The world as we know it is constantly affected by such commonalities as food, TV, books and clothing. With Japanese culture inserting its way into each one of these in America, it’s now wonder so many are seeing an impact.
Food is a big part of Japanese culture. With hundreds of different styles of cooking, it is one of the first things people think about when they hear “Japanese culture.” From candies to cuisine, all things that are Japanese and relate to food have their own unique flavors and colors.
Sushi, for example, is something no other country has duplicated and to this day remains the most popular Japanese food in America.
Other foods such as candies and drinks aren’t as popular yet, but still deliver the same amount of curiosity. Popular drinks include Pepsi Iced Cucumber, a cola called Kidsbeer, Ramune soda and -- believe it or not -- Diet Water. All these and more are somewhat strange, yet appetizing.
Then there’s television. According to Nielsen Media Research, the average American watches over five hours of TV a day. But even with all the American TV shows, several Japanese programs have found their way to American TVs. Some of the most popular are manga (Japanese comics)-based programs called anime (Japanese cartoon shows). Anime like “Naruto,” “Bleach,” “Full Metal Alchemist,” “Domo” and “One Piece” can be found on stations like Cartoon Network and were all originally broadcasted in Japan.
While some anime are “clean” enough for primetime, others are so risqué that they appear on late night TV.
Other Japanese shows like “GristleGrip,” “Human Tetris,” “Gaki No Tsukai Ya Arahende” and “Human Bowling” are also incredibly popular in Japan. Though most of these have not quite caught the eye
of American TV-watchers, they are receiving exponentially increasing popularity.
Television isn’t the only form of entertainment in Japan. Books are also a common source of entertainment, especially manga.
There are hundreds of issues of manga for every series released and many of these have become widely popular in several countries -- not just America.
A lot of manga get made into TV shows, but there are still major differences between the two. Usually the original manga is more in depth and maintains original aspects of a story that are often
changed for the small screen.
With the growing popularity of these manga and TV shows, some fans like to take their enjoyment to the extreme. Anime conventions are some of the biggest social events for all things manga.
At these con events, people buy as much anime and manga “swag” as they like (from collectable toys to DVDs), attend panels with voice actors, anime screenings, art instruction and more and even dress up as favorite characters to compete in a cosplay (costume) competition.
With all this and more, Japan proves to be one of the most influential countries to America.