JPop Writing: Growing Up Japanamerican

When I was in kindergarten, I watched the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers every Saturday during breakfast. I loathed Chinese school because it meant I had to leave before the episode finished. I had nearly forgotten the spandex-clad heroes until I read Anne Allison’s article, “The Japan Fad in Global Youth Culture and Millennial Capitalism.” What it said about Americanization hit home. As a Chinese girl born in central New Jersey, I knew the Power Rangers came from Asia but attributed it to an American descendant of Ultraman. I was surprised to learn it was a direct, American, re-creation of a show.

I feel if it targeted an older audience, viewers would have been more accepting of the actual Japanese version. However, children reject foreign material unknowingly. When my friend, Dorothea, also a Chinese girl, and I would play Power Rangers, she would quickly claim pink. Being stuck as yellow was upsetting. Did this mean I wanted to be Caucasian? No. At that age, depictions of Asians versus Americans did not concern me. I liked Trini. I just liked Kimberly more.

I also could relate to Allison’s other article, “Sailor Moon: Japanese Superheroes for Global Girls.” I watched the series years before it came out in the United States – in Japanese. I didn’t know a word, but I still loved it. When it was publically broadcast, I religiously got up at six AM to finally see it in a language I could understand. Seeing superheroes was empowering. However, in both versions, I detested Usagi-chan/Serena. I could not relate to her ditzy character, and even now, I cannot particularly ascribe to the “life-sized” ideal. What drew me in were the other Scouts– intelligent Mercury, strong Jupiter, and exotic Mars. Sailor Moon had drama and continuity that American cartoons lacked: long-term love interests, bad guys who were not purely evil, life-and-death situations. “Recess,” “Doug,” “Pepper Ann” told schoolroom stories. The worst thing that could happen would be little more than a bad test grade. New episodes did not reveal new characters, but with each Sailor Moon, I could expect a new and exciting foe.

However, I feel, if the cartoon had not been Americanized, I would have been exposed to more. As a child, I did not notice sexual undertones in either version. I found it perfectly acceptable that Uranus’s alter ego was a boy, and in both versions, dedicated to her partner, Neptune. In the American version, they were made into cousins. Zoisite, a bishounen enemy from the first season, was turned into a woman, so his relationship with another character would not be homosexual. I believe teaching tolerance by presenting a sensitive topic as “normal” is just as effective, if not better, than outright telling someone to tolerate it.

Americanization is tricky. On one hand, children will not accept a product they cannot relate to. I can understand why producers would have artists change sign labels to English, and have characters use forks instead of chopsticks. However, during the process, the United States also thrusts its moral opinion in, even if the topic is not one that children even think about. This may be more harmful than good, keeping youth from accepting other cultures’ moral differences.

JPop Writing: The Idol Concept

I'm taking a class on Japanese Pop Culture where we are required to write responses to our weekly reading. I hope my late-night entries are insightful enough to post here as well. The book we are reading this week is Japan Pop! .

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I'd like to preface this by saying I have little experience with Japanese popular music. I am far more in-touch with American fan culture and its consumption of manga. What I have actually listened to is mostly JRock - Miyavi, Malice Mizer, Pierrot, etc - recommendations filtered through instant messages of American "otaku." Reading this book and searching YouTube broadened my spectrum of musical styles. Nevertheless, my Japanese roommate raised her eyebrow when she heard Enka.

A horrid musician myself, I have no right to comment on the techniques used to play these songs. However, the reading draws forth something deeper than the space between notes. I have always been intrigued by the concept of the “idol” and the role of the woman in Japanese society. The Enka article describes it well: a good woman is loyal in the face of adversity, timid in her heroism. However, the conventions behind these tearful anecdotes apply outside of sake bars. The expectations of a Japanese woman – no matter her status – differ greatly from those in the West. If an Asian woman enters a scandal, her career is likely over. In America, scandal can make a career out of nothing.

The James Stanlaw article, “Open You File, Open Your Mind” explains that, prior to the 1990s, the standard Japanese idol was selected at a young age and trained for her future position. A good idol combined innocence and sexiness – a concept summarized by the O-Nyanko Club song, “Don’t Take Off My Sailor Suit.” However, he claims the 90s trend of adding English lyrics allowed female singers to express feelings without the formality of Japanese. I disagree. Few Japanese singers, even today, understand English. English usage can be just as easily attributed to a ploy to make the song seem more modern.

Nevertheless, this is part of a more general hypothesis. Female idols from the 1990s began to break the barrier formed by societal assumptions, as evidenced by the careers of Princess Princess, YuMing, and Shonen Knife. I agree and would like to propose that the Internet and otaku culture has caused the idol-making process to evolve yet again. In class, we briefly mentioned that opening a popular anime can be an automatic stellar debut. Last year, Shoko Nakagawa sky-rocketed to fame when her song “Sorairo Days” became the theme for Gainax’s Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. She likes video games, draws her own manga, blogs regularly, and cosplays religiously. Her personality gathered a large fan base, and her site now has over one hundred million hits. This electronic connection she has with her fans allows her to be more than just a cute face.