For the last little while Iâve been watching a remarkable program, âWonder Egg Priority,â that adopts an unconventional approach in considering the tragedy of child suicides. Before that, I watched and very much enjoyed a series, âRascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai,â which despite the weird title takes a metaphysical view of adolescent issues. My favorite movie is the highly praised âYour Name,â a comedy-romance-thriller-mystery, though Iâm told Iâll have a new favorite when I see âA Silent Voice.â
Theyâre all Japanese cartoons.
We in the West call Japanese cartoons âanime.â And here, anime is often looked down upon. I propose that its reputation is undeserved. If you miss out on the best of anime, you are missing a lot of great art, as good as the best artistry found in live-action motion pictures and television shows, and often better.
Feb 9, 2021
If you’ve been unable to physically visit Japan in the past decade, then your plan B has likely been to dive into YouTube.
Content creators based in Japan (often referred to as “J-vloggers”), most of whom are from countries other than Japan, have shepherded overseas Japanophiles to places in this country that many locals haven’t even visited.
Life moves pretty fast on the internet, though, and the heyday of the J-vlogger simply sharing their life online has waned as the market has become oversaturated with similar-looking content. (I mean, there’s only so many times you can watch a video of conveyor-belt sushi.)