One thing that’s fun to do is explore what our first connection with Japan was, that first show or movie or other influence that made us aware of Japan as a source of compelling stories and culture. A while ago I put this question to readers of the J-List Facebook page to see what responses they’d give, and they included everything from the expected Pokemon and Sailor Moon to Voltron and even Big Bird Goes to Japan. I’ve been around longer than most fans, so my own influences go way back: Speed Racer (the sub-plot about Racer X being Speed’s missing brother that was actually resolved at the end was as cool to me as the Mach 5 itself), Kimba the White Lion (for some reason I thought Japan had to get permission from Africa to make a show about lions, due to copyright), and of course the original Macross. It’s possible that for some, video games brought awareness of Japan before anime or films: I distinctly remember identifying the 1978 launch of “Invader Game” (Space Invaders) as the point at which almost everything cool started flowing from Japan. So what was your first connection to the Land of the Rising Sun?
The current season of anime continues to entertain, and I’m already having trouble keeping up with the shows I intend to cover. One show that seems interesting is Mayoiga: The Lost Village, which is something like the love child of Lost, Lord of the Flies, Higurashi When They Cry and Another, though (so far) without the umbrella-related horrors of the last show. In Mayoiga, a busload of characters joins a “life redo tour” in which they leave their old lives behind and travel to a deserted village called Nanakimura, where they plan to forge a Utopian existence. Each member of the (large) cast fills certain expected tropes: a NEET; two military otaku, one of whom has a catgirl complex; a “gothic” girl always making dark predictions; a ridiculous Chunibyo complete with eye patch; and (surprise!) a kindly main character who’s shy and likable but not very decisive. As with Shirobako (which is by the same director), I like the way watching Mayoiga can show us the mechanics of how Japanese relationships work, such as how the tour organizer Takahashi works hard to create a consensus among all the members before finalizing a decision the group must follow, or the way Shiori breaks up an argument between Taku and Ayaka using the phrase “maa, maa!” to smooth out tensions, a very Japanese thing to do.
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