Well, it depends what you class as weird. There are many other weird shenanigans in other countries but Asia has more than its fair share of them, I go along with that.

American and Japan are like Ying and Yang, It may be a simplistic way of looking at it but I strongly suspect the two cultures are both attracted to and repulsed by that "Oppisitness" of the other.

As to weirdos...you ever been to a British soccer match?

I think this is a way of explaining yourself, rather than a simple sense of curiosity that exists in normal people.

That, or weird is normal and normal is weird.

Foreign weirdoes as in Wapanese (Western kids over-admiring Japan)?

America attracting so many people? bcuz IMO people think that AMerica is some sort of... amazing place with freedom and all kinds of people so people are all like "WOW! Look at that! *points to certain thing*"

If someone from America came to Japan as a foreign exchange student, ya think they would be crowded with attention like in America? probably. It would be the same when someone from Japan came to America. Heck, it's just how people act around the world. (That's my opinion)

Prolly just a type of rebellion. Kids do that every generation.

No. I'm content with my way.

That's really what matters isn't it? If you spend your whole life trying to please others by being something your not, what are you?.

lol. In this world, I don't think anything is normal anymore. For real

Define normal. The man on the Clapham Omnibus is a general philosophical yardstick. Have you heard of it?

A fuc*head.

Either that or Colin Powell :) In the right crowd, he could've been a good guy.

I like Colin Powell.

However, sometimes I think he spent too much time trying to not make waves, rather than change the direction of the boat.

Colin Powell didn't pack the punch that others did. He reluctantly read 'that' speech, knowing it to go against his moral compass/conscience. In all honesty, the key decisions were over his head anyway. He was an ideas man that never had the clout to follow through on them.

Japan also attracts a lot of bookworms of particular tastes. Some of the best non-mainstream novels (not light novels) in the world are still being produced in Japan.

I'd like to read some Murakami. I gather that he won yet another prize this year. What is his main thematic focus? I heard that he likes to cut against the grain of the mainstream and is highly original. Sounds like my kind of guy.

I'd say abstract. and Psychological. His characters tend to do a lot of soul-searching in sort of unusual ways and often his main characters are ordinary, boring people pulled into very very odd situations. I think in some of them his main character didn't even have a name.

Mina san wa totemo kyoumibukai komento wo kakimasita kedo. Seiyou ni sunderu otaku wa hontou ni nagai koto terebi geemu wo suru no ga suki desu. ( tsudukeru mae, watashi mo otaku da to itta hou ga ii to omoimasu). Super Mario Brothers ya Street Fighter ya Sonic The Hedgehog ya Soul Calibuar ga dai suki desita. nihon no kaisha wa takusan no geemu wo amerika ni undou site imasu. sore ni, terebi geemu no naka de sorera no geemu ga ichiban yuumei desu. dakara, otaku wa terebi geemu ni kanka saserarete iru koto ga wakarimasu. sore wa waruku ja nai kedo, sono you na hito ni atta koto ga arimasu. sono you na hito to nihongo no kurasu de benkyou shite imasu. nihongo no kurasu de benkyou shiteiru ikuninka wa sekininkan wo mochinagara, boku ga atta otaku wa daitai totemo namakemono desu , (mada tomodachi desu kedo...) kyoushitsu de shuuchuu shinai kedo, nihongo wo hihan shite imasu. "nihongo de kaitari hanashitari iken wo nobetari suru no wa muzukashii da yo" to itte imasita "nihongo wo manabitai kedo, takusan no kanji wo tsukau no wa mueki da" to itte imasita kedo, kyoushitsu ka nihongo no kurabu de nihongo de nanimo iimasen desita. inuyasha ni tsuite hanashite tsumaranai terebi geemu wo shite imasu. . terebi geemu wo suru no ga dai suki desu kedo, watashi sae mo PlayStation no kesikata ga wakarimasu. anime ya terebi geemu wo konomu no wa waruku ja nai desu kedo, moshi nihongo wo mananderu hito dattara, shuuchuu suru hitsuyou ga aru shi, sailor moon wa tsuki nou mahou de tsukawanai koto ga wakaru hitsuyou ga arimasu. Inuyasha ni izon dekimasen. tsui ni nihongo wo kiwameru you ni naru tame ni tsuyosa to yowasa ni tsuite manabu hitsuyou ga arimasu. nihongo wo kiwametai to omoeba, sono you ni shite mite kudasai. guchiritai　to omoeba, guchi wo tsugunde kudasai...

everyone's comments are interesting. Otaku living in the western world love playing video games for a long time. They loved Super Mario Brothers, Street Fighter, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Soul Calibur. Japanese Companies are shipping a lot of video games to the United States, and on top of that, these games are the most popular games there are. So, i can understand that many otaku have been influenced by them. that is not a bad thing, BUT, i have met people like that. I've studied with people like that in japanese class. although some people carry a sense of responsibility, most otaku that i have met are lazy (they're my friends, but lazy). although they don't concentrate in class, they sometimes criticize japanese. they'd say "writing, speaking, or expressing opinions in japanese is hard". They'd say "i wanna learn japanese, but it futile to use so many kanji", but in japanese class or japanese club they don't speak a word of japanese. they watch inuyasha and play boring video games. . I love playing video games, but even I know how to shut my PS2 off. Liking anime and video games isn't bad, but if you are a person who is　studying japanese, you have to focus, and on top of that, you have to understand that Sailor moon isn't going to use her moon magic to teach you how to speak japanese. you can't depend on inuyasha. you have to understand your strengths and weaknesses in order to finally master japanese. If you wanna master japanese, please try to do so, if you just want to complain, please just shut up :mtongue:

Did you really had to ask that question?
/facepalm

Because Japan rocks! Whoooooooo!

*pushes up glasses*

I seen that alot. I like the Japanese culture, but im not that into anime and manga. I do watch it but not alot. Before taking Japanese in college, my friends want it to bet that the majority of that class will be otakus.He was right, the first day of class most of the students were otakus They were all cosplaying and others with anime shirts. I was like wtf.:D When the teacher arrived, he told them that there will no anime in the class and just pure japanese culture in here. The next day, they were fewer people in the class.:D Its funny how some people think Japan is a fairyland. Japan is just like any other country.

When I was a little kid, I thought that Japan was the greatest country in the world. I think it was just a regular little kid reaction to the world: my life sucks, everywhere else is awesome... and hey, I didn't really know a lot about Japan. It was just a foreign, exotic country to me.

Maybe the idea of an exotic country is what attracts most.

Hehehehe, when I was little, Japan was all like "CHING CHONG CHONG CHING CHONG CHING CHONG CHONG!" to me...

Aww man, that made me laugh. :rolleyes:

and it is still for me,lol

The way I see it, the biggest abnormality in Japan is without a doubt the Sex industry and that is almost the only thing I dislike about japan and my guess is that's what attracting most of the "weirdos". The rest lies within the cosplay/anime/manga-area I guess(mainly kids, so why bother targeting them with insults?), but I can very easily ignore it all even when I come in touch with it pretty often from time to time...

I rather pay focus on the things I like bout Japan, which is; Anime(90-95% are junk but the 10-5% are worth 10kilo gold/episode), Japanese history, video games(in my case;JRPG), JRock, the technology and the language ofcourse, including some enchanting poems :)

Now in which other country can u find those particular things with the Japanese touch in it?
Nowhere ofcourse..

Im part japanese part american
 

alot of people like japan and everything cause it seems more fun than anything else. but you know, i love the japanese culture, maybe because im PART JAPANESE! i sure dont look like it until i smile.. so for people who come up to me in public saying " your not japanese...why do you care? " thats when i say " learn about me and then you'll know, smartass :/ " lol so some people have good reasons others have strange reasons..like hentai...anime..manga..movies..games.... well, i like those too! but some people do kinda have a weird obsession with it..and you know, once you GO to japan, the obsession kind of dies because its just like america in japan, LOTS of people, same old stores and food, different language. thats it.

Lol... it's technically impossible to be "part American" as American is not an ethnicity (unless you are an uber-Conservative that is... but we can dismiss their take on society as it is flawed)

Depending on which how you identify yourself you could be any of the following

Japanese AND American (if you identify with both countries)
part-Japanese/part-*insert your other ethnicity here* American (if you identify mainly with America but consider ethnicity an important part of your identity)

or even just "American" (If you identify with America and ethnicity doesn't really matter to you.)

That's true enough, Ronin. America is a little different in the eyes of Private International Family Law (PIFL). You can be Taiwanese-American, for example, but part American just doesn't wash. We are all part African if you were to accept otherwise.

Personally, I don't think "American" is even really a racial type of thing. I allways felt anyone on the planet could be "American", it's more a way of belief, a way of liveing, a particular view of how the world should be.

One of the most Highly decorated army units in American history is the 404 all Japanese brigade that fought in Germany dureing WW2. They exemplified what being an "American" is all about.

I think partly that's what causes such a fear amoung so many nations reguarding "American's", since it's a belief system more than a "race", it can be spread pretty easily amoung other cultures. Some countries fear being "Americanized" will destroy thier own culture history. Course, many nations are dictatorships, so that may not be a bad thing anyway.

Ummm... no one said America was a race. It's a nationality of course.

I don't even think it's a "nationality" persay, not in the sense of Italians or Scottish or Japanese. Wich are almost used as "racial/tribal" affiliations. Sure it is a type of cultural identity, but I think anyone across the globe can become the "American" identity more easily than more nationalistic cultures. I tend to think of "Americanism" as a belief system, almost like a relgion as apposed to a nation with predescribed borders.

For instance, folks of non asian features can try to adapt themselves to Japanese culture but may never truely be seen as "Japanese". While it can be problematic at times in American culture as well, anyone, reguardless of race or nationality can become "American." That's part of the core aspect of chaseing the "American" dream.

I think many of the problems that take place in the states between folks are hold overs from the countries of orgin of those folks preventing them from realizeing what being "American" truely means. I.E. old grudges between Irish and British and the like that are brought here from the old country.

That's my reasoning anyhow.

There are many different reasons one may be interested in another's culture. I think it is only natural for humans to be interested in other ethnic and racial cultures. Although the Japanese do tend to draw it's share of weirdos, they also draw really interesting individuals in the same right. Nothing's wrong with weird people so long as they are not disturbing the indigenous qualities of the natives' lifestyles. We're all different, it should hold no bearing to judging another person with negative impulse.

I know what you're saying... and you are kind of on the right track with your observations and I give you kudos for that. :)

But you do have the definition of nation and nationality wrong.

A nation is simply defined as a group of people who share a common identity (not necessarily through race) and as a group share some sort of political ambition (which can range from independence to civil rights to expansion)

Furthermore America is one of the most nationalistic countries in the world if you consider the degree to which America seeks to expand it's influence and consolidate identity amongst it's citizens (concerning the latter, it is more aggressively nationalistic than many nations which are based on ethnicity).

I understand where your comeing from, perhaps that nationalistic streak America tends to have is partly because of it's dicotomy of different cultures blended into one. In other words, it's trying to go all "Borg" like and absorb all other cultures into itself.

Perhaps it is because the Japanese culture stands out as the most original of all.

What makes the Japanese culture more original than any other? :confused:

A couple of my Japanese roommates said that they have a problem making "normal" friends here and that they are only able to make friends with weird americans lol