Hi everyone! With regards to the fundraiser, apparently RUclips has to approve the Brazil Foundation first. I didn't realize, at the time of posting, that there would be this hold-up. I'll update the fundraiser the moment I can, but please refer in the meantime to the description! Thank you all so much for supporting this cause with me. - Moony EDIT: It's been half a day already, and it is still processing. If this approval process ends up taking too long, I'll carry the fundraiser over to the next video. I sincerely apologize for this inconvenience.
Howdy, and thank you so much for pinning this instead of the ad read. For the peanut gallery that usually manifests on those kinds of comments, to explain why Incogni isn’t a good investment for privacy: Incogni and other data removal services do need your subscription money, unlike most major platforms, because the task is a constant process. You are not buying a magic bullet, you are hiring a qualified data janitor with the tools to keep yourself clean. In theory. In practice, the way most of those services operate is mass-sending requests to take down user data to a list of companies that may have your data. Given that the current system of data removal in the States is intended to be done manually, such takedown requests also require you to list the personal information that needs removal from the system. You will be paying 15 dollars a month to have a middle man give an email list of data brokers your personal data, the one you don’t want on the internet. This is somehow a worse idea than NordVPN
Hey Moony, is there a chance that you could list sources for the music used in the video? I'm specially interested in the various mash-ups that appeared throughout! Cheers from Brazil, and a heartfelt thanks for your donations to my home state of Rio Grande do Sul
I think you get one thing wrong, and that is claiming Japan is the #1 at projecting soft power. I'm sorry but the US is #1 and it isn't even a contest (coming from a non-American). The reason we don't really get the impression that the US is this soft power behemoth is because the US has been so proficient in projecting soft power that it has been normalized and integrated everywhere.
I think we are also more used to thinking of the US soft power and pointing it out. I can watch a US movie and recognize that the caped heroes only visit Paris so the monster of the month can topple the Eiffel Tower before they bug out and do something else. And that while I am familiar with the New York portrayed in one movie after another, the US audience watching the same movie would be unable to place my national capitol on a map.
I think maybe 1st world countries migh feel it less, idk, but the 3rd world cutlure is being taken over by USA. I live in a small town in south america and I've seen this town change so much over the past 20 yrs, with introduction of Subways, McDonald's, Starbucks, etcs. People here would never care about those fast foods yrs ago, our local cuisine is very popular, but today they feel pride in eating them, they drink north american beer brands, they follow their politics, USA musicians are worshipped like gods. Japanese incluence here is also strong, but not like USA is I think Japan does win the "internet culture war" tho, and that might be where Moony's perception comes from
USA soft power is unmatchable despite Japan's successes. Seriously that fact that English(USA English at that) is the most use secondary language says it right there
Jeans. Pop music. Jazz. Rap. Essentially 90% of the film industry. Evangelical Christianity and its vague imagery being rapidly exported across the globe. Jeans again. Yeah, seriously. It's not even a little close.
@@luizmonad777 The thing/thing japan joke is satirizing the fact that a lot of people nowadays have a romanticized view of Japan and respond more positively to things related to that country than their non-japanese counterparts. It does not implicate that you cannot like western culture.
some art is better-funded than other, and if you stick to inner standards of taste, then letting media influence your worldview is no worse than taking advice from people who impress you as trustworthy or wise.
"Be careful about building your identity around something being sold to you, lest your values end up being bought" Your paraphrased version hits the same notes, but please use quotation marks only for quotes.
@@Nanook128 They clearly did as some people like kings or emperors likened their rule to be divine. Are you dissappointed gods turned out to be like this?
"The US has no friends, only interests. And things were about to get interesting." Might be the hardest line I've ever heard in a RUclips video essay 💀
@@j.2512 Not just that. Wokeness is destroying any and all Sympathy for lgbtqialmnop people. And worst. Wokeness Pita Minorities against the Majority in Conflict. This will horribly affect any chance of the Minority being accepted into Society.
@@j.2512 If it's a choice between appealing to the rest of the world and sticking to our values as a tolerant, pluralistic society, then the rest of the world can get stuffed.
There is a scene from Dragon Quest 7 that has always stuck with me. You go to town in the past (time travel is a huge element of this story) where it is besieged by misfortune. There is also a monster there as well who does not speak. The villagers blame and attack the monster for all their problems. Your party eventually finds the source of the problem and destroys it. Turns out the silent monster was a priest he had agreed to bear a curse and protect the villagers but he could not speak or the monsters who cursed him would destroy the village. The villagers upon realizing apologize to the priest and treat your party as heroes. That night the priest leaves knowing that the if he stuck around it would only make them feel even more guilty. The villagers upon realizing what has happened choose to never forget your party’s deeds and the priest who suffered choosing to become better people. They then memorialize these event in stone. Fast forward to the future (about 100 years) the villagers still remember what happened. However the narrative has been altered it is now framed as the villagers being the heroes and your party being villainized and in league with the monsters!!! The villagers over time had become upset at their actions instead of learning they chose to retell the narrative even changing the stone tablet. You then stumble upon some kids who have found the original tablet. Learning of these event you take the tablet to the mayor he then thanks you and then destroys the tablet to prevent the truth from getting out. Only the kids who have found the tablet and read the true events know what actually happened. They agree to tell the original story to any who will listen. A lot of what you discussed in this video reminded me of this. As the saying goes “those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
So does this mean that Dragon Quest 7 is woke for pushing critical theory in regards to understanding how historical revisionism can decontextualize an event and reframe it to make the perpetrators of harm to be the victims/heros?
@@DahVoozel Maybe? I mean in the context of that town absolutely you’re right. However DQ7 tells a lot of self contained episodic style stories each town is basically a different story with different themes. Each one revolving around helping it in the past and then going back to see it again in the future. That town is only one of many it only really starts having a main plot at the very end of the game.
While I find the video interesting, stuff like 2:10:25 is why you should always go to a primary source(s) of information, and not second hand sources, sans instances where the primary source is unavailable or impossible to find. While Dr. Brummer is indeed a respected figure in his field, The Diplomat is itself not an academic journal or publication. His piece in the Diplomat is made without any sources supporting his claims. In contrast, Takayoshi Yamamura, a professor in the Center for Advanced Tourism Studies at Hokkaido University, wrote a paper titled "Cooperation Between Anime Producers and the Japan Self-Defense Force: Creating Fantasy and/or Propaganda?" published in late 2017 in the Journal of War & Culture Studies. In it, Yamamura concludes that, while the JSDF did in fact collaborate with Gate, the collaboration was done completely in post-production. The creator of Gate is indeed ex-JSDF and continues to support them, and HE went to a local branch looking to collaborate with the JSDF, allowing some characters to be used in promotional material, not the other way around. So it was rather requests from production staff and regions that initiated cooperation with Gate (in this case, the author himself) and other anime. Not to mention the grant brought up in the video is from 2019, while Gate's anime concluded in 2016 (though the manga is still in production, to my knowledge) Granted you could say that the paper in question is BS, or that Yamamura is biased, or that Brummer's expertise lends itself as support to his claims, or (in the case of Gate) that even a more grassroots occurrence like the above still provides cause for concern in the larger context of the points brought up in the video. It was just instances like this (and another being Moon quoting the article that had the Miyazaki quote, rather than the interview said quote comes from) that, as a former academic myself, halted me from being fully persuaded
A channel called Study of Swords has made a response essay to this which covers the point you have brought up, along with other potential inaccuracies! I haven't yet checked the sources myself but if Study of Swords is to be believed, this video essay may be relying on a slightly unconventional definition of propaganda. Not to say that this video doesn't make some good points!
8:24 Ok, this has to be some misunderstanding of them trying to communicate that the turtles have webbed feet that allow them to speed through the water. In fact, you could even say they look like they are using their webbed feet like wings that make them able to 'fly' through the water. Anyone who's seen such a turtle move on land vs. water knows that such a description isn't a stretch at all. I note that the written description doesn't even suggest that the the turtles fly through the air at all, just the winged feet help them compensate for slow progress on land (vs. water, not air lol).
It may be difficult for Americans to realize just how powerful the American cultural export / soft power truly is. it's incredibly powerful and shapes global culture much more than you may realize.
The thing about American soft power is that it's often pretty clear to the other countries what's going on. One of the big reasons for the rise of Kpop in, say, Latin America, is because it is breaking away from the American cultural hegemony. America has dominated world culture for quite some time now, and everybody knows it. Many are getting quite tired of it. With Japan, it's a bit different. Even in Korea itself there needs to be concerted campaigns to remind the youths of Japanese wartime atrocities to try to wake them up to the anime propaganda. The campaigns are kinda gross and dehumanizing, of course, but it shows just how masterful the Japanese approach is. And the craziest thing is that these Korean conservatives are losing. Even while the rest of the world becomes more and more interested in Korean cultural products, the Korean youths themselves have been becoming more and more infatuated with Japanese culture. Even Japan's greatest rivals are starting to churn out weebs.
@@markigirl2757 The Dollar is the US' most powerful tool. The King of Soft Power, globally; and it's not close. And the world accepted it, and built up the infrastructure to transmit them without US influence, decades before the Dollar took the title of Global Reserve Currency.
It's not soft power. USA nuked civilians to encroach further into China to use it as hard labor and did, including animation funding just fater Saudi oil established fake money in petrodollar. It was aspiration of Matthew C. Perry and then they irradiated Hawaii as a testing ground and bait, and branded it with federal voting rights AFTER THE FACT to justify "protecting THIS country" which hawaii was NOT.
"You don't need me to tell you about how extensive US Propaganda in media is, and if you do, let me know! Maybe I can make a video on that subject, too" Hi, this is me letting you know. I am very curious.
The major cultural exports for the US are music, television and film. The main propaganda themes are freedom of expression, religious tension is non existent, racial equality and harmony, money is very much not a problem for anyone, food is plentiful and cheap, the government protects people but is otherwise uninvolved in daily life, crime is rare, justice system is fair and favors the weak and oppressed, police are good, US military is awesome, consumerism is great.
@@awdsef1No mention of the glorious invisible hand of the free market, or how America is "the city on a hill"? I'm pretty sure the guy who invented PR, Edward Bernays, was into crafting an image for the world power
I’m 41yo far-left leaning Japanese pop culture enthusiast (and Brazilian🇧🇷) who lives in Japan for almost 20 years. I grew up with Japanese culture and ended up coming here to study and live in Japan, I can speak fluently Japanese and I can say this is the best video about Japanese pop culture I’ve ever seen in my life. Your video touched in so many aspects of my research I did here in Japan in my university years. I would love to have the opportunity to talk with you about all those issues. As you say, is pretty rare to find otakus who are left leaning, I’m one of those rare ones. Kind regards!
@@ronel7836 Honestly so far I've seen weeb be more of the newer term for big anime fans while Otaku is more what older anime fans used to call themselves. That is what my perception has show me so far. Weeb feels more like the person watching Kimetsu no Yaiba, MHA, Attack on Titan. Otaku feels more like the person that watched Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell, Slayers.
@@ronel7836 They're roughly interchangeable with Otaku stemming from Japanese nomenclature while weeb stems from western (4chan) nomenclature. However in Western culture, weeb has more negative connotations implying the person is obsessed with Japan and wants to be Japanese themselves, while Otaku just implies obsession with Japanese media.
@@ronel7836 I've always interpreted them as being (essentially) the same, although i could very well be wrong about that. Besides, it's slang, which doesn't have strict definitions by nature.
@@ronel7836 As far as I understand it, western anime fans used to call themselves otaku, while weeaboo was an insult for them. Then calling yourself "otaku" came to be seen as cringe, and "weeb" replaced it as a self-identifier.
Unlike the rest of you, I *am* immune to propaganda. Now if you'll all excuse me, it's been a long day of helldiving on Hellmire, and I've worked up the kind of hunger only tripling the US defense budget can satisfy
Back in college I came across another student's animation work on the subject of her identity. She was an international student from China studying art in the US, and her work was very clearly heavily influenced by Japanese anime. One line from her work was something similar to "if I consume their (refereing to Japan) culture on a daily basis, what is to become of me?" I think about this constantly.
As a German I've become pretty much alienated from my own country at this point. Although this has little to do with anime but a lot with my interest in history and old literature (which ironically enough is European culture, but we do not value it).
@@alexandergilbert1023not like it is only a personal problem. What will be of the cultures of the world in 50 or more years? The Homogenization tendency of modernity will be the only "progress" that all the people will know? There are better discussions about this matter, we need to be conscious about this. For example, in Colombia they started with etno-education. It's not only meant for the marginalized. Soft power, is just this. They (the USA and other European countries) aren't the status quo, and the only valid reality for existing. -A latinoamerican guy, sincerely. I felt it was necessary to mention this
I personally would love a video about the ways Japanese copyright culture treat domestic Doujin fanworks and foreign/western fanworks so differently. It seems like a pressing topic given the specific targeting of western Nintendo fan projects, and how that ties in with the national interest and what you suspect the future of that could be like in Nintendo's current dominating era.
It's a bit complicated, but IP rights in Japan, especially with digital assets are, in short, crazy. It's legal to get arrested for genning Pokemon or live streaming a VN. I wouldn't be surprised if NoA and NoE were focused as IP protectors in the international market to try and maintain the Japanese standard.
Soft-power of an country can be particularly important to immigrant population. The Japanese people from Brazil came as slave replacement, so people don't consider their desirable. The success of Japanese economy after WW2 and specially exportation of culture help a lot to change this view.
As someone from Okinawa, I want to point out that a lot of Japanese immigrants to Brazil were specifically of Ryukyuan or Okinawan origin. Not mainland Japanese. Especially for the time I presume you're talking about.
@@urphakeandgey6308 Probably for the better that the non-Japanese didn't know the difference, so that both Okinawans and main landers could enjoy the improved image.
but racism is another challenge that in my opinion japan never faced even if they are low class society in other countries, EU since the age of discovery in 16th favored japan no matter how ugly they are, japan is the only non-EU nation that can access europe and saw everything about Europe by raw, their misdeed in WW2, netherland India, European settler of comfort women that give birth to a child with no clue on who is his Japanese father was, and jews camp in asia, they still survived nuremberg trial, got reparation of image, and diplomacy, and nobody even care or even know, while Indonesian got criticize a lot and struggle with diplomacy.
US when other nation has soft power be like: On the serious note, you guys have KFC, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Apple, Windows, Ford, Boeing, Marvel, Disney, and a lot more. It's everywhere, but we don’t even question it. It is so normalized to the point that it kind of makes me uncomfortable. People seem to latch onto Japanese or South Korean pop culture because it’s different from already normalized US soft power.
and nobody is denying this. Just because the video is about Japan doesn't mean US or Brits or whatever don't do this. There was literally a Movement in History about mimicking the French, esp in Poland because it was the hip thing to do.
Being from usa, it kind of still feels like an occupation. In a way NGO soft power overtook USA first. Case in point, all those brands have a story of being taken over or bought out and swallowed into global conglomerates.
There's literally no reason my reply should have been deleted by RUclips AI. Uploader apparently didn't like the opinion. Wasn't even controversial. Lame.
That slow pan of the "Cool Japan Fund" viscerally took me back to studying Japanese in college and having to write sentences we would hear from episodes of "Cool Japan!"
The irony that “learning Japanese” is part of propaganda is that now that I can understand Japanese, I can start observing _real_ Japanese chatroom and publications and understand the _real_ issues and opinions of the society, not the ones with subs/dubs carefully selected for the ears of foreigners. It’s almost as if they’re encouraging you to get the ability to break through that propaganda itself…
@@juan-ij1le let’s just say they don’t pull punches when talking about what they think of other countries/nationalities….but they don’t pull punches when shitting on their own country either.
Mmkay, saying that something else dwarfs US soft power really just drives home the point of "you are not immune to propaganda". US soft power or US propaganda is literally everywhere and is so ingrained across the globe. The US has so much influence, to a point where we don’t even recognize it as influence. And that is the ultimate success story for propaganda. Music, movies, fashion, greasy food, the internet, oh and RUclips?, all that 'good' stuff is all 'soft'(propaganda) power.
American-style consumer capitalism, sanctity of international trade, and our very beliefs about human nature are a few examples of stuff that is so ingrained most people don't even see it's the product of propaganda. Most of your examples aren't that consequential to people's core values and beliefs, but it goes a lot deeper than just a 'style'. In Civ terms, it's the US that's won the cultural victory, and it's not up for debate.
But Americans can't even invent writing. All that American stuff is like a toddler making attemtps at Joss Whedon dialogue, to a normal person. One who casually learns multiple langauges, because their OWN is based on decent grammatical structure, not desperate memorization of contextual nouns. US "propaganda" literally doens't do much to affect a normal adult. It's so nakedly obvious how hard they try, Team America World Police barely registers as satire because everyone is howl-laughing already at your average stock of serious films. That's why serious foreign films are just goofy an exaggerated like german expressionism, that's the point of exaggeration. Because "the message" is not exaggerated instead.
"Music, movies, fashion, greasy food, the internet, oh and RUclips?" These are all jsut a fraction in the lives of people where "american stuff" is the only visible thing to YOU. You have your temples at Nevada that worship gambling culture but even those are full of roman and Egyptian icnoclast, to deliver the subtle point who you copypasted these "inventions" from. Greasy food isn't even a thing, overseas McDonalds sells actual edible food, it's just a logo. Bascially it's just USA wasting marketing money to make global audiences think American food is as good as what is sold to them as McDonalds. It's a giant sign of "we have food as good as this too, trust me bro!".
@@sboinkthelegday3892 That's not what soft power means? If you don't think propaganda effects a normal adult, that means it's all the more insidious? US soft power is near every nation accepting a mainly US owned internet. US soft power is American social media being the norm in most countries that do not actively block it. It's the UN being centered in new york, it's almost every tech device running code developed by american companies
I started my journey to understand other countries when I was 12, and I saw China with rosy glasses and then I began talking with Chinese people and I quickly understood, everywhere have problems. I am from Denmark and I grew up poor. That was why I wanted to understand other places to understand how fortunate I was to be in Denmark. And my specific understandings of the Japanese social issues came from studies. My master's degree is in cross-culture studies. So we did read about sexism, and discrimination. And Japan kept showing up, just like Korea did.
@@taiwanisacountrynice usernames but JP and KR does not had racism ,100 million peoples and 1 or 2 people being racist is enough to label a country as such Chinese are racist too but they gatekept themself from the english speaking world Korea is really sexist but China and Vietnam too when i was in VietNam for missionary work the government there tries to banned small breast women from driving
As a Japanese person, I have to say this is a very well crafted video. It hits many critical points and summarizes the social issues here, mainly in the creative sector. "Topdown is never cool" is such a true statement, but the LDP is dogmatic about this stance, and it is slowly suffocating every creative facet in this country which is now becoming more clearer than ever. I am very much against the LDP, and am really strongly hoping for its downfall. One important thing however, is that the statement "Japanese progressives have never been into power" is simply wrong. In the graph you exhibited multiple times throughout the video, you can see that there were a few periods in which the progressives became the dominant party (the ones that are not in green). Although these periods were brief, the LDP had been voted out a couple of times. It's surprising how you missed this important bit. I hope it was just a simple overlook.
As someone who moved to Japan to study in an international university, I can say with a certainty that Japan is completely different from what most people perceive of it. Many people are ignorant to the sheer amount of what I like to call soft racism in Japan against foreigners (it’s not overt or aggressive racism, its more of gently and politely being told you are not welcome). When trying to get an apartment I had to look through an insane amount of apartment complexes before I even found one that would accept foreigners. Even then I needed a Japanese guarantor in order to get the place, or I had to pay significantly more up front. I knew Japan had its problems before moving to Kyoto but I never truly realized the depths of them until I personally experienced the hell of house hunting as a foreigner.
I honestly think that the term "foreigners" softens what is ostensibly just "non-Japanese", and even that can be murky. Clearly Japanese people place great value in where one was born, but there is clearly a racial component to it as well, as many "hafus" (Half Japanese - half non-Japanese) still have difficulty integrating into the country, even when they know the language and culture just as well as any other Japanese person. So its also not just about where you are born, but also what it means to be a "pure" Japanese person, which I would argue, is extremely racist. This speaks to why, despite plummeting birthrates, still stubbornly refuse to allow more immigrants into the country. That's not even bringing up how they treat the indigenous Ainu people in the country. I think the romanticization of the country prevents people from acknowledging what it obvious, where people either don't seem to even want to engage with the topic, or outright refuse to acknowledge it existing. Japan is not a horrible place to be in, far from it, but its also not that great to be in if you are not from there. You can do everything right and still do everything wrong... Especially if you are dark skinned or Chinese/Korean.
Welcome to being an immigrant. Almost went to Portugal to work as a Brazilian (got my work visa, but received a better job offer in Brazil and decided not to go) and I'd have to pay three months of rent in advance, on top of a significant amount of landlords not wanting to rent their property to Brazilians.
While it sucks that it happens, it's not without reason. There are several cases of foreigners renting apartments and then moving away when the payments are due to avoid having to pay the rest of the money. The landlords can't exactly do much about it if they're in another country so the only solution is this ridiculous vetting process to make sure only foreigners who are trustworthy enough are allowed to rent.
55:00 - Just as a note: _Jet_ magazine was actually a Black owned and run newspaper. I think there's an interesting discussion here about how African American perceptions of the Japanese were influenced by their own backgrounds as a minority in America, but I understand that wasn't really the point of the video.
I stumbled on a very interesting-sounding book a while ago, that I haven't had a chance to read yet, about pro-Japanese sentiment among Black Americans prior to World War Two where some people looked positively on it as "the only nonwhite empire", which was all quietly dropped during the war and forgotten about afterwards. I'll see if I can find the title again.
Aha, here it is. It was an article not a book. Check out "When Japan Was "Champion of the Darker Races": Satokata Takahashi and the Flowering of Black Messianic Nationalism" by Ernest Allen if you can.
@@felonyx5123 funny thing about that. The Imperial Japanese mentality was inherently racist, calling themselves "the white man of Asia," whose mission was to "civilize" the peoples of Asia (compare to the notion of the "white man's burden"). Imperial Japan latched onto racist concepts from the West and only really pushed back on the notion that they, the Japanese, were inferior.
@@felonyx5123 It was not forgotten. Decades later Hip Hop took it as inspiration again, even for imagery and some names. Wu-Tang may be from a chinese movie but is one of many related examples.
I once talked about Ace Attorney and Japanese law with my weeb friend Randomly he got defensive and said "Japanese law is perfect, Japan don't have any crime"
Show him the brand new Japanese drama "Anti-Hero", it is litteraly Ace Attoney, but EVEN MORE in your face, how the Japanese judicial system makes everything (even literal illegal stuffs) to guarantee a condemnation of someone without a propper fair trial or without seek the total proofs and facts It even makes a small joke in itself talking about how the fact that Judicial system problems are often taked in entertainment
I find it funny considering Ace Attorney is a power fantasy where you play as a person so skilled they skirt around the prosecutors who always convict.
The "civilized" word often profess "innocent until proven guilty" (now we can debate on how well it's applied, but it would take too long). In the world of Ace Attorney, it's "guilty until someone else is proven guilty and confesses to the crime". Literally the first case of the first game, the person who found the body isn't even considered on the list of suspects until you prove he did the crime
I'm latino and growing up I remember being always really jealous that japanese culture and media was so romanticized and beloved by seemingly everyone yet no one really cared about my culture 😂😭
I dunno. Growing up I lived behind an Italian family. Awesome people, possible mob connections or I just had an overactive imagination. But I watched the 70 some year old mother hop a chain link fence into my uncles yard to save his laundry that came off the line. Little old lady put Mario to shame that afternoon.
Honestly I somewhat disagree with a lot of points on this video: For example I'd argue that Japan never even tried to export its media, fans brought most of that culture to the west and western studios in France and Germany outsourced their animations to Japan in the 70s and 80s a lot. The video makes the argument that Japan purposefully tries to appear kawaii or anime but the majority of this media is just for japanese as escapist fiction and if it wasn't for all the westerners who learned japanese in the early 2000s or western tv channels that tried to fill these program with shows from another country then the image of Japan would be more like it was in the 20th century. The anime and manga market never even occured for many japanese to be interesting to westerners and they only became more international as they noticed the growing interest, demand and possibility for profit. And even now it's a mess, the amount of works that will never receive any translation is insane. The Japan-hype simply happened because cultural products from a different and secluded culture suddenly flooded the internet and modern western culture with a lot of ideas and style foreign to western media. Due to the working-culture there's also an abundance of art because they are working so hard at creating, drawing, writing and animating as well, creating an insane amount of works to consume. Otakus and weebs are like punks or metalheads of the 21st century in the west, it's a subculture and like the subcultures in the 20th century it will slowly feel more "normal". People don't bat much of an eye at metal now either or punk. All of this has been driven a lot by the novelty of the now more interconntected world and youth that has been seeking their own niche. Already the next 2 generations will likely not be hyped about it anymore to the same degree because they will grow up being used to japanese games and anime and all that being a thing. Also Japan being so closed off played a large role in the idealization of the country. As more information becomes available a lot of people are getting more reality checks now or even disillusioned about the different values. So all in all I don't think it is soft power play, most of what the west currently considers japanese culture is an aspect of "nerd culture" that is not even really on the mind much for japanese people and they're also not all even avid consumers of otaku culture. Like I'm sorry but it's not always about politics and just because it has influenced the image of Japan in the west in recent years, doesn't mean this was a result of politics or policy. Like soft power and creating an image with Japan may be a lot of things, like the way we perceive Samurai for example as noble upright warriors, but otaku culture is really not it.
As you can see in the thumbnail, we have the face of Garfield the Cat as featured in the "You are not immune to propaganda" meme, adorned in the manner of Hatsune Miku as seen in the performance of "Senbonzakura", which is itself one of the most popular vocaloid songs by domestic consumption in Japan and also beyond, but that is steeped in Imperial Japan's visual style, and indeed, the song itself dwells on that period of time in Japan's history. Translation of songs and poetry is a tricky business, but I suppose it could be argued that the song does in some ways glorify that period, or at least look back upon it in a bittersweet manner, when it could be considered a period of time focused on gathering the strength necessary to dehumanize and subjugate their neighbors by force of bloodshed, and led to some of the worst atrocities known to mankind.
I always had this unsettling feeling about Senbobnzakura. Like, the song has lyrics that talk about a metal cage, a guillotine, and one about an ICBM, among others, but I could never pin down whether the song is glorifying Imperialist Japan, or is a telling a story about surviving through that era of Japan and celebrating its end with fireworks or whatever.
One thing that I'm surprised was left off as an example of Japanese "soft power" was the very idea of "Bushido" itself, at least as sold to the west in the early 1900s. Nitobe Inazo wrote "Bushido: The Soul of Japan"--in English!--to introduce the idea to Western audiences, in part to connect it to Western notions of chivalry, and to convince them that the Japanese too had high, noble morals and were just as civilized and refined. It was a deliberate propaganda effort to create a positive impression of Japan in the West, and also to justify Japanese imperial ambitions as being similar to Europeans' own. It worked: that is why even now, there is a stereotype of the Japanese as being about "honor" and "loyalty," which was twisted to be a negative stereotype in WWII but is also behind a lot of the more admiring/romanticized portrayals of Japan in the west, like the recent game "Ghost of Tsushima," the movie "The Last Samurai," and the "Shogun" book and TV shows. The "honorable, poet warrior" who would take his own life before dishonor is a type just as powerful as the fine arts described in the video. It still appeals to some Westerners who use it as a foil to perceived Western decadence. (I like how the video reminds us that this is not a new phenomenon at all.) But just like western chivalry, actual bushido was more a myth than a consistently lived practice, a post hoc justification of ordinary feudal domination and violence, usually codified long after the knights/samurai ceased to be an active fighting force in society. And both West and East drew on knightly/samurai imagery to justify their wars in the modern day, to devastating effect.
The old Great Powers are much less susceptible to culture in a way. The statesmen of the era have a sort of understanding of raw balance of power. Your cultural influence ends where my industry and army begins. No culture is so precious that it can prevent trading favors, influence and power in a great game of balance. The russo-japanese war is the turning point. When you can beat a great power, you are effectively part of the great power club. A great deal of the existing great powers start to view Japan as an upcoming great power or at least a regional power. Or at least as a regional power able to exert a sphere of influence and beat down the declining Russia. Then the USA and Wilsonian anti-colonial ideals start to spread, and what would have been okay in the brutal power balance of the Concert of Europe are not cool any more. The chinese nationalists go on their own relationship-tour of the world and the US public is largely sympathetic to them even if they might not want a Pacific war.
Ah yes Bushido, the way of superficial pride, vanity, intimidation, cowardice, and despicable. The samurai was legally allowed to kill any peasants who hurt his pride, given that he later report to the officials. In order to maintain face or reputation in situation of defeat, samurai must restore face at all costs. There were many stories of challengers who defeated a reputable dojo in a spar, but then got ganged upon and dissolved before they can leave, as the news of defeat will damage the dojo’s reputation. The obsession of fame is beyond imagination. The famous Musashi Yoshioka feud started as Musashi’s father defeated the Yoshioka in a comparison fight. Musashi later slayed 2 Yoshioka to elevate his fame, and the Yoshioka summoned all the disciples in order to end Musashi and restoring the clan’s fame. In kendo, the concept of kiai, is literally using a loud shout to intimidate your opponent. The art of iai, or skill sword drawing, was popularized by Rurounin Kenshin. It was initially developed as a skill to quickly execute and counter sudden/sneak attacks against opponents who are (probably) also sitting. This wired sounding skill is a matter of life and death for samurai outside of traditional battlefield. Samurai brings their sheathed katana to negotiations or hostile meeting, and are likely to get into fights if the negotiations goes wrong or straight ambushed and stabbed in the back. Iai practices on quickly drawing the sword from sitting and strike down the opponents or assassins. The quickly sheathing the sword and sitting back down acts as a show of force and, somehow, allows the negotiation to continue. I can probably go on about it all day. The more you know about Japanese culture the more you would be fascinated by it, and the more you despise the other side of it.
It is significant that you pointed out the diplomatic value of Nitobe Inazo's Bushido, but is there any objective basis for the part "justify Japanese imperial ambitions"? I think the general assessment is that it is a book to explain the ethics of Japan, a non-Christian country, to Westerners. Nitobe Inazo's Bushido was written in 1899, but it was not until 1911 that the Harris Treaty was revised and Japan regained full tariff autonomy in its diplomacy with the United States. In other words, Japan's international position at that time was weak and it was in danger of being colonized at any time, and in fact, in 1904, a war broke out between Japan and Imperial Russia and Japan was on the verge of destruction. This book was written in such a time. Japan was also suffering from imperialism.
You want an example of the US soft power? The very fact that I’m writing this comment in English and I can watch this video and understand everything without my native language subtitles is a result of the US soft power. The impact of the home computer revolution alone has been massive (computer terminology, operating systems, programming languages, etc) and later on the internet revolution brought things again to a whole new level. And this is just the language and communication aspect scraping the very tip of the US soft power iceberg.
so youre basically seething that you know about the english language. very strange... growing up i thought that people in other countries cared about their own histories but as i've grown up i've learned, no - all they do is obsess about america. i believe this to be the result of state-mandated education where they blame america for their governments being so inefficient, poor, and corrupt.
@@hurr48 Excuse me, what? 😮 “Seething” is not the tone I intended the writing to sound like… at all! Instead of sounding angry I had a moment of energetic realization about the matter. I have zero regrets learning English completely voluntarily because of my curiosity towards computers. The investment has certainly paid off as English turned out to be the “Latin” for anything IT related and also allows international communication pretty across the globe on the internet. I tried to bring up how seemingly mundane things, which can be completely invisible for native speakers, can be the result or byproduct of a soft power effort. (I didn’t claim this to be a negative thing at all as soft power effort can be beneficial for all involved parties)
@@xard64 if thats the case then i apologize for you catching strays that i intended against the author of the original video and those who carry the most inflammatory of his positions. i just really got heated at how the guy who made this tries to air out his superiority and biased understanding of history against everyone who dares try and innocently enjoy media.
wouldn't english being one of the most widely used languages in the world be the fault of the british empire and their numerous colonies rather than the influence of the US?
I recently came back from a month long trip to Japan, and upon explaining what the trip was like, I realized how bizarre people's perceptions are of the country. Either people think it's literally like what they see in anime, or they think it's some utopia where everyone wears Kimonos 24-7. That is Japanese soft power at play. The country is nice, the people are (generally) friendly, and there are elements of it that also seem pretty dystopian. Doesn't mean it's a terrible place to visit... Unless you are a vegetarian.
From what I've picked up form personal experience and what I've heard through the grapevine, it's an amazing place to visit and an awful place to actually work and live. Perhaps not the worst place full stop or even among first world countries, but far from utopia.
I never thought of Japan as a utopia. Sure, I love the country and Japanese pop culture but I never once let fictional media disillusion me about the country. Perhaps it's because when I take an interest in something I study it, but I always find it cringe when some dude goes "Japan is the best country ever!!!" (Or something alluding to that).
@@Aka-Spade a lot of nerds outside of Japan think Japan is a paradise because thanks to their media consumption, they believe that Japan doesn't have jocks or sports culture and that smart kids can be the popular kids at school. The former is not true. The later has an element of truth in it.
@@leeratner8064 yeah, and since a ton of westerners don't bother to learn the culture or understand the country's issues, social commentary in some of the Japanese games and shows go over their heads completely.
It may sound odd or infuriating to some (very understandable, considering the circumstances), but there is a feeling I have as a Russian, observing Japanese soft power, and the way it works as you portrayed in this video. **Envy.** Maybe some different word, a bit different feeling, but very much something along those lines. My country's government is wasting resources down the drain waging a war. We don't have an industrial base producing consumer products which we could export a lot to grow the economy, we don't really have products which anyone would want to buy. Whenever the war ends, realistically there's no way we would have substantial investment into our economy. The fossil fuel we used to sell by the craploads to Europe won't be needed eventually, and we don't have much other stuff which could generate quick money. While Russian culture keeps being hampered by state censorship. I recently watched a five hour long "Entertainment From North Korea" video, and the end of that made me pretty sad. It showed basically a more extreme version of a simple idea: set a people free and their imagination can run wild. Here in Russia, the government instead has been doubling down on "locking" people's minds. Producing half-assed low quality propaganda (while surely stealing lots of money), parasitizing on Soviet legacy to an internal audience. What does the rest of the world know? Masha and the Bear and ballet? That's not enough. And even then, it's all tainted, seen as an instrument of aggression and imperialism, and my people seen as savage barbarians who won't ever change. Social media propaganda to screw up elections and whatnot certainly don't help. Even if the Japanese government is now using anime to advance their remilitarization policies, their soft power investments still produced something positive for the country in general: people abroad being interested in their culture en masse, learning the language, consuming their media, wanting to move to the country. While we burn our soft power to the ground.
We ain’t remilitarizing anytime soon tho. This country has gone too soft and divided for that. A lot of people will just protest against it. (I’m already seeing group of people with microphone at Kashiwa station in Chiba yelling).
@@Rasupubegasu From an American perspective I believe that your government is attempting to strengthen its military capabilities, insofar as trying to be a more helpful ally for America as it develops a coalition against China. I am for that to that extent. Although I am aware of some Japanese Irredentists who would take this much farther.
@@juan-ij1le Barring the financial connections to state corporations and the game also being kinda meh gameplay and story wise (could've used better writing), I think it was a very good move in a positive direction. Very interesting world, there's so much to be used creatively from our Soviet past in terms of entertainment (though the bad nature of it makes it a harder line to walk. I remember seeing people accusing the game of being Soviet propganada because you're playing as a KGB guy and he's not portrayed as evil, for example) More games, more experience creating games, better games in the future. Hopefully.
Personally, I think actually going to Japan for a few weeks actually can work as a reality check, because after a while you realise that, while there are lots of great things about Japan, it's mostly like all the other countries with different upsides and problems
Exactly. Learning and speaking from your own experiences is infinitely better than getting swayed by others’s words, RUclips videos, or media in general. My favorite saying is, “Don’t let anyone dictate your experiences, worldview, and thoughts.” My country is not perfect, and I want people to know that. No country is perfect, and that's okay. Message from Japan with love.
Goes for mostly every country really. That said, I'm from Ireland and Japan might be the actual most expensive journey possible here just in travel alone, so I've long abandoned any idea of visiting myself!
I find it interesting that in translating other languages, we often take the word "barbarian" and words like it for granted. A barbarian, which we define as a primitive person or people that lack culture and refinement; a people and/or person whom are uncouth and animal/beast like in their nature. The word itself is an Anglicization of a Roman word for the Berbers, a neighboring people the Romans were often at odds with, whom in turn were named as such because their language was unintelligible to the Romans. This word is so ancient that there is no people left to reclaim it or defend themselves against this slander, that it functions as -the word- to insult and belittle other cultures with; or to describe other people as monstrous or bestial or violent or warlike. Roman soft power condemned the memory of an entire people and their culture to what we now call people that we look down upon. There is, of course, a lot more nuance and circumstance to the etymology of the roman word "barbaros" but i believe my point still stands.
As a sort of 'online-Westernized' Japanese (someone who lives in Japan but spends most of his time on the web in the English speaking parts, watching videogame LPs, analyses, reviews, RLM, all that stuff), Something I find funny a is that I get an impression when I'm in the Japanese part of the web that your average person in Japan (a non English speaker) doesn't really appreciate or is aware of just how much the otaku culture has spread and gained popularity around the world (at least among those who regularly use the internet), simply due to their not speaking English and thus not really interacting with the wider interweb. I could be wrong about this, and my understanding of the people outside Japan, (or just, outside of my little sphere of personal friends and acquaintances, even within Japan) is very limited, but given how many people still regularly use the word like gaijin (a word which doesn't necessarily mean the speaker has a negative view on foreigners, but still hints the sort of "there's us, and there's them" kinda thinking or mentality) etc. suggests to me that people (especially those who are less educated or brighter) don't really know that, despite the cultural differences, there's like, normal people outside Japan who aren't too dissimilar to them (perhaps a different story for people/places with radically different social norms). And I kinda worry that, at a larger scale, this.. what can be called ignorance, could be exploited by malicious actors, whether it be ultra-nationalist types or hyper-progressive who want to get rid of borders altogether or something, and prevent intelligent discussion on whatever subject it is.
As a foreigner living in Japan, I have encountered the exceptionalist narrative to be a bit mind blowing. I've seen Japanese people ask if European headphones or earphones would even work the same with Japanese ears (this is a true story), and people are always taken aback when I mention that my quality of life didn't really change too dramatically (neither for better nor worse) after moving here from abroad. The food is great and the transportation is better, but that's about it. I have lived in several different countries so far, but it is a little weird just how "different" people here perceive me to be. Then again, most people are also pretty nice and at least polite to me (to my face, that is) and I also speak Japanese, which obviously helps make most interactions a bit more organic and natural.
A decent part of my childhood was spent around Japanese-American immigrants, both other kids and their parents. They basically accepted me, a white kid. While I was a poor student of the language, I adopted bits of the culture as my own through personal contact. Visiting Japan itself was stark in contrast, because the familiar elements were familiar, but the differences were obvious right away: "yeah, guess I'm always gonna be a foreigner here 😅" Even before I visited, there were things about that early experience that always put me at odds with the western media narratives and fan culture. When a person crosses the threshold into another culture they become more pragmatic and in some ways more able to change their ideas, but also more conservative and protecting of their heritage. The fan culture does not really do that: it stays at a distance that guards prior assumptions, so it makes up ways to misunderstand what it sees. And I believe the same can be true from the native context. I do think every generation sees things in a new way, and a Japan that takes on more immigrants is going to be a different place in other ways.
re: the conclusion: people like Swift or Musk, or corporations like Disney, don't need you defending them. they have enough wealth to pay for every currently ongoing court case single-handedly. defending the billionaire means you've fallen for their propaganda. like them if you must but realize try not to fall for the game they're all playing.
@@SathornetfireBeing a normie means falling in line with the other normies no matter where the consensus goes. It's no better than defending the fat cats. Be yourself. Have standards, like a professional. Cultivate strong principles on your own and stay true to them. There is nothing wrong with having your actions be similar to what you call normies, but understand you have the freedom to choose your path and can deviate as you see fit. Don't be contrarian just for the sake of being contrary. That's just being an normie in the opposite direction.
Huh. Sadly the German movie industry had emigrated to the USA after ww2, otherwise we would definitely have similar tropes. Our politicians are too old and make policies that favor the elderly
@@Delmworks a never ending cycle, one generation pushes forward a politician who serves their needs and he continues to cater to that generation even when it hurts the next one. only for the next generation to appoint another politician who does the same to the next generation.
While it is true that these things do give a good impression of Japan, it must be said that the involvement of the Japanese government is wrong. Much of what is now familiar as Japanese culture has been abused by Japanese society. It is very sad that this is treated as if it were Japanese government propaganda. I felt that what has been created by the people is seen as a national achievement.
Oh my god! As Brazillian from Rio Grande do Sul, I found it very heartwarming to see Moony caring about our situation with such devotion. I became a great fan of your work in the late months and I hope more people from my country to be able to enjoy the same good experiences and learning that I had with you. Your channel is a very necessary content in these modern days, and I miss seeing something like that in other RUclips channels (that weren't just selling our own western propaganda). Thanks a lot for your work and passion, Moony!
The Northern Nations do not consider we, the Latinos western, because of some racist thing. So while we would like to, we aren't really in 'the club' of the Western nations, even less than Japan is.
@@irmaosmatos4026 are these three things the LatAm+Brazilian class+caste systems and the skin colours that come with them, amongst the many issues? In any Latin American country, colourism is a prominent issue amongst many people regardless of ethnicity.
Been living in Japan for 8 years, now. Wife and home. I became interested in Japan through anime and manga as a kid, but studied at university to learn the actual history, language and culture. It's not the most fun country to live in, if you have trouble being social and making friends, because you will end up lonely. More-so tgan you might expect, even if you're already lonely in your home country. A lot of people who don't actually know Japanese culture come here expecting a mix of fun and difficulty, but end up feeling like Japanese people are two-faced and prejudiced. There is some truth to that, but not much more than the US or other foreign countries. The BIG kicker is that people are just not that friendly or talkative. They're polite, but that's a social expectation, not a reflection of individual kindness. People who come here get bogged down by intense loneliness and isolation. So, if you move here, be aware of these things.
@@joãoguilherme-h1h good luck, man. ✊ There's still lots of stuff to enjoy! Sorry if I seemed too negative. I just want people to temper their expectations. 😅
yeah... Everything felt very superficial and surface level when i lived there for 6 weeks as part of an internship. Everyone is nice and is like "what do you like about japan? Why did you come here" but it never goes deep it feels like. By the middle of that period i was feeling kinda depressed. this was while living with 15 other exchange students i'd have gone insane by myself. Edit:just to specify I am fluent in japanese.
@freakshowDK it's Sanzaneeta Reef (Beta Mix) from the Siivagunner "High Quality Video Game Music Rips" parody channel. There's also Reunite (JP edition) which uses an Undertale soundfont
Japan is actually not exactly good at exporting their culture. I talked to Japanese people about this and all of them said that Japan is still a very closed off country with island mentally. Most of their exported pop cultures are done either by outsiders or by accidents. Go back 6-13 years ago, it was almost impossible to purchase or stream anything from Japan, you will have to physically there to do that. Example are Fast n Furious films put Japanese sport cars in the spotlight. The relentless copyright infringement by western youtube channels to bring the rest of the world City Pop which resulted a come back in Japan itself.
@@0008loser what is wrong about this? Outside of super specific random details. The whole topic seems sound to me and def lines up with a lot of soft power/political that have been pushed, often to hide a lot of shade.
@@0008loser if this video is wrong then that means all of the 12 sources listed in the description + the ones not listed like books mentioned are wrong That or you are just a rando full of BS Which one is more probable I wonder 🤔
@@Punkqurupeco I'm still going through the video, but if this video doesn't cover Azuma Hideo, then it's most definitely BS. No discussion on Otaku subculture is worth watching or reading if the source doesn't mention Tezuka Osamu's equal in terms of influence. There's way too many trash books in English that aren't any good because most of them don't bother with studying Japanese primary source material properly; they're too enamoured with their shoddy game of telephone.
Everything is propaganda in it's own way if you think about it... Don't blindly agree with anyone, have your own mind while considering the interests and opinions other people may have.
Strictly speaking, ANY narrative that tries to convince you of ANY point is "propaganda." The thing is, people often use "propaganda" as a pejorative, meaning "trying to convince (usually other people) of something I don't agree with," so if you like McDonalds, you don't think a McDonalds commercial is "propaganda," but if you HATE McDonalds, then anything McDonalds puts in an ad is "propaganda" to YOU. Put another way, "propaganda" is just "persuasion" when you don't like what's being said. Pointing out that you don't think it's propaganda if you agree with it is kind of the point of the "you're not immune to propaganda" meme, although by another definition, you'd be a solipsistic idiot it you refused to ever let anyone convince you of anything, so it's not like a bad thing. It's that kind of connotation game that most people are playing, and the strict definition of the term is often irrelevant to what people actually mean.
You tend to attribute the spread of Japanese culture to the Japanese government, but this is a mistake. Japan's government has been obviously incompetent for at least the last forty years and probably the last sixty. There was no cultural benefit to Japan from the anime aired on American television from 1961-1985. All those anime, Astroboy, Kimba the White Lion, Eight Man, Speed Racer, Star Blazers, Battle of the Planets, Voltron and a host of lesser-known shows were NEVER released as being of Japanese origin. They intentionally hid the origin of these stories, so Japan gained no favor from it. There was a grassroots awareness of Japanese animation spreading, mostly on college campuses, throughout the seventies and eighties, and finally in 1985, Robotech proudly announced that this was Japanese animation. As far as I know (and remember), that was the very first time any anime was openly Japanese. Even then, it took another decade and a half for anime to become big enough to start to crack into the US's popular consciousness. The Bunkasho wasn't as strong as you seem to think. It wasn't a government-lead spread of culture, but rather a corporate spread of products which were generally better made and more durable than the domestic US products that turned America's perception of Japan as being a source of cheap, easily broken toys in the 1960s, to an electronics giant in the '80s. The improved outlook of Japan was probably as much of a surprise the Japanese government as it was to US electronics manufacturers. It was Japanese electronics that made Japan cool, and that was the springboard that Robotech climbed aboard to promote Japanese animation. "The Japan Foundation was directly responsible for the proliferation of anime throughout the world." This line is bullshit. At least in the US, the Japan Foundation's reach extends only to small groups of people in large cities. At the very least, they had NOTHING to do with the spread of anime in the US. They weren't opposed, but when anime spread, they were still pushing Ikebana, haiku and The Tale of Genji. I remember the spread of anime in the US, and US distributors had to pull teeth to get the Japanese to enter the US market. (Admittedly, the French- and Spanish-speaking markets had much more anime than the US, but considering the reluctance of Japanese companies to enter the market, I would guess that for those countries, citizens of those countries went to Japan for the titles, and not the Japanese intentionally moving their cultural products out. Your assertion that the legacy of Yamato is done "under the watchful eye of the Japanese government and encouraged through promotion and investment." Sources?! Where did you get this idea? It doesn't make any sense. Sorry, but even if SBY was a metaphor for the return of Japanese imperialism, the idea of Japanese imperialism DID NOT extend to the other shows influenced by it. Gundam condemns imperialism on both sides of the war. Macross is a tale of trying to survive, not trying to spread. Also the Japanese people didn't come around to an imperialist frame of mind through their love of the anime. The Japanese people are still against Japanese hard power. That propaganda sure didn't work, did it? And in the US, Star Blazers changed the name of the ship, changed all the characters names, and tried to cover up any traces that the anime came from Japan. As you get into your description of the '80s, you say that anime was exploding in popularity. Nothing could be further from the truth. Anime was a niche as niche gets in the US. In fact the first home video releases of anime as an industry in the US was only in 1989. It was the '90s when anime started gaining a foothold, only to finally explode with the one-two-three-four punch of Akira, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon and Pokémon. But none of these really "exploded" the industry even if some of them exploded as fads. It wasn't until the 2000s that anime really started making true inroads into US pop culture and mainstream recognition. Internationalization was an INTERNALLY oriented policy of the Japanese government, not an externally oriented policy. It was an attempt to expose Japan to the world, so that there would be greater emphasis on Japanese people learning foreign languages in order to facilitate trade. Again, this was most likely the Japanese government doing the bidding of Japanese corporations rather than a controlling culturally-dictatorial government as seems to be your assertion. All of your examples of denialism of Japanese war crimes and insensitivity to the complaints of other, in some cases more powerful, surrounding countries just illustrate just how BAD the Japanese government is at their "war of propaganda" which is the centerpiece of your thesis here. In the '90s, Japanese animation was NOT thriving in Japan. It was reliant on remakes and sequels almost entirely. The direct-to-video market (OAVs) was quickly drying out with experimental films such as Robot Carnival and Egg of the Angel from the bubble economy being cut off completely in the post-burst economy. Of course, not everything was a remake, but the break-out anime were few and far in between, and most had a rabid manga fan base first, so there was little risk at producing high-quality anime for those properties. Your "top-down" mobilized shit you start your "summary" section with is only "top-down" if you consider corporate Japan on top. You really seem to push "government" as the shadowy boogeyman to be feared, but especially the post-burst Japanese government was just a puppet of Japanese corporate interests. The government had no real will of its own, being pushed by US interest on one hand and Japanese corporate interests on the other. The revolving door of prime minsters prove that point. Since when has "cool" ever actually been successfully co-opted by any government? Corporations have done it all over the place, but governments have been uniquely incompetent at harnessing "cool." "Cool Japan" was not a top-down governmental program. It was a taxpayer-funded corporate welfare slushfund ostensibly run by the government but actually beholden to their corporate overlords. As in late-capitalism US, late-capitalism Japan and its government is also run by its extremely wealthy. And now, with your discussion about what the LDP wants, is where we get to where your argument truly falls apart. Every single one-party government in history that has wanted to re-militarize and managed to re-militarize. The LDP, despite having control of the government for (according to you) since the Meiji era, has not been able to do it for eighty years. Japan has NOT been able to re-militarize. The best it gets tiny incremental advances, and then there's a brand-new incompetent prime minister. If hard power is their goal, then the propaganda has FAILED. Yeah, there are a lot of people, such as yourself, who want to scare people into thinking of Japan as some sort of emerging military power because the JSDF uses kawaii characters, but they forget that "kawaii" characters are used EVERYWHERE. There are kawaii characters in driving school advertisements. I'm sure there are kawaii characters advertising heavy machinery. Of course the military uses kawaii characters, but that's only weird in the west. In Japan, it's just what everybody does. Even the quote where the government says that it needs to take more control of the industry to project their own policies proves that the government is failing in their objectives! Didn't you get that? They are flailing about trying to get some benefit of all the taxpayer cash they've shoveled into corporate Japan. The things they are proposing sound scare, especially when you voice it in a deeper, ominous tone, but they haven't actually consolidated any industries, and it's a good question as to whether it's even possible. Again, with comfort women, you mentioned one "win" by Japan, and a bunch of failed attempts to delete Japan's comfort women history. Breaking a sister-city agreement with SF is a failure. The kicking of the comfort women statue became a scandal for the kicker. Did Berlin remove the statue? I'll bet they didn't. Failures.
tbh if GATE JSDF is their best result and they use their soft power to remove statues and all this for remilitarization it seem to be freaking useless and over hyped also anyone watchin GATE JSDF probably already knows its a propaganda they just like it cause its the only Anime or Movies where you can see Holy Roman Empire get Vibe check with 556 nato rounds lol also japan losing in the Gacha market sure but all those successful gacha game use anime aesthetic so in the end the boosted japan soft power again tbh this Cool Japan Fund is more of an outlier it made some random anime here and their while the industry push was towards more shonen shows hell i kinda wish it did more i want more military moe anime hahahaha
I really appreciate you providing this thorough alternative perspective to the arguments in the video. Thanks for writing this. It’s good to hear the other side, especially on a video that was such an investment of time
I did Japanstudies in my home country (west-Europe) at university and we'd mock ourselves at times calling it "Weebstudies" instead of Japanstudies. Mandatory classes are language, history, art history, sociology and area studies (learning about the orientalism theory and the west vs. rest view) and there's a lot of directions you can choose to go into. I definitely started that with a certain fascination for Japan due to my anime watching like many of my peers, but over the years you also learn about some of those most nasty truths. Also, people who are only there to watch anime without subtitles will usually flunk, although not all. This video has got me wondering just a bit if calling that study course 'Weebstudies' is justified or if it is actually something that plays part in de-Weebing its students (or have those students flunk)... Especially if you define "Weeb" as 'fan of Japanese anime/popculture to the point they're no longer critical of the culture that produced it', a definition I'm not sure is considered absolute? I'm open to be corrected on this one, but I do think one can have a somewhat obsessive interest in anime/manga/etc. and still be very critical about the Japanese culture that produces it. EITHER WAY, this was a super interesting video and while I'd argue some historical context could have been left out or summarised more, I also love that kinda stuff personally and am very happy it is there. I just don't think it's always /that/ necessary for context. And meanwhile am baffled that a movie like Rashōmon, the first Japanese movie to win an Oscar and to kickstart a new (academic) interest in Japanese movie industry (especially so they can have something different then Classical Hollywood Cinema, CHC, to study and contrast) and the name Donald Richie weren't mentioned :0. I think this also just shows I had some courses on this subject in my life,,, which is true and I don't think it is or should be seen as basic common knowledge. It's too niche, but I guess can be another interesting case study for how Japan got cultural soft power again. (Although the entirety of Kurosawas work isn't always seen as super representative of the Japanese people by the Japanese people asked about this and they consider other directors as representing them better). I liked this video essay a lot and as this comment probably shows, it definitely tickled me brain and generated some thoughts and feelings on this subject from me!! Keep up the excellent work!
I am currently studying Japanese Studies, and literally after starting studying I have reduced watching anime. Good to know this is not just me. Feels like I am getting more immune to Japanese fascination, but I've got a new respect for topics in anime that I found obscure before
@@ahtheh Super cool to hear another Japanstudies student relate to my experience, I think it goes for a lot of students of this field (also including majors that focus on Korea, China and other "exotic cultures"). And maybe rather than your fascination for Japan disappearing it's more like it's shifting. With all the new knowledge you obtain it's hard to keep looking at the subject in the same way, but there's still so much interesting things, just differently. If those words strung together made any sense... it's past midnight for me here 😅
@@ahtheh Anime are cartoons. Fascination with anime in itself is nice, but most people just watched it because the most popular shows were cool with compelling stories that adults and children alike enjoyed. The same with manga. Some just took it forward and gained other interests in Japanese culture and Japan at large, or others became slightly “obsessed” with anime/anime otaku culture.
i'm sorry but the fucking super mario 64 slide rendition of komm susser todd in the part where japan's yen bubble burst was singlehandedly the most unintentionally funniest thing you ever did in this channel
I KNEW that goddamn music sounded familiar for some reason, but it was just wrong in a way I couldn't put together. Thank you for explaining it to my brain.
“You are not the things you consume.” Wow moony I was not expecting such a powerful life lesson and change of perspective from this video. But thank you. I feel a lot more at peace with the fact that I like Japanese media. Or even secular media as a whole.
_"The goal on Moon Channel is and always has been the betterment of the world"_ I'm really curious about your take on TikTok, from a legal perspective, but especially for its ramifications on the state of mind of our younger generations. Is that a topic that would fit your channel?
The USA states that TikTok collects about as much data as the other social media networks, using pretty much the same methods, but mainly opposes its ties to a foreign anti-american nation.
I am Curious if you will Talk about the Parasocial Relationships used by Gacha Companies to sell their Waifus? Cause I'm seeing how bad it could get with Girls Frontline and Snowbreak Containment Zone. And there was also Star Rail and Firefly event in China wjere Firefly would literally Call you.
@@moon-channelI really hope you do, I really wanna know what actually happened in the gfl2 NTR drama without 50million different cn accounts on Reddit trying to convince me that Mica did everything wrong and bad and that whatever translation was posted was wrong and it actually worse. Cause they did a lot of that similarly to how it was hard to figure out what happened with Limbus’s swimsuit drama when it was all going down Which sucks because like Limbus, GFL1 best quality is its story and I want to be able to play and read what happens in GFL2 in global
i think one of the funniest, yet understated revelations this video brings is the fact that, one of the greatest enemies the whole anti-localization cultural war faces? the one nominally built upon the principles of freeing japanese culture and media from the evils of foreign cultural influence? it's japan
Or to be more specific, certain parts of the Japanese goverment and political factions. There are both allies and enemies within Japan of both sides of that culture war.
its because dumbass japanese boomers don't understand how modern culture actually works, they see anime being popular in the west and think "we need to change our products to appeal to them" without realizing that it's specifically the japaneseness that's appealing; basically the classic story of niche thing becomes popular niche thing changes to appeal to a "broader audience" niche thing loses what made it popular in the first place we don't need localization, we don't need rice balls (or "onigiri" to the more hardcore weebs) to be jelly donuts, we just need to know what they're saying, as close and as literal as possible to the original as possible, and if that involves using TL NOTES (this kills the lolcowlizer) to explain watashi/ore/boku/atashi/etc, then so be it
For example in persona 3 reload, during the operation babe hunt, they change a scence with a cross dress man luring men to a woman who was a nut. Some people call the localization messing with original, despite this change being the Japanese version of reload. Meaning even the native Japanese audience had problems with it.
Not to mention if Japan was successful in remilitarizing, would the Japanese population who has been softened as otaku and neets want to support war or even join the military?
Moony, Study of Swords peer reviewed this video and pointed out quite an amount of misinformation in this video. I believe you would be interested in taking the criticism if you want to maintain a certain standard and accuracy for this video.
I find it interesting how you left out the unique relationship between Japan and Prussia/Germany. This relationship played a huge role in pretty much everything you talked about
@@rockedsocks4613 when Japan sought to modernize they decided to remodel their military and other societal aspects after one of the most powerful nations in Europe, which happened to be prussia at the time. This choice along with several others led to a fondness of Germany that can be seen even today. Even in the very Anime talked about in this video. There’s more to it but I‘m too lazy to write an essay 😅
This video treats Miyazaki as a rare beacon of sanity and Tezuka's implied to be some form of nationalist collaborator cuz he liked a scene from a propaganda cartoon for purely non-ideological reasons. "The Japanese government used anime to quell public distrust after the Anpo protests failed, employing artists whose work was inspired by war-time propaganda" - Hey, what did Tezuka & the rest of those early creators think of Anpo, nationalism, the government, war and imperialism? Do you seriously not know anything about the views of virtually every seminal manga & anime creator from that post-war era? THEY WERE SOME OF THE MOST PROMINENT ANPO PROTESTERS. Miyazaki making a manga about how cool WW2 German soldier Otto Carius was (a guy who likely took his nationalist views to his grave) is way more "problematic" than that obscure Tezuka factoid but even that is detached from his actual left-wing anti-war views and just him nerding out about the guy's tank operating skills. Yamato's Yoshinobu Nishizaki was an outlier among that generation, whom Leiji had many disagreements with. To paint one of Japan's most anti-war, anti-nationalist artistic generations as government collaborators with no evidence beyond "Tezuka liked this scene in this cartoon" to push a narrative is either ignorant or disingenuous.
Yeah Tezuka published some of his manga in Akahata, the official newspaper of the Japan Communist Party, for god's sake. The maker of this video is basically using some obscure facts (some of which aren't even accurate) to market his political views.
@@kkf54353 Someone might point out "well, he also published stuff in the right wing Sankei Shimbun" but the funny thing is, the freaking Vietnam war Astro Boy arc ran there which had some of his most overt left-wing messaging. He didn't change his views to pander at all & was just reaching out to people who may normally not consider those ideas - it's not like the paper could make him censor himself since he would've just said "no" and left.
Just as the video reminds us how the Japanese people are not a monolith, and the Japanese government is also not a monolith, I hope the viewers might extrapolate that the artists therein are not a monolith. Studio Ghibli has infamously poor working conditions. The Anpo protest combined many different political perspectives, and the video notes that this includes nationalists. Even then, it is not that Tezuka or whomsoever else is exclusively a nationalist, or otherwise, and this misses the bigger picture of the video. I ask for us to think with nuance, and to think critically so that we can avoid thinking in such black and white ways.
@@RaymondoPerson Section about nishizaki pisses me off. Space battleship Yamato is not secret right wing virtue signaling. Matter a fact episode 2 of the series is the only thing that could be considered such. We could consider leiji Matsumoto did the design of space battleship Yamato a man who was virtually opposed to kamikaze pilots cause his father literally sent soilders to deaths. There are some elements of nationalism in Yamato but it isn’t fully that. By comet empire it’s literally just a space opera anime with cool ships. Which is why I love it
@@moon-channel What I would’ve gone over if I was you, is leiji Matsumoto and nishizakis relationship. I wont deny nishizaki has more right wing views, leiji Matsumoto had a father who sent pilots to their deaths therefore they have very different philosophies about wwii watch the cockpit ova for matsumotos own take on the matter. The way you framed it seems to me like you think space battleship Yamato was secret nationalist virtue signaling on nishizkais part when especially by the time you get to the later entries it focuses on entirely on space opera. Main villains of Yamato are modeled after actual nazi commanders and are committing a similar genocide. Granted I like more right leaning stuff I enjoy anime like deep blue fleet. That has some Japan bias but the author is 93 years old it’s to be expected. I would’ve gone over Zipang which is like gate an isekai but way way more subtle in its narrative about wwii and is way more plausible with its alternate history then deep blue fleet. Modern jsdf ship transports to battle of midway they rescue a Japanese solider his motivation to make a more militarized modern Japan that is free from imperial influence like the United States. Has much more subtlety then an example like gate.
@@viliml2763 that's a reach, yes they use a lot of hard power, but dismissing the amount of soft power they possess is at best, silly At worst, ignorant
I think what he means is that the US has soft power that is comparable to its hard power coming as a direct consequence of it. I think his main point is calling attention to the fact that Japan has a remarkable soft power and has (of course, talking about the collective unconscious perception of the country) succesfully swept under the rug any implication that it is or was at any point imperialistic and genocidal, all through propagandistic and diplomatic means, unlike the US.
Most anime (mainly Isekai) show the negative side of Japan and criticize it (work culture, loneliness, bullying, etc.). I don’t think it is propaganda if you’re showing the negative side of your society. People like Japan and anime because they are different from western culture, and people are fascinated by them. I don’t think the Japanese government has any hands on it. Anyways It is scary that an American company like Blackstone is buying up all Japanese-related media. Their recent purchase of the biggest manga site in Japan. I think people keep forgetting that the USA has the soft power here.
@@Rasupubegasu to be fair the creator of the video did mention that the US absolutely uses soft power too and he could do a video about it too. I think the reason why he is talking about Japanese soft power is because the JP government tends to use their media to help them look more like victims of ww2 instead of aggressors. Which isn’t just a japan thing,every country is guilty of this too
Worth noting Hearn (the "first weeb") is more recognized in Japan than in the West with there being are multiple museums dedicated to him in Japan. His stories are fairytales, romanticised the same way we romanticise Greek and Norse myths (And not like the MCU, more The Pantheon Folklore Library with great respect given to the original tales.). Only major difference is that Hearn brought this folklore to a new, very different audience in the West. It's worth pointing out that Hearn is notable with no relation to Japonisme which reminds me more of European Egyptomania with similar levels of misunderstanding and appropriation. That said Hearn's fascination with Japan may have been sparked by some influx of Japanese culture to the West.
I should clarify that I've only read Kwaidan by Hearn, not any of his other work. Personally it didn't come off as painting a "Innocent Japan", (In the first story a blind musician has his ears ripped out by ghosts unjustly killed in war and robbed of their land.). It also didn't come off as something that could be used as nationalist propaganda, with no mention being given to the Japanese race, (Remarkable considering the time.). Not quite as outspokenly anti-war as Shingeru Mizuki's Yokai but also uncompromising in the brutality of old fairy tails.
This video was quite sobering to watch while on my dream vacation in Japan, but definitely in a good way. It gave me a lot to think about not just about Japanese things I like, but American ones and stuff from other countries as well. Learning about the government initiatives behind Japanese products and the history between the West and Japan was very eye-opening. I would like to think I consume fairly mindfully, but it never hurts to re-evaluate yourself. Thank you for creating such an informative video.
As buryat-mongolian, I realized my prejudice against Japanese and Chinese, despite being entirely overpowered by their cultures. That's not something I expected to learn from this video. Oh, and about soft power. My aunt proven that it works really well - at youth she first traveled into Japan, then Korea's doramas and novels took over, and now learning Chinese to travel in the future. And as I grew up, Russia made sure people here only know Russian, and the war in Ukraine is just continuing the soviet trend of erasing national identity. That just sucks
As currently people here don't have independency, let alone ability to project soft power, here's my attempt: Try out Buryat cuisine! It's easy to make, goes with any seasoning and aren't invented BS as it doesn't need to appeal to foreighers, it's authentic no matter how you cook it. Just avoid anything with dairy, it mostly tastes shit
Genuine question: what exactly R**sia did to make sure you only know R**sian and have no national identity? Don't jump to conclusions, I despise our dearest govt as any other guy in RUclips comment section. It's just that I personally don't have that impression and am very sceptical of people with anime avatars
@@シミズルリ During soviet time: ethnic cleansing of many, restriction on culture and religion, sending people to Siberia and further. Nowadays: Limited education, nationalism, low living standards, disproportionate mobilization.
I hate my government regional university (Russian). It's like school, but somehow worse. Can't have debates with professors because they are "always right". And exams are too much to handle.
Two big points everyone should take away from this video: 1. It's important to think critically about the things you consume 2. Sucy is best LWA character
Godzilla was a manifestation of the Japanese reaction to the final year of fire-bombing and nuclear crescendo. Metaphor made more poignant by then current restrictions on speech directed for or against military power and America. Godzilla was war movie catharsis for the _millions_ of Japanese who had lost their family homes and starved for months only 10 years earlier. Certainly, monsters of Toho cinema represent the military powers of nations, tearing up the peaceful civilian world for mysterious and selfish reasons. Often the human characters' sole purpose is wondering at their motivations or developing a new means to control them. This remains the core formula even 60 years later. (Parallel in American cinema was Dr. Strangelove, just a few years later. However it didn't spawn 25 retellings.) I loved Paranoia Agent. Similar in tone to Death Note, but more unpredictable, almost to FLCL levels. Never once did I think "You know, I think they are explaining post-war Japan to me." But I can't remember which year that guy who was friends with Mao got shot, and the polite Japanese people almost overthrew their own government for considering rebuilding the military, and changing the american-forced constitution. I was astounded to learn about this. Japan received the most progressive advanced version of democracy, which we were then struggling to adopt in America. Eisenhower left with the warning that he had failed to contain the military industrial complex. We never caught up with the Japanese, and started to lose our best jobs and our middle class in 1981, as the foundations started eroding.
I couldn't make it three minutes into this thing. The initial premise of people not knowing where S Korea was before 2000 is just silly. You know the US fought a war there right? You they have been a manufacturing hub for decades right? You know there are giant Korean populations in the US right? Then there is the assertion that we know Japan mostly from its soft power and that that American's first encounter with Japanese culture would be anime. So not from manufacturing, not from food, not from the Japanese population in the US, and not from WWII? The final straw was saying that Japan might have more soft power than the US. Seriously? So American movies, food, music, and language being ubiquitous around the globe is less soft power than a niche form of animation and some video games?
21:33 The traditional dress looks better, the western one looks generic and she looks like a dude 31:31 lol 32:00 So it was a good thing at first because it was against Russia? 43:27 What is currently happening to the Palestinians🇵🇸 1:10:33 Entire Anime industry or the ENTIRE Japanese industry!? 2:06:53 But in AoT the island got nuked in the end?
Evangelion has an N64 game, it used Super Marios 64 sound library. The results are amazing. ruclips.net/video/b7T1SVnXYsk/видео.html&pp=ygUSa29tIHNzdXNlciB0b2QgbjY0
@@Keima_Katsuragi. Komm Susser Tod is the name of a song from the anime Evangelion played in the scene where everything goes wrong and comes tumbling down. Combine that with the game Super Mario 64, which became prevalent during the 1990s, when the Japanese economic bubble burst. Making it a perfect combination.
Cool Japan Organization is a completely failed business with many investments failing and a deficit of 35.6 billion yen. For better or worse, I don't think Cool Japan is having an impact on Japan's soft power. Media companies in almost all countries, not just Japan, receive subsidies and incentives from the government. Almost every country has a Ministry of Trade or a Ministry of Culture, and various funds and organizations have been established to promote exports. Using your logic, Lord of the Rings is New Zealand propaganda because it was subsidized by the New Zealand government, and Cyberpunk2077 is Polish propaganda because it was subsidized by the Polish government. Rather, the characteristics of Japanese pop culture are actually very domestically centered and gatekeeping. Anime and manga became popular not through legal exports, but mostly through illegal piracy. And it's only recently that foreign revenue has become a significant portion of the anime industry's revenue. To begin with, anime has long been treated as vulgar even in Japan, and creators have a history of fighting against government regulations. For example, the ''Tokyo Metropolitan Ordinance Regarding the Healthy Development of Youths'' ordinance passed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 2010 received backlash from many creators due to vague regulatory standards. Even though there are some manga and anime like Gate that are clear national propaganda, they are only a small part of Japanese media, and I don't think the Japanese government is fundamentally interfering with them in any significant way. Anime is propaganda in the sense that all media can be interpreted as propaganda. The same goes for someone's opinion or a video essay. But I would say that your views on the Cool Japan organization and anime exports are exaggerated. That's it.
I think comments like this one miss the point: it is not that the Japanese government is manipulating the messaging of any individual anime, which makes so much of anime propaganda. Your favorite show isn't likely propaganda. But it is being utilized as propaganda, abroad. The fact that Cool Japan is running at a massive loss is a clue here: the point isn't a return on investment. The solution to Cool Japan running a massive deficit, as per the government's admission, is not to defund the program, but rather, to centralize its constituents. The massive subsidy of anime, particularly subsidy towards exporting, again, exporting, anime at a loss, is a stated and unhidden soft power initiative. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's development of youths ordinance is a particularly curious thing to bring up, given that the vague regulatory standards were specifically criticized as being overly broad, thus giving the government too much oversight over artists by, specifically, the Japanese left, under the guise of protecting children from prurient materials, which it purported to fix, but evidently hasn't: only the Japanese Communist Party and the SCCCU opposed the ordinance, citing that its overbroadness, despite having, on the surface, the laudable intention of curbing certain detestable fetishes prevalent in anime and manga, was designed in practice to have a chilling effect on free speech.
@@moon-channel Yeah, even if you argue otherwise, the quotes in the video seemed to me to suggest that Japan's cultural industry is heavily manipulated by the Liberal Democratic Party. The government established the Cool Japan Mechanism in 2013, seeing it as a potential winner that could drive growth. However, the results of this project were so poor that the Ministry of Finance is considering merging it with other funds or abolishing it. The fund, in collaboration with private companies, established the anime distribution company Anime Consortium Japan and the satellite broadcasting company Wakuwaku Japan. But these companies went out of business due to the success of rivals such as US video distribution giant Netflix. “Quote: The Asahi Shimbun/ Cool Japan Fund teeters on its last legs after losing 30 billion yen.” Also, the "large companies" mentioned in the NIKKEI ASIA article you cited are retail stores such as Isetan Japan Store, Gojek, and Kkday. The article doesn't say anything about large companies. To begin with, Japan's cultural budget is actually not that large compared to other countries, and I personally think that the amount of subsidies it receives is very small. For many years the majority of the Japanese government, except for a few departments in charge, viewed the field of cultural content as an extension of play. Did not provide sufficient support for the industry, and this is still the case today. The word "propaganda" has a very negative connotation and connotation, and when it is used there is some kind of inducement, rightly or wrongly. In particular, as others have pointed out, it was a complete mistake to bring up Mr. Tezuka as a state collaborator. If you read Tezuka's manga, you'll understand. I recommend "Message to Adolf (アドルフに告ぐ, Adorufu ni Tsugu),". It's a masterpiece of anti-propaganda manga. Your analysis is very interesting, but from the perspective of this video, I thought there was a danger of trivializing the achievements of Japanese private creators.
@@the_PleiadesBesides showing Nazi Germany, Tezuka's Adolf shows how oppressive the Japanese government was during WW2, especially if you were suspected of being a leftist.
The video makes the point that the co-opting of anime to serve as foreign facing propaganda, or if you prefer, a soft power initiative, is a very recent phenomenon. The background on anime as propaganda during the war, and the lasting lineage of that in anime that remains, is to show how anime became co-opted, not to show that anime itself was entirely propaganda, or shaped by the government to begin with. We can see through efforts vis-a-vis the Japan Foundation that such soft power initiatives were directed, and purposeful: foreign facing subsidy of anime at a never-ending massive loss is just an extension of this... and every country that can do this, does this, from China, to the USA, to South Korea, with varying degrees of effectiveness and cost.
I know some people who barely engage with Japanese culture and call themselves weebs and others who are deeply intrenched in it and out of a sense of pride insist they are not weebs. I think, and I know this comes across as vague, it's about having self awareness and keeping a open mind in regards to the way you consume media is extremely important, wether it be Japanese or not. This seems to be a theme across your videos but this to me felt like a ultimatum. Thank you Moon Channel for teaching your audience about macroeconomics, the importance of culture and the importance of questioning one's views!!
Its not that deep, bro. Weeb is just an umbrella term used to describe those into the anime subculture in the west. No one uses it as an insult towards japanophiles, anymore, the same way casual anime fans call themselves Otaku, and not the way the Japanese use it.
@@TheSonic497 Exactly, it's a very vague lable considering how mainstream anime is. My point is that regardless of how you may see yourself, don't consume media blindly.
I would love a video on American propaganda. It's pretty easy to spot a lot of the time (I was actually thinking about Michael Bay right before you brought him up), but I don't know much about the mechanics behind. All I know is that the US military does video game streaming 😂
I think we've had it for so many decades that we've had time to digest and analyze it. It's the soft cultural power we are used to. I can watch some US movie and understand that I become familiar with a movie version of New York over and over. While the US audience watching the same movie probably can't put my national capital on a map.
Completely disagree on point that Japan is has mastered soft power like no other..It's USA which is king of soft power...As a non American how the hell do I know so much abt America?? It's through Hollywood, media and in general everything pop culture...No other country comes even close
As a brazillian the amaericanization of our country which is of course from decades back is just always increasing, especially with social media, movies etc. I think latin america was the most hit with american cultural power. Thankfully in some regards we still stay away from usa cultural or social norms (thank god), but coloquially to the average person in brazil the most important foreign country is the US, in terms of trips destination, migration, social connection and media consumption etc
I personally think that in the recent years, america's soft power has weakened significantly. 40 years back however, the american image was way different. You don't hear people talk about the "american dream" anymore, unless it's done in a joking manner. People love shitting on america's healthcare, education, cities, overall culture/ quality of life. In fact, america gets hated on more than countries which are generally +object. "worse" by certian standards. Japan however, is suuuuper romanticised and praised, and a lot of it's genuine internal problems are ignored by most people who know only surface-level things ab japan.
@@malina8921 You have no idea how omnipresent America's soft power is...If anything it has increased in recent years due to globalization and all tech infrastructure arnd the world owned by US companies...No other country comes close even in next 50 yrs...For e.g. Many across globe know n celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving (which are American holidays), how many Japanese holidays are celebrated globally?? Who is Japanese equivalent of Michael Jackson or Elvis presly? Even my grandma from a remote village knew MJ when internet was not even a thing you seem to be going by how ppl talk abt US on twitter...twitter is not real world
So there’s a condition called the *Paris Syndrome,* which is when, for example, a Japanese person goes to Paris, instead of seeing the romanticised version of it, sees the all of the filth, blandness and ugliness that any normal city has, all of which everyone has seen before and is used to see in their regular environment. Now let’s picture a french person going to Japan and, instead of seeing the romanticised version of it, sees the all of the filth, blandness and ugliness that any normal country has, all of which everyone has seen before and is used to see in their regular environment. The kinds of filth are definitely different, you wouldn’t experience the exact same negatives in Paris, that you would in Tokyo, and vice versa. But the shock from the contrast is definitely the same. Could we call this a *Reverse Paris Syndrome,* if the shock is severe enough?
Paris Syndrome is a more recent thing and is almost entirely due to seeing the presence (and accompanying dysfunction) of non-Whites in Paris. The Japanese are very xenophobic and there’s a reason France is on track to elect the National Rally in the upcoming legislative election.
Japan is unusually clean; everyone since childhood is taught to clean up after themselves. You can see this with their homeless population where they have tents, but it's nothing like a western city where it looks like a pig's sty. To find the filth of Japan, you have to look pretty hard.
That is so interesting! I would love to see people's experiences with visiting Japan especially from a non-Western perspective. All of my friends who have visited so far have been mesmerised but there is no way of telling if it's their own biased view blocking the reality behind a facade. Can't wait to visit myself to find out ❤
@@sias.5551 From my visit, the thing that mostly stands out... The buildings looks oddly "thin walled" and unremarkable - kinda like how old blocky cars were compared to more modern rounded designs. The appearance of almost every man walking in the street in only blue/black business suits also feels kinda odd, like professional suits aside, you rarely see brown, beige, or white suits/pants, or even shirt and tie.
Drinking game: Take a shot every time Moony says "but that's a topic for another time". If you puke before the end, you have to play again when a video about any of the mentioned subjects drops.
I still have to finish watching the video, but wanted to say thank you for choosing my state, Rio Grande do Sul, for the fundraiser. This entire thing has been heartbreaking, so it warms my heart to see people caring. It's a very common sentiment in Brazil that we're not seen. Thank you for thinking of us. Also, as always, very interesting topic and history lesson :) Looking forward to finish watching.
It seems Japan soft power initiative was successful in China. My girlfriend is Chinese and says most young Chinese have a highly positive image of Japan because their love of anime and Japanese video games. She told me it’s a considered an honor among young Chinese to study in Japan. She also feels most young Chinese have forgotten what Japan did to China during WW2. Though she doesn’t dislike japan , she enjoys anime and knows a bit of Japanese, she just think Japan needs to owe up to what they did to China
@@nicksterpick I really wouldn’t know, I’ve never actually been to china. Me and my gf’s relationship is long distance. My girlfriend told me there’s still a lot of feelings of animosity among multiple generations over japans WW2 atrocities against China that gets passed down even to little children. My gf said she once had a little 4 year old cousin tell her to never marry a Japanese man.
IMO, It actually is more a counter-culture itself than the Japan soft power, in CHINA CASE isnt a bad thing, since most of mainstream chinese gov controlled media tend to teach Chinese how hate Japan and how chinese MUST desire harm and destruction to Japan constantly, propaganda non-stop focusing in hate and despise Japanese while there has over expouse to the problems they suffred by the Japanese in past. using those problems as a way to make them see the non-chinese outsiders as the enemy instead of the alç-powerful goverment and party In fact the Chinese Gov and extreme chinese han nationalists are cracking down in anything Japanese at moment, there has a video that became viral in last feel weeks, where chinese nationalists abuse and annoy the hell of two girls that happen to like Kimono and were using them to just take photos
@@nicksterpick okay talking from a country with similar history, they couldn't careless, it is not like the young people now speak Japanese and hail Hirohito in front of them man. History is history, if those Japanese medias are allowed to be imported into the country, by the government then what the older generation can do
Tapping in to say I'm 2 hours into the video, and yes: I would love a video dedicated to Senbonzakura. Not only is it something that I find myself thinking about a lot (what its relationship to Imperialist Japanese concepts is,) but it's something that I honestly struggle to articulate and thus talk about to other Vocaloid or Miku fans. Having a better thought out-- and probably more well researched than I could do-- video on Senbonzakura would be really interesting and helpful for discussion I think. Great video as always, Moony. 😊
I don't think there is much to discuss. It is propaganda, like most of Vocaloid and Hatsune Miku. But people just refuse to see it because they like the characters.
That's what I call overanalysis. Indeed there is some government-funded animes with some build-up narrative, but to generalize it anime itself is an exageration. Don't ever think that 'Kemono Friends' or 'Haibane Renmei' alikes are "soft power intiatives". Enjoy most of your animations in peace
While I might disagree with the idea that Japanese soft power is overall greater than American soft power past and present, I could totally understand the former's application of it having less hegemonic overtones that often have other countries go full protectionist to save their media industries (Canada is a prime example with the whole dedecated Canadian airtime thing. Not to mention China's restrictions on foreign films, namely American ones, though China is more than established enough to not be drowned out by Hollywood blockbusters.) I sadly have been up for a full day before this video went live at 2PM and thus will not be able to comment on it. It'll probably be good. It'll probably mention the early Japanophile art movement as a precursor, and I'm certain that given the whole Imperial overtones, it's going to cover how Japan uses it to go "What war crimes, gaijin? 🤷🏽" I may not be immune to propaganda, but I'm also not immune to sleep deprivation more so. Oyasumi Nasai Moony. Let's pray for the glory of the emperor.
Yeah, American soft power is definitely greater. I hear so much more from foreigners about all the American content etc that has been exported. Anime and the like doesn't come close.
@@FunctionallyLiteratePersonAmerica always had hard power that they didn’t need to use soft power vs Japan had to develop soft power. I think it’s subjective to say who has more soft power tbh
@@FunctionallyLiteratePersonthe key to Moony's argument is the big "but" in this comment. Japan is arguably better at it because their approach may very well be sustainable, whereas the American approach has begun tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down. It's akin to calling the ninja more lethal than the samurai. The samurai dominated Japanese military among the various clans, so they objectively held more power. However, that doesn't change the fact that the small enclave of ninja warriors were generally more skilled than the average samurai and thus "better."
The whole bit with about weebs/2nd language japanese-leaner, people defending the conservative policies of Japan did hit a bit close to home, because like the commentors on display i 100% consider myself a progressive here in the US, supporting policies like gay/trans rights, universal health care and other stuff, but also being somewhat enamored by the cultural "unity" that is often sold to westerners, but in the past few years i am reminded that i did try to look into japanese progressive politics and like japanese people itself feeling really sad and dissolusioned by it all because if we think progressive in the US have little to no power, its even worse in Japan. They do have things like universal medicine and other things but the aspects like even the treatment of non-japanese or Non-native born japanese or worse the Burakumin which is the hidden untouchable caste from the deeply zen-buddist days makes you realize that maybe industrially and culturally Japan seems cool, but socially its overwhelming and suffocating. Like the Killing Gods video moonie did or the Brazil-Japan one, the stuff underneath the cool japan is disheartening and you can see the barest glimpses of it from their creatives like Miyazaki and Kojima, and most recently in Godzilla Minus One which goes out of its way to critize the Japanese government just as much as it criticizes the US government..
I hate how much of "Japan" seems to be bulldozed into this monolith that represents that person's idealized haven - a "Nirvana" that will never end or change. There are socialist people in Japan, gay people in Japan, trans people in Japan, racial / ethnic minorities in Japan, colonized indigenous groups in Japan, vast swaths of population who are sympathetic to the aforementioned groups for one reason or another, political groups / parties / movements that represent all of these people and a history of demands, violence and resistance, etc. and their existence seems to be downright denied by the prevailing narrative that fetishizes Japan as this "bastion of traditionalism".
finally finished this after watching in chunks over the last few days. i feel like this video has genuinely shifted the way i perceive my own media consumption for the better. thank you for putting this out there! i especially love how mindful you are about anticipating watcher confusions or objections without overly patronizing your audience. you are truly one of the most well-practiced video essayists out there!
2:02:00 A note, the LDP was out of power from 2009-2012. The Socialist party also was in power for a time in the 90s. The LDP and its ancestors and descendents are dominant in Japan but not as much as you made it seem.
That the Korean gaming market is even now still largely dominated by American video games feels like a major butterfly effect. If Japanese cultural imports were never banned, would these American games still have been so big in Korea?
Hi everyone! With regards to the fundraiser, apparently RUclips has to approve the Brazil Foundation first. I didn't realize, at the time of posting, that there would be this hold-up.
I'll update the fundraiser the moment I can, but please refer in the meantime to the description! Thank you all so much for supporting this cause with me.
- Moony
EDIT: It's been half a day already, and it is still processing. If this approval process ends up taking too long, I'll carry the fundraiser over to the next video. I sincerely apologize for this inconvenience.
Howdy, and thank you so much for pinning this instead of the ad read. For the peanut gallery that usually manifests on those kinds of comments, to explain why Incogni isn’t a good investment for privacy:
Incogni and other data removal services do need your subscription money, unlike most major platforms, because the task is a constant process. You are not buying a magic bullet, you are hiring a qualified data janitor with the tools to keep yourself clean.
In theory.
In practice, the way most of those services operate is mass-sending requests to take down user data to a list of companies that may have your data. Given that the current system of data removal in the States is intended to be done manually, such takedown requests also require you to list the personal information that needs removal from the system.
You will be paying 15 dollars a month to have a middle man give an email list of data brokers your personal data, the one you don’t want on the internet.
This is somehow a worse idea than NordVPN
RUclips doesn't approve my succinct 3-paragraph rebuttals, but I wonder if name dropping Netanyahu would change that.
Hey Moony, is there a chance that you could list sources for the music used in the video? I'm specially interested in the various mash-ups that appeared throughout! Cheers from Brazil, and a heartfelt thanks for your donations to my home state of Rio Grande do Sul
I wasn't able to find your email in the chanel description, am I looking in wrong place?
@@Neillius-Crafter It should be visible under "view e-mail address" in the Channel Details!
I think you get one thing wrong, and that is claiming Japan is the #1 at projecting soft power. I'm sorry but the US is #1 and it isn't even a contest (coming from a non-American). The reason we don't really get the impression that the US is this soft power behemoth is because the US has been so proficient in projecting soft power that it has been normalized and integrated everywhere.
I think we are also more used to thinking of the US soft power and pointing it out. I can watch a US movie and recognize that the caped heroes only visit Paris so the monster of the month can topple the Eiffel Tower before they bug out and do something else. And that while I am familiar with the New York portrayed in one movie after another, the US audience watching the same movie would be unable to place my national capitol on a map.
I think maybe 1st world countries migh feel it less, idk, but the 3rd world cutlure is being taken over by USA. I live in a small town in south america and I've seen this town change so much over the past 20 yrs, with introduction of Subways, McDonald's, Starbucks, etcs. People here would never care about those fast foods yrs ago, our local cuisine is very popular, but today they feel pride in eating them, they drink north american beer brands, they follow their politics, USA musicians are worshipped like gods. Japanese incluence here is also strong, but not like USA is
I think Japan does win the "internet culture war" tho, and that might be where Moony's perception comes from
USA soft power is unmatchable despite Japan's successes. Seriously that fact that English(USA English at that) is the most use secondary language says it right there
A quick test: how many people are wearing jeans compared to kimonos?
Jeans. Pop music. Jazz. Rap. Essentially 90% of the film industry. Evangelical Christianity and its vague imagery being rapidly exported across the globe. Jeans again. Yeah, seriously. It's not even a little close.
Video: 😪
Video, Japan: 😱
Video was more about western culture in general ngl
@karaqakkzl because Japan and America have different views regarding this kind of stuff.
why can't we like western culture and civilization ?
@@luizmonad777 The thing/thing japan joke is satirizing the fact that a lot of people nowadays have a romanticized view of Japan and respond more positively to things related to that country than their non-japanese counterparts. It does not implicate that you cannot like western culture.
@@luizmonad777because you angloids destroyed it, angloids created liberalism and by angloids i mean america mostly
"Don't define yourself by the media you consume, lest you find your opinion being bought" goes hard
It's ironic that "goes hard" is slang that was taught to you by American hip hop culture.
some art is better-funded than other, and if you stick to inner standards of taste, then letting media influence your worldview is no worse than taking advice from people who impress you as trustworthy or wise.
"Be careful about building your identity around something being sold to you, lest your values end up being bought"
Your paraphrased version hits the same notes, but please use quotation marks only for quotes.
“We can have a little propaganda, as a treat” is basically my philosophy when it comes to media consumption
Ill pay for this game in consuming advertisments
That's a good rule
43:27 What is currently happening to Palestinians
_"The emperor was demoted from god to politically powerless figurehead."_
Damn, what a demotion.
Getting turned from something that doesn't exist to something that does seems like an upgrade to me
Still better than my job
@@Nanook128 The emperor existed, thus god existed. Then demotion happened and the emperor is a puppet for other powers to use.
@@VVabsa gods cannot exist though.
@@Nanook128 They clearly did as some people like kings or emperors likened their rule to be divine.
Are you dissappointed gods turned out to be like this?
"The US has no friends, only interests. And things were about to get interesting."
Might be the hardest line I've ever heard in a RUclips video essay 💀
@@j.2512 Not just that. Wokeness is destroying any and all Sympathy for lgbtqialmnop people.
And worst. Wokeness Pita Minorities against the Majority in Conflict. This will horribly affect any chance of the Minority being accepted into Society.
@@j.2512 If it's a choice between appealing to the rest of the world and sticking to our values as a tolerant, pluralistic society, then the rest of the world can get stuffed.
Yeah. Hard to top that
@@j.2512hello I‘m a LGBTQ from the rest of the world. Stop watching right wing news and go touch grass
@@j.2512 No, that's just your bigotry speaking.
Yknow what would have been a funny sponsor.
One of those japanese snack delivery companies
Lmao when he went to the sponsor I legit thought he was going to say it was Bokksu or something lmao
Tokyo treat and sakuraco?
I'm ngl those snack boxes ain't too bad
I love that you put a "Brazil Mentioned" meme everytime Brazil is in fact mentioned
There is a scene from Dragon Quest 7 that has always stuck with me. You go to town in the past (time travel is a huge element of this story) where it is besieged by misfortune. There is also a monster there as well who does not speak. The villagers blame and attack the monster for all their problems. Your party eventually finds the source of the problem and destroys it. Turns out the silent monster was a priest he had agreed to bear a curse and protect the villagers but he could not speak or the monsters who cursed him would destroy the village. The villagers upon realizing apologize to the priest and treat your party as heroes. That night the priest leaves knowing that the if he stuck around it would only make them feel even more guilty. The villagers upon realizing what has happened choose to never forget your party’s deeds and the priest who suffered choosing to become better people. They then memorialize these event in stone.
Fast forward to the future (about 100 years) the villagers still remember what happened. However the narrative has been altered it is now framed as the villagers being the heroes and your party being villainized and in league with the monsters!!! The villagers over time had become upset at their actions instead of learning they chose to retell the narrative even changing the stone tablet. You then stumble upon some kids who have found the original tablet. Learning of these event you take the tablet to the mayor he then thanks you and then destroys the tablet to prevent the truth from getting out. Only the kids who have found the tablet and read the true events know what actually happened. They agree to tell the original story to any who will listen.
A lot of what you discussed in this video reminded me of this. As the saying goes “those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
Thank you for reminding me about that scene - it was super powerful when I played that game a few years back.
Right
When did people ever learn from history? I must have missed it.
So does this mean that Dragon Quest 7 is woke for pushing critical theory in regards to understanding how historical revisionism can decontextualize an event and reframe it to make the perpetrators of harm to be the victims/heros?
@@DahVoozel Maybe? I mean in the context of that town absolutely you’re right. However DQ7 tells a lot of self contained episodic style stories each town is basically a different story with different themes. Each one revolving around helping it in the past and then going back to see it again in the future. That town is only one of many it only really starts having a main plot at the very end of the game.
It's my sleepover, I get to select the movie!
You all gon LEARN tonight!
If you did this with me in attendance I would of went from guest to bestie
i love hanging out with the queers and pondering power politics
Good, I wanna get invited too. Btw, what's the snack.
@@ishitapandey2037 Sushi with regional filling. Viva la globalizacione!
i am once again tricked into watching a history lesson.
I, on the other hand, came here specifically for it.
These videos have made me accept gradually longer and longer history lessons and even made me interested in them.
I am not immune to propaganda.
You're going to be an honor student against your will, now
fool me once, shame on you
fool me for the fiveth time this year, and I need to rethink some things
Yeah I have to hide this channel
While I find the video interesting, stuff like 2:10:25 is why you should always go to a primary source(s) of information, and not second hand sources, sans instances where the primary source is unavailable or impossible to find. While Dr. Brummer is indeed a respected figure in his field, The Diplomat is itself not an academic journal or publication. His piece in the Diplomat is made without any sources supporting his claims. In contrast, Takayoshi Yamamura, a professor in the Center for Advanced Tourism Studies at Hokkaido University, wrote a paper titled "Cooperation Between Anime Producers and the Japan Self-Defense Force: Creating Fantasy and/or Propaganda?" published in late 2017 in the Journal of War & Culture Studies. In it, Yamamura concludes that, while the JSDF did in fact collaborate with Gate, the collaboration was done completely in post-production. The creator of Gate is indeed ex-JSDF and continues to support them, and HE went to a local branch looking to collaborate with the JSDF, allowing some characters to be used in promotional material, not the other way around. So it was rather requests from production staff and regions that initiated cooperation with Gate (in this case, the author himself) and other anime. Not to mention the grant brought up in the video is from 2019, while Gate's anime concluded in 2016 (though the manga is still in production, to my knowledge)
Granted you could say that the paper in question is BS, or that Yamamura is biased, or that Brummer's expertise lends itself as support to his claims, or (in the case of Gate) that even a more grassroots occurrence like the above still provides cause for concern in the larger context of the points brought up in the video. It was just instances like this (and another being Moon quoting the article that had the Miyazaki quote, rather than the interview said quote comes from) that, as a former academic myself, halted me from being fully persuaded
A channel called Study of Swords has made a response essay to this which covers the point you have brought up, along with other potential inaccuracies! I haven't yet checked the sources myself but if Study of Swords is to be believed, this video essay may be relying on a slightly unconventional definition of propaganda. Not to say that this video doesn't make some good points!
8:24 Ok, this has to be some misunderstanding of them trying to communicate that the turtles have webbed feet that allow them to speed through the water. In fact, you could even say they look like they are using their webbed feet like wings that make them able to 'fly' through the water. Anyone who's seen such a turtle move on land vs. water knows that such a description isn't a stretch at all. I note that the written description doesn't even suggest that the the turtles fly through the air at all, just the winged feet help them compensate for slow progress on land (vs. water, not air lol).
I'm so glad that someone made a comment about the flying turtles!
It may be difficult for Americans to realize just how powerful the American cultural export / soft power truly is. it's incredibly powerful and shapes global culture much more than you may realize.
I wouldn’t call it soft more like hard power considering our military and economical influence to most countries
The thing about American soft power is that it's often pretty clear to the other countries what's going on. One of the big reasons for the rise of Kpop in, say, Latin America, is because it is breaking away from the American cultural hegemony. America has dominated world culture for quite some time now, and everybody knows it. Many are getting quite tired of it.
With Japan, it's a bit different. Even in Korea itself there needs to be concerted campaigns to remind the youths of Japanese wartime atrocities to try to wake them up to the anime propaganda. The campaigns are kinda gross and dehumanizing, of course, but it shows just how masterful the Japanese approach is. And the craziest thing is that these Korean conservatives are losing. Even while the rest of the world becomes more and more interested in Korean cultural products, the Korean youths themselves have been becoming more and more infatuated with Japanese culture. Even Japan's greatest rivals are starting to churn out weebs.
@@markigirl2757 The Dollar is the US' most powerful tool. The King of Soft Power, globally; and it's not close. And the world accepted it, and built up the infrastructure to transmit them without US influence, decades before the Dollar took the title of Global Reserve Currency.
It's not soft power. USA nuked civilians to encroach further into China to use it as hard labor and did, including animation funding just fater Saudi oil established fake money in petrodollar. It was aspiration of Matthew C. Perry and then they irradiated Hawaii as a testing ground and bait, and branded it with federal voting rights AFTER THE FACT to justify "protecting THIS country" which hawaii was NOT.
The problem is that it's massively based on the hard power from world war 2
"You don't need me to tell you about how extensive US Propaganda in media is, and if you do, let me know! Maybe I can make a video on that subject, too"
Hi, this is me letting you know. I am very curious.
As am I, honestly
Me too. Even if other have done it, doing it Moony-style would be awesome ❤
The major cultural exports for the US are music, television and film. The main propaganda themes are freedom of expression, religious tension is non existent, racial equality and harmony, money is very much not a problem for anyone, food is plentiful and cheap, the government protects people but is otherwise uninvolved in daily life, crime is rare, justice system is fair and favors the weak and oppressed, police are good, US military is awesome, consumerism is great.
@@awdsef1No mention of the glorious invisible hand of the free market, or how America is "the city on a hill"? I'm pretty sure the guy who invented PR, Edward Bernays, was into crafting an image for the world power
Not particularly comprehensive, but relevant and a solid starter: ruclips.net/video/dl2fnWIlDZg/видео.htmlsi=7OSFPkvvZIN9uHrr
I’m 41yo far-left leaning Japanese pop culture enthusiast (and Brazilian🇧🇷) who lives in Japan for almost 20 years.
I grew up with Japanese culture and ended up coming here to study and live in Japan, I can speak fluently Japanese and I can say this is the best video about Japanese pop culture I’ve ever seen in my life.
Your video touched in so many aspects of my research I did here in Japan in my university years.
I would love to have the opportunity to talk with you about all those issues. As you say, is pretty rare to find otakus who are left leaning, I’m one of those rare ones.
Kind regards!
That closing paragraph warning against falling into over-consumerism and weeb/otaku culture is a much needed reminder, and very refreshing to hear.
I have a question: What's the difference b3tween Otaku and weeb, or do their meanings intertwine with each other.
@@ronel7836 Honestly so far I've seen weeb be more of the newer term for big anime fans while Otaku is more what older anime fans used to call themselves. That is what my perception has show me so far.
Weeb feels more like the person watching Kimetsu no Yaiba, MHA, Attack on Titan.
Otaku feels more like the person that watched Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell, Slayers.
@@ronel7836 They're roughly interchangeable with Otaku stemming from Japanese nomenclature while weeb stems from western (4chan) nomenclature. However in Western culture, weeb has more negative connotations implying the person is obsessed with Japan and wants to be Japanese themselves, while Otaku just implies obsession with Japanese media.
@@ronel7836 I've always interpreted them as being (essentially) the same, although i could very well be wrong about that. Besides, it's slang, which doesn't have strict definitions by nature.
@@ronel7836 As far as I understand it, western anime fans used to call themselves otaku, while weeaboo was an insult for them. Then calling yourself "otaku" came to be seen as cringe, and "weeb" replaced it as a self-identifier.
Unlike the rest of you, I *am* immune to propaganda. Now if you'll all excuse me, it's been a long day of helldiving on Hellmire, and I've worked up the kind of hunger only tripling the US defense budget can satisfy
It's not propaganda if it's the sweet song of liberty!
FOR SUPER-EARTH
The least immune is the one who claims to be not immune, even by a flinch.
Back in college I came across another student's animation work on the subject of her identity. She was an international student from China studying art in the US, and her work was very clearly heavily influenced by Japanese anime. One line from her work was something similar to "if I consume their (refereing to Japan) culture on a daily basis, what is to become of me?" I think about this constantly.
As a German I've become pretty much alienated from my own country at this point. Although this has little to do with anime but a lot with my interest in history and old literature (which ironically enough is European culture, but we do not value it).
The important part is knowing what makes you, you. Who are you? If you can answer this well, there is no problem.
@@alexandergilbert1023not like it is only a personal problem. What will be of the cultures of the world in 50 or more years? The Homogenization tendency of modernity will be the only "progress" that all the people will know?
There are better discussions about this matter, we need to be conscious about this.
For example, in Colombia they started with etno-education. It's not only meant for the marginalized.
Soft power, is just this. They (the USA and other European countries) aren't the status quo, and the only valid reality for existing.
-A latinoamerican guy, sincerely. I felt it was necessary to mention this
silly, obtuse
I personally would love a video about the ways Japanese copyright culture treat domestic Doujin fanworks and foreign/western fanworks so differently. It seems like a pressing topic given the specific targeting of western Nintendo fan projects, and how that ties in with the national interest and what you suspect the future of that could be like in Nintendo's current dominating era.
Doujin artists frequently go mainstream. Fan art is cultivating local talent. Maybe attacking foreign fan art is like destroying opposing talent.
Nintendo OF AMERICA is not the same as Nintendo of Japan and exists to sell and protect Nintendo IP overseas. It's their job.
It's a bit complicated, but IP rights in Japan, especially with digital assets are, in short, crazy.
It's legal to get arrested for genning Pokemon or live streaming a VN.
I wouldn't be surprised if NoA and NoE were focused as IP protectors in the international market to try and maintain the Japanese standard.
Soft-power of an country can be particularly important to immigrant population. The Japanese people from Brazil came as slave replacement, so people don't consider their desirable. The success of Japanese economy after WW2 and specially exportation of culture help a lot to change this view.
The geopolitical reputation and status of a given homeland will alter the perception of its diaspora population.
As someone from Okinawa, I want to point out that a lot of Japanese immigrants to Brazil were specifically of Ryukyuan or Okinawan origin. Not mainland Japanese. Especially for the time I presume you're talking about.
@@urphakeandgey6308 Probably for the better that the non-Japanese didn't know the difference, so that both Okinawans and main landers could enjoy the improved image.
but racism is another challenge that in my opinion japan never faced even if they are low class society in other countries, EU since the age of discovery in 16th favored japan no matter how ugly they are, japan is the only non-EU nation that can access europe and saw everything about Europe by raw, their misdeed in WW2, netherland India, European settler of comfort women that give birth to a child with no clue on who is his Japanese father was, and jews camp in asia, they still survived nuremberg trial, got reparation of image, and diplomacy, and nobody even care or even know, while Indonesian got criticize a lot and struggle with diplomacy.
it had nothing to do with modern soft power in my opinion, they did misdeed because they are treated a little bit too special by international.
US when other nation has soft power be like:
On the serious note, you guys have KFC, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Apple, Windows, Ford, Boeing, Marvel, Disney, and a lot more. It's everywhere, but we don’t even question it. It is so normalized to the point that it kind of makes me uncomfortable.
People seem to latch onto Japanese or South Korean pop culture because it’s different from already normalized US soft power.
and nobody is denying this. Just because the video is about Japan doesn't mean US or Brits or whatever don't do this. There was literally a Movement in History about mimicking the French, esp in Poland because it was the hip thing to do.
US culture was shoved down our throats using the US's hard power until it became normalized as soft power. It's not "true" soft power.
Being from usa, it kind of still feels like an occupation. In a way NGO soft power overtook USA first. Case in point, all those brands have a story of being taken over or bought out and swallowed into global conglomerates.
There's literally no reason my reply should have been deleted by RUclips AI. Uploader apparently didn't like the opinion. Wasn't even controversial. Lame.
Moon mentions this near the latter part of the video.
2:21:18
That slow pan of the "Cool Japan Fund" viscerally took me back to studying Japanese in college and having to write sentences we would hear from episodes of "Cool Japan!"
The irony that “learning Japanese” is part of propaganda is that now that I can understand Japanese, I can start observing _real_ Japanese chatroom and publications and understand the _real_ issues and opinions of the society, not the ones with subs/dubs carefully selected for the ears of foreigners. It’s almost as if they’re encouraging you to get the ability to break through that propaganda itself…
@@RadenWA what are the chat room like
Struggling against global warming eh? (I'm not sorry)
@@juan-ij1le let’s just say they don’t pull punches when talking about what they think of other countries/nationalities….but they don’t pull punches when shitting on their own country either.
@@RadenWA Propaganda is all about statistics, though. You may have looked further into it, but denial will be stronger in a lot of people.
Mmkay, saying that something else dwarfs US soft power really just drives home the point of "you are not immune to propaganda".
US soft power or US propaganda is literally everywhere and is so ingrained across the globe. The US has so much influence, to a point where we don’t even recognize it as influence. And that is the ultimate success story for propaganda.
Music, movies, fashion, greasy food, the internet, oh and RUclips?, all that 'good' stuff is all 'soft'(propaganda) power.
American-style consumer capitalism, sanctity of international trade, and our very beliefs about human nature are a few examples of stuff that is so ingrained most people don't even see it's the product of propaganda. Most of your examples aren't that consequential to people's core values and beliefs, but it goes a lot deeper than just a 'style'.
In Civ terms, it's the US that's won the cultural victory, and it's not up for debate.
But Americans can't even invent writing. All that American stuff is like a toddler making attemtps at Joss Whedon dialogue, to a normal person. One who casually learns multiple langauges, because their OWN is based on decent grammatical structure, not desperate memorization of contextual nouns.
US "propaganda" literally doens't do much to affect a normal adult. It's so nakedly obvious how hard they try, Team America World Police barely registers as satire because everyone is howl-laughing already at your average stock of serious films.
That's why serious foreign films are just goofy an exaggerated like german expressionism, that's the point of exaggeration. Because "the message" is not exaggerated instead.
"Music, movies, fashion, greasy food, the internet, oh and RUclips?"
These are all jsut a fraction in the lives of people where "american stuff" is the only visible thing to YOU. You have your temples at Nevada that worship gambling culture but even those are full of roman and Egyptian icnoclast, to deliver the subtle point who you copypasted these "inventions" from.
Greasy food isn't even a thing, overseas McDonalds sells actual edible food, it's just a logo. Bascially it's just USA wasting marketing money to make global audiences think American food is as good as what is sold to them as McDonalds.
It's a giant sign of "we have food as good as this too, trust me bro!".
@@sboinkthelegday3892cope and seethe
@@sboinkthelegday3892 That's not what soft power means? If you don't think propaganda effects a normal adult, that means it's all the more insidious? US soft power is near every nation accepting a mainly US owned internet. US soft power is American social media being the norm in most countries that do not actively block it. It's the UN being centered in new york, it's almost every tech device running code developed by american companies
Moon Channel drinking game: take a shot every time he says "that could be its own video"
"but I digress"
"In other words..."
I cannot afford the healing required for my liver afterwards.
"I hear you say"
In a certain way, the YAKUZA serie from SEGA made me realize "oh shit, this country's not all rainbow, shit's fucked up too"
Same. My introduction to Japan was Persona 5. Shit was fucked from the beginning 😂.
I started my journey to understand other countries when I was 12, and I saw China with rosy glasses and then I began talking with Chinese people and I quickly understood, everywhere have problems. I am from Denmark and I grew up poor. That was why I wanted to understand other places to understand how fortunate I was to be in Denmark. And my specific understandings of the Japanese social issues came from studies. My master's degree is in cross-culture studies. So we did read about sexism, and discrimination. And Japan kept showing up, just like Korea did.
@@taiwanisacountrynice usernames but JP and KR does not had racism ,100 million peoples and 1 or 2 people being racist is enough to label a country as such Chinese are racist too but they gatekept themself from the english speaking world
Korea is really sexist but China and Vietnam too when i was in VietNam for missionary work the government there tries to banned small breast women from driving
Government propaganda always reminds me of Un-Go.
It saids something that persona series and Yakuza/like a dragon , ace attorney jabs on Japanese society are only slight exaggerations
"You can have a little propaganda as a treat" is a phenomenal quote
…..with the sponsor of this video, >insert Japanese snack box subscription service here< !!
No can have their brain active 24hs a day. Let yourself be a little ignorant from time to time to not go insane.
@@RadenWA That was such a missed opportunity hooooly shit.
We're human, after all.
As a Japanese person, I have to say this is a very well crafted video. It hits many critical points and summarizes the social issues here, mainly in the creative sector. "Topdown is never cool" is such a true statement, but the LDP is dogmatic about this stance, and it is slowly suffocating every creative facet in this country which is now becoming more clearer than ever. I am very much against the LDP, and am really strongly hoping for its downfall.
One important thing however, is that the statement "Japanese progressives have never been into power" is simply wrong. In the graph you exhibited multiple times throughout the video, you can see that there were a few periods in which the progressives became the dominant party (the ones that are not in green). Although these periods were brief, the LDP had been voted out a couple of times. It's surprising how you missed this important bit. I hope it was just a simple overlook.
As someone who moved to Japan to study in an international university, I can say with a certainty that Japan is completely different from what most people perceive of it. Many people are ignorant to the sheer amount of what I like to call soft racism in Japan against foreigners (it’s not overt or aggressive racism, its more of gently and politely being told you are not welcome). When trying to get an apartment I had to look through an insane amount of apartment complexes before I even found one that would accept foreigners. Even then I needed a Japanese guarantor in order to get the place, or I had to pay significantly more up front. I knew Japan had its problems before moving to Kyoto but I never truly realized the depths of them until I personally experienced the hell of house hunting as a foreigner.
I honestly think that the term "foreigners" softens what is ostensibly just "non-Japanese", and even that can be murky.
Clearly Japanese people place great value in where one was born, but there is clearly a racial component to it as well, as many "hafus" (Half Japanese - half non-Japanese) still have difficulty integrating into the country, even when they know the language and culture just as well as any other Japanese person.
So its also not just about where you are born, but also what it means to be a "pure" Japanese person, which I would argue, is extremely racist. This speaks to why, despite plummeting birthrates, still stubbornly refuse to allow more immigrants into the country. That's not even bringing up how they treat the indigenous Ainu people in the country.
I think the romanticization of the country prevents people from acknowledging what it obvious, where people either don't seem to even want to engage with the topic, or outright refuse to acknowledge it existing.
Japan is not a horrible place to be in, far from it, but its also not that great to be in if you are not from there. You can do everything right and still do everything wrong... Especially if you are dark skinned or Chinese/Korean.
But this is the same as any other european country for third worlders
Welcome to being an immigrant.
Almost went to Portugal to work as a Brazilian (got my work visa, but received a better job offer in Brazil and decided not to go) and I'd have to pay three months of rent in advance, on top of a significant amount of landlords not wanting to rent their property to Brazilians.
While it sucks that it happens, it's not without reason.
There are several cases of foreigners renting apartments and then moving away when the payments are due to avoid having to pay the rest of the money. The landlords can't exactly do much about it if they're in another country so the only solution is this ridiculous vetting process to make sure only foreigners who are trustworthy enough are allowed to rent.
Okay? We do that constantly in the states but nor in kind ways
55:00 - Just as a note: _Jet_ magazine was actually a Black owned and run newspaper. I think there's an interesting discussion here about how African American perceptions of the Japanese were influenced by their own backgrounds as a minority in America, but I understand that wasn't really the point of the video.
I stumbled on a very interesting-sounding book a while ago, that I haven't had a chance to read yet, about pro-Japanese sentiment among Black Americans prior to World War Two where some people looked positively on it as "the only nonwhite empire", which was all quietly dropped during the war and forgotten about afterwards. I'll see if I can find the title again.
Aha, here it is. It was an article not a book. Check out "When Japan Was "Champion of the Darker Races": Satokata Takahashi and the Flowering of Black Messianic Nationalism" by Ernest Allen if you can.
@felonyx5123 thank you for finding the articles
@@felonyx5123 funny thing about that. The Imperial Japanese mentality was inherently racist, calling themselves "the white man of Asia," whose mission was to "civilize" the peoples of Asia (compare to the notion of the "white man's burden"). Imperial Japan latched onto racist concepts from the West and only really pushed back on the notion that they, the Japanese, were inferior.
@@felonyx5123 It was not forgotten. Decades later Hip Hop took it as inspiration again, even for imagery and some names. Wu-Tang may be from a chinese movie but is one of many related examples.
I once talked about Ace Attorney and Japanese law with my weeb friend
Randomly he got defensive and said
"Japanese law is perfect, Japan don't have any crime"
ironic considering the game had a lot of criticisms of Japanese court proceedings
Show him the brand new Japanese drama "Anti-Hero", it is litteraly Ace Attoney, but EVEN MORE in your face, how the Japanese judicial system makes everything (even literal illegal stuffs) to guarantee a condemnation of someone without a propper fair trial or without seek the total proofs and facts
It even makes a small joke in itself talking about how the fact that Judicial system problems are often taked in entertainment
@@LonelyAncient Whole game series take flaws of law and turns it ten-fold
I find it funny considering Ace Attorney is a power fantasy where you play as a person so skilled they skirt around the prosecutors who always convict.
The "civilized" word often profess "innocent until proven guilty" (now we can debate on how well it's applied, but it would take too long).
In the world of Ace Attorney, it's "guilty until someone else is proven guilty and confesses to the crime". Literally the first case of the first game, the person who found the body isn't even considered on the list of suspects until you prove he did the crime
I'm latino and growing up I remember being always really jealous that japanese culture and media was so romanticized and beloved by seemingly everyone yet no one really cared about my culture 😂😭
You should be the first one to care about your culture
@@kindlingkingwait this goes really hard
i love bossa nova btw
@@slowcuber_aze bossa nova is great!!
On one hand I totally get it, on the other do you really want the attention of a bunch of white teenagers that will bastardize the culture?
NGL the juxtaposition between the serious history and the goofy Siivagunner rips the the background is pretty funny.
Idk what you mean by goofy rips, siivagunner only uploads the highest quality rips
Exactly
I love siiva but it made this hard to take seriously tbh lol
@@zerir.3726 boo!
Agreed, I really love this video's sense of humor, even in its approach to very serious topics
I'm starting to consider that maybe Italians can't really jump as high as Japanese video games made me believe for so long....
I dunno. Growing up I lived behind an Italian family. Awesome people, possible mob connections or I just had an overactive imagination. But I watched the 70 some year old mother hop a chain link fence into my uncles yard to save his laundry that came off the line. Little old lady put Mario to shame that afternoon.
You're telling me Brazilians can't double jump?!?
XD
Soldiers : "You say jump i say how high!"
Mussolini : "Good!" /dankItalian joke Since then they sure can't jump as high
Why is it that knowing how things are financed tend to dampen your enthusiasm for that specific thing 😢
@@j.2512 found the guy not immune to propaganda
@@j.2512the right wing bots seem to have found lots of activation words in this video
Because money leads to greed, and greed corrupts everything. When things grow, its ugliness grows too
@@jaybeans981 it's all of us, that was the point of the video.
immerse yourself in the marvellous disappointment that is humanity ❤
Honestly I somewhat disagree with a lot of points on this video:
For example I'd argue that Japan never even tried to export its media, fans brought most of that culture to the west and western studios in France and Germany outsourced their animations to Japan in the 70s and 80s a lot. The video makes the argument that Japan purposefully tries to appear kawaii or anime but the majority of this media is just for japanese as escapist fiction and if it wasn't for all the westerners who learned japanese in the early 2000s or western tv channels that tried to fill these program with shows from another country then the image of Japan would be more like it was in the 20th century. The anime and manga market never even occured for many japanese to be interesting to westerners and they only became more international as they noticed the growing interest, demand and possibility for profit. And even now it's a mess, the amount of works that will never receive any translation is insane.
The Japan-hype simply happened because cultural products from a different and secluded culture suddenly flooded the internet and modern western culture with a lot of ideas and style foreign to western media. Due to the working-culture there's also an abundance of art because they are working so hard at creating, drawing, writing and animating as well, creating an insane amount of works to consume. Otakus and weebs are like punks or metalheads of the 21st century in the west, it's a subculture and like the subcultures in the 20th century it will slowly feel more "normal". People don't bat much of an eye at metal now either or punk. All of this has been driven a lot by the novelty of the now more interconntected world and youth that has been seeking their own niche. Already the next 2 generations will likely not be hyped about it anymore to the same degree because they will grow up being used to japanese games and anime and all that being a thing.
Also Japan being so closed off played a large role in the idealization of the country. As more information becomes available a lot of people are getting more reality checks now or even disillusioned about the different values.
So all in all I don't think it is soft power play, most of what the west currently considers japanese culture is an aspect of "nerd culture" that is not even really on the mind much for japanese people and they're also not all even avid consumers of otaku culture.
Like I'm sorry but it's not always about politics and just because it has influenced the image of Japan in the west in recent years, doesn't mean this was a result of politics or policy. Like soft power and creating an image with Japan may be a lot of things, like the way we perceive Samurai for example as noble upright warriors, but otaku culture is really not it.
As you can see in the thumbnail, we have the face of Garfield the Cat as featured in the "You are not immune to propaganda" meme, adorned in the manner of Hatsune Miku as seen in the performance of "Senbonzakura", which is itself one of the most popular vocaloid songs by domestic consumption in Japan and also beyond, but that is steeped in Imperial Japan's visual style, and indeed, the song itself dwells on that period of time in Japan's history. Translation of songs and poetry is a tricky business, but I suppose it could be argued that the song does in some ways glorify that period, or at least look back upon it in a bittersweet manner, when it could be considered a period of time focused on gathering the strength necessary to dehumanize and subjugate their neighbors by force of bloodshed, and led to some of the worst atrocities known to mankind.
Thank you Stuff
I always had this unsettling feeling about Senbobnzakura. Like, the song has lyrics that talk about a metal cage, a guillotine, and one about an ICBM, among others, but I could never pin down whether the song is glorifying Imperialist Japan, or is a telling a story about surviving through that era of Japan and celebrating its end with fireworks or whatever.
Fun fact: the song also happened to be removed from all Korean releases of the Project Diva/mirai games. For... probably obvious reasons.
Cool fact also I had read this in moony’s voice
@@EdenNeedsARUclipsHandle This actually applies to any rhythm game that has the song, not just Project DIVA.
"dont become a gamer" real shit
butts
When you have gamers crying over a couple of pixels of boobs being covered, yeah, don't become a gamer
No shit, Sherlock.
One thing that I'm surprised was left off as an example of Japanese "soft power" was the very idea of "Bushido" itself, at least as sold to the west in the early 1900s. Nitobe Inazo wrote "Bushido: The Soul of Japan"--in English!--to introduce the idea to Western audiences, in part to connect it to Western notions of chivalry, and to convince them that the Japanese too had high, noble morals and were just as civilized and refined. It was a deliberate propaganda effort to create a positive impression of Japan in the West, and also to justify Japanese imperial ambitions as being similar to Europeans' own.
It worked: that is why even now, there is a stereotype of the Japanese as being about "honor" and "loyalty," which was twisted to be a negative stereotype in WWII but is also behind a lot of the more admiring/romanticized portrayals of Japan in the west, like the recent game "Ghost of Tsushima," the movie "The Last Samurai," and the "Shogun" book and TV shows. The "honorable, poet warrior" who would take his own life before dishonor is a type just as powerful as the fine arts described in the video. It still appeals to some Westerners who use it as a foil to perceived Western decadence. (I like how the video reminds us that this is not a new phenomenon at all.)
But just like western chivalry, actual bushido was more a myth than a consistently lived practice, a post hoc justification of ordinary feudal domination and violence, usually codified long after the knights/samurai ceased to be an active fighting force in society. And both West and East drew on knightly/samurai imagery to justify their wars in the modern day, to devastating effect.
The old Great Powers are much less susceptible to culture in a way. The statesmen of the era have a sort of understanding of raw balance of power. Your cultural influence ends where my industry and army begins. No culture is so precious that it can prevent trading favors, influence and power in a great game of balance.
The russo-japanese war is the turning point. When you can beat a great power, you are effectively part of the great power club. A great deal of the existing great powers start to view Japan as an upcoming great power or at least a regional power. Or at least as a regional power able to exert a sphere of influence and beat down the declining Russia.
Then the USA and Wilsonian anti-colonial ideals start to spread, and what would have been okay in the brutal power balance of the Concert of Europe are not cool any more. The chinese nationalists go on their own relationship-tour of the world and the US public is largely sympathetic to them even if they might not want a Pacific war.
Ah yes Bushido, the way of superficial pride, vanity, intimidation, cowardice, and despicable.
The samurai was legally allowed to kill any peasants who hurt his pride, given that he later report to the officials.
In order to maintain face or reputation in situation of defeat, samurai must restore face at all costs. There were many stories of challengers who defeated a reputable dojo in a spar, but then got ganged upon and dissolved before they can leave, as the news of defeat will damage the dojo’s reputation.
The obsession of fame is beyond imagination. The famous Musashi Yoshioka feud started as Musashi’s father defeated the Yoshioka in a comparison fight.
Musashi later slayed 2 Yoshioka to elevate his fame, and the Yoshioka summoned all the disciples in order to end Musashi and restoring the clan’s fame.
In kendo, the concept of kiai, is literally using a loud shout to intimidate your opponent.
The art of iai, or skill sword drawing, was popularized by Rurounin Kenshin. It was initially developed as a skill to quickly execute and counter sudden/sneak attacks against opponents who are (probably) also sitting. This wired sounding skill is a matter of life and death for samurai outside of traditional battlefield.
Samurai brings their sheathed katana to negotiations or hostile meeting, and are likely to get into fights if the negotiations goes wrong or straight ambushed and stabbed in the back. Iai practices on quickly drawing the sword from sitting and strike down the opponents or assassins.
The quickly sheathing the sword and sitting back down acts as a show of force and, somehow, allows the negotiation to continue.
I can probably go on about it all day.
The more you know about Japanese culture the more you would be fascinated by it, and the more you despise the other side of it.
@@anotherbacklog Bushido, cowboys.
Two of the same.
@@ghoulbuster1 always been fascinated how well cowboy and samurai stories work when remade/swapped as the other.
It is significant that you pointed out the diplomatic value of Nitobe Inazo's Bushido, but is there any objective basis for the part "justify Japanese imperial ambitions"? I think the general assessment is that it is a book to explain the ethics of Japan, a non-Christian country, to Westerners.
Nitobe Inazo's Bushido was written in 1899, but it was not until 1911 that the Harris Treaty was revised and Japan regained full tariff autonomy in its diplomacy with the United States. In other words, Japan's international position at that time was weak and it was in danger of being colonized at any time, and in fact, in 1904, a war broke out between Japan and Imperial Russia and Japan was on the verge of destruction.
This book was written in such a time. Japan was also suffering from imperialism.
You want an example of the US soft power?
The very fact that I’m writing this comment in English and I can watch this video and understand everything without my native language subtitles is a result of the US soft power. The impact of the home computer revolution alone has been massive (computer terminology, operating systems, programming languages, etc) and later on the internet revolution brought things again to a whole new level.
And this is just the language and communication aspect scraping the very tip of the US soft power iceberg.
so youre basically seething that you know about the english language. very strange... growing up i thought that people in other countries cared about their own histories but as i've grown up i've learned, no - all they do is obsess about america. i believe this to be the result of state-mandated education where they blame america for their governments being so inefficient, poor, and corrupt.
@@hurr48 Excuse me, what? 😮
“Seething” is not the tone I intended the writing to sound like… at all!
Instead of sounding angry I had a moment of energetic realization about the matter. I have zero regrets learning English completely voluntarily because of my curiosity towards computers. The investment has certainly paid off as English turned out to be the “Latin” for anything IT related and also allows international communication pretty across the globe on the internet.
I tried to bring up how seemingly mundane things, which can be completely invisible for native speakers, can be the result or byproduct of a soft power effort. (I didn’t claim this to be a negative thing at all as soft power effort can be beneficial for all involved parties)
@@xard64 if thats the case then i apologize for you catching strays that i intended against the author of the original video and those who carry the most inflammatory of his positions. i just really got heated at how the guy who made this tries to air out his superiority and biased understanding of history against everyone who dares try and innocently enjoy media.
wouldn't english being one of the most widely used languages in the world be the fault of the british empire and their numerous colonies rather than the influence of the US?
@kisa7283 the US film, tv and music industries would like a word
I recently came back from a month long trip to Japan, and upon explaining what the trip was like, I realized how bizarre people's perceptions are of the country. Either people think it's literally like what they see in anime, or they think it's some utopia where everyone wears Kimonos 24-7. That is Japanese soft power at play.
The country is nice, the people are (generally) friendly, and there are elements of it that also seem pretty dystopian. Doesn't mean it's a terrible place to visit... Unless you are a vegetarian.
As soon as I got celiac most east Asian countries became inaccessible too it sucks lol. So much wheat in everything.
From what I've picked up form personal experience and what I've heard through the grapevine, it's an amazing place to visit and an awful place to actually work and live. Perhaps not the worst place full stop or even among first world countries, but far from utopia.
I never thought of Japan as a utopia. Sure, I love the country and Japanese pop culture but I never once let fictional media disillusion me about the country. Perhaps it's because when I take an interest in something I study it, but I always find it cringe when some dude goes "Japan is the best country ever!!!" (Or something alluding to that).
@@Aka-Spade a lot of nerds outside of Japan think Japan is a paradise because thanks to their media consumption, they believe that Japan doesn't have jocks or sports culture and that smart kids can be the popular kids at school. The former is not true. The later has an element of truth in it.
@@leeratner8064 yeah, and since a ton of westerners don't bother to learn the culture or understand the country's issues, social commentary in some of the Japanese games and shows go over their heads completely.
It may sound odd or infuriating to some (very understandable, considering the circumstances), but there is a feeling I have as a Russian, observing Japanese soft power, and the way it works as you portrayed in this video.
**Envy.**
Maybe some different word, a bit different feeling, but very much something along those lines.
My country's government is wasting resources down the drain waging a war. We don't have an industrial base producing consumer products which we could export a lot to grow the economy, we don't really have products which anyone would want to buy. Whenever the war ends, realistically there's no way we would have substantial investment into our economy. The fossil fuel we used to sell by the craploads to Europe won't be needed eventually, and we don't have much other stuff which could generate quick money.
While Russian culture keeps being hampered by state censorship. I recently watched a five hour long "Entertainment From North Korea" video, and the end of that made me pretty sad. It showed basically a more extreme version of a simple idea: set a people free and their imagination can run wild. Here in Russia, the government instead has been doubling down on "locking" people's minds. Producing half-assed low quality propaganda (while surely stealing lots of money), parasitizing on Soviet legacy to an internal audience. What does the rest of the world know? Masha and the Bear and ballet? That's not enough. And even then, it's all tainted, seen as an instrument of aggression and imperialism, and my people seen as savage barbarians who won't ever change. Social media propaganda to screw up elections and whatnot certainly don't help.
Even if the Japanese government is now using anime to advance their remilitarization policies, their soft power investments still produced something positive for the country in general: people abroad being interested in their culture en masse, learning the language, consuming their media, wanting to move to the country. While we burn our soft power to the ground.
We ain’t remilitarizing anytime soon tho.
This country has gone too soft and divided for that.
A lot of people will just protest against it. (I’m already seeing group of people with microphone at Kashiwa station in Chiba yelling).
What do think of atomic heart which causes me an American to be enthralled in Russian cartoons and media
@@Rasupubegasu From an American perspective I believe that your government is attempting to strengthen its military capabilities, insofar as trying to be a more helpful ally for America as it develops a coalition against China. I am for that to that extent. Although I am aware of some Japanese Irredentists who would take this much farther.
@@juan-ij1le Barring the financial connections to state corporations and the game also being kinda meh gameplay and story wise (could've used better writing), I think it was a very good move in a positive direction. Very interesting world, there's so much to be used creatively from our Soviet past in terms of entertainment (though the bad nature of it makes it a harder line to walk. I remember seeing people accusing the game of being Soviet propganada because you're playing as a KGB guy and he's not portrayed as evil, for example)
More games, more experience creating games, better games in the future. Hopefully.
@@xanthespace5141 too early to speak of cultural diplomacy, when your state is so busy spreading destruction, rather than culture.
Personally, I think actually going to Japan for a few weeks actually can work as a reality check, because after a while you realise that, while there are lots of great things about Japan, it's mostly like all the other countries with different upsides and problems
Exactly.
Learning and speaking from your own experiences is infinitely better than getting swayed by others’s words, RUclips videos, or media in general.
My favorite saying is, “Don’t let anyone dictate your experiences, worldview, and thoughts.”
My country is not perfect, and I want people to know that. No country is perfect, and that's okay.
Message from Japan with love.
Not realistic for most people. Either time or money.
It's like every country, some things are different, some are the same
Or just watch vids about the suicide forest.
Goes for mostly every country really. That said, I'm from Ireland and Japan might be the actual most expensive journey possible here just in travel alone, so I've long abandoned any idea of visiting myself!
I find it interesting that in translating other languages, we often take the word "barbarian" and words like it for granted. A barbarian, which we define as a primitive person or people that lack culture and refinement; a people and/or person whom are uncouth and animal/beast like in their nature. The word itself is an Anglicization of a Roman word for the Berbers, a neighboring people the Romans were often at odds with, whom in turn were named as such because their language was unintelligible to the Romans. This word is so ancient that there is no people left to reclaim it or defend themselves against this slander, that it functions as -the word- to insult and belittle other cultures with; or to describe other people as monstrous or bestial or violent or warlike. Roman soft power condemned the memory of an entire people and their culture to what we now call people that we look down upon.
There is, of course, a lot more nuance and circumstance to the etymology of the roman word "barbaros" but i believe my point still stands.
As a sort of 'online-Westernized' Japanese (someone who lives in Japan but spends most of his time on the web in the English speaking parts, watching videogame LPs, analyses, reviews, RLM, all that stuff), Something I find funny a is that I get an impression when I'm in the Japanese part of the web that your average person in Japan (a non English speaker) doesn't really appreciate or is aware of just how much the otaku culture has spread and gained popularity around the world (at least among those who regularly use the internet), simply due to their not speaking English and thus not really interacting with the wider interweb. I could be wrong about this, and my understanding of the people outside Japan, (or just, outside of my little sphere of personal friends and acquaintances, even within Japan) is very limited, but given how many people still regularly use the word like gaijin (a word which doesn't necessarily mean the speaker has a negative view on foreigners, but still hints the sort of "there's us, and there's them" kinda thinking or mentality) etc. suggests to me that people (especially those who are less educated or brighter) don't really know that, despite the cultural differences, there's like, normal people outside Japan who aren't too dissimilar to them (perhaps a different story for people/places with radically different social norms). And I kinda worry that, at a larger scale, this.. what can be called ignorance, could be exploited by malicious actors, whether it be ultra-nationalist types or hyper-progressive who want to get rid of borders altogether or something, and prevent intelligent discussion on whatever subject it is.
Tru
Good comment.
As a foreigner living in Japan, I have encountered the exceptionalist narrative to be a bit mind blowing. I've seen Japanese people ask if European headphones or earphones would even work the same with Japanese ears (this is a true story), and people are always taken aback when I mention that my quality of life didn't really change too dramatically (neither for better nor worse) after moving here from abroad. The food is great and the transportation is better, but that's about it. I have lived in several different countries so far, but it is a little weird just how "different" people here perceive me to be. Then again, most people are also pretty nice and at least polite to me (to my face, that is) and I also speak Japanese, which obviously helps make most interactions a bit more organic and natural.
A decent part of my childhood was spent around Japanese-American immigrants, both other kids and their parents. They basically accepted me, a white kid. While I was a poor student of the language, I adopted bits of the culture as my own through personal contact. Visiting Japan itself was stark in contrast, because the familiar elements were familiar, but the differences were obvious right away: "yeah, guess I'm always gonna be a foreigner here 😅" Even before I visited, there were things about that early experience that always put me at odds with the western media narratives and fan culture. When a person crosses the threshold into another culture they become more pragmatic and in some ways more able to change their ideas, but also more conservative and protecting of their heritage. The fan culture does not really do that: it stays at a distance that guards prior assumptions, so it makes up ways to misunderstand what it sees. And I believe the same can be true from the native context.
I do think every generation sees things in a new way, and a Japan that takes on more immigrants is going to be a different place in other ways.
re: the conclusion: people like Swift or Musk, or corporations like Disney, don't need you defending them. they have enough wealth to pay for every currently ongoing court case single-handedly. defending the billionaire means you've fallen for their propaganda. like them if you must but realize try not to fall for the game they're all playing.
so be a normies ?
@@SathornetfireBeing a normie means falling in line with the other normies no matter where the consensus goes. It's no better than defending the fat cats. Be yourself. Have standards, like a professional. Cultivate strong principles on your own and stay true to them.
There is nothing wrong with having your actions be similar to what you call normies, but understand you have the freedom to choose your path and can deviate as you see fit.
Don't be contrarian just for the sake of being contrary. That's just being an normie in the opposite direction.
Knowing most of this in hindsight explains why so many shonen stories have such a negative view on old politicians.
in fairness, I feel a lot of countries feel imposed upon by old politicians and this certainly bleeds into media.
Huh. Sadly the German movie industry had emigrated to the USA after ww2, otherwise we would definitely have similar tropes. Our politicians are too old and make policies that favor the elderly
@@Delmworks a never ending cycle, one generation pushes forward a politician who serves their needs and he continues to cater to that generation even when it hurts the next one. only for the next generation to appoint another politician who does the same to the next generation.
@@Delmworksyep
@MaticTheProto damn
While it is true that these things do give a good impression of Japan, it must be said that the involvement of the Japanese government is wrong. Much of what is now familiar as Japanese culture has been abused by Japanese society. It is very sad that this is treated as if it were Japanese government propaganda. I felt that what has been created by the people is seen as a national achievement.
Especially knowing the story of certain critical creations like A Silent Voice
Oh my god! As Brazillian from Rio Grande do Sul, I found it very heartwarming to see Moony caring about our situation with such devotion.
I became a great fan of your work in the late months and I hope more people from my country to be able to enjoy the same good experiences and learning that I had with you.
Your channel is a very necessary content in these modern days, and I miss seeing something like that in other RUclips channels (that weren't just selling our own western propaganda).
Thanks a lot for your work and passion, Moony!
The Northern Nations do not consider we, the Latinos western, because of some racist thing. So while we would like to, we aren't really in 'the club' of the Western nations, even less than Japan is.
@@irmaosmatos4026 are these three things the LatAm+Brazilian class+caste systems and the skin colours that come with them, amongst the many issues? In any Latin American country, colourism is a prominent issue amongst many people regardless of ethnicity.
@@irmaosmatos4026 yeah, we're definitely not part of The West™, we're westernized.
You Anti-US?
Brazil mentioned?
Been living in Japan for 8 years, now. Wife and home.
I became interested in Japan through anime and manga as a kid, but studied at university to learn the actual history, language and culture.
It's not the most fun country to live in, if you have trouble being social and making friends, because you will end up lonely. More-so tgan you might expect, even if you're already lonely in your home country.
A lot of people who don't actually know Japanese culture come here expecting a mix of fun and difficulty, but end up feeling like Japanese people are two-faced and prejudiced. There is some truth to that, but not much more than the US or other foreign countries.
The BIG kicker is that people are just not that friendly or talkative. They're polite, but that's a social expectation, not a reflection of individual kindness. People who come here get bogged down by intense loneliness and isolation.
So, if you move here, be aware of these things.
I'll be moving in next year... wish me luck
@@joãoguilherme-h1h good luck, man. ✊ There's still lots of stuff to enjoy! Sorry if I seemed too negative. I just want people to temper their expectations. 😅
@@joãoguilherme-h1h good luck!!! ❤
yeah... Everything felt very superficial and surface level when i lived there for 6 weeks as part of an internship. Everyone is nice and is like "what do you like about japan? Why did you come here" but it never goes deep it feels like. By the middle of that period i was feeling kinda depressed. this was while living with 15 other exchange students i'd have gone insane by myself. Edit:just to specify I am fluent in japanese.
@@joãoguilherme-h1h good luck bro
the music in this video is CRAZY! how am I supposed to learn anything with the mental image of Shinji going down the Mario 64 slide in my head
It's all from Siivagunner, search any game and add Siivagunner to the search.
You were not alone in that XD
I want the version of Ichiban no Takaramono that plays around 1:36:00
@freakshowDK it's Sanzaneeta Reef (Beta Mix) from the Siivagunner "High Quality Video Game Music Rips" parody channel. There's also Reunite (JP edition) which uses an Undertale soundfont
Japan is actually not exactly good at exporting their culture. I talked to Japanese people about this and all of them said that Japan is still a very closed off country with island mentally.
Most of their exported pop cultures are done either by outsiders or by accidents. Go back 6-13 years ago, it was almost impossible to purchase or stream anything from Japan, you will have to physically there to do that.
Example are Fast n Furious films put Japanese sport cars in the spotlight. The relentless copyright infringement by western youtube channels to bring the rest of the world City Pop which resulted a come back in Japan itself.
Crazy that this is free. Normally you'd have to pay a university like 500 dollars for this kind of thing.
500 dollar!?, this is multiple courses so defa few thousand bucks
It's free because it filled with wrong information
@@0008loser what is wrong about this? Outside of super specific random details. The whole topic seems sound to me and def lines up with a lot of soft power/political that have been pushed, often to hide a lot of shade.
@@0008loser if this video is wrong then that means all of the 12 sources listed in the description + the ones not listed like books mentioned are wrong
That or you are just a rando full of BS
Which one is more probable I wonder 🤔
@@Punkqurupeco I'm still going through the video, but if this video doesn't cover Azuma Hideo, then it's most definitely BS. No discussion on Otaku subculture is worth watching or reading if the source doesn't mention Tezuka Osamu's equal in terms of influence. There's way too many trash books in English that aren't any good because most of them don't bother with studying Japanese primary source material properly; they're too enamoured with their shoddy game of telephone.
How do I know if this video also isn’t a propaganda? 🤔
unfortunately everyone is biased. this too is propaganda, but that doesn’t mean it’s nefarious
Everything is propaganda in it's own way if you think about it... Don't blindly agree with anyone, have your own mind while considering the interests and opinions other people may have.
it is just look at his other videos
Strictly speaking, ANY narrative that tries to convince you of ANY point is "propaganda." The thing is, people often use "propaganda" as a pejorative, meaning "trying to convince (usually other people) of something I don't agree with," so if you like McDonalds, you don't think a McDonalds commercial is "propaganda," but if you HATE McDonalds, then anything McDonalds puts in an ad is "propaganda" to YOU. Put another way, "propaganda" is just "persuasion" when you don't like what's being said. Pointing out that you don't think it's propaganda if you agree with it is kind of the point of the "you're not immune to propaganda" meme, although by another definition, you'd be a solipsistic idiot it you refused to ever let anyone convince you of anything, so it's not like a bad thing. It's that kind of connotation game that most people are playing, and the strict definition of the term is often irrelevant to what people actually mean.
@@WraithMagus public relations, propaganda, advertisement. bernays.
Pad thai is delicious. I am not immune to propaganda.
Delicious propaganda...we were doomed from the start.
Every food you eat?
Propaganda.
Every meme you see?
Propaganda.
Lol same
And Thai BL shows are so engaging, I'm not inmune to propaganda either.
@@ghoulbuster1 Are you really going to believe that even the air you breathe is propaganda?
You tend to attribute the spread of Japanese culture to the Japanese government, but this is a mistake. Japan's government has been obviously incompetent for at least the last forty years and probably the last sixty.
There was no cultural benefit to Japan from the anime aired on American television from 1961-1985. All those anime, Astroboy, Kimba the White Lion, Eight Man, Speed Racer, Star Blazers, Battle of the Planets, Voltron and a host of lesser-known shows were NEVER released as being of Japanese origin. They intentionally hid the origin of these stories, so Japan gained no favor from it. There was a grassroots awareness of Japanese animation spreading, mostly on college campuses, throughout the seventies and eighties, and finally in 1985, Robotech proudly announced that this was Japanese animation. As far as I know (and remember), that was the very first time any anime was openly Japanese. Even then, it took another decade and a half for anime to become big enough to start to crack into the US's popular consciousness.
The Bunkasho wasn't as strong as you seem to think. It wasn't a government-lead spread of culture, but rather a corporate spread of products which were generally better made and more durable than the domestic US products that turned America's perception of Japan as being a source of cheap, easily broken toys in the 1960s, to an electronics giant in the '80s. The improved outlook of Japan was probably as much of a surprise the Japanese government as it was to US electronics manufacturers. It was Japanese electronics that made Japan cool, and that was the springboard that Robotech climbed aboard to promote Japanese animation.
"The Japan Foundation was directly responsible for the proliferation of anime throughout the world." This line is bullshit. At least in the US, the Japan Foundation's reach extends only to small groups of people in large cities. At the very least, they had NOTHING to do with the spread of anime in the US. They weren't opposed, but when anime spread, they were still pushing Ikebana, haiku and The Tale of Genji. I remember the spread of anime in the US, and US distributors had to pull teeth to get the Japanese to enter the US market. (Admittedly, the French- and Spanish-speaking markets had much more anime than the US, but considering the reluctance of Japanese companies to enter the market, I would guess that for those countries, citizens of those countries went to Japan for the titles, and not the Japanese intentionally moving their cultural products out.
Your assertion that the legacy of Yamato is done "under the watchful eye of the Japanese government and encouraged through promotion and investment." Sources?! Where did you get this idea? It doesn't make any sense. Sorry, but even if SBY was a metaphor for the return of Japanese imperialism, the idea of Japanese imperialism DID NOT extend to the other shows influenced by it. Gundam condemns imperialism on both sides of the war. Macross is a tale of trying to survive, not trying to spread. Also the Japanese people didn't come around to an imperialist frame of mind through their love of the anime. The Japanese people are still against Japanese hard power. That propaganda sure didn't work, did it? And in the US, Star Blazers changed the name of the ship, changed all the characters names, and tried to cover up any traces that the anime came from Japan.
As you get into your description of the '80s, you say that anime was exploding in popularity. Nothing could be further from the truth. Anime was a niche as niche gets in the US. In fact the first home video releases of anime as an industry in the US was only in 1989. It was the '90s when anime started gaining a foothold, only to finally explode with the one-two-three-four punch of Akira, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon and Pokémon. But none of these really "exploded" the industry even if some of them exploded as fads. It wasn't until the 2000s that anime really started making true inroads into US pop culture and mainstream recognition.
Internationalization was an INTERNALLY oriented policy of the Japanese government, not an externally oriented policy. It was an attempt to expose Japan to the world, so that there would be greater emphasis on Japanese people learning foreign languages in order to facilitate trade. Again, this was most likely the Japanese government doing the bidding of Japanese corporations rather than a controlling culturally-dictatorial government as seems to be your assertion.
All of your examples of denialism of Japanese war crimes and insensitivity to the complaints of other, in some cases more powerful, surrounding countries just illustrate just how BAD the Japanese government is at their "war of propaganda" which is the centerpiece of your thesis here.
In the '90s, Japanese animation was NOT thriving in Japan. It was reliant on remakes and sequels almost entirely. The direct-to-video market (OAVs) was quickly drying out with experimental films such as Robot Carnival and Egg of the Angel from the bubble economy being cut off completely in the post-burst economy. Of course, not everything was a remake, but the break-out anime were few and far in between, and most had a rabid manga fan base first, so there was little risk at producing high-quality anime for those properties.
Your "top-down" mobilized shit you start your "summary" section with is only "top-down" if you consider corporate Japan on top. You really seem to push "government" as the shadowy boogeyman to be feared, but especially the post-burst Japanese government was just a puppet of Japanese corporate interests. The government had no real will of its own, being pushed by US interest on one hand and Japanese corporate interests on the other. The revolving door of prime minsters prove that point.
Since when has "cool" ever actually been successfully co-opted by any government? Corporations have done it all over the place, but governments have been uniquely incompetent at harnessing "cool." "Cool Japan" was not a top-down governmental program. It was a taxpayer-funded corporate welfare slushfund ostensibly run by the government but actually beholden to their corporate overlords. As in late-capitalism US, late-capitalism Japan and its government is also run by its extremely wealthy.
And now, with your discussion about what the LDP wants, is where we get to where your argument truly falls apart. Every single one-party government in history that has wanted to re-militarize and managed to re-militarize. The LDP, despite having control of the government for (according to you) since the Meiji era, has not been able to do it for eighty years. Japan has NOT been able to re-militarize. The best it gets tiny incremental advances, and then there's a brand-new incompetent prime minister. If hard power is their goal, then the propaganda has FAILED.
Yeah, there are a lot of people, such as yourself, who want to scare people into thinking of Japan as some sort of emerging military power because the JSDF uses kawaii characters, but they forget that "kawaii" characters are used EVERYWHERE. There are kawaii characters in driving school advertisements. I'm sure there are kawaii characters advertising heavy machinery. Of course the military uses kawaii characters, but that's only weird in the west. In Japan, it's just what everybody does. Even the quote where the government says that it needs to take more control of the industry to project their own policies proves that the government is failing in their objectives! Didn't you get that? They are flailing about trying to get some benefit of all the taxpayer cash they've shoveled into corporate Japan. The things they are proposing sound scare, especially when you voice it in a deeper, ominous tone, but they haven't actually consolidated any industries, and it's a good question as to whether it's even possible.
Again, with comfort women, you mentioned one "win" by Japan, and a bunch of failed attempts to delete Japan's comfort women history. Breaking a sister-city agreement with SF is a failure. The kicking of the comfort women statue became a scandal for the kicker. Did Berlin remove the statue? I'll bet they didn't. Failures.
tbh if GATE JSDF is their best result
and they use their soft power to remove statues
and all this for remilitarization
it seem to be freaking useless and over hyped
also anyone watchin GATE JSDF probably already knows its a propaganda
they just like it cause its the only Anime or Movies where you can see Holy Roman Empire get Vibe check with 556 nato rounds lol
also japan losing in the Gacha market sure but all those successful gacha game use anime aesthetic so in the end the boosted japan soft power again
tbh this Cool Japan Fund is more of an outlier
it made some random anime here and their while the industry push was towards more shonen shows
hell i kinda wish it did more i want more military moe anime hahahaha
AND ANOTHER THING -
I really appreciate you providing this thorough alternative perspective to the arguments in the video. Thanks for writing this. It’s good to hear the other side, especially on a video that was such an investment of time
@@deep_cuts2019 ♥
Thank you! I had this feeling that the author is full of bullshit and bias during the entirety of this video.
Long time subscribers already knew WWII was WAAAYYY to late in history to kick off a Moon Channel video.
I did Japanstudies in my home country (west-Europe) at university and we'd mock ourselves at times calling it "Weebstudies" instead of Japanstudies. Mandatory classes are language, history, art history, sociology and area studies (learning about the orientalism theory and the west vs. rest view) and there's a lot of directions you can choose to go into. I definitely started that with a certain fascination for Japan due to my anime watching like many of my peers, but over the years you also learn about some of those most nasty truths. Also, people who are only there to watch anime without subtitles will usually flunk, although not all. This video has got me wondering just a bit if calling that study course 'Weebstudies' is justified or if it is actually something that plays part in de-Weebing its students (or have those students flunk)...
Especially if you define "Weeb" as 'fan of Japanese anime/popculture to the point they're no longer critical of the culture that produced it', a definition I'm not sure is considered absolute? I'm open to be corrected on this one, but I do think one can have a somewhat obsessive interest in anime/manga/etc. and still be very critical about the Japanese culture that produces it.
EITHER WAY, this was a super interesting video and while I'd argue some historical context could have been left out or summarised more, I also love that kinda stuff personally and am very happy it is there. I just don't think it's always /that/ necessary for context. And meanwhile am baffled that a movie like Rashōmon, the first Japanese movie to win an Oscar and to kickstart a new (academic) interest in Japanese movie industry (especially so they can have something different then Classical Hollywood Cinema, CHC, to study and contrast) and the name Donald Richie weren't mentioned :0. I think this also just shows I had some courses on this subject in my life,,, which is true and I don't think it is or should be seen as basic common knowledge. It's too niche, but I guess can be another interesting case study for how Japan got cultural soft power again. (Although the entirety of Kurosawas work isn't always seen as super representative of the Japanese people by the Japanese people asked about this and they consider other directors as representing them better).
I liked this video essay a lot and as this comment probably shows, it definitely tickled me brain and generated some thoughts and feelings on this subject from me!! Keep up the excellent work!
I am currently studying Japanese Studies, and literally after starting studying I have reduced watching anime.
Good to know this is not just me.
Feels like I am getting more immune to Japanese fascination, but I've got a new respect for topics in anime that I found obscure before
@@ahtheh Super cool to hear another Japanstudies student relate to my experience, I think it goes for a lot of students of this field (also including majors that focus on Korea, China and other "exotic cultures").
And maybe rather than your fascination for Japan disappearing it's more like it's shifting. With all the new knowledge you obtain it's hard to keep looking at the subject in the same way, but there's still so much interesting things, just differently. If those words strung together made any sense... it's past midnight for me here 😅
@@ahtheh Anime are cartoons. Fascination with anime in itself is nice, but most people just watched it because the most popular shows were cool with compelling stories that adults and children alike enjoyed. The same with manga.
Some just took it forward and gained other interests in Japanese culture and Japan at large, or others became slightly “obsessed” with anime/anime otaku culture.
i'm sorry but the fucking super mario 64 slide rendition of komm susser todd in the part where japan's yen bubble burst was singlehandedly the most unintentionally funniest thing you ever did in this channel
Timestamp please
Found it again: 1:41:00
I KNEW that goddamn music sounded familiar for some reason, but it was just wrong in a way I couldn't put together. Thank you for explaining it to my brain.
Moony keeps using SiIvaGunner rips in his videos and they keep working at baiting me.
The funniest thing is there's an official version of komm Susser Todd with the sm64 soundfont from the N64 Evangelion game
“You are not the things you consume.”
Wow moony I was not expecting such a powerful life lesson and change of perspective from this video. But thank you. I feel a lot more at peace with the fact that I like Japanese media. Or even secular media as a whole.
You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world.
Secular media? Wtf lol
what is secular media? haven't heard that phrase before
_"The goal on Moon Channel is and always has been the betterment of the world"_
I'm really curious about your take on TikTok, from a legal perspective, but especially for its ramifications on the state of mind of our younger generations.
Is that a topic that would fit your channel?
The USA states that TikTok collects about as much data as the other social media networks, using pretty much the same methods, but mainly opposes its ties to a foreign anti-american nation.
I am Curious if you will Talk about the Parasocial Relationships used by Gacha Companies to sell their Waifus?
Cause I'm seeing how bad it could get with Girls Frontline and Snowbreak Containment Zone.
And there was also Star Rail and Firefly event in China wjere Firefly would literally Call you.
That's a fascinating topic idea, arnowisp. If I do make a video on this topic, I will be sure to credit you for bringing it up.
@@moon-channelI really hope you do, I really wanna know what actually happened in the gfl2 NTR drama without 50million different cn accounts on Reddit trying to convince me that Mica did everything wrong and bad and that whatever translation was posted was wrong and it actually worse.
Cause they did a lot of that similarly to how it was hard to figure out what happened with Limbus’s swimsuit drama when it was all going down
Which sucks because like Limbus, GFL1 best quality is its story and
I want to be able to play and read what happens in GFL2 in global
i think one of the funniest, yet understated revelations this video brings is the fact that, one of the greatest enemies the whole anti-localization cultural war faces? the one nominally built upon the principles of freeing japanese culture and media from the evils of foreign cultural influence?
it's japan
Or to be more specific, certain parts of the Japanese goverment and political factions. There are both allies and enemies within Japan of both sides of that culture war.
its because dumbass japanese boomers don't understand how modern culture actually works, they see anime being popular in the west and think "we need to change our products to appeal to them" without realizing that it's specifically the japaneseness that's appealing; basically the classic story of
niche thing becomes popular
niche thing changes to appeal to a "broader audience"
niche thing loses what made it popular in the first place
we don't need localization, we don't need rice balls (or "onigiri" to the more hardcore weebs) to be jelly donuts, we just need to know what they're saying, as close and as literal as possible to the original as possible, and if that involves using TL NOTES (this kills the lolcowlizer) to explain watashi/ore/boku/atashi/etc, then so be it
For example in persona 3 reload, during the operation babe hunt, they change a scence with a cross dress man luring men to a woman who was a nut. Some people call the localization messing with original, despite this change being the Japanese version of reload. Meaning even the native Japanese audience had problems with it.
@@starmaker75 um, based?
Not to mention if Japan was successful in remilitarizing, would the Japanese population who has been softened as otaku and neets want to support war or even join the military?
Moony, Study of Swords peer reviewed this video and pointed out quite an amount of misinformation in this video.
I believe you would be interested in taking the criticism if you want to maintain a certain standard and accuracy for this video.
I find it interesting how you left out the unique relationship between Japan and Prussia/Germany. This relationship played a huge role in pretty much everything you talked about
Wdym?
Absolutely agree.
@@rockedsocks4613japanese constitution, army and police was based on them
@@rockedsocks4613 when Japan sought to modernize they decided to remodel their military and other societal aspects after one of the most powerful nations in Europe, which happened to be prussia at the time. This choice along with several others led to a fondness of Germany that can be seen even today. Even in the very Anime talked about in this video.
There’s more to it but I‘m too lazy to write an essay 😅
@@MaticTheProto When (and if) laziness leaves, please do write here! Thanks
This video treats Miyazaki as a rare beacon of sanity and Tezuka's implied to be some form of nationalist collaborator cuz he liked a scene from a propaganda cartoon for purely non-ideological reasons. "The Japanese government used anime to quell public distrust after the Anpo protests failed, employing artists whose work was inspired by war-time propaganda" - Hey, what did Tezuka & the rest of those early creators think of Anpo, nationalism, the government, war and imperialism? Do you seriously not know anything about the views of virtually every seminal manga & anime creator from that post-war era? THEY WERE SOME OF THE MOST PROMINENT ANPO PROTESTERS.
Miyazaki making a manga about how cool WW2 German soldier Otto Carius was (a guy who likely took his nationalist views to his grave) is way more "problematic" than that obscure Tezuka factoid but even that is detached from his actual left-wing anti-war views and just him nerding out about the guy's tank operating skills. Yamato's Yoshinobu Nishizaki was an outlier among that generation, whom Leiji had many disagreements with. To paint one of Japan's most anti-war, anti-nationalist artistic generations as government collaborators with no evidence beyond "Tezuka liked this scene in this cartoon" to push a narrative is either ignorant or disingenuous.
Yeah Tezuka published some of his manga in Akahata, the official newspaper of the Japan Communist Party, for god's sake. The maker of this video is basically using some obscure facts (some of which aren't even accurate) to market his political views.
@@kkf54353 Someone might point out "well, he also published stuff in the right wing Sankei Shimbun" but the funny thing is, the freaking Vietnam war Astro Boy arc ran there which had some of his most overt left-wing messaging. He didn't change his views to pander at all & was just reaching out to people who may normally not consider those ideas - it's not like the paper could make him censor himself since he would've just said "no" and left.
Just as the video reminds us how the Japanese people are not a monolith, and the Japanese government is also not a monolith, I hope the viewers might extrapolate that the artists therein are not a monolith.
Studio Ghibli has infamously poor working conditions. The Anpo protest combined many different political perspectives, and the video notes that this includes nationalists.
Even then, it is not that Tezuka or whomsoever else is exclusively a nationalist, or otherwise, and this misses the bigger picture of the video. I ask for us to think with nuance, and to think critically so that we can avoid thinking in such black and white ways.
@@RaymondoPerson Section about nishizaki pisses me off. Space battleship Yamato is not secret right wing virtue signaling. Matter a fact episode 2 of the series is the only thing that could be considered such. We could consider leiji Matsumoto did the design of space battleship Yamato a man who was virtually opposed to kamikaze pilots cause his father literally sent soilders to deaths. There are some elements of nationalism in Yamato but it isn’t fully that. By comet empire it’s literally just a space opera anime with cool ships. Which is why I love it
@@moon-channel What I would’ve gone over if I was you, is leiji Matsumoto and nishizakis relationship. I wont deny nishizaki has more right wing views, leiji Matsumoto had a father who sent pilots to their deaths therefore they have very different philosophies about wwii watch the cockpit ova for matsumotos own take on the matter. The way you framed it seems to me like you think space battleship Yamato was secret nationalist virtue signaling on nishizkais part when especially by the time you get to the later entries it focuses on entirely on space opera. Main villains of Yamato are modeled after actual nazi commanders and are committing a similar genocide. Granted I like more right leaning stuff I enjoy anime like deep blue fleet. That has some Japan bias but the author is 93 years old it’s to be expected. I would’ve gone over Zipang which is like gate an isekai but way way more subtle in its narrative about wwii and is way more plausible with its alternate history then deep blue fleet. Modern jsdf ship transports to battle of midway they rescue a Japanese solider his motivation to make a more militarized modern Japan that is free from imperial influence like the United States. Has much more subtlety then an example like gate.
Saying Japan's soft power surpasses that of the united states (even if you say "in some cases") is a crazy statement
the US is 100% hard power
@@viliml2763 that's a reach, yes they use a lot of hard power, but dismissing the amount of soft power they possess is at best, silly
At worst, ignorant
Well, not easy for an American to see that. It's like trying to see what else is blue under blue light.
i mean japans soft power in appearing peaceful and friendly definitely surpasses america. we couldn’t pretend to be pacifist if we tried
I think what he means is that the US has soft power that is comparable to its hard power coming as a direct consequence of it. I think his main point is calling attention to the fact that Japan has a remarkable soft power and has (of course, talking about the collective unconscious perception of the country) succesfully swept under the rug any implication that it is or was at any point imperialistic and genocidal, all through propagandistic and diplomatic means, unlike the US.
Most anime (mainly Isekai) show the negative side of Japan and criticize it (work culture, loneliness, bullying, etc.).
I don’t think it is propaganda if you’re showing the negative side of your society.
People like Japan and anime because they are different from western culture, and people are fascinated by them.
I don’t think the Japanese government has any hands on it.
Anyways It is scary that an American company like Blackstone is buying up all Japanese-related media. Their recent purchase of the biggest manga site in Japan.
I think people keep forgetting that the USA has the soft power here.
@@Rasupubegasu to be fair the creator of the video did mention that the US absolutely uses soft power too and he could do a video about it too. I think the reason why he is talking about Japanese soft power is because the JP government tends to use their media to help them look more like victims of ww2 instead of aggressors. Which isn’t just a japan thing,every country is guilty of this too
Worth noting Hearn (the "first weeb") is more recognized in Japan than in the West with there being are multiple museums dedicated to him in Japan. His stories are fairytales, romanticised the same way we romanticise Greek and Norse myths (And not like the MCU, more The Pantheon Folklore Library with great respect given to the original tales.). Only major difference is that Hearn brought this folklore to a new, very different audience in the West. It's worth pointing out that Hearn is notable with no relation to Japonisme which reminds me more of European Egyptomania with similar levels of misunderstanding and appropriation. That said Hearn's fascination with Japan may have been sparked by some influx of Japanese culture to the West.
I should clarify that I've only read Kwaidan by Hearn, not any of his other work. Personally it didn't come off as painting a "Innocent Japan", (In the first story a blind musician has his ears ripped out by ghosts unjustly killed in war and robbed of their land.). It also didn't come off as something that could be used as nationalist propaganda, with no mention being given to the Japanese race, (Remarkable considering the time.). Not quite as outspokenly anti-war as Shingeru Mizuki's Yokai but also uncompromising in the brutality of old fairy tails.
moony all the leftist weebs are in your comments section lmao
Where? I don’t see them.
unluckily, i am both a weeb & a party member of a ruling (in-power) communist party
these leftists have nothing on me
Oh my god my people
Center right neoliberals aren’t left wing.
Try again sweetie
I wish but even so you still see tons of apologia in the comments
I love the "Just put them all to the sword, lol!" running joke.
J.K. Rowling, probably, lol
This video was quite sobering to watch while on my dream vacation in Japan, but definitely in a good way. It gave me a lot to think about not just about Japanese things I like, but American ones and stuff from other countries as well. Learning about the government initiatives behind Japanese products and the history between the West and Japan was very eye-opening. I would like to think I consume fairly mindfully, but it never hurts to re-evaluate yourself. Thank you for creating such an informative video.
As buryat-mongolian, I realized my prejudice against Japanese and Chinese, despite being entirely overpowered by their cultures. That's not something I expected to learn from this video.
Oh, and about soft power. My aunt proven that it works really well - at youth she first traveled into Japan, then Korea's doramas and novels took over, and now learning Chinese to travel in the future. And as I grew up, Russia made sure people here only know Russian, and the war in Ukraine is just continuing the soviet trend of erasing national identity. That just sucks
As currently people here don't have independency, let alone ability to project soft power, here's my attempt:
Try out Buryat cuisine! It's easy to make, goes with any seasoning and aren't invented BS as it doesn't need to appeal to foreighers, it's authentic no matter how you cook it. Just avoid anything with dairy, it mostly tastes shit
Genuine question: what exactly R**sia did to make sure you only know R**sian and have no national identity? Don't jump to conclusions, I despise our dearest govt as any other guy in RUclips comment section. It's just that I personally don't have that impression and am very sceptical of people with anime avatars
@@シミズルリ During soviet time: ethnic cleansing of many, restriction on culture and religion, sending people to Siberia and further. Nowadays: Limited education, nationalism, low living standards, disproportionate mobilization.
I hate my government regional university (Russian). It's like school, but somehow worse. Can't have debates with professors because they are "always right". And exams are too much to handle.
@@シミズルリ ultimate sоуbоу
Two big points everyone should take away from this video:
1. It's important to think critically about the things you consume
2. Sucy is best LWA character
Also, a lot of people REALLY like Oshin.
I remember someone saying Paranoia Agent is a commentary of post-war Japan trying to distract everyone with the cute.
Godzilla was a manifestation of the Japanese reaction to the final year of fire-bombing and nuclear crescendo. Metaphor made more poignant by then current restrictions on speech directed for or against military power and America. Godzilla was war movie catharsis for the _millions_ of Japanese who had lost their family homes and starved for months only 10 years earlier. Certainly, monsters of Toho cinema represent the military powers of nations, tearing up the peaceful civilian world for mysterious and selfish reasons. Often the human characters' sole purpose is wondering at their motivations or developing a new means to control them. This remains the core formula even 60 years later. (Parallel in American cinema was Dr. Strangelove, just a few years later. However it didn't spawn 25 retellings.)
I loved Paranoia Agent. Similar in tone to Death Note, but more unpredictable, almost to FLCL levels. Never once did I think "You know, I think they are explaining post-war Japan to me." But I can't remember which year that guy who was friends with Mao got shot, and the polite Japanese people almost overthrew their own government for considering rebuilding the military, and changing the american-forced constitution. I was astounded to learn about this. Japan received the most progressive advanced version of democracy, which we were then struggling to adopt in America. Eisenhower left with the warning that he had failed to contain the military industrial complex. We never caught up with the Japanese, and started to lose our best jobs and our middle class in 1981, as the foundations started eroding.
I couldn't make it three minutes into this thing. The initial premise of people not knowing where S Korea was before 2000 is just silly. You know the US fought a war there right? You they have been a manufacturing hub for decades right? You know there are giant Korean populations in the US right?
Then there is the assertion that we know Japan mostly from its soft power and that that American's first encounter with Japanese culture would be anime. So not from manufacturing, not from food, not from the Japanese population in the US, and not from WWII?
The final straw was saying that Japan might have more soft power than the US. Seriously? So American movies, food, music, and language being ubiquitous around the globe is less soft power than a niche form of animation and some video games?
damn, i didn't know anime was slowly making me into a japanese nationalist.
@@j.2512 sure buddy
Blue Lock enters the chat.
@@NeoEvanA.R.T Sure buddy.
That is so unfathomably based.
happens to the best of us
Excuse me, Moonie? This is exactly what I needed.
21:33 The traditional dress looks better, the western one looks generic and she looks like a dude
31:31 lol
32:00 So it was a good thing at first because it was against Russia?
43:27 What is currently happening to the Palestinians🇵🇸
1:10:33 Entire Anime industry or the ENTIRE Japanese industry!?
2:06:53 But in AoT the island got nuked in the end?
The Super Mario 64 Slide theme combined with Komm Susser Tod absolutely sent me into hysterics. What an inspired combination
Moon's understated sense of humour is brilliant.
Evangelion has an N64 game, it used Super Marios 64 sound library. The results are amazing.
ruclips.net/video/b7T1SVnXYsk/видео.html&pp=ygUSa29tIHNzdXNlciB0b2QgbjY0
I don`t get it. Are you started convulsing because it is related with Mario or what?
@@Keima_Katsuragi. Komm Susser Tod is the name of a song from the anime Evangelion played in the scene where everything goes wrong and comes tumbling down. Combine that with the game Super Mario 64, which became prevalent during the 1990s, when the Japanese economic bubble burst.
Making it a perfect combination.
@@Rasupubegasu ah, ok, my wrong. Thanks for information
Cool Japan Organization is a completely failed business with many investments failing and a deficit of 35.6 billion yen. For better or worse, I don't think Cool Japan is having an impact on Japan's soft power. Media companies in almost all countries, not just Japan, receive subsidies and incentives from the government. Almost every country has a Ministry of Trade or a Ministry of Culture, and various funds and organizations have been established to promote exports.
Using your logic, Lord of the Rings is New Zealand propaganda because it was subsidized by the New Zealand government, and Cyberpunk2077 is Polish propaganda because it was subsidized by the Polish government.
Rather, the characteristics of Japanese pop culture are actually very domestically centered and gatekeeping. Anime and manga became popular not through legal exports, but mostly through illegal piracy. And it's only recently that foreign revenue has become a significant portion of the anime industry's revenue.
To begin with, anime has long been treated as vulgar even in Japan, and creators have a history of fighting against government regulations. For example, the ''Tokyo Metropolitan Ordinance Regarding the Healthy Development of Youths'' ordinance passed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 2010 received backlash from many creators due to vague regulatory standards.
Even though there are some manga and anime like Gate that are clear national propaganda, they are only a small part of Japanese media, and I don't think the Japanese government is fundamentally interfering with them in any significant way.
Anime is propaganda in the sense that all media can be interpreted as propaganda. The same goes for someone's opinion or a video essay. But I would say that your views on the Cool Japan organization and anime exports are exaggerated. That's it.
I think comments like this one miss the point: it is not that the Japanese government is manipulating the messaging of any individual anime, which makes so much of anime propaganda. Your favorite show isn't likely propaganda. But it is being utilized as propaganda, abroad.
The fact that Cool Japan is running at a massive loss is a clue here: the point isn't a return on investment. The solution to Cool Japan running a massive deficit, as per the government's admission, is not to defund the program, but rather, to centralize its constituents. The massive subsidy of anime, particularly subsidy towards exporting, again, exporting, anime at a loss, is a stated and unhidden soft power initiative.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's development of youths ordinance is a particularly curious thing to bring up, given that the vague regulatory standards were specifically criticized as being overly broad, thus giving the government too much oversight over artists by, specifically, the Japanese left, under the guise of protecting children from prurient materials, which it purported to fix, but evidently hasn't: only the Japanese Communist Party and the SCCCU opposed the ordinance, citing that its overbroadness, despite having, on the surface, the laudable intention of curbing certain detestable fetishes prevalent in anime and manga, was designed in practice to have a chilling effect on free speech.
@@moon-channel Yeah, even if you argue otherwise, the quotes in the video seemed to me to suggest that Japan's cultural industry is heavily manipulated by the Liberal Democratic Party.
The government established the Cool Japan Mechanism in 2013, seeing it as a potential winner that could drive growth. However, the results of this project were so poor that the Ministry of Finance is considering merging it with other funds or abolishing it. The fund, in collaboration with private companies, established the anime distribution company Anime Consortium Japan and the satellite broadcasting company Wakuwaku Japan. But these companies went out of business due to the success of rivals such as US video distribution giant Netflix. “Quote: The Asahi Shimbun/ Cool Japan Fund teeters on its last legs after losing 30 billion yen.”
Also, the "large companies" mentioned in the NIKKEI ASIA article you cited are retail stores such as Isetan Japan Store, Gojek, and Kkday.
The article doesn't say anything about large companies.
To begin with, Japan's cultural budget is actually not that large compared to other countries, and I personally think that the amount of subsidies it receives is very small.
For many years the majority of the Japanese government, except for a few departments in charge, viewed the field of cultural content as an extension of play. Did not provide sufficient support for the industry, and this is still the case today.
The word "propaganda" has a very negative connotation and connotation, and when it is used there is some kind of inducement, rightly or wrongly.
In particular, as others have pointed out, it was a complete mistake to bring up Mr. Tezuka as a state collaborator.
If you read Tezuka's manga, you'll understand. I recommend "Message to Adolf (アドルフに告ぐ, Adorufu ni Tsugu),". It's a masterpiece of anti-propaganda manga.
Your analysis is very interesting, but from the perspective of this video, I thought there was a danger of trivializing the achievements of Japanese private creators.
@@the_PleiadesBesides showing Nazi Germany, Tezuka's Adolf shows how oppressive the Japanese government was during WW2, especially if you were suspected of being a leftist.
The video makes the point that the co-opting of anime to serve as foreign facing propaganda, or if you prefer, a soft power initiative, is a very recent phenomenon. The background on anime as propaganda during the war, and the lasting lineage of that in anime that remains, is to show how anime became co-opted, not to show that anime itself was entirely propaganda, or shaped by the government to begin with.
We can see through efforts vis-a-vis the Japan Foundation that such soft power initiatives were directed, and purposeful: foreign facing subsidy of anime at a never-ending massive loss is just an extension of this... and every country that can do this, does this, from China, to the USA, to South Korea, with varying degrees of effectiveness and cost.
I know some people who barely engage with Japanese culture and call themselves weebs and others who are deeply intrenched in it and out of a sense of pride insist they are not weebs. I think, and I know this comes across as vague, it's about having self awareness and keeping a open mind in regards to the way you consume media is extremely important, wether it be Japanese or not. This seems to be a theme across your videos but this to me felt like a ultimatum. Thank you Moon Channel for teaching your audience about macroeconomics, the importance of culture and the importance of questioning one's views!!
Its not that deep, bro. Weeb is just an umbrella term used to describe those into the anime subculture in the west. No one uses it as an insult towards japanophiles, anymore, the same way casual anime fans call themselves Otaku, and not the way the Japanese use it.
TINTIN PFP 😱😱😱
TINTIN PFP 😱😱😱
@@TheSonic497 Exactly, it's a very vague lable considering how mainstream anime is. My point is that regardless of how you may see yourself, don't consume media blindly.
@@greensky5328 What does that have to do with one labeling themselves?
I would love a video on American propaganda. It's pretty easy to spot a lot of the time (I was actually thinking about Michael Bay right before you brought him up), but I don't know much about the mechanics behind. All I know is that the US military does video game streaming 😂
Simplicissimus made a good video. Sadly they didn’t yet release it on their English speaking channel
I think we've had it for so many decades that we've had time to digest and analyze it. It's the soft cultural power we are used to.
I can watch some US movie and understand that I become familiar with a movie version of New York over and over. While the US audience watching the same movie probably can't put my national capital on a map.
@@SusCalvin Are you likening knowing a fictional depiction of a place through a movie to knowing where the capital of a country is on a map?
@@hilldill8 NYC in a movie is never the real NYC. It does not give real familiarity with NYC, yes.
Completely disagree on point that Japan is has mastered soft power like no other..It's USA which is king of soft power...As a non American how the hell do I know so much abt America?? It's through Hollywood, media and in general everything pop culture...No other country comes even close
As a brazillian the amaericanization of our country which is of course from decades back is just always increasing, especially with social media, movies etc. I think latin america was the most hit with american cultural power. Thankfully in some regards we still stay away from usa cultural or social norms (thank god), but coloquially to the average person in brazil the most important foreign country is the US, in terms of trips destination, migration, social connection and media consumption etc
The question is, do you have a favourable view of the USA? Because most people don't. Not even the USA's allies like or trust them very much
@@maxermrh1979 We don't trust them as friends but ppl mostly view USA as pinnacle of development crave American lifestyle
I personally think that in the recent years, america's soft power has weakened significantly. 40 years back however, the american image was way different. You don't hear people talk about the "american dream" anymore, unless it's done in a joking manner. People love shitting on america's healthcare, education, cities, overall culture/ quality of life. In fact, america gets hated on more than countries which are generally +object. "worse" by certian standards. Japan however, is suuuuper romanticised and praised, and a lot of it's genuine internal problems are ignored by most people who know only surface-level things ab japan.
@@malina8921 You have no idea how omnipresent America's soft power is...If anything it has increased in recent years due to globalization and all tech infrastructure arnd the world owned by US companies...No other country comes close even in next 50 yrs...For e.g. Many across globe know n celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving (which are American holidays), how many Japanese holidays are celebrated globally?? Who is Japanese equivalent of Michael Jackson or Elvis presly? Even my grandma from a remote village knew MJ when internet was not even a thing
you seem to be going by how ppl talk abt US on twitter...twitter is not real world
Very myopic view of a white person.
The more I watch it. Not to be offensive. But the way he speaks of it. I think he might be Korean? Or Asian American.
So there’s a condition called the *Paris Syndrome,* which is when, for example, a Japanese person goes to Paris, instead of seeing the romanticised version of it, sees the all of the filth, blandness and ugliness that any normal city has, all of which everyone has seen before and is used to see in their regular environment.
Now let’s picture a french person going to Japan and, instead of seeing the romanticised version of it, sees the all of the filth, blandness and ugliness that any normal country has, all of which everyone has seen before and is used to see in their regular environment. The kinds of filth are definitely different, you wouldn’t experience the exact same negatives in Paris, that you would in Tokyo, and vice versa. But the shock from the contrast is definitely the same. Could we call this a *Reverse Paris Syndrome,* if the shock is severe enough?
Paris Syndrome is a more recent thing and is almost entirely due to seeing the presence (and accompanying dysfunction) of non-Whites in Paris. The Japanese are very xenophobic and there’s a reason France is on track to elect the National Rally in the upcoming legislative election.
Japan is unusually clean; everyone since childhood is taught to clean up after themselves. You can see this with their homeless population where they have tents, but it's nothing like a western city where it looks like a pig's sty.
To find the filth of Japan, you have to look pretty hard.
That is so interesting! I would love to see people's experiences with visiting Japan especially from a non-Western perspective. All of my friends who have visited so far have been mesmerised but there is no way of telling if it's their own biased view blocking the reality behind a facade. Can't wait to visit myself to find out ❤
That's the Tokyo Syndrome.
@@sias.5551 From my visit, the thing that mostly stands out... The buildings looks oddly "thin walled" and unremarkable - kinda like how old blocky cars were compared to more modern rounded designs. The appearance of almost every man walking in the street in only blue/black business suits also feels kinda odd, like professional suits aside, you rarely see brown, beige, or white suits/pants, or even shirt and tie.
Drinking game:
Take a shot every time Moony says "but that's a topic for another time". If you puke before the end, you have to play again when a video about any of the mentioned subjects drops.
I still have to finish watching the video, but wanted to say thank you for choosing my state, Rio Grande do Sul, for the fundraiser. This entire thing has been heartbreaking, so it warms my heart to see people caring. It's a very common sentiment in Brazil that we're not seen. Thank you for thinking of us.
Also, as always, very interesting topic and history lesson :) Looking forward to finish watching.
Kinda odd you think some randos with anime pfps being racist on twitter is a product of Japanese soft power and not American politics lmao.
It seems Japan soft power initiative was successful in China. My girlfriend is Chinese and says most young Chinese have a highly positive image of Japan because their love of anime and Japanese video games. She told me it’s a considered an honor among young Chinese to study in Japan. She also feels most young Chinese have forgotten what Japan did to China during WW2. Though she doesn’t dislike japan , she enjoys anime and knows a bit of Japanese, she just think Japan needs to owe up to what they did to China
what does the older generation of Chinese think about this mentality? i.e. their parents & grandparents?
@@nicksterpick I really wouldn’t know, I’ve never actually been to china. Me and my gf’s relationship is long distance. My girlfriend told me there’s still a lot of feelings of animosity among multiple generations over japans WW2 atrocities against China that gets passed down even to little children. My gf said she once had a little 4 year old cousin tell her to never marry a Japanese man.
IMO, It actually is more a counter-culture itself than the Japan soft power, in CHINA CASE isnt a bad thing, since most of mainstream chinese gov controlled media tend to teach Chinese how hate Japan and how chinese MUST desire harm and destruction to Japan constantly, propaganda non-stop focusing in hate and despise Japanese while there has over expouse to the problems they suffred by the Japanese in past. using those problems as a way to make them see the non-chinese outsiders as the enemy instead of the alç-powerful goverment and party
In fact the Chinese Gov and extreme chinese han nationalists are cracking down in anything Japanese at moment, there has a video that became viral in last feel weeks, where chinese nationalists abuse and annoy the hell of two girls that happen to like Kimono and were using them to just take photos
@@nicksterpick okay talking from a country with similar history, they couldn't careless, it is not like the young people now speak Japanese and hail Hirohito in front of them man. History is history, if those Japanese medias are allowed to be imported into the country, by the government then what the older generation can do
@@Jasi-Moridètònĝ wáñĝ ťìñĝ detected. opinion denied.
No u can't tell me what to. . .
Ohh yes Garfield, right away.
Tapping in to say I'm 2 hours into the video, and yes: I would love a video dedicated to Senbonzakura.
Not only is it something that I find myself thinking about a lot (what its relationship to Imperialist Japanese concepts is,) but it's something that I honestly struggle to articulate and thus talk about to other Vocaloid or Miku fans. Having a better thought out-- and probably more well researched than I could do-- video on Senbonzakura would be really interesting and helpful for discussion I think.
Great video as always, Moony. 😊
I don't think there is much to discuss. It is propaganda, like most of Vocaloid and Hatsune Miku. But people just refuse to see it because they like the characters.
That's what I call overanalysis. Indeed there is some government-funded animes with some build-up narrative, but to generalize it anime itself is an exageration. Don't ever think that 'Kemono Friends' or 'Haibane Renmei' alikes are "soft power intiatives". Enjoy most of your animations in peace
While I might disagree with the idea that Japanese soft power is overall greater than American soft power past and present, I could totally understand the former's application of it having less hegemonic overtones that often have other countries go full protectionist to save their media industries (Canada is a prime example with the whole dedecated Canadian airtime thing. Not to mention China's restrictions on foreign films, namely American ones, though China is more than established enough to not be drowned out by Hollywood blockbusters.)
I sadly have been up for a full day before this video went live at 2PM and thus will not be able to comment on it. It'll probably be good. It'll probably mention the early Japanophile art movement as a precursor, and I'm certain that given the whole Imperial overtones, it's going to cover how Japan uses it to go "What war crimes, gaijin? 🤷🏽" I may not be immune to propaganda, but I'm also not immune to sleep deprivation more so.
Oyasumi Nasai Moony. Let's pray for the glory of the emperor.
Yeah, American soft power is definitely greater. I hear so much more from foreigners about all the American content etc that has been exported. Anime and the like doesn't come close.
American-Japanese "alliance" was a mistake.
Change my mind.
@@FunctionallyLiteratePersonAmerica always had hard power that they didn’t need to use soft power vs Japan had to develop soft power. I think it’s subjective to say who has more soft power tbh
Man, what a prophetic comment
@@FunctionallyLiteratePersonthe key to Moony's argument is the big "but" in this comment. Japan is arguably better at it because their approach may very well be sustainable, whereas the American approach has begun tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down. It's akin to calling the ninja more lethal than the samurai. The samurai dominated Japanese military among the various clans, so they objectively held more power. However, that doesn't change the fact that the small enclave of ninja warriors were generally more skilled than the average samurai and thus "better."
The whole bit with about weebs/2nd language japanese-leaner, people defending the conservative policies of Japan did hit a bit close to home, because like the commentors on display i 100% consider myself a progressive here in the US, supporting policies like gay/trans rights, universal health care and other stuff, but also being somewhat enamored by the cultural "unity" that is often sold to westerners, but in the past few years i am reminded that i did try to look into japanese progressive politics and like japanese people itself feeling really sad and dissolusioned by it all because if we think progressive in the US have little to no power, its even worse in Japan. They do have things like universal medicine and other things but the aspects like even the treatment of non-japanese or Non-native born japanese or worse the Burakumin which is the hidden untouchable caste from the deeply zen-buddist days makes you realize that maybe industrially and culturally Japan seems cool, but socially its overwhelming and suffocating. Like the Killing Gods video moonie did or the Brazil-Japan one, the stuff underneath the cool japan is disheartening and you can see the barest glimpses of it from their creatives like Miyazaki and Kojima, and most recently in Godzilla Minus One which goes out of its way to critize the Japanese government just as much as it criticizes the US government..
I hate how much of "Japan" seems to be bulldozed into this monolith that represents that person's idealized haven - a "Nirvana" that will never end or change.
There are socialist people in Japan, gay people in Japan, trans people in Japan, racial / ethnic minorities in Japan, colonized indigenous groups in Japan, vast swaths of population who are sympathetic to the aforementioned groups for one reason or another, political groups / parties / movements that represent all of these people and a history of demands, violence and resistance, etc.
and their existence seems to be downright denied by the prevailing narrative that fetishizes Japan as this "bastion of traditionalism".
finally finished this after watching in chunks over the last few days. i feel like this video has genuinely shifted the way i perceive my own media consumption for the better. thank you for putting this out there! i especially love how mindful you are about anticipating watcher confusions or objections without overly patronizing your audience. you are truly one of the most well-practiced video essayists out there!
2:02:00 A note, the LDP was out of power from 2009-2012. The Socialist party also was in power for a time in the 90s. The LDP and its ancestors and descendents are dominant in Japan but not as much as you made it seem.
What does this mean, when 3/4 of the video is about how the Liberal Dems are Evil Imperialists in Disguise.
FUN FACT! speaking on korea not allowing japanese cultural imports until the late 90s - that's why Starcraft was so popular there!
That the Korean gaming market is even now still largely dominated by American video games feels like a major butterfly effect. If Japanese cultural imports were never banned, would these American games still have been so big in Korea?
This is Moon Channel. Of COURSE I'm here for the context.
This video is like
Propaganda anywhere else >:(
Propaganda Japan :D