the case in Japanese culture. Its not unknown in Japan for heroes to become villains and vice versa. Moreover, the Japanese hero is defined by motivation than in the West where heroism is more dependent on result. The ideal Japanese hero is not only self-sacrificing, but also unconcerned with personal gain or survival. The heros willingness to give his or her all to it is what counts. Winning doesnt matter either. Losing and gaining nothing confirms the heros selflessness and renders his or her sacrifice all the more tragic. Many characters also, meet meaningless, undeserved ends. And fans love that aspect, the fact that atrocious things, even death, can happen to any character at any time. It doesnt matter how brave, how good, or even how popular they are.According to my opinion, this fact is absolutely in accordance to how our own world works. Death and bad things generally, can be around the corner for any person, no matter how kind or good-willed he or she is. According to a book by author Antonia Levi titled Understanding Japanese Animation that doesnt happen on American TV where virtue is rewarded and evil is punished. Thats mainly because America is a Christian culture that believes that the universe is, or it should be, a moral place. The Japanese peoples take on this is that universe is amoral. Shinto as well, has no moral code at all It simply celebrates life. Heroism and self-sacrifice may define a japanese character as a hero, but they will not come through him or her. The universe simply doesnt care.On the opposing side now and regarding manga and anime specifically, some of you may have noticed and may say that a lot of these works have pornographic themes. Wrong. According to the author of the book Understanding Japanese Animation these works are actually a very small portion of the total production of Japan in manga and anime that is disproportionately exp ortedto the Western world.Another opposition stated by quite a few people, expresses that Japan is a one-dimensional economic power marked by a cultural insularity that robs it of relevance for other societies. Wrong again. The achiever and forepart of Japans cultural exports in countries apart from Asian ones such as U.S.A, Canada and most of the European countries is strong evidence that Japans culture does have relevance for other societies.To conclude, and quote author Antonia Levi, its not just that Japans pop culture deals with dilemmas in a more realistic fashion, or that it raises issues considered taboo in other countries. Its willingness to show death and other bad stuff restores a kind of tension, a genuine dramatic emotionality that Hollywood and TV seem to have disregarded about.BibliographyClements, Jonathan and Helen McCarthy. The Anime Encyclopedia A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917 Stone Bridge Press, 2001.Craig, Timothy. Japan Pop Inside the World of Japan ese Popular finis East Gate, 2000.Levi, Antonia. Samurai from Outer Space Understanding Japanese Animation Carus Publishing, 1998.Patten, Fred. Anime Stereotypes. Newtype, Issue Dec.2003 A.D.VisionPublications.For my third argument supporting my opinion, I will talk about the presence of female heroes in Japanese fiction. In the Western world apart from such exceptions as Wonder Woman, She-ra and Xena the role of superhero has traditionally been reserved for males, and targeted a predominantly male audience especially in comic books. This is not the case with Japanesefiction. Japanese dont neglect females be it on the starring roles of their fiction works or as a target group audience. In manga specifically, there exists a separate genre called shoujo manga with many sub-genres itself, which raises issues and has stories related and devoted to women.The presence of females as featured heroes in manga, animation and TV shows has been much stronger in Japan than in the western world. As the book Japan Pop specifically reports in Japan girl heroes are now as common and popular as boy heroes. The reasons for this are complex and, while hardly receivable to a greater feminist consciousness in Japanese society, are clearly linked to the increase in recent years of female artists.