Why I Fell in Love With 'Okitsura: Fell in Love with an Okinawan Girl'

Apparently there’s a new rule that every January we must get an anime about cute Gals living in some far-off corner of Japan. A year ago it was Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!, about a Tokyo boy who moves to Hokkaido and gets a harem of cute girls in Japan’s frozen north. And now we get Okitsura: Fell in Love with an Okinawan Girl, but I Just Wish I Know What She’s Saying, a similar story but set in Okinawa. Let’s explore why you should watch this adorable anime in this blog post!

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Okitsura: The Cross-Cultural Rom-Com You Didn’t Know You Needed

Teruaki moved from Tokyo to Japan’s island paradise of Okinawa, where he fell in love with a cute girl named Kyan. There’s only one problem: Kyan’s Okinawan dialect is impossible for him to understand, so her friend Kana Higa has to interpret everything Kyan says for him. Complicating things even more is that Kana is in love with Teruaki, and wants him for herself.

And so, we embark on a cute story about a Tokyo boy and two adorable “tanned waifus” from Okinawa. As the story unfolds, we’ll learn about the Okinawan language, food, and culture, all through the eyes of Teruaki, with lots of cute romantic moments to keep us interested. We’ll learn things like, in Okinawa Higa is a very common family name, so Teruaki should call Kana by her first name. This is good for her, as it helps him get closer to her emotionally.

The anime is based on a manga by Sora Egumi, who was born in Osaka but developed a passion for Okinawa and moved there. The manga started out as a free Twitter manga before getting picked up for proper distribution. So far, the animation by Millepensee has been quite enjoyable. (I’m trying my best to not hold the final episode of So I’m A Spider So What? against them.)

What Are Okinawans Like?

In Okitsura, and in anime in general, Okinawans are portrayed as having dark skin. This anime stereotype is far from the actual skin color of most Okinawans, but it’s a popular trope. Westerners might have a tendency to perceive any anime character with dark skin as “black,” but this is not accurate in the case of Japan.
As shown in Okitsura (and also A Sister’s All You Need), Okinawans have a strong love for A&W Root Beer. This is especially amusing since mainland Japanese hate the drink, saying it smells like Salonpas pain-relief patches.
Being an island in the Pacific, Okinawans have a deep love of Spam. You can find 25+ varieties in supermarkets there.
As a rule, Japanese are terrible at foreign languages…except when they come from Okinawa. Whenever I’ve met a Japanese who is fluent in English, Spanish, or other foreign languages, I often learn that they’re from Okinawa. Perhaps this is related to the 25 years the islands spent as a US possession after WWII?
Having lots of mixed blood, Okinawans are often very photogenic. Whenever we visit, my wife points out how attractive the oniisan working at Family Mart was, handsome enough to be a model in mainland Japan.

A Laid-Back Way of Living

Where Are You In Such A Hurry To In Tiny Okinawa

Laid-back Okinawans live life at a slower pace compared to the busy people of mainland Japan, which is reflected in Okitsura. In one charming scene, Kyan helps a young boy who’s rushing to find his mother. She gently asks him, “Where are you in such a hurry to, here in tiny Okinawa?”

Mrs. J-List and I experienced this firsthand during a vacation to Ishigaki, the largest island in Okinawa. We planned to take a bus for some sightseeing around the island but found ourselves flustered when it was 20 minutes late. Then it hit us — we were the ones out of sync, expecting mainland-style punctuality in a place where there’s no need to rush anywhere.

Will Okitsura Lead to a New Boom in Otaku Tourism?

Ever since the Please Teacher anime, which got fans excited to visit the first “anime holy land” at Lake Kizaki in Nagano Prefecture, anime has had a geographic element. Every anime is now located in a real place that you can visit, often the hometown of the creator. Popular anime titles like Zombieland Saga, Anohana, Lucky Star, and K-On! have led to booms in “otaku tourism.” I’m certainly a fan of anything that gets anime fans out exploring the world, and helps local regions of Japan financially!

Thanks for reading this post about the Okitsura: Fell in Love with an Okinawan Girl, but I Just Wish I Know What She’s Saying anime. I hope you’ll give this cute anime a watch!

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