People around the world are bewitched by Japanese fantasy. From East, Southeast and South Asia to Europe east and west, the United States and Latin America, it is now mostly anime and manga that draw young people to the study of Japan and the Japanese language.
One of the questions I am most frequently asked when I speak abroad about Japanese culture is this: "What is the nature of Japanese fantasy and how do they view realism in their culture?"
To get to the bottom of this, we need to talk aesthetics.