Blogging on Japan can be hazardous to your mental health

[Mulboyne]

Japanmanship is an interesting blog written by a foreigner working as a game developer at a Japanese company in Tokyo. It has now, however come to an end after a short life. The author gives several reasons, mostly to do with time and coming up with interesting subject matter, and also this one:

As I have exhausted all avenues of useful information to write about and have started leaning heavily on critical and often unfair views of Japanese life...I am also fully and hatefully aware that my recent batch of posts have all covered my solipsist and sweepingly negative views of Japan and the Japanese which, though liberating to write and not entirely without merit and truth, is hardly fair to subject a whole nation to. Of course there is a case to be made for lowering the post frequency, but I always thought if something is worth doing it’s worth doing to glorious excess, or not at all.

[jim katta]

I think he made the right move. If you have talent, spending your time writing about why you think Japan sucks could be better used making cool things happen in Japan. If I read a blog about a Japanese person living in America that was all about how much he thought America sucks or didn't make sense, I would consider that person a less than intelligent, unproductive, self-defeating person. This is why I've come to embrace the "This Is Japan" ethos one sometimes hears when met with a brick wall in nippon.
-Signed, A truly fucked gaijin

[Greji]

If I read a blog about a Japanese person living in America that was all about how much he thought America sucks or didn't make sense, I would consider that person a less than intelligent, unproductive, self-defeating person.

Well, now that you have described the entire FG board membership, I think you must be truly getting the real feel of it!

[American Oyaji]

Ya know what. I find that I am an FG in my own country while working at a Japanese company. Some stuff just doesn't make sense.

[Greji]

Ya know what. I find that I am an FG in my own country while working at a Japanese company. Some stuff just doesn't make sense.

Nor shall it ever in that environment! Been there, still there and the tee shirts are too small!

[Kuang_Grade]

While I enjoyed his reading his blog, I did think it a bit odd how he was always complaining about overly busy (or more really, how inefficient things were time wise at his company) yet he had time to craft these hella long, well written posts....of course, some people are simply fast and talented writers (the exact opposite of myself) but there is a certain point when grousing about your job and situation gets a bit old and you wonder why they put up with it rather than leave if it is really that bad.

[TFG]

Some people just question themselves after they have arrived at the honest truth. This is his only mistake.

I guess Jack can reduce the number of his WARA NINGYO by 1 and save money on nails, bloody expensive these days.
Waaaaaaaaaaaa:D

[Mulboyne]

[unkosando]

Japanmanship is back. First new post here.

Sounds like he has gone through the 7 Stages of Grief

- Shock or Disbelief
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Guilt
- Depression
- Acceptance and Hope

[Mulboyne]

The guy has just made another major decision:

...I have finally decided to lay down arms and hand in my resignation. After a long decade of working in video games development, the majority of which in Japan, I have found that reaching my full potential, the dreams I pursue, to create amazing art through hard work, dedication and study, to work on great games that bring many people joy, to work in a professional, streamlined working environment...are all pretty much impossible here, for a variety of reasons...I simply cannot ever do any good (enough) work as a wage slave in a Japanese company. I'm out...Read on...

[kamome]

The guy has just made another major decision:

...I have found that reaching my full potential, the dreams I pursue, to create amazing art through hard work, dedication and study, to work on great games that bring many people joy, to work in a professional, streamlined working environment...are all pretty much impossible here, for a variety of reasons...

This makes sense. Japan is usually not the best place to reach one's full potential.

[Charles]

This makes sense. Japan is usually not the best place to reach one's full potential.

Maybe he did. Maybe he has very low potential.

[NoCityHeadAche]

Why doesn't he go back to his country and work for a video game company there? Seems to me like he's miserable in Japan.