“Anime, Manga & Games are Killing Japan”
- Categories: Anime, News
- Date: Sep 30, 2009 18:37 JST
- Tags: 2ch, 2D vs 3D, Eroge, Marriage, Mass Media, Otaku, Relationships
A BBC journalist opining on why Japan is a doomed nation has suggested that Japanese men who retreat from the real world into anime and game fantasies are the reason the nation faces a demographic death spiral.
His screed runs along these lines:
Imagine a country that knows it is shrinking. A country that knows it is ageing more rapidly than any other major industrialised nation on earth. Which has the highest proportion in the world of people over the age of 65, and the lowest ratio of under 15s. That country is Japan.
As I reported on Wednesday, on current trends, the population of Japan will have halved by the end of the century.
It is, literally, a country that is slowly dying.
According to one United Nations estimate, it’ll need to import 17 million foreign workers over the next 40 years, just to keep its economy afloat and provide enough carers to look after the elderly. (By 2050, there will be more than a million Japanese over the age of 100.)
I’m no social psychologist, so I wouldn’t dare to come up with an explanation for why Japanese couples aren’t having enough babies.
But one theory is that Japanese women are increasingly reluctant to marry, because they think Japanese men have shown themselves unable to adapt to the needs of a new, more flexible society – and have retreated into a fantasy world of comics, video games and animated pornography where they feel less threatened.
Of course, anyone capable of actually reading what the Japanese are saying and not merely what people are saying about the Japanese might come to very different conclusions about the causes of the schism between the sexes in Japan.
2ch’s commentary provides the usual scathing insights:
“If everyone retreats into a fantasy of games and anime a new era of peace will dawn.”
“If reality was so appealing all that manga would soon end up in the bin.”
“’Japanese women are increasingly reluctant to marry… Because men have retreated into anime and games’
Don’t you mean men have retreated into anime and games because they don’t want to marry these women?”
“What would happen if we had even more people in such a cramped country, with no natural resources?”
“Love Plus is reality.”
“But real women won’t marry you if your income is less than $100,000 a year?”
“Manga and games are part of reality too.”
“Basically this is all the fault of men isn’t it?”
“This is just another trick by the ones who want to have eroge banned.”
“And for some reason being engrossed in films, novels and soap operas is OK?”
“Anime and manga can do this? We should export them to enemy countries…”
“This guy is just like the ones who think there are still samurai in Japan…”
“How can anyone in their thirties with an income of $35,000 ever get married?”
“They are desperate to ignore what is going on in the UK, so they fixate on other countries…”
“There is no way anime or games have anything to do with low birth rates.”
“After struggling with reality I gave in and got Love Plus.”
“What about all the single men who have no interest in anime?”
“The problem is onanism feels so good.”
“As expected of the world’s most declined developed country, Britain…”
“I wonder if blaming everything on Japanese men will really help solve the problem?”
“I don’t know about the UK, but in Japan the social and economic hurdles to getting married have increased enormously in the past 20 years.”
“There’s no way a guy spending $600 on the DVDs of a single anime series can afford marriage.”
“The charms of women are all but gone. You can do the laundry at the press of a button and get dinner 24/7 at a conbini. If the need for cleaning disappears there’ll be no need to nurture the world’s most haughty money grubbing parasite at all.”
“Probably the real reason is that a lot of guys now realise that once married your life is over.”
“There are only a few tens of thousands of otaku like this at worst. Just look at the sales figures for eroge or anime and you can tell in an instant.”
“The guy probably never even visited Japan, it looks like the kind of article a middle schooler could write using Wikipedia.”
“This is probably just due to low incomes, otaku are a tiny minority.”
“(Quoting a column in the Nikkei BP:)
Why can’t young men wed anymore? I think it is because men can no longer say to women, ‘I can always protect you,’ in this dog-eat-dog world of restructurings and layoffs – such words are now unreal.
Women as a result now target two groups of men: “ikemen” (handsome, cool men), and rich men, the so-called ‘Hills tribe’ (referring to the ultra-prestigious Roppongi Hills residential tower).
But most men have neither money nor good looks, and as a result women will no longer consider them. Surprisingly, I’ve heard of cases where a chosen man will end up dating dozens or hundreds of women.
Since the ikemen and the rich monopolise the women, all that remains is a sterile desert, where normal men can no longer find a partner, so they flee to Akihabara and find love in the arms of an anime character.”
Donald Trump Supporters “Masturbate to Anime!”
Hypnos F*** Absolutely Mesmerizing
Puzzle & Dragons X Gets “More RPG Elements!”
Eager Index Bunny Girl Figure
Shingeki no Kyojin PV More Colossal Than Ever
Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 “Owner’s Mode” = “SJW Bait”
Musaigen no Phantom World Relentlessly Cute
Dragon Quest Stage Event Highly Promising
Project X Zone 2 Trailer Hits Hard
Kagura Ero-Figure Extremely Tentacular
Monmusu BD “Bigger With Every Release!”
MLP Futanari: “Bronies Weirder Than Ever…”
Blade & Soul Launch Unexpectedly Voluptuous
Nisemonogatari Pachinko Machine Unveiled
Lax Lady Venera Figure
Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut Ceaselessly Naughty
“Abusive” Breast-Groping Fundraiser Molested by Petition
Hanayo Koizumi’s Birthday Highly Revered
Toyota Prius CM Goes Full KanColle Mode
Usamimi Anette-san Micro-Bikini Figure
Busty Hotaru Cosplay Delightfully Delectable
Adorable Ati Cosplay by Kaieda Kai Kemonomimi Chaos
Momo Velia Deviluke Cosplay Bursting With Bridal Beauty
Skimpy Sonico Cosplay Barely Contained
Kumiko & Reina Cosplay Hardly Blows At All
Skimpy Elf Bikini Cosplay by Saku Supremely Sexy
Gothic Lolita Hatsune Miku Cosplay Busts Out
Delectable Dizzy Cosplay by Lechat
Dark Elf Cosplay by Non Very Dark Indeed
Titillating Tamako Cosplay Perfectly Pink
The idea is ludicrous.
If first comes Anime, Manga, and Games are killing Japan then what's next? Movies, Books, and Education?
No one is killing Japan except for politicians, religion, and radical sexist and racist bigots.
All over the world single income families are in decline. Jap women and men just don't want to deal with it. A portion of the female set wants to be the traditional housewife and are targeting those who can look after them. The independent women who want a career are too threatening to the ego of Jap men so they steer clear. I say strong women are the best, let the brave marry the strong and the next generation will be better than the last!
Anime, manga ang games are the only thing that makes Japan worthwhile
I believe this is just nature's way of dealing with overpopulation.
is it bad that i read ikeman as "Eichmann?"
I call shenanigans!
Real women wont marry you if your income is less than $100,000 a year? are you kidding me? try leaving in this fuk3d up country called Romania and you wont even raise that much in 10 years...
+1
17 years here.
If I was in a more senior position, maybe 10 years.
And that's 4 years worth of my current household income.. And we're already being considered mid-upper class...
Just as fuk3d up here... Maybe I should retreat to 2D love as well?
To hell with women!
Unless they lower their standards a bit Japan is doomed! Otakus (that's us...) can be romantic, manly and sweet too... given we have jobs that is...
Did you ever see a japanese "real" otaku? The most ones don't care about how they look because 2D woman don't care about that. If they would do spent a little efford in their appearance the rest shouldn't be problem actually for woman.
Why being so picky, bitch? Like you were Angelina Jolie.
We need imagination goggles. That way, we can see the world how we want, and call it reality, then everyone will be satisfied. You want a loli wife? Just imagine it and that's what you'll see through your imagination goggles. Now you can have your cake and eat it too.
WHAT THE FUCK HAS HAPPENED TO THIS WORLD!!!!???
Once again, it seems that your avatar suggests that you're happy with the direction the world is currently heading to.
Lol shut up about it being the women's fault, sheesh. Seriously, we're talking about a nation that thrives on fantasy that includes alot of perfect women. But seriously, when you look at the perfect anime romance, do they ever go beyond youth? No, I seriously think that maybe many Japanese men just don't have the emotional maturity to understand reality and will therefore have to learn. But since its easier to retreat into anime, the cycle continues. Do women have high standards? Maybe, but I think the male population have responsibility. Why isn't it happening in every country then right?
Actually, it does happen in every developed country. We are now in the age where 1st world countries are facing an aging population. More and more people are getting older and the number of babies born is getting lesser and lesser. You will also notice that people are giving birth much later than before. Also, people who marry, well, those who marry, tend to do so in their late 20s or during the 30s, or maybe even later.
In my opinion, it is most probably because the population of the 1st world countries are becoming more and more materialistic, spending more time buying more things or advancing their career that they ended up neglecting things like family or having children. When the population starts having this mindset that 'money + merchandises = happiness', they end up chasing these ideals instead of settling down and try to raise a family.
it is just not as fast
Also notice that Japan has a salaryman culture which actually seems worse than the ordinary rat race in the west. That might explain why they are doing worse.
If anime/manga/game has such an awesome power, won't the over-'infestation' of Homo sapiens on Earth be easily solved?
Real women won’t marry you if your income is less than $100,000 a year? are you kidding me? try leaving in this fuk3d up country called Romania and you wont even raise that much in 10 years...
They will never blame Hollywood...^^U
Society already points finders on education, enviroment and kapitalism...We can't do anythng against mass stupidity...
Unfortunatly they can't ban the three above so they try somewhere else - for example by us...
We have to face the truth, our subculture is treated like trash by Western society...Only because we are brave enough to stand for our likings and hobbies...
We are lifeless sickos who can't care for a family 'cause we spend all of our money on loli figurines with removable panties...XD
I love anime but I don't buy the merchandise, I don't like it that much, but damn some of those figurines are quite well done. I just can't justify paying the prices they want for them in pretty much all cases.
Not exactly. 35000 -tax -more tax -even more tax. Hello 2d relationship.
Look at the frigging source . . . The BBC
Why am I not surprised by the reporting.
There is only one solution.
Democratic Socialism!
What does democratic socialism mean and how is it different from democracy and socialism?
I think he means Social Democracy.
Kinda like in Switzerland where the people gather around to vote on certain issues?
Nah, that's democracy in it's purest form much like the Athenians had it.
There has never been a true Social Democracy to my knowledge. And to be honest, I don't really know what exactly it is other than that Socialism and later Communism spawned from it. My country had a Social Democrat rule for 7 years ending in 2005 (and had so several times post-WWII), but minor unimportant details in policy aside, they didn't really do anything that would set them apart from their liberal and conservative colleagues...
Theoretically (or so I think), it would be a Republic with a strongly regulated (but still free) economy plus lots and lots of government-funded social welfare, and is therefore supposed to be a bit of a more comfortable place to raise a family.
Where the heck was government and personal life even discussed here? It's a discussion about government forms!
LOL, neither am I in the U S of A, nor did I condone or condemn that specific political orientation... butthurt Amerifag.
The conclusion is; no matter what the goverment ideology it won't help you to solve ANY of your troubles, so Who cares?
If you think goverment or politics of ANY kind will improve your personal life, I'm sorry to tell you, but you my friend are a RETARD.
There is no "right choise" in politics. We are all alone on our won and if you don't workfor yourself until you get so fucking tired that you wish you die, nobody, really NOBODY will help you.
Don't be another fucktard who thinks will get more pussy or a better life if a negr0e like obama becomes president.
Government-funded social welfare does kind of send a couple of shivers up my spine. Whenever we say 'government-funded', we usually mean that it's paid for by the taxpayers' money. And thus, if botched, it's going to end up putting the people in the pinch.
it might be a prolem, but reality as sad as it is is that we need less people thanks to all the western fagggots who screwed up Earth.
by the gay how is the Uk to speak all i see of them is that they are pretty Gay! so unless they get men pregnant i see the same problem brooding over them.
Oh condescending ethnocentrism, how quaint.
i like the 11th comment from 2chan:
くやしかったら漫画やゲームよりも圧倒的におもしろい現実社会を作ってみろよｗｗｗ
"THEN MAKE SOCIETY MORE AWESOME THAN COMICS AND GAMES FAGS!!!"
lol best comment there.
thats what happens if dumb whores have too high standards. at least in japan men have many ways to just ignore them.
LOL. Japan isn't the only contry whose population is reducing. In may contry also the population is rapidly reducing. And it is not becouse of anime, games or manga. The problem is that you get really low sallaries here and that the government is killing the people themselves. What's most desturbing is that it is an European contry and a part of EU. XDDD
Epic fail see
World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision
Japan
Median age (years)
Medium variant
1990-2015
Year Median age
1990 37.4
1995 39.6
2000 41.4
2005 43.1
2010 44.7
2015 46.6
Japan
Population growth rate (%)
Medium variant
1990-2015
Period Population growth rate
1990-1995 0.36
1995-2000 0.20
2000-2005 0.12
2005-2010 -0.07
2010-2015 -0.19
Japan
Crude birth rate (births per 1,000 population)
Medium variant
1990-2015
Period Crude birth rate
1990-1995 9.9
1995-2000 9.4
2000-2005 8.9
2005-2010 8.2
2010-2015 7.5
Japan
Crude death rate (deaths per 1,000 population)
Medium variant
1990-2015
Period Crude death rate
1990-1995 7.0
1995-2000 7.5
2000-2005 7.9
2005-2010 9.1
2010-2015 9.8
Guys this is coming from a BBC reporter...LOL.
i wonder if equality now is also pulling the strings since they want to get rid of these parts of media where they think that they it shows women in bad light,but it actualy doesn't.
LOL I forgot to log in before commenting. *Face Palm*
It's exactly like you say as anon there.
A 2D woman will never betray you.
Not really, just being the fapping material of hundreds of other otaku.
3D bitches can do that anyway... (be fapping material to a bunch of nerds).
Cept Amane from Dream Club..
>Women as a result now target two groups of men: “ikemen” (handsome, cool men), and rich men, the so-called ‘Hills tribe’ (referring to the ultra-prestigious Roppongi Hills residential tower).
That happens in all civilized countries, and our countries don't have a shrinking population.
However, it seems to be that in japan women are majoritarily gold-diggers, which in that case the next paragraph would be the truth behind the whole problem:
>But most men have neither money nor good looks, and as a result women will no longer consider them. Surprisingly, I’ve heard of cases where a chosen man will end up dating dozens or hundreds of women.>
And of course they're not as retarded like to have kids with all of them.
But what i find most ironic, is the fact that most japanese women are fucking ugly and plain. Which is most likely a turnoff, so its no wonder there is a considerable amount of the population of young men, who prefers to fap to drawings of -idealized- women, instead of having to climb MOUNTAINS OF BULLSHIT to have the CHANCE of getting in a relationship with an ugly generic golddigger japanese lady.
If half of otakus had a brain, they would try to marry superior gaijin women. But they're too nationalists to try.
AGAIN, blaming anime and games for everything.