Whenever I come back to the U.S., I like to cruise the grocery stores to see what new products have been introduced since I was “in country” last. I know that companies usually can’t resist pushing their brands in new directions, which is called “line extension” in marketingspeak — anyone remember the summer when everyone was wearing Cola-Cola branded clothes back in the 80s? One year I’ll find bizarre new concoctions like Yogurt Burst Cheerios, or horrible new shapes and colors added to the Lucky Charms marshmallow pantheon, or Trix brand fruit-flavored yogurt, ugh. This trip I noticed they’d invented beef jerky with A1 steak sauce pre-soaked into it. What will they think of next, Sprite Cola?
One question I’m asked a lot is, what impression do Japanese have of Americans? The answers are always varied, of course, but include that we greet people we’ve just met as if we’ve known them for years, we’re often not on time, we can be rather “about” (meaning vague or loose about rules), and we often laugh too loudly in public. Another thing I’ve been told repeatedly is that Americans are “optimistic” and can find something positive in just about any situation. This tendency towards positive thinking was especially important in the years after World War II, when the constructive attitudes of the American and British occupiers became infectious and spread to the Japanese, reassuring them that “everything will be alright.” Recently I was talking with some friends about China and what the future might hold with regards to Japan. “It’s a foregone conclusion,” said one friend, “that Japan will lose to China.” Another friend shared this opinion that in future decades, China’s population and industrial growth would somehow “defeat” Japan, presumably removing the economic gains Japan has won for itself. This struck me as interesting, since I’m definitely optimistic about the future — although the country will continue to grow in economic stature, I’m sure America will never “lose” to China. Another friend was sure that China was following Japan’s disastrous bubble economy and would self-destruct on its own, so Japan had nothing to fear economically.
Onomatopoeia are words that are based on sounds, although there can be quite a wide range between perceptions. For example, we Americans are convinced dogs make sounds like “bark bark!” or “woof woof!” while to the Japanese they sound like “wan wan!” (a big dog) and “kyan kyan!” (a small dog like a Pomeranian or a Chihuahua). When you’ve been around the Japanese language as much as I have, the local perceptions of sounds tend to seep into your skull, and I have no problem describing the slamming of a door as “batan!” or the sound of being dripping wet as “bisho bisho” or the sound of a Pocky stick breaking in two as “poki!” (which is where it gets its name). Because the Japanese are extremely creative, they have sound words for concepts we’d never think of assigning words to, and my brain sometimes picks up on those, too. For example, when I make a joke but no one laughs, I mentally think to myself “shiiiiin!” (“sheen”), which is the sound of total, deafening silence in the Japanese language.
J-List has been involved with promoting Japan’s amazing PC dating-sim games from the beginning, and we offer virtually every English-translated “H” game available, from great companies like G-Collections, JAST USA, Peach Princess and Kitty Media. We’re happy to announce that there’s a new blog where you can follow the development of your favorite titles, the official JAST USA side blog at Otakuism.com. We’ll be posting news and updates of interest to bishoujo gaming fans as well as occasional hints at future titles, so check back often!
Remember that the “dating-sim of the month” right now is Critical Point, the outstanding sci-fi game created by one of the original writers of Mobile Suit Gundam, Bubblegum Crisis and Macross, which brings an authentic pedigree and classic anime feel to it. Featuring a great mystery set on a distant moon base which you must unravel, and more than 20 endings, it’s one game we can really recommend to many fans of Japan’s PC dating-sims. And this month it’s available for a special price, so get your copy now (the month is almost over…)!
