I've lived in Japan for over four years now, in total, and I like RPGs. You'd think this would be a good mix, but in fact it really isn't. You see, the Japanese nerd tropes - anime, manga, J-pop, cosplay, all the things which drive so many Western geek-types to distraction - those things do absolutely nothing for me. I couldn't be less interested. I can barely stand Western adult comics (a "good comic" to me is Dilbert, Garfield, Peanuts, Asterix the Gaul), let alone Japanese ones, with their hideous big-eyed shiny faced hyper-cuteness and their awful nonsensical storylines. The whole recent manga-fad is reminiscent of The Emperor's New Clothes, and I'm just waiting for the moment when the penny drops and people realise that just because something has Japanese writing on it, that doesn't automatically make it cool.
I think it's because I came to Japan "cold". I adored (and still adore) Kurosawa's films, ever since I was first exposed to them at the age of 10 when I ransacked my Dad's video collection and dug out something called The Hidden Fortress. (Incidentally, has there ever been a more intriguing film title than that?) But when I stepped off the plane at Narita airport in March 2003 - a wide-eyed 21 year old at loose in a foreign land - I wasn't your typical manga geek and my only contact with anime had been through Akira. It wasn't my scene at all, and still isn't. Japan was fresh to me and I got to know it by living and working here.
(I did try to get into manga, by the way. When I first started studying Japanese I would often buy comics to practice with. This is how I learned the truth about how godawful the storylines usually are. Aside from the work of genuine talents like Tezuka Osamu and Oguri Saori, none of what I read stuck in my mind as being of any value whatsoever. Almost all of it is mindless fluff, or - radical concept! - written for kids. [Disclaimer: This is all my subjective opinion.])
Nor am I really into samurai and the like, much as I love a good Kurosawa epic. The romanticisation of the samurai (exemplified in films like The Last Samurai and novels like Shogun) is something I actually find deeply sinister; worse, it is based on a Japanese culture that never really existed - or at least only existed in the minds of Westerners and Japanese imperalist/fascists.
I also have to admit a certain distaste for the current trendiness of Japanese culture in Western society. The popularity of manga, cosplaying and the like is really just a new form of orientalism - although at least the old orientalism gave us Van Gogh. And for somebody who actually lives in the country and has to get on with people as people - not grotesque caricatures on a comic book page - I can't help but get mightily pissed off at the image of Japan which the whole thing perpetuates: a land of perverted, socially inept weirdos, basically, which it really isn't. And the whole thing stands in the way of people getting to know the real greats of Japanese art and literature - fantastically gifted nobel-prize winning authors, brilliant painters, great visionary film makers.
All of these reasons are why I avoid games in Japan or pseudo-Japanese settings like the plague. This is despite the fact that I would like to run them. I know a lot about the country, speak its language fluently, and have an intimate knowledge of its history. I want to put that knowledge to good use. If only I could find people who I could trust not to behave like manga geeks - because the alternative (a game with those who know a little, but not enough) would be a fate worse than death.
ADDENDUM: It occurs to me that this post goes against my recent promise to stop ranting and be positive instead. So here's what I'll do: a series of articles next week on how to Japan-ise your game! Can't say fairer than that, now, can you?
Actually, I'd be very interested in hearing what tabletop RPG culture is like in Japan. I know that Japan's got a lot of similar subcultures to the US (punkers, goths, truckers, etc.) with their own unique Japanese spin. Videogames, anime, and comics nerds are pretty well represented, but what's it like for the guys with the funny dice?
ReplyDeletebigfellamachine: Tabletop RPG culture does exist in Japan, probably to a similar extent it does in European countries - i.e. not quite as much as in the US, but there are large numbers of players. D&D is huge and almost all its supplements have been translated into Japanese. GURPS is pretty big too. But there are some native RPGs - mostly clones of Western games, it has to be said. I'll put some links up in a future blog entry if you're interested. I also read one or two Japanese language RPG blogs, which I might link to as well, although obviously they won't be of much value unless you speak the lingo.
ReplyDeleteAs you probably know, the Japanese have a strong "collector" streak, so there is quite a subculture of RPGers who are into collectibles, particularly English language ones. I know of at least five shops in Tokyo and Yokohama which sell 'antique' games like the BECMI D&D sets, the Rules Cyclopedia, old 2nd edition Monstrous Compendiums, 1st edition Role Master, and so forth - all in the original English, and for exorbitant prices (10,000 yen - about US$100 - for the red Basic D&D box, for example).
The familiar seen through the lens of a very different culture is always fascinating. (I've always enjoyed the Japanese take on Western fantasy tropes. It's kind of the reverse of the whole samurai/ninja fandom thing over here, but I often find it's done with a lot more style and inventiveness.)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, yeah. What ever you would be so kind as to post, I for one would be very interested, even if I can't read the lingo.
I'm not entirely sure if I would qualify as knowing enough. I really only enjoy a few manga, but only in the same way as I enjoy a few fantasy stories or comics or RPGs or anything like that: Something to do while I turn my brain off for a while, though admittedly when I find something that actually lets me turn it off the right amount, I often get quite attached. (I often need to keep myself fairly distracted to keep my from overanalyzing things to a distressing level. It could be compared to the "obsessive" part of obsessive-compulsive disorder.) I have some interest in the history (inasmuch as I do the history of the rest of the world, which is to say I'm fascinated by it but often find myself a little disappointed by how mundane it is.) I'd be interested in exploring a more meaningful take on it, though, so I'm looking forward to these articles.
ReplyDeleteI remember the much missed Arcane doing a feature on Japanese "roru prayingu" (part of the "Japan is cool" cult, admittedly), and there were some interesting ideas in there. A mechas-in-WWII game seemed like fun, and there were some images apparently cropped from a Japanese version of D&D; I've long wanted to track down that edition just because the art was so idiosyncratic.
ReplyDeleteAnd Garfield? Really?
Kelvin: As far as I know the art for 3.x is the same. Not sure about earlier editions though.
ReplyDeleteGarfield has really gone downhill in recent years. At one time it was funny, hard to believe though it is now.
I think I pretty much agree with you here. I mean, Japanese pop culture is like pop culture anywhere else in the world: 90% of it is shit. Yet somehow it gets a total free pass in America.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm much more interested in "real" Japanese history and culture. For example, I just recently stumbled across the history of pederasty in samurai culture, which almost never gets discussed, yet was an integral element for hundreds of years. Fascinating.
I'll be looking forward to your future posts on this subject!
The romanticisation of the samurai (exemplified in films like The Last Samurai and novels like Shogun) is something I actually find deeply sinister; worse, it is based on a Japanese culture that never really existed - or at least only existed in the minds of Westerners and Japanese imperalist/fascists.
ReplyDeleteThe same could be said about the Old West in America and the myths that have been invented about cowboys, outlaws, and the like. I find it somewhat amusing that The Seven Samurai, when adapted into an American production, became The Magnificent Seven.
sirlarkins: Just like how the Greeks used to bugger goats. Our ideas about 'civilised' societies rarely square with the reality!
ReplyDeletearcona: And A Fistful of Dollars was based on Yojimbo. But it's more convoluted than that, because Kurosawa said his greatest influence as a director was John Ford - so it worked the other way round, too.
I'm wondering what your take would be on Bushido - the RPG produced originally by Tyr Games and then later by Fantasy Games Unlimited. I enjoyed playing it back many years ago, but I simply did not have any way of knowing how "accurate" it was. I certainly haven't been attracted to games such as Oriental Adventures, or Legend of the Five Rings, precisely for the reasons you mention.
ReplyDeletevraymond: To be honest, I've never played it. I've avoided 'Japanese' settings ever since some abortive attempts at Oriental Adventures and Legend of the Five Rings games some years ago. Maybe it's unfair to tarnish Bushido with the same brush without having read it, though. It's one I suppose I'll track down at some stage.
ReplyDeleteJapan and the US have been trading and digesting each others' culture since Perry's black ships sailed into Edo harbor. Example: One of the reasons anime/manga characters have big eyes (although it's not the only reason) is because many early mangaka were influenced by the Fliescher Brothers' Betty Boop cartoons (In fact, in the 20's they actually did a special Betty cartoon for Japanese audiences. Google it!)
ReplyDeletearcona: For my money, my favorite Seven Samurai adaptation is Roger Corman's "Battle Beyond the Stars".
Back on topic, noisms I'd be especially curious about what genres and/or styles appeal to the plurality of Japaneses rpg'ers. From what you say about western RPG clones and what I've seen of Japanese fantasy in anime/manga (Stuff like "The Slayers" and "Record of the Lodoss War") the default western fantasy mileiu cobbled together by Gygax and co. seems to be a strong influence. Would you find a Japanese gamer playing a campaign set in a magical version of feudal Japan, or do "Oriental Adventures" hold no interest?
(Admittedly, I guess the same question could be asked about European gamers take on fantasy settings, since the whole standard issue fantasy setting is very much a cobbled together from sources in the States. I'm not really wondering about "authenticity" so much as the whys and wherefores of why tropes get adopted.)
Sorry if this is too rambling.
bigfellamachine: I recommend you check out this page of links.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.darkshire.net/%7Ejhkim/rpg/encyclopedia/bylanguage/Japanese.html
There are some historical Japanese games, particularly set in the Sengoku ('Warring states') and Edo periods. But I would say the majority of players enjoy 'standard' D&D-type 'European' fantasy, which is after all exotic to them in the same way that Japan is to us.
Japanese RPGs are heavily influenced by computer games, much more so than they are in the West. There is a definite Final Fantasy feel to a lot of the games. I also think they are much more kitchen-sink in their influences. They don't mind mixing swords and laser-beams, for example.
Well, this was in Arcane, so it would have been about 1997, and so pre-3.Xe. From what I recall, it was Basic, but I can't be sure, as they didn't really go into details in the article.
ReplyDeleteI also think they are much more kitchen-sink in their influences. They don't mind mixing swords and laser-beams, for example.
ReplyDeleteSee, you tell us 90% of Japanese pop culture is crap, but then you spring a bloody awesome bombshell like that on us. *laugh*
I always liked kitchen-sink fantasy
noisms: Very cool, thanks for the link. The Maid RPG in particular was a big "Oh, of course..." for me.
ReplyDeleteAlso, is it me, or have Norse deities become the exotic mythology naming destination of choice in Japan over the past few years. I recall in the 80's they were cherry picking more Greek myth type names. (Like over half the cast of Masamune Shirow's "Appleseed" for example.)
Japanese RPGs are heavily influenced by computer games, much more so than they are in the West. There is a definite Final Fantasy feel to a lot of the games. I also think they are much more kitchen-sink in their influences. They don't mind mixing swords and laser-beams, for example.
I kind of expected this, based on the general style and content of Japananese RPG computer games out there. Makes a lot of sense.
Bigfellamachine: I've played Miad. there's an unofficial english version out there. really silly, but I thought it was wildly fun.
ReplyDeleteGiven your distates for Samurai this might be a long shot, but...have you tried Sengoku. It is an absolute gem of a gem, beautifully (and thoroughly) researched and written by Anthony Bryant and Mark Arsenault and published by Gold Rush Games. It is decidedly historical in tilt, and definitely an attempt to recreate the atmosphere and society of medieval-era Japan as faithfully as possible. The authors dedicate the game to Mifune Toshiro and Kurosawa Akira, which might pique your interest. It is one of the many games that I own and would love to play. I can't praise it highly enough (with the caveat, of course, that I've never played it, only read it...)
ReplyDeleteViriconium: I think Sengoku is an unofficial second edition of Bushido, if I'm not mistaken. I haven't played Bushido either, but was always intrigued by it. If I can find Sengoku somewhere. I'll definitely grab it.
ReplyDeleteMay be you're right - I thougt it was a stand-alone game. I don't know how you feel about (legal, not torrent) pdf downloads (I applaud them on principle,, buy games that way and then curse not having the book, basically because I *love* role-playing gamebooks - but RPGNow does a Sengoku bundle, which includes the impossible to find sourcebook for Shinobi, for next to nothing. But above all, Sengoku 2nd ed is a beautifully crafted book. Oh, and while I think of it, the independent game 'The Mountain Witch' (based on the 'Kwaidan' genre) is also supposed to be great, but I can't get my hands on it. In any case, all these games strive for an 'authentic' feel that isn't all manga and cosplay.
ReplyDeleteViriconium: I have read through The Mountain Witch. It's a really good idea, but like a lot of 'indie'/Forge games I have a hard time imagining myself play it more than once or twice. Those games don't have much repeat value.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations: You are way ahead of the curve compared to the "not-Japanese guy in Japan" stereotype.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you should hold back from negative posts just because they're negative. In this particular case, I'm biased, because I'm in broad agreement with what you say, but that's frequently not the case, and I find your posts just as thought-provoking when they go against my received ideas. Criticism is constructive, I think.
The Japan that you don't like serves a great need in some folks for escapism. It's a far off land that seems (if you're only looking in what you might call the "wrong" places) to produce nothing but magic happy stories (or magic melodrama stories, depending on your preference). It's like you're ten years old, watching Saturday morning cartoons, forever.
Some people enjoy infantilization, and anime and manga are definitely that.
I'm not sure what you mean by "Western adult comics," though. Like, superhero stuff? I would think something like Blankets or History of Violence or the like. Comics so good and...un-comic, you prefer to call them Graphic Novels. Liking Asterix (man do I ever love Asterix) and not liking Maus? I don't see it.
Nick: You're bang on the money as far as infantilisation goes. In fact it has often been remarked that the tendency for non-Japanese people in Japan to refuse to learn the language or integrate into society has a similar root. There is a kind of luxury in not understanding, because you become infant-like and molly-coddled and you can duck adult responsibilities. That's a somewhat similar urge to the one you describe.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Western adult comics go, I was mostly referring to superhero ones, but I would include graphic novels in there too. I have a good friend who's really into them, and he often tries to introduce me to favourite authors (artists?). I've read and enjoyed a lot of what he's recommended. But it still seems like a very poor man's version of real novels, if I'm being honest. I know this is enough to get me crucified in some circles, but I really think that it requires much more effort, skill and talent to write a work of literature than a graphic novel. It's a purely subjective opinion, though, and I make no claims otherwise!