Crayon Shinchan And The Foreigner

[Mulboyne]

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No subtitles with this one. A foreigner turns up at the station but has forgotten the address of the family he's looking for so he asks if anyone knows where the Kitamotos live and ends up scaring the locals. The cartoon says that when he's speaking Japanese, we are supposed to understand that he's actually speaking English. Shinchan gets involved and the foreigner inevitably gets in trouble with the police.

[ttjereth]

No subtitles with this one. A foreigner turns up at the station but has forgotten the address of the family he's looking for so he asks if anyone knows where the Kitamotos live and ends up scaring the locals. The cartoon says that when he's speaking Japanese, we are supposed to understand that he's actually speaking English. Shinchan gets involved and the foreigner inevitably gets in trouble with the police.

First for the sake of full disclosure, I have to admit I love crayon shinchan (the manga, not so much the anime). It's the only manga I have actually read since before high school (other than the Darling ha gaikokujin books my wife likes) and so my opinion is a bit biased, but:

I'd have to say I don't see this clip painting the foreigner in a negative light at all, if anything I'd say it more makes fun of the Japanese adults and police. I've actually read this exact story in the manga as well, and there's nothing terribly discriminatory about it (he doesn't get abused by shin-chan anymore than any other characters in the manga).

The character actually goes on to be a semi-regular character in the manga, staying with the old woman (his aunt-in-law) next door to Shin-chan and teaching English. I can see where people might take exception to some of the further portrayals in the comic (e.g. the fact that he is an English teacher) where he goes on to become a Japanophile (as an English teacher he often states why he doesn't understand why any Japanese would want to learn English or another culture when they have one so wonderful themselves, all while wearing a tourist shop kimono and playing with a katana in his aunt's home), but I'm curious to see what type of problems people come up with for the above.

[Mock Cockpit]

Well the foreigner wasn't portrayed as having an enormous great beak. Baby steps I suppose. Wonder what it is about foreigners that makes some Japanese act like complete spastics?

[james]

Well the foreigner wasn't portrayed as having an enormous great beak. Baby steps I suppose. Wonder what it is about foreigners that makes some Japanese act like complete spastics?

i think it's cause we smell like butter and vomit.

[Greji]

i think it's cause we smell like butter and vomit.

Take was in the strip?

[ttjereth]

i think it's cause we smell like butter and vomit.

Should try and turn a profit, what with the shortage and all...

[American Oyaji]

I actually saw that episode on TV when I was in Japan and it cracked me up.
There's nothing really to take offense at and in fact it skewers the Japanese who really do freak out like that.

[Takechanpoo]

Especially in case of black gaijins except this boy, most of Japanese start to become frightened.

[james]

Especially in case of black gaijins except this boy, most of Japanese start to become frightened.

is it just me, or does that guy sound exactly like the guy who was dissed by noriko? is it the same guy?

[Mulboyne]

is it the same guy?

It is. Aside from his voice and opinions, the other giveaway is the tags for that video: "noriko is whore". Also, in his profile: "F'gaijin, you know nothing. Japanese girls like all races but Blacks."

[amdg]

It is. Aside from his voice and opinions, the other giveaway is the tags for that video: "noriko is whore". Also, in his profile: "F'gaijin, you know nothing. Japanese girls like all races but Blacks."

That towel on his head may not be Klan, but it's klan-ish.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Personally, I think that video is a bunch of bullshit. Not because I think it made foreigners look bad, but because I've generally found Japanese people to be extremely helpful when one asks for directions. And I've been to Kasukabe plenty of times so don't give me the inaka excuse.

[omae mona]

That towel on his head may not be Klan, but it's klan-ish.

It is quite intentional. He's said "heil hitler" in many of his other videos, audio files, and blog entries and described himself as a "black nazi" in at least one, if I recall.

[ttjereth]

Personally, I think that video is a bunch of bullshit. Not because I think it made foreigners look bad, but because I've generally found Japanese people to be extremely helpful when one asks for directions. And I've been to Kasukabe plenty of times so don't give me the inaka excuse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy

[SgtBeavis]

Can someone give me the episode number or title. I'm hoping I can find a fansub of it..

[Samurai_Jerk]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy

I know what comedy is, douche bag. But that wasn't funny (and I'm a "Crayon Shinchan" fan). Comedy is funniest if it rings true and that didn't.

[Mulboyne]

I posted this because I'm always interested in how foreigners are represented in the media. On balance, the foreigner is depicted pretty sympathetically as ttjereth says. I'm not looking for too much social realism from Crayon Shinchan, mind you. SJ is right that in real life most people are likely to try to help if you ask for directions but there are still people who freak out when a foreigner suddenly stops them and they were more common a few years ago. The first time I watched the clip, I wasn't really paying attention, just listening to it, and thought it was poking fun at how some people can't deal with the idea that a foreigner might be speaking Japanese which certainly used to happen a lot.

I had a throwback to that era a few months ago when I dropped into a bar I've been in a few times before. I knew some customers from before and we swapped a few words in Japanese when a girl at the counter said "Sugoi! Everyone here speaks English!". You could have heard a pin drop as everyone looked at her like she was crazy. Even after people said "He's speaking Japanese for chrissakes!" you could tell it still didn't compute and, sure enough, a few moments later she was telling everyone that she was very nervous because she was never very good at English and wasn't sure what to say to the foreigner. She left shortly afterwards and people began asking the bartender whether he was now touting for business at the local mental asylum. I'm fairly certain they weren't just saying that for my benefit.

[ttjereth]

I know what comedy is, douche bag. But that wasn't funny (and I'm a "Crayon Shinchan" fan). Comedy is funniest if it rings true and that didn't.

More specifically comedic exaggeration. The fact that you've been to Kasukabe a few times and never ran into someone who was nervous or afraid to speak to a foreigner doesn't mean they don't exist, they do, especially if you walk up and start talking to them in English. It might not have been funny to you, but fortunately for the rest of us, that doesn't mean shit to anyone but you.

[Behan]

The video seemed pretty sympathetic to the foreigner, which is pretty rare on TV here.

[Iraira]

I posted this because I'm always interested in how foreigners are represented in the media. On balance, the foreigner is depicted pretty sympathetically as ttjereth says. I'm not looking for too much social realism from Crayon Shinchan, mind you. SJ is right that in real life most people are likely to try to help if you ask for directions but there are still people who freak out when a foreigner suddenly stops them and they were more common a few years ago. The first time I watched the clip, I wasn't really paying attention, just listening to it, and thought it was poking fun at how some people can't deal with the idea that a foreigner might be speaking Japanese which certainly used to happen a lot.

I had a throwback to that era a few months ago when I dropped into a bar I've been in a few times before. I knew some customers from before and we swapped a few words in Japanese when a girl at the counter said "Sugoi! Everyone here speaks English!". You could have heard a pin drop as everyone looked at her like she was crazy. Even after people said "He's speaking Japanese for chrissakes!" you could tell it still didn't compute and, sure enough, a few moments later she was telling everyone that she was very nervous because she was never very good at English and wasn't sure what to say to the foreigner. She left shortly afterwards and people began asking the bartender whether he was now touting for business at the local mental asylum. I'm fairly certain they weren't just saying that for my benefit.

Damn, I had the exact same thing happen to me in a jewelry store in Harajuku a few years back. Went in, asked the saleschick if they had any horseshoe necklaces. I know my J was proper and suddenly she bursts out with, "I don't English." The manager overheard this and came over. I repeated my question to the manager who looked at the first salesgirl, rolling his eyes, apologized for her behavior, then showed me several necklaces that looked like they were made of a material that would emit gamma radiation.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Damn, I had the exact same thing happen to me in a jewelry store in Harajuku a few years back. Went in, asked the saleschick if they had any horseshoe necklaces. I know my J was proper and suddenly she bursts out with, "I don't English." The manager overheard this and came over. I repeated my question to the manager who looked at the first salesgirl, rolling his eyes, apologized for her behavior, then showed me several necklaces that looked like they were made of a material that would emit gamma radiation.

This kind of shit never ceases to amaze me. I love it when you're talking to someone in Japanese and after a minute or two they ask you whether or not you speak Japanese ... in Japanese.

My gaijin boss, who speaks fluent Japanese, got a telemarketing call at the office one day. He was talking to the guy for several minutes in Japanese. Then the saleman asked him whether or not he spoke Japanese. My boss asked the guy what language they had been speaking in up to that point. The guy said, "Japanese." So then my boss wanted to know why the salesman asked such an rude idiotic question. The guy was doing all of his backpeddling and sumimasens as he got hung up on.

[Behan]

I remember seeing a comment by Tuffy Rhodes saying something similar.

[Iraira]

I remember seeing a comment by Tuffy Rhodes saying something similar.

Tuffy Rhodes was buying a horseshoe necklace in Harajuku?

[Behan]

No, sorry. He said something about sometimes talking to the natives in Japanese but they thought he was speaking in English.

[Iraira]

No, sorry. He said something about sometimes talking to the natives in Japanese but they thought he was speaking in English.

It might be some egotistical response on the part of the Japanese, "I, yes, studying Engrish 300 years. Ta-fi...eto...gaijin, so Engrish speaks. But, I know Ta-fi says, so Engrish speaks."

Crap, that came out too easily.

[halfnip]

I had a throwback to that era a few months ago when I dropped into a bar I've been in a few times before. I knew some customers from before and we swapped a few words in Japanese when a girl at the counter said "Sugoi! Everyone here speaks English!". You could have heard a pin drop as everyone looked at her like she was crazy. Even after people said "He's speaking Japanese for chrissakes!" you could tell it still didn't compute and, sure enough, a few moments later she was telling everyone that she was very nervous because she was never very good at English and wasn't sure what to say to the foreigner. She left shortly afterwards and people began asking the bartender whether he was now touting for business at the local mental asylum. I'm fairly certain they weren't just saying that for my benefit.

I don't want to get too off topic here, but I had an interesting moment at a local joint a while back too. The area where I live is just started having huge office towers popping up here and there, but other than that, it's still got a little bit of a local flavor to it. Anyways, there's this joint (pfffft) nearby that's kinda like an iizakaya/yakitori spot where the 1st floor is all standing with tables and stuff upstairs. Kinda sweet with the days catch and osusume's sitting on top of the counter and all. Anyways, a buddy was visiting (an "eye"rishman, BTW) so I took him over for a few beers. The place was PACKED with oyaji's all just standing around eyeing us as we downed a few beers. Then another FG pops in, then we're all (the 3 of us) chatting it up, you know just shootin' the shit. Some dickwad decides that we're not intelligent enough to comprehend the "native" language so he starts going off about how the place used to be better a few years back before all these big foreign companies started showing up. This was "their" place, blah, blah, blah. So then I say, I've been coming here for years because I happen to live down the street, whereas his arse probably cleans toilets at the park up the street and probably just pops by for a beer before heading on the train back to BFE where he most likely lives. Then the owner comes downstairs, sees me and says, "Hey, xxxxx. Where have you been? How's the wife? Did she have her baby yet?".

I bought the poor prick a beer and left for the night..