Japanese Animes Set In Foreign Countries

Ashikaga · 16 May 2009

I have read online about the popularity enjoyed by Japanese anime series such as "Candy Candy" and "Marco (Haha O Tazunete Sanzen-ri)" outside Japan.

While other series such as "Dragon Ball", "Naruto", "Inuyasha" and "Crayon Shinchan" are widely watched in places like the US and Europe (especially Spain in Shinchan's case), the two series I mentioned above are different in that the stories take place in foreign countries with characters, including the main character, who are non-Japanese.

Take "Candy Candy". The story takes place in the US and England. All of its characters are Americans/British. The story of "Marco" follows the title character, an Italian boy, from his hometown of Genoa to Argentina, where his mother is working as a maid. Along his journey, many major and secondary characters come into the picture (Italians, South Americans, etc.).

There have been a few American series such as The Simpsons where the main characters go visit Japan in some episodes, but in those cases, Japan was nothing but a backdrop, a plot device, if you will. We do not necessarily look for authenticity in the Japan depicted in them.

Have any of you seen these animes and if you have, what were your impressions about the way your country/people/culture were depicted in them?

Alma · 23 Jun 2009

it is fact that Candy candy was world wide popular. I remember watching it as child. Also, heard it was popular everywhere, recently I talked about it with friend from Peru.
I am not really sure why it was so popular, even you made quite good point.
since my country was not depicted in any of japanese anime, cannot really give you opinion on that

In my case, ミームいろいろ夢の旅 was also really popular... nice and educational anime, everybody loved it. Also, in Peru and in Italy maybe, there was some anime called princess Gigi or something like that. so, I guess there might been different reasons for popularity of each anime in different country..

of course, now, sailor moon, pokemon, yu-gi-oh, dragon ball, naruto and many many others are extremely popular everywhere

edit:
sorry, I misinterpret this topic as "popular in foreign country" instead of your intention, obviously.

LSandra · 28 Jun 2009

I think the reason why most people outside of Japan watch anime is that they want to see something from Japan even if it's just in an anime. By saying that, I mean that I'm not sure if I would want to watch an anime that takes place outside of Japan but I'll give it a try.

Alma · 29 Jun 2009

That is interesting LSandra,
but really, are anime you watch are really just something about Japan? can you give me example?
a lot of anime are set in Japan but they don't have story so much connected to Japan. for example, Ghost in the shell - it doesn't stick to Japan as it can be happening only there.... if you know what i mean.

I started to watch Monster, it is set (so far) in Germany. so I guess it can go on list from first post in this thread.

LSandra · 29 Jun 2009

Well, what I mean is I prefer to watch anime which are at least somehow connected to Japan. For Example Naruto takes place in its own universe but Ninjas are (at least for me) part of Japan. That' what I meant with my previous posting.

Ashikaga · 30 Jun 2009

Hi, Alma & LSandra!

I understand what you meant, LSandra. I suppose when you are interested in something (Japan, in your case), it is nice to see animes that are somehow related to that subject.

I probably should have made the topic of this thread a bit broader than just animes...

What I was interested in was what people thought of their countries/cultures depicted in films and such including animes.

Lsandra, you are in the US. Have you ever watched a Japanese anime (or any type of film for that matter) that takes place in the US? If you have, what did you think of the way it was portrayed?

P.S. It is nice to see you back on the forum, Alma!

LSandra · 30 Jun 2009

Hi Ashikaga.

Sorry for my misunderstanding. So far I haven't watched any anime in which the US for example is portrayed in some way. If you can recommend any of those I'll have a look at them and then share my opinion.

Clawn · 1 Jul 2009

I've actually watched a few anime in which America is portrayed, but the one that comes to my mind immediately is a show by the name of Baccano!. It is set in 1930's New York and Chicago and has a lot to do with the mob, which was very powerful at that time. For the most part, it looks like the writers and artists of the show did a lot of research. Buildings and slums look like they should, the popular clothing styles are represented quite well, but a a certain point caught me giggling slightly to myself. That is the widely popular portrayal of Americans as either reckless, trigger happy, dumb, or very friendly (through physical contact, pats on the back, handshakes, etc.). In Baccano! they are mostly very dumb and triggerhappy, this is pretty much wholly diguised by the violence required for the show, but there are some points when regular, ordinary people just pull out guns or knives and I can't help but feeling slightly like smacking my hand against my forehead.

Ashikaga · 28 Jul 2009

Clawn said:
I've actually watched a few anime in which America is portrayed, but the one that comes to my mind immediately is a show by the name of Baccano!. It is set in 1930's New York and Chicago and has a lot to do with the mob, which was very powerful at that time. For the most part, it looks like the writers and artists of the show did a lot of research. Buildings and slums look like they should, the popular clothing styles are represented quite well, but a a certain point caught me giggling slightly to myself. That is the widely popular portrayal of Americans as either reckless, trigger happy, dumb, or very friendly (through physical contact, pats on the back, handshakes, etc.). In Baccano! they are mostly very dumb and triggerhappy, this is pretty much wholly diguised by the violence required for the show, but there are some points when regular, ordinary people just pull out guns or knives and I can't help but feeling slightly like smacking my hand against my forehead.

Hello Clawn,

I've never seen BACCANO!. I've just checked out its HP and it looks very interesting.

I suppose the point you brought up has a lot to do with the fact that the story is about these Mafia type characters.

While it may strike one as such an odd choice of material for an anime show, I suppose there's certain amount of romance in the time period and the location especially for the Japanese viewers, much like many Americans find the Samurai-era Japan very attractive.

As the show revolves around mainly Italian Americans, many of the characters' names are supposed to be Italian. I wonder how the producers did coming up with authentic names...

Hezam · 29 Jul 2009

Lately i found Arabic style in the anime,they picture Arab culture like they are.
for example,( Hanasakeru Seishounen ) in this anime there are some Arabic Charachters like the King of the Arabic country witch is rich of Oil !! see the Arabic Style :

Also there are some Anime with Arab Style like (Skip Beat )and (Code Geass) and (Ouran High School Host Club) etc....

I like how they picture us unlike the Western Movies witch picture us as Terrorests !!!
Japanese respect All people so people respect them.

I am a big fan of Anime,Arabic websites turn to be databases for Anime,We have many many translation teams and they are very pro,i wonder if Japanese Studios know that !

i hope to see Anime about the Arabic kingdom or some Arabic stories.

Thanks Ashi-san for the cool topic ^^

ekoy · 29 Jul 2009

Hazem, I agree! Japanese anime and manga are catching up on the Arabic culture. I like watching such anime with different cultures and Japanese mangaka really do work hard in researching on different cultures before they put it on paper. Good job!

Hezam · 30 Jul 2009

Thanks ekoy.
by the way,the Charachter above is about Arab and malay,it's not about Arab only,they reffered to Malay culture ^^

Mycernius · 30 Jul 2009

Well Gunslinger Girl is set in Italy and the majority of the characters are Italian, with other European dispersed amoung them. The scenes seem to be very Italian and European along with the characters. Hellsing is set in Britian again with European characters. The difference is that Hellsing is pure fantasy and doesn't really reflect the nationalities in it. Gunslinger Girl tries to stay a bit more realistic.
Others I can think of are Porco Rosso, set in the med pre-WW2, and Kikis' Delivery Service, which feels more Eurpean in its settings. I also think that Laputa is set in a vaguely non-Japanese country. To me it has a feeling of Wales. The heavy industry and countryside remind me of the coalfields and countryside of Wales, or maybe Yorkshire. The characters, or rather the working class characters, seem to portray the working class you could meet in both Yorkshire and Wales.

Japanese Animes Set In Foreign Countries

Ashikaga

もちもちした食感

Alma

nature's sweet success

LSandra

先輩

Alma

nature's sweet success

LSandra

先輩

Ashikaga

もちもちした食感

LSandra

先輩

Clawn

The Wise *****

Ashikaga

もちもちした食感

Hezam

Out of Service

ekoy

先輩

Hezam

Out of Service

Mycernius

The Hairy Wookie

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