Poll: Difference of Cultures: America and Western Styles Vs. Japan and Eastern sytles

[SaetonChapelle]

Off topic slightly, being American, I have visited Japan before. BEAUTIFUL place to visit, but as much of a Japanese loving anime fan, I have no interest in living there. Wasn't very American friendly.

Back on topic, sure, I love Japanese culture. I adore the fact that they have such a deep rooted mythological base. I love a lot of animes and video games from there. However, that being said, many times people are more attracted to what they have experienced little of. I can guarantee if I lived in Japan I would ADORE American/Western culture, as most Japanese do. I don't know if you've ever been to Japan, but they have more American stores and Disney shops then you can imagine. Oo

It's like I live in a town where there is an amusement park. Everyone from around the states goes to this amusement park and I CANNOT figure out why. To me, it's "meh". However, others who don't have one in their backyard think it's fascinating.

Funny enough, a lot of Japanese films/anime's are made with Western ideals. It's why many anime characters look very American, regardless of where the character in rooted in the story.

 

[Yuuki]

Definitely Eastern for me, there is vastly more variety and cultural depth in the entertainment media (especially variety). And that's not even counting all the times you see Japanese anime pull stuff directly from American/European influences (characters, language, themes, etc).

If we're going to talk animation then Japan literally blows anything US has to offer out of the water, because the western world is still convinced that 2D animation is a "kiddie" thing and there is endless proof of it. 99.9% of Western 2D animation absolutely HAS to be family-friendly or PG13 at the absolute highest, approved for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network or Toonami. Hell, Dragonball Z is one of the most "mature" anime to appear on Western TV till today and it had all the blood censored out lol.

There is just no fucking way you are going to see an animation like Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne or Hellsing Ultimate come around in US because the mindset for R16/R18 animation doesn't exist, it's going to make people scream "BUT MY KIDS CAN'T WATCH THIS CARTOON! PLEASE PUT ON ADVENTURE TIME!" or something.

I don't think we'll ever see shows like Baccano, Deadman Wonderland, Stein's Gate or Elfen Lied broadcasted on Western TV and inversely no Western animator is going to bother making something on the level of those anime because it simply won't be approved.

Variety is the spice of life and Western animation has very little.

 

[jackinmydaniels]

America doesn't equal the West as a whole, but I get what you're saying. Personally, I guess I just connect with western entertainment factors more. When we're talking fight choreography and the like, I'd say the overblown eastern styles that you see in many anime are interesting to say the least, but it really depends on the universe and the kind of story you're trying to tell.

I'm sure you can find some anime with more grounded action and some western stuff that's a little more over the top. Personally I prefer it when combat in films is visceral and realistic, like it'd be in a real fight. Flying around shooting energy blasts at each other while swinging swords the size of small cars at each other is cool and all, but it sort of challenges my suspension of disbelief.

As far as plot goes, totally and one hundred percent side with the west here. At least as far as videogames are concerned. Ninety percent of the time I go into a JRPG and either, don't care, or actively despise, the entire cast. But there's a much greater chance I'll enjoy the cast of western RPG more.

I dunno, it's pretty pointless to ask what culture a person prefers when ninety percent of the time a person from one of the compared culture is going to choose that. Since, ya know, it's their culture.

 

[Something Amyss]

I haven't seen a purely western style fight that i liked.

Given the wording there, that seems heavily loaded, too. I could say I've never seen a purely Eastern anime I liked and be accurate, due to the strong influence of Disney on the foundation and style of the art.

At the same time, my avatar comes from anime, so I probably due have some affection for the medium.

On the other hand, that would be a bad example, since I only really like two characters from the OVA it came from. On the other hand...Okay, getting way off topic. There is very little that is pure in either style, especially when you consider how much the cowboy and samurai films borrowed from, paid tribute to, and outright stole from each other and how influential they are on modern styles (at least, comparable to the examples originally given).

...That being said, I've never actually SEEN a Rambo movie, so maybe they are completely devoid of all Eastern influences, even those filtered through Westernisation. I don't know. I doubt it, but I don't know.

I don't have any overarching preference, to answer the topic question. I do have smaller preferences--Eastern animation over Western almost 100% of the time--but nothing so general as the culture or style alone. Weirdly enough, this leads to a Shrodinger-like state where I simultaneously am a Weaboo/Wapanese/whatever AND a racist xenophobic Japan hater (because Japan is usually what people are talking about).

To me, this is like asking whether I prefer American or British music. Both scenes have always had some seriously awesome music, and also some really bad stuff. They have John Lennon, but also James Blunt. We have Brian Wilson, but also Creed. And sometimes, the best work comes from people influenced by both. Queen's styling owes as much to Broadway and Nashville as it does to Britpop and stadium rock. Star Wars was best when it merged spaghetti westerns and samurai flicks. And Avatar: The Last Airbender is just plain awesome.

 

[loc978]

Definitely Eastern for me, there is vastly more variety and cultural depth in the entertainment media (especially variety). And that's not even counting all the times you see Japanese anime pull stuff directly from American/European influences (characters, language, themes, etc).

If we're going to talk animation then Japan literally blows anything US has to offer out of the water, because the western world is still convinced that 2D animation is a "kiddie" thing and there is endless proof of it. 99.9% of Western 2D animation absolutely HAS to be family-friendly or PG13 at the absolute highest, approved for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network or Toonami. Hell, Dragonball Z is one of the most "mature" anime to appear on Western TV till today and it had all the blood censored out lol.

There is just no fucking way you are going to see an animation like Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne or Hellsing Ultimate come around in US because the mindset for R16/R18 animation doesn't exist, it's going to make people scream "BUT MY KIDS CAN'T WATCH THIS CARTOON! PLEASE PUT ON ADVENTURE TIME!" or something.

I don't think we'll ever see shows like Baccano, Deadman Wonderland, Stein's Gate or Elfen Lied broadcasted on Western TV and inversely no Western animator is going to bother making something on the level of those anime because it simply won't be approved.

Variety is the spice of life and Western animation has very little.

We're getting more and more... though it is rather heavily influenced by awesome adult-oriented eastern animation... and good adult-themed Western animation is certainly still pretty sparse... but nonexistent? Archer [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1486217/], The Venture Brothers [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417373/] and The Boondocks [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373732/] would like to have a word with you... among others.
Mind you, all of the good ones are (dark) comedies [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CI_Nye_5_0]... but I tend to think that of Anime as well.

 

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

not suggesting anything like that, Just assumed that the type of games and projects you work on have influnced our tastes. As for the jarring nature, older works tend to be like this due to the hand drawn nature. I has gotten better in recent years but the issues is still there. I can understand if this is the case.

Oh, I gotcha. Yeah, overall it feels like a pretty homogenous group when it comes to game devs and their interests, and most people want to work on games that they themselves would play. Maybe not so much in the case of whoever has to make Littlest Petshop Picnic on Barney Island 4: Tropical Fish Edition, but ideally anyway.

When I was like seven years old, I used to watch Nick Jr. I still have memories of watching the show with the koala bears and the one with the bees and wondering why they made my eyes spaz out. Turns out, anime.

For some reason, I don't seem to notice the spazing of details, if anything, I find anime faces more smooth and emotive than regular faces but that may be the Aspergers talking.

Oh no, they were super simplified kids' shows, I think it was the frame rate that did it. So it's probably less about your Aspergers and more about my special eyes. I can't even wear contacts when I'm sitting in front of a computer screen or I get headaches D:

Now i get it, thanks for the info

 

[FalloutJack]

I like both because I'm a well-rounded sort of guy in terms of his entertainment and I keep an open mind. This is not a hard thing.

 

[michael87cn]

Neither. I have my own unique style and tastes that come from a mixture of everything I've experienced in my life.

As such I can enjoy anything, appreciate anything.

-CAN- not -DO-. Context is important.

 

[The Funslinger]

Having grown up with D20-inspired games written awesome storytellers the likes of J.E. Sawyer, Brian Fargo, Jordan Weisman, et cetera on one hand and mythologically inspired games written by the likes of Hiroyuki Ito, Yasumi Matsuno, Yūji Horii et cetera on the other... I'm just gonna go ahead and say the quality of a game really depends more on the vision, talent and resources of its creator than the culture which raised said creator. Sturgeon's Law and all that. It's not that 90% of any specific genre is crap (lookin' at you, Marcus Fenix... and you, Snow Villiers) it's that 90% of all media is crap.

You seem to be stacking your deck a bit with your fight scene comparisons. You are pitting two heavily stereotyped western characters against your preferred anime of choice.

apologies then, as I said, I'm extremely biased so that would influence me. The issue with me is that anytime I see a cool action scene in a western movie, the influence of Chinese and Japanese fight choreography is heavy such as in the Matrix and Kill Bill. I haven't seen a purely western style fight that i liked.

Ever watched Firefly [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303461/]? There's some Eastern influence in the setting, but the fights are almost entirely Western. The characterization in them is top-notch, though. Ol' Mr. Whedon knows when to crack a joke and when to be deadly serious. Damn good storyteller.

Another good example of a Western style fight scene, and western style dialogue.

 

[astrav1]

You do underrstand that Japan is west of America, right? But Japan to answer your question.

 

[Subscriptism]

For me, as evident by the aforementioned bias, I love Japan to the point that I will admit to being a moderate weeabo/ major otaku.

Major weeaboo. Fixed that for you.

You may be trying to hide it a bit but I can see a rabid Japanophile thrashing under the surface there yelling "DESU Izanagi-chan kawaii desu nee".

Yes, there is a japanophile under the surface, that doesn't mean that I can't like western things or that Japanese media is bad. In fact I love a lot of american things: mass effect, Deus ex, Inception, and various others. I just like a lot more Japanese things. Plus, how is this a surprise? I listed my bias in the beginning and it would seem clear as hell what i am. Also, if you are not going to contribute to this discussion in any meaningful way than through an insult that I fully acknowledge, then stop wasting my time or your own.

P.S. from what little Japanese I know (college semester of Japanese I) Desu does not go at the front and chan in this context would be used to put someone below you by calling them a child so please refrain from errors so blatant that a cursory interent search bring them up.

I intentionally used incorrect Japanese because
1) I don't know anything about Japanese
2) My skill level mentioned in 1) is also about how much Japanese your average weeaboo knows also

 

[zefiris]

I like both western and eastern (and OTHER media that exists too, it's not just US and Japan) media in General. The series I am following right now are Attack on Titan (anime) and Warehouse 13 (US series).

I mainly prefer Japanese stories because they are more likely to have female characters doing stuff. US games especially are very, very anti-female-characters-doing-anything. Just don't like that much, so I gravitated more towards japanese stories (some of which even have female main characters! GASP! The world didn't explode after that, surprisingly)

Right now I am playing the fifth Etrian Odyssey game, which is basically a combination of West and East. And once I'm done, I'm going to replay World of Xeen.

Yes, that World of Xeen.

 

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

For me, as evident by the aforementioned bias, I love Japan to the point that I will admit to being a moderate weeabo/ major otaku.

Major weeaboo. Fixed that for you.

You may be trying to hide it a bit but I can see a rabid Japanophile thrashing under the surface there yelling "DESU Izanagi-chan kawaii desu nee".

Yes, there is a japanophile under the surface, that doesn't mean that I can't like western things or that Japanese media is bad. In fact I love a lot of american things: mass effect, Deus ex, Inception, and various others. I just like a lot more Japanese things. Plus, how is this a surprise? I listed my bias in the beginning and it would seem clear as hell what i am. Also, if you are not going to contribute to this discussion in any meaningful way than through an insult that I fully acknowledge, then stop wasting my time or your own.

P.S. from what little Japanese I know (college semester of Japanese I) Desu does not go at the front and chan in this context would be used to put someone below you by calling them a child so please refrain from errors so blatant that a cursory interent search bring them up.

I intentionally used incorrect Japanese because
1) I don't know anything about Japanese
2) My skill level mentioned in 1) is also about how much Japanese your average weeaboo knows also

You still haven't contributed to the discussion so either get out or make valid points

 

[Relish in Chaos]

I like both. My two favourite pieces of fiction are Watchmen, the decidedly 1980s American alternative take on superheroes by British author Alan Moore, and Fullmetal Alchemist, the European-inspired yet still recognisably Shounen manga series by Japanese mangaka Hiromu Arakawa.

 

[pyrosaw]

This really depends on what we're talking about. The western world has an abundance of literature and comics that I would rank way higher than anything I've read from the East. At the same time, Japanese cartoons are much more interesting, and their games are usually pretty damn good.

 

[MammothBlade]

I like both, I have no prejudice between either, except that I like the look and feel of Japanese-style animation more than its Western counterparts. It's so much more colourful and better for storytelling. Now it has its occasional drawbacks. I'm not too fond of the sugary sweet moe style, a little is ok, but too much cliched moe/fanservice is annoying and detracts from my enjoyment of the plot.

There's also the fact that the Japanese actually still make games, and not interactive movies and do it well. The most played games on my PC are Dark Souls and Cave Story. They're both there as I really feel the game part, and they're damned good at the experience that's conveyed.

Notable exceptions: Final Fantasy XIII and Metal Gear Solid 4.

 

[TehCookie]

I prefer eastern over western but I like both. The main reasons is because I like the tropes more, I'd rather have obnoxious teenagers saving the world from an ancient evil than some gritty 30 something white male fighting against an evil corporation or terrorist. I really like Japanese games over American ones. JRPGs are my favorite genre, the combat is relaxing, I enjoy story driven games, and they tend to have a better artstyle. I also like their action games more since they tend to be more complex, fluid, and over the top.

The east has better comics since comics for women (both josei and shoujo) are almost non-existant in the west. I like anime more than western cartoons since some anime is for adults (even if those adults are otaku manchildren) while cartoons are exclusively for children or comedy. The west has way better live action though, Japan's shows/movies are so over exaggerated and corny I can't take them seriously.

 

[repeating integers]

Queen's styling owes as much to Broadway and Nashville as it does to Britpop and stadium rock.

Wait... buh? Britpop was a late 80s/early 90s thing, whereas Queen are most famous for the work they did before that period.

As for stadium rock, well, they didn't borrow nothing - Queen are one of the defining stadium rock acts.

 

[Weaver]

Well I could be missing something in translation but I feel that in terms of entertainment culture, both America and Japan (I make no claims for any other countries) both feature a disturbing lack of subtlety. Japanese media leads its audience around by the nose and almost entirely eschews the finer points of lying (sarcasm is a form of lying) while American media cannot tell a joke without explaining every part of it. Also American tv has laughable plots which can be dissected within minutes.

In comparison, UK tv leaves as much unsaid as possible and trusts its audience to pick up on the implications. Canadian stand up comedy is very good at this too. Brevity of wit is an artform there.

Hey, props on liking Canadian standup! In high school I would watch Toronto standup acts on TV every Friday night and I really found them quite funny compared to a lot of the bigger American acts.

OT: I like Western live action stuff way better than Eastern live action stuff. But, I generally prefer Eastern animated stuff to Western animated stuff. Though, France has put out some absolutely incredible animations. Most of them shorts though.

In terms of games, I tend to swing either way. I prefer Western tactics games (real ones) like say, The Temple of Elemental Evil than FF Tactics for instance. There a tremendous, tremendous amount of depth to some of them. Maybe Japan has some I haven't played, but I tend to think Western devs appeal to my tastes in the genre more (though I do live Disgaea a lot).

I like both western and eastern RPGs. I prefer Japanese fighting games and hack n' slashes to Western ones.

Though, indulge in enough of either and the tropes become far too overwhelming. I'm pretty sure the main character of the last 10 anime shows I've watched has had either one or both of his or her parents dead. You can practically call the reveals coming if you've seen enough.

One thing I'll say though, Japan does slice of life way better than any Western show I've seen. Somehow they can make a compelling show about nothing at all. It's just nice to not have something need to be about "gritty reality" but instead be a celebration of growing up. Relishing in simply enjoying the time you have, and the good parts of life.

I've racked my brain but I can't think of any western show with a sentiment like K-ON! for instance.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

Both. Media created by both sides are interesting, they both have flaws, they both have strengths.
I've studied Japanese culture and language for a nearly of a third of my life, and I live in America.

You can argue the specifics with different examples. But ONE major aspect is present in both that can be seen as both a flaw and a strength.

Style over substance.

America:
For every Godfather there is a Michael Bay Transformers.
For every Amnesia: The Dark Descent there is a Modern Warfare

Japan:
For every Yojimbo there is a Final Fantasy Advent Children
For every Dark Souls there is a Devil May Cry.