I really enjoyed the Haruka arc of Amagami SS+, especially all the jokes related to foreigners, which were hilarious and pretty accurate. In one scene, Junichi imagines his younger sister Miya as a blonde gaijin wearing a cowboy hat (seen as the traditional outfit of Americans, as kimono are for Japan) and speaking overly-inflected Japanese while using the word ne too much, something we foreigners do sometimes. Seen from the point of view of proper, strait-laced Japanese, foreigners can come off as cheeky, insensitive and “about” (a word the Japanese use to mean vague or imprecise). In one scene, Haruka’s British relative Jessica meets Junichi for the first time, saying, “Just like Haruka told me, you’re very cute” as she gives him a “greeting” kiss on the cheek (which they don’t actually do in Britain, I’m pretty sure). When Haruka takes offense at this, Jessica casually says, “Ah, sorry, ne.” This was great, and very accurate. I commonly make minor errors or social foibles in Japan yet am usually happy to whisk them all away with a quick apology, which frustrates my Japanese wife. According to her my trademark phrase is “whatever,” though I’m not aware I’m saying it that often.
Japanese stereotypes of foreigners are fun to explore.
