Ok, Japan is weird, but...

You won't get any denials from me - Japan can be a strange, strange place. Where else do grown men wearing suits look at pornographic comics on the subway without attracting uncomfortable or disapproving looks? Where else can you pay to sit at a cafe and be waited upon by a maid dressed in Lolita goth who addresses you as "master," or perhaps a girl who pretends to be your sister? Collectible girls' bikini butts? I could go on and on...

However, having just been home in the States for a couple weeks, I experienced another Smurfs moment. So yes, this is ready-trodden territory, but I feel a compulsion to share. Ever been to a Renaissance Fair? Well I have. Now, I'm somewhat of a nerd - I play a lot of RPGs, I like a good fantasy novel every now and then, and I know my way around D&D - let's just get that out there. Renaissance Fairs can be good fun, but I've never been the type that can jump in and fully enjoy myself. I guess it's just too close to LARPing for my comfort zone - a line that must never be crossed. I actually have friends who have sworn blood oaths to release me from my mortal coil should I ever slip so far from reality. But I digress. Japan has some weird $^@%. So do we in America. I think these pictures can speak for themselves:

If you don't think that stuff is weird, you are a product of your native society...and a freak. Oh, and if I offended any LARPers that may happen to be reading, I cast a charm of forgetfulness on your ass, so, uh...don't scroll back up - this post isn't worth reading, anyway.

Is Japan really that weird?

As I layed out when I started this operation, a lot of people have some crazy images of Japan. And yeah, there is some crazy $#*@ here. But is Japan really all that weird? Ok, it is - but just hear me out here.

A while ago I was helping run a summer international seminar at another high school, and durning our lunch break some students came in to talk to me and the other teachers. One of them had some kind of Anpanman paraphernalia (in retrospect I can't remember if it was a pencil case or doll or what), and somehow we drifted onto the topic. For those unfamiliar with him, Anpanman is the titular protagonist of a children's TV show here in Japan (incidentally, the show recently achieved a Guinness World Record). So we began to talk to the students about Anpanman, who explained to us the details of his existence. Here's what you need to know:

"Anpan" is a kind of pastry here. It's a sweetish bun filled with red bean paste. It's meant to be kind of desserty, I believe, but I'm not a fan - Japanese desserts aren't sweet enough for my Western tastebuds.

So Anpanman in English is roughly "Red Bean Paste Pastry Man." Apparently he was created by a kindly old baker to fight evil, or hunger - I'm not quite sure. As far as I can tell, he and his friends fight against the forces of Germ Man, and Anpanman frequently lets people eat his head, which is then replaced by the Baker. Weird, huh?

Then we started thinking of TV shows from our childhood, and Smurfs came up. The students looked at us in bewilderment and we tried to explain about the little blue people who lived in mushrooms, perpetually tormented by a wizard who wanted to capture them and either eat them or turn them into a potion of some kind. Oh, and there was only one girl smurf.

Suddenly, Anpanman didn't seem so ridiculous anymore.