日本文化とサブカルチャーの探求
Welcome to Japanese Point of View. Japanese Point of View is a podcast that shares topics
related to Japan. We are your hosts, Lilico and Maikou. Alright, so here's another episode with
Alex today. Yeah. Hi guys. Hi. Welcome. Welcome. Yeah, so for this episode, we're gonna dig a
little deeper about Japanese culture. Okay. And I'll pass it on to Maikou. Okay. Okay.
So, in the last episode with Alex, we heard about your experience in Japan since you've
moved in 2013 and also some difference in culture between LA and Japan. And for this time,
since I like the Japanese subculture, I think this is like Japanese-English kind of word, but
I actually, I have been listening to your Gyakuyo New podcast from time to time.
Sweet. Thank you. Yeah, so yeah, I think I found it in the event last November called Jakegiki.
Yeah, I found your shows in Jakegiki, Alex's Gyakuyo New podcast and Alex's Kowai Hanashi.
I found both at Jakegiki. Oh, really? That's awesome. And then at that time at Jakegiki,
I did not know how long you've been in Japan and how you are into the culture. So,
I was really surprised when I opened the show and saw Kamaitachi no Yoru. Oh, yeah. I was like,
what? It's kind of so Japanese. It's like, you're like even like,
you have more like knowledge than some Japanese people maybe. So,
I was really surprised and I was curious how you got to know all this stuff.
You know, first of all, I'm so happy that you mentioned Kamaitachi no Yoru because
that is one of the main reasons I wanted to study Japanese because
yeah, that game, my Japanese friend was playing that and then he would be telling me
like the story, like, you know, reading a novel and then, you know, you can select like a
sentakushi, like a A, B, C, D and the story changes and I find that fascinating and
there's so many kanji in there that I couldn't read anything and I really wanted to play that
game. So, I remember I would be like pausing and writing the kanji down and asking my friends what
it meant. So, it took me forever to, but yeah, I think that was one of the main, like, that was
the cause, like, of me. Yeah, that game. I really, I have a really special place in my heart with that
game, yeah. Plus, it's like horror. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's kind of, how can you say, it's kind of
psychological horror. Am I explaining correctly? I don't know how to say in English, but it's kind of
a horror game and the story changes. Right. Yeah, you need to pick the options like
you just mentioned and the story. Yeah. It's kind of like really multi-story kind of game.
Yeah, and it's Japanese, so I was really surprised, like, what? Actually, I thought
you are, like, totally Japanese from what you feature in the shows, because it was like,
I think the Kamaitachi no Yoru was the first thing I heard on your show, but after that,
recently, there were many movies I also watched, such as Kitaro Tanjou, Gegege no Nazo, and the
first Slumdunk, so I was really, like, yeah, enjoying the show. I love Kitaro. I really love
Kitaro, and that's another thing, the subculture that I like, the Kaidan, and the ghost stories,
and the yokai, and I really, really love Shigeru Mizuki's work, and, yeah, when I watched the
movie at the theater, I was so touched that it was actually the first movie I ever saw where
I was so into the movie that I couldn't even eat my popcorn. Yeah, yeah, I was really concentrated.
I bought my popcorn, but I wasn't really eating it. Yeah, so I couldn't eat my popcorn. I couldn't
drink my soda, and then after the movie, I had to go to the lobby and finish my drinks and food.
It was kind of, I was shocked that it had some kind of, like, gore kind of expression. I was
really, like, it was kind of a jump scare to me, but the story was good, and I went with my
husband. My husband had, like, almost no experience of watching Kitaro anime,
but he was also enjoying the show because the movie was so good. Good, yeah, yeah, so good.
I don't push my son, like, my hobbies, but one thing that I couldn't resist was
introducing Kitaro to my son, and he actually likes it a lot, but I couldn't show him the movie
because it was not for his age. Yeah, yeah, I really like Kitaro, but the recent movie
felt, like, completely for adults. Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure, and I like how it connects the
story, you know. I'm kind of interested. Yeah, please, please watch it. If you watched any...
Where can I watch it? Oh, you can watch it on Amazon Prime right now, I think.
Yeah, I think so. Or Netflix, Netflix and Amazon Prime. I'll look it up. Yeah, yeah, I really loved the
end road. Is this English correct? I really like the ending part because it featured the
original manga from Shigeru Mizuki. Yeah, I really like his pictures very much. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
I also like the, I think it's about 10 years ago, I think it was more than 10 years ago, but
when I was in university, there was a Kitaro anime, and the opening animation was
a song called Mononoke Dance from Dinko. Yeah, and there was the original Kitaro
illustration. Yeah, it's dark, yeah. A lot of Kitaro anime fans don't really know the story,
the beginning, so yeah, I highly recommend watching. Yeah, what's the title again? Sorry.
Kitaro Tanjou. Yeah, I found it on Netflix. Kitaro Tanjou. Yes, yes, yes. Okay, I'll watch it later.
Yeah, I used to watch the, I think it was third or fourth season, maybe, I think it was in the
90s, but I used to watch the season which Kitaro and the youkai play band music in the opening
song, which is kind of not related to anything, but it was fun, and I like the stories, I like the
part of the, the thing I like about youkai is that they're not good or bad, they're just like
humans. Yeah, they're not like bad stuff, they're just there, and of course there's kind of
妖怪とその教訓
like evil youkais, but youkai, yurei, they're all living together, and humans are not really like
justice, so everyone's just like neutral, so I like that. It sounds so diversified.
Yeah, I think that's one of the reasons I like Kitaro or youkai, because
it's like an old story made from people a long time ago,
and they would say stuff like, oh, if you walk outside too late,
and if you trip, it's because of a youkai. There's always like a reason,
you know, if you don't treat, if you don't treat your, you know, item, you know, you know, like,
because nowadays, you just throw it away, and you get a new one, but you know, if you don't treat
something well, it can turn into a youkai, like, yeah, I like how there's like a teaching. Yeah,
it's kind of a teaching story also. Yeah, I think that's why I like youkai, and especially
those old stories, because like, it would start from a certain place, and then people would tell
other people, and it'll spread, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's why I like how, like some,
in some areas, they'll call it like nukperabo, the one with the little face, but if you go to a
different area, they'll call it nukpeppo, and it's like, you know, things like that,
I like. I think that's what, similar reason why I like kairan, because it's because
scary stories that somebody told somebody, and it keeps passing along, you know, before the internet,
so I think that's one of the reasons why I fell in love with. Yeah, it's spread by
words of mouth. Word of mouth. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I personally, hearing from what you guys are saying
about the youkai, I kind of felt like it's, the concept of youkai, it kind of is connected to
Shintoism, is what I felt. Oh, yeah, yeah. Like, you know, there is, yeah, you know, in Shintoism,
there is a concept that there are a lot of gods in every everything. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And for
youkai, it's similar, but it's not god, youkai, right? I kind of felt the connections to that.
Right. Yeah.
Yaoyorozu. No kami. Yaoyorozu god. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like how, like,
like people would say, like, there's a god of mountain, god of, you know,
日本文化との出会い
those things I like. Yeah. Yeah. How did you even get to know kaidan or youkai? Because I was so
curious about that. It's not like just popular manga or anime you can get outside of Japan. So I
was really interested how you came to do the kaidan talks and everything. When I was attending
college, I was working part time for a Japanese video store, like a video rental. Yeah. And
back in the days, I'm not sure if it was illegal, but there will be a store. Yeah. And they'll have
VHS tapes of like, shoot, like variety shows, music shows, like any types of shows in Japan.
And I'm not sure if they if they were allowed to do that. But you know, you go there and then you
for $1, you can rent one tape and it would contain two shows like two weeks.
And then I would watch that. And, you know, that's when, you know, all the Dragon Ball and
all the anime I would watch there. But yeah, I think when I was working, I wanted to look for
a job where I can learn Japanese, speak Japanese, deal with Japanese customers. And then I found a
local video rental store popular in L.A. So I worked there for like three, four years. And
yeah. And then one of the great thing is, one, you can play whatever you want at the store.
So I would pop in shows randomly. And then that's when I first discovered Kitaro.
And also Kaidan from Inagawa Junji's. Oh yeah, Inagawa Junji. Yeah.
I was, I used to like playing the, I used to like watching the videos of like,
ghost videos, like the Shinrei Shashin, like the photos. Yeah. And the mockumentary. Yeah.
Yeah. So I would watch it and be like, wow, this is cool. Like, even if it's fake or not, you know,
it's, it's, it, it made me like, fall in love with it. And Inagawa Junji, when I heard, you know,
there was no such thing as like ghost storytellers in U.S. Not that, not that I know of.
And when I first watched him, like I saw him sitting down and talking. It just, like,
it was like watching a movie, like everything he said, it, you imagine it in your head. And
all the stories that he talks about, it made me think like I was the main character and I was
experiencing this. This is how good he was of a storyteller. Yeah. He still is. So that's what
kind of got me into Kaidan. I always liked watching ghost stories, like on YouTube. There's
a lot of American English. If you type in like ghost stories, there is a YouTuber named Mr.
Nightmare. He's amazing. Like I used to listen to him all the time. He has a nice voice and
he would tell like real stories from listeners. And yeah, please check it out. It's I think you
will like it because it's really scary. And it's really like not just not not just a le,
it's more like hitokowa, like, you know. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So,
yeah, there'll be stories like, you know, I was working late night and a customer came in and
something scary happened or I was driving at night and there was a hitchhiker and those things.
I really like because, yeah, I mean, I don't I don't want that to happen to me in real life,
but it's like what it's like watching a movie like, you know, you can imagine just for that
scenery. Yeah. Yeah. Right. And you make it more scarier. And what if what would I do? You know,
I think that's what kind of got me into all like the occult stuff. Like I even like the urban
legends, Toshidensetsu, stuff like that. Japan has a lot of good ones. So.
That yeah, working at the video store really took me to that side. You know, of course, I like manga
and anime and also like Japanese wrestling. I like. Yeah. Movies, horror movies. So.
I probably watch I probably read more manga than a regular Japanese person for sure.
アメリカの漫画・アニメ文化の受容
You know, your episodes reminded me of Quentin Tarantino, which is one of my favorite movie
directors. He's really like into Japanese movies like Ninkyo Eiga, Yakuza Eiga. I was curious how
he knew about that, but he said he was working at a video store part time. Yeah. And he was
watching at the backyard for the like 70s, 60s, 80s, 50s Yakuza and Ninkyo Eiga. So he was like
into the Japanese like violence kind of movies at that time. So I remembered about that episode
from him. Yeah. So it's kind of like really exciting that you can play whatever you like
when you when you have time at the store. Yeah. Yeah. I really wish I could do that.
If I if I had experience to work at a video renting store. Yeah. Yeah. I was working there
for a long time. Yeah. Until like one incident that happened. Maybe that I shouldn't be talking
here. Maybe in the future. Maybe. But yeah, I had to quit because something, you know, something
scary happened. But yeah, I think that's what that was a huge part, you know, working there.
I also worked. I worked there at the video store and I also worked for like a Japanese video game
store. Oh, really? Yeah. Because I like I like the games. But, you know, the games in Japan
were just too expensive for me. So, you know, I ended up working there and then, you know,
you get to play games free. So. Yeah. Yeah. I think that really improved my Japanese because
I was learning at the college at the university. I took double major. I majored in two.
And one was international business and the other was Japanese. So
since it was two majors, it took me six years instead of four to graduate. So during those
six years working at the video store and the game store really, really improved my Japanese like
quickly. Yeah, I can imagine a little bit. I'm just feeling a little bit familiar from my side
because it's the kind of opposite way to me because when I was little, when I used to live in
Wales, I got to know like Powerpuff Girls and The Simpsons and all the cartoon shows. And also
when I grew up, when I was in Japan, I became a fan of video games such as Dead by Daylight and
Cuphead and Undertale. So they're all like from outside of Japan. But I wanted to understand
better about it. So I play in English and see the words and like that makes me remember better than
just looking at textbooks and everything. Right, right, right. Yeah. So because I'm interested
to the contents of the video games and the animation cartoons. Right, right. Yeah.
Yeah. Nice. So I'm really like, it's really fun to talk about these topics because it's just the
same as talking with anyone in Japan and outside of Japan. We have the same like,
same interest. Yeah. So I really like it. And also, I only have like one experience of visiting LA,
but I felt that as of now, there are like a lot of manga and anime stuff than I imagined.
So I thought it's really good that more people can have their hobbies in common in the future.
Yeah. And also, you know, yeah, yeah. You know, when you mentioned the manga and anime culture
in LA. I kind of wanted to talk about that too. But yeah, like how manga, anime was perceived
in LA. Yeah, I want to hear about that. But see, the reason why I started podcast in Japan
was because I didn't have any friends to talk about this. I didn't have. Yeah, I couldn't.
And that's another reason why I'm doing the podcast in Japan, because I don't have any
Japanese friends to talk about these things. And another thing is that when I was in LA,
I hid all this. I didn't tell anyone. I didn't tell any of my American friends because
um, I think manga and anime are slowly getting accepted in LA. Yeah. But, you know,
it's like a cliche, like, yeah, a certain only a small amount of people like, but it's niche,
they really like. Yeah. Yeah. It's like hardcore fans. But yeah, just just like Japan.
Um, you know, does everybody watch anime? No, right? I mean, yeah, like Doraemon and
趣味の共有と友達探し
is a standard. But, you know, you know, Japanese anime, there's some crazy ones that that,
you know, that are probably not accepted to everyone. But it was like that in LA too,
when I was growing up. Yeah. You know, it's like, it's kind of like more like weirdo stuff.
Yeah, like I'll talk. Yeah. Yeah. Right. And plus, when I was in LA, like,
probably because where I grew up, and yeah, nobody, nobody was into that kind of stuff. And,
you know, yeah, that's why. Maybe that might be another reason why I wanted to come here.
Maybe because I wanted to look for friends with similar interests. Yeah, I feel that Japanese
people are like, more, more used to grown ups collecting, like anime or manga stuff. Because
in other countries, and usually you should graduate from the all those stuff. Disney,
Sanrio, manga, anime, you should graduate, but you should behave like you're an adult, you're a
grown up person. But in Japan, it's kind of really, in that way, it's really diverse. No one says
anything. In the current society, it's not, it was different. Like, when I was a student,
like 20 years ago, 15 years ago, it was like, we need to hide. If you like video games, you should
hide. But yeah, it's slowly like being accepted. And now it's like, everyone can say out loud on
X or Instagram or anything. Yeah, that's, that's kind of what's Japan's different from other
countries, I feel. Yeah, I really wish Japan and, you know, world other world worldwide, I wish,
I really like how it is right now. And I wish it was like that, like, 1020 years ago, you know,
would have been a lot different. Yeah, same for me. I wanted to make friends with people who have
similar hobbies with me. But it's different because it's really, it's I don't know how to
say it's really like, you know, okay, I like anime, you know, like Miyazaki films is considered
アニメとマンガの多様性
animation, Totoro and all that. Yeah. And, and then the Doraemon, Sazae-san, Chibi Maruko-chan,
all the ones you see on TV is probably more accepted. But then there's like the more,
more hardcore anime that yeah, yeah, you know, like, that, like, that there's like a line,
you know, yeah. I like manga, I like anime, but there's certain ones that I still cannot watch.
And it's the same. Yeah. Yeah. I really, I really respect the seiyuu, the people who are doing the
voice. I don't like, yeah, the voice actors really good. But I don't like how this is just me. I'm
sorry if anybody get offended. I personally don't like when a girl character sounds like really
girly. The voice actors is like, you know, like, whoa. Yeah, I, I, I get allergic to anime.
If the, if the anime tilts only a little bit to Moe, I suddenly become allergic and I don't want
to watch it anymore. So yeah, Kitaro Tanjou was the giri giri acceptable. Yeah, I think, yeah.
Yeah, this, you know, that's kind of Japanese hardcore anime.
Yeah. Yeah. Girls acting girly. They take it to the next level. And I'm sure a lot of Japanese.
Yeah, I would say Buriko, but like a anime voice. Yeah. Buriko might be. Yeah. A little different.
Yeah. I mean, I always wish like they were talking more normal, but then maybe anime fans
anime fans really like that kind of stuff. Yeah. It just sounds right. Yeah, it sounds like,
like not too normal. But I guess, you know, maybe it's like watching a movie, I guess,
people who really, really loves anime, when they watch it, they really go into that world.
Yeah, I don't think it's a bad idea. But when I see people like, like, when, like old, mature
adults, yeah, have back backpacks. And I mean, I mean, see, yeah, I, I used to be like,
a little allergic to that. But now I feel kind of different because, you know, when I tell people,
I like Kaidan, a lot of people might not like it, they might think I'm a weirdo. So then I realized,
hey, you know, not everybody is going to like what you like. But if there, if you like something,
then it's none of other person's, you know, other people's business. So I think if you like manga,
anime, whatever, and you don't need to be accepted, you can just find others who like
what you like. And I think that's good enough. Yeah.
趣味と宗教の受容
Yeah, I totally agree with that. Because because of my hobbies, I feel like I should be like more
like accepting other people's. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. That's why I don't. Yeah, I think I always tell
my friends that religion, politics, movies, music, fashion, and, you know, hobbies.
Like, mind your own business, I think. Yeah. It's better not to. Don't push. Don't push what you like
to others. You know, that's why. Yeah. So I'm not religious, but I do like a lot of stuff from
a lot of stuff from Buddhists and Shintoism. But my mother is Catholic. And, you know,
it doesn't mean I'm Catholic, but I'm not, I'm not going to hate on any religion. But
when there's something good, you know, I'm sure every religion has something good.
So when I hear those things, I think, oh, okay, you know, if that person believes in
a certain religion, if that person is happy, like, I shouldn't be the one to, you know,
to interfere and change. Yeah, I shouldn't be the one to judge. Yeah. Yeah. This.
Thank you for talking about this topic, because I was really looking forward to this today.
I'm really, I was really excited to speak to the both of you. And I always like
hearing stories from other people. It's always so interesting to me and,
and, you know, have different opinions and, yeah, things like that. So yeah, if you ever
need another guest in the future, please let me know. Please, please. Yeah, please.
Please visit us again. Yeah. Yeah. We might gonna. Shows. Yeah. We might gonna offer you to come to
other shows, maybe, maybe in Japanese. Yeah, please. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for
coming again. Yeah, thank you. Thank you for contacting me on x. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it all
started on x. We might get a copy. Yes. Okay, so that's it for today. And if you have any topic
requests, please reach out, reach us out via Twitter slash x. And our account name is
ArtmarkJPathPodcast. J-P-O-V underbar podcast. Yeah. Yeah. And thanks for listening to the end
and have a nice day. And thank you, Alex, for joining. Thank you, Alex, for coming. Thank you
for inviting. Thank you so much. Okay, so see you in the next episode. See you in the next episode.
Bye. Bye.
