Rebecca's Thoughts

When living in such a globalized era it is important to broaden our horizons to the rest of the world and learn about the different cultures it contains. With new innovations, and the importance of the internet, the world has become a much smaller place, and it is not uncommon to talk and engage with people from all over the world. One of the issues that have arisen from this shrinking of the world is the lack of understanding when it comes to other cultures, and how their societies function. When I talk to someone from Canada, I am aware of the context, and the manner of conversations that are constructed. I can understand the references, and any other hidden meaning that may arise, as I have spoken English in Canada my whole life. This can be difficult when you start to introduce other cultures, and language barriers to the mix, as the enate commonality between speaking the same language, and being from the same country is no longer prevalent. With unknown variables in the mix, conversations can be stilted, and sometimes even confusing. This is something that is slowly being remedied through various means of inclusion like the growing acceptance of foreign media into a more mainstream western catalogue.

Popular culture can be used as an excellent way to bridge the gaps between people learning about other countries’ cultures. In recent years Japan has had a large influence on the West through the rising popularity of anime and manga. This has also been reciprocated by the West, through the means of producing its own unique version of these Japanese imports. This paper will talk about the process of bridging cultures through the use of localizing Japanese media to western audiences, as well as the rise of Western-made versions of manga, and anime. This paper will also touch upon the effects popular culture has had on language learning and the barriers that have been both created, and destroyed through the use of popular culture.

When looking for a research topic I stumbled across a CBC article from 2018 titled “How watching YTV in the ‘90s influences an entire generation of artists to ‘keep it weird.[1]’” Even though I am a ‘90s child in birthdate only, I realized that the products that I consumed were not much different than the people born before me. YTV is a Canadian children’s media provider launched in 1987 but did not take off fully until the 90s as it catered to Canadian children, through its large catalogue of Canadian content[2]. It managed to deliver children’s programs in a new, and original way, captivating young audiences through its use of weird, different, and new shows. It was also a driving introductory force in exposing Japanese-made, English-dubbed content to Canadian youth. YTV saw anime as a way to cater to all age groups as shows like Pokémon and Beyblade were aired in the mornings targeting young children, and a 14-plus Friday nighttime block with shows like Fullmetal Alchemist, and Death Note for older audiences.

Unlike the ’90s, and the early 2000’s anime today is something that is easily accessible, and in large supply. There is no longer a need to stay up all night to watch the latest episode of Naruto when companies today offer direct simulcasts uploaded to their websites within hours. With the rise of legal streaming sites like Crunchyroll and FUNimation, anime is more accessible now than it ever was. In 2018 Canada was placed in the top ten countries with the highest demand for anime[3], and is a large player in the localization and distribution process.  

This introduction of foreign media has created a unique problem. Cultures and languages do not always translate perfectly from one to another. This required a trend of mass localization to occur to enable the foreign audience to understand and accept foreign-made content. This is also difficult as the story structure of Japanese anime is different than the traditional three-act structure and may require more work to localize. According to Les Claypool an anime localizer, “[his] personal opinion is that you need to ‘Americanize’ it enough to draw in a portion of the larger audience to make the projects financially feasible, yet stay true to the Japanese essence so that you do not alienate your hardcore fan base.[4]” This ‘Americanization’ is something that can often negate the cultural nuance within a show, as seen in the once common practice of calling onigiri (rice balls) jelly doughnuts in children’s shows like Pokémon in the ’90s, or the replacement of cigarettes in the show One Piece with lollipops. This is fortunately not common practice anymore, as localizers tend to stick more directly with the story, and only change things deemed necessary. Claypool goes on to say “[He] think whenever two cultures honor each other by sharing media and retelling each other’s stories, it gives them a new kind of power… but that means that when retelling a story, [localizers] need to honor how it made [them] feel.[5]” Japanese anime tends to follow Japanese society and is often rooted in their culture and traditions. It is filled with traditional notions like respect and pride, but it is also reflective of current (or not-so-current) events. It can be seen as a reflection of the culture that makes it, and when localization is done properly, it can be a glimpse into a different and new culture

Another Japanese commodity that requires mass localization is manga. Both anime and manga were introduced to the West through means of grassroots fan funding, translating, and trading. At the time it was very much a fringe hobby, that was inaccessible to the mainstream. Things are different now and are no longer limited to foreign importers and fandubs. Large international retailers now carry manga, delivering to people who may be new to the medium. As put in Cathy Sells’ article about manga translations “commercially translated manga tend to be consumed as overly foreignized texts, with their readers well aware that they are reading translations, and this encourages the fanbase to appropriate the texts as more than foreign import products, establishing them as cultural possessions.[6]” Reading manga is a different experience than reading an English novel or graphic novel. The direction of reading is different, right-to-left instead of the English left-to-right. Story structures tend to be different as manga tends to be serialized, instead of published as a whole. Settings tend to be rooted in Japanese places, and rooted in Japanese culture. The means of translating manga -much like modern-day anime localization- tend to prefer the preservation of Japanese culture over the domestication for the sake of adding things for a target culture. In the same article Sell states “Translated manga [does] more than just add to the environment that have been introduced to, they blend with it through overlap and interactions, while they express and are accompanied by related cultural information from their source culture.[7]

In recent years, this spreading of cultures has been a two-way exchange, with the growth of Japanese-inspired, western made products. This ranges from animated tv shows to Original English Language manga (OEL). They all attempt to capture the essence of Japanese media but with their cultural spin. It is the idea of finding the space between cultures, attracting domestic, and international readership/viewership through a sliver of commonality.  In 2007 Russian Canadian author Svetlana Chmakova published Dramacon an OEL about a young girl attending her first anime conventions, and her hijinks-filled experience. This OEL was well received and offered a glimpse into the wild, and weird world of western anime conventions. A few years later in 2009, Chmakova published another series titled Nightschool, this series was even more well-received, gaining recognition from the American Library Association. It was praised for its racially diverse characters and interesting storytelling[8]. Similarly, the American-made animated show RWBY was licensed to Warner Brothers Japan and given a wide DVD release in Japan.  RWBY became so famous in Japan that it became one of the most popular shows of the decade according to the American Anime distributor Crunchyroll[9]

The growth of anime and manga in the west has also led to more curiosity when it comes to the Japanese language.  According to Natsu Fukunaga’s entry in the International Literacy Association journal, “[Japanese] animation and other popular texts motivate and teach students about the language, society, and culture.[10] He goes on to say that young students who are attracted to Japanese through popular culture have been “absorbing Japanese language and customs directly with their eyes and ears.[11]The learning of language through culture allows for second language learners to pick up on the nuances of language and allows for communication to flow more freely, and naturally. According to Patricia A. Duff’s article about adolescent, and adult literacy, children and adults who grew up in the same conditions have the ability to draw from personal experiences as a means of establishing commonalities within in-groups.  Whereas second language learners may have a harder time establishing commonalities and conversing with native speakers[12]. In 2001 Duff conducted a study within Canadian classrooms about this gap in popular cultural knowledge between native English speakers, and English as a second language (ESL) speakers. She found that the native English speakers were able to grasp more difficult concepts through their shared knowledge of Canadian, and American popular culture[13]. This integration of popular culture made learning the exact same concepts more difficult for ESL students. This observation supports Fukunaga’s claims that consuming the popular culture of the language one is learning is not only beneficial to the theory of language learning but also the application of it. He saw that students who took part in extracurriculars pertaining to Japanese media outside of their regular scheduled classes had an increased knowledge of Japanese mannerisms, and gestures, as well as cultural/social awareness[14]. Fukunaga further stated that when teachers integrated popular culture into language learning students were more preceptive and understanding of particular topics. 

Whether people consume anime, and manga for fun, or for some greater meaning there are still lessons that can be learned from them.  Any time that people consume ideas, and notions that are different from their own, it is an excellent means of learning, and understanding new things. This bridging the gap between societies opens the door to cultures that we may be unfamiliar with and enables us to be more inclusive. Whether it is learning a new language, or watching anime with friends, anime, and manga are great tools that make the world a smaller, more inclusive place.

---

[1] Benaway, G. (2018, June 12). How watching YTV in the ’90s influenced an entire generation of artists to ‘keep it weird’ CBC Arts. Retrieved October 29, 2020, from https://www.cbc.ca/arts/how-watching-ytv-in-the-90s-influenced-an-entire-generation-of-artists-to-keep-it-weird-1.4702583

[2] Ibid

[3] Parrot Analytics The global content marketplace: Audience demand for anime. (2018, August 9). Retrieved November 02, 2020, from https://www.parrotanalytics.com/insights/the-global-content-marketplace-audience-demand-for-anime/

[4] Kelts, R. (2019, February 3). The story behind anime localization. Japan Times. Retrieved from https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2019/02/03/general/story-behind-anime-localization/

[5] Ibid

[6]SELL, CATHY. “Manga Translation and Interculture.” Mechademia 6 (2011): 93-108.. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41511574.

[7] Ibid

[8]Duff, Patricia A. “Pop Culture and ESL Students: Intertextuality, Identity, and Participation in Classroom Discussions.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 45, no. 6 (2002): 482-87. Accessed November 3, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40014736.

[9] Ibid

[10]Fukunaga, Natsuki. “”Those Anime Students”: Foreign Language Literacy Development through Japanese Popular Culture.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 50, no. 3 (2006): 206-22. Accessed November 3, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40013700.    

[11]Ibid

[12]Yen Press. NIGHTSCHOOL by Svetlana Chmakova. (n.d.). Retrieved November 03, 2020, from https://yenpress.com/nightschool/

[13]Coats, C. (2020, November 02). Decade in Review: The Most Watched Anime of the Decade by Country. Retrieved November 03, 2020, from https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-feature/2019/12/31/decade-in-review-the-most-watched-anime-of-the-decade-by-country?utm_source=community_cr      

[14]Fukunaga, Natsuki. “”Those Anime Students”: Foreign Language Literacy Development through Japanese Popular Culture.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 50, no. 3 (2006): 206-22. Accessed November 3, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40013700.