Walk into any bookstore around the world and you will find a new, large section for one of Japan’s best-known representatives — manga. Likewise, in DVD stores, drama, comedy and action have been pushed aside for Japanese anime. All around the world, people of all ages are pouring over translations of manga and pressing the rewind button on anime movies.
In a matter of years, the overseas image of Japan has become dependent on its pop culture exports. Manga and anime are now Japan’s new ambassadors.
How did caricatures, fantasy stories and splashy drawings get into the position of such international importance? The spread of Japanese pop culture relies on the power of Japanese marketing, of course. Yet, also at work is a creative force with universal appeal. Publishers and distributors promote the works as commodity exports, but beyond marketing, they have connected profoundly with a huge worldwide audience.
However, as Japanese manga and anime become loved beyond expectations, they have also come to represent the culture as much as cameras or Mount Fuji did in previous generations. That representation is something of a mixed blessing. The knowledge of a culture often springs from unexpected sources, but when the first contact with Japan is through fantasy-based drawings, one wonders about the larger ramifications.
Yet, perhaps being represented by a popular art form has always been a way of positioning a country on the world stage. America has long been viewed through the lens of its films and television shows. From Marilyn Monroe to Johnnie Depp, from “Dallas” to “Sex in the City,” stories and images from American film and TV have defined how life appears to be there, accurate or not. Even more than government actions, overseas aid or diplomatic initiatives, pop culture has the power to really form a picture in the minds of other nations’ people.
One wonders, then, about the effect of avid reading of manga and viewing of anime without any better understanding of Japan’s complex culture. The violence and sexuality in some manga do not correspond precisely to the daily life here. They present almost a dream image of one aspect of the culture, one that is likely to be misinterpreted.
It is tempting to ask what harm could a bunch of cute drawings really do. Yet, images from a culture have their own complex and unpredictable effects. As the world globalizes, first impressions, wherever they come from, have increasing impact. Perhaps these visually based stories are not intended to do more than just entertain. One hopes that astute readers and savvy viewers know enough to not take them as true representatives. Still, how they will be understood is hard to predict.
However they are received, these works rest on creative leaps and splashes of imagination that clearly resonate outside of Japan. Unlike many aspects of culture here, the manga/anime mode derives its dynamism from something both deeply Japanese and universally relevant. Like the best story forms from any country, their interest springs from a combination of concrete local detail and universal human themes. Japan’s stories are entertaining the world.
Longtime Japanophiles might wish for other cultural forms to be so broadly accepted. The artistry of a Kurosawa film or the richness of a Tanizaki novel feels missing from most of the story exports these days. Yet, maybe the very best of any culture can never be exported on a grand scale but remains reserved for a smaller interest group. Hopefully, though, interest in manga and anime might lead fans to search out other parts of Japanese culture. It already seems to be encouraging language study in many places around the world.
Hopefully, too, the myth of Japanese uniqueness can be reconsidered here in Japan. After all, if Taiwanese, Brazilian and French children all love to read manga, they must have a lot in common with Japanese children. If the same fantasy stories appeal to so many different cultures and across so many different languages, then, uniqueness may be a different thing now. The “island nation mentality” may no longer be a rigid barrier to communication, but instead fuel creativity and interest.
It is not that Japanese culture was ever completely hidden away, but it is ironic that the cultural expression with the greatest visual fantasy has turned out to be the most widespread. That may be due in part to the easy access of information on the Internet, but has just as much to do with the stories, images and styles of the works themselves. They have a knack for connecting to people and keeping them hooked.
Call this cartoon diplomacy or analyze the reasons in detail, but the international concept of Japan will be formed by manga and anime for years to come. That may lead to some curious misunderstandings, but is also a tremendous opportunity for international exchange, even if it is only drawings.