Anime about Japan (culture, history,etc)

[jecca-neko]

I'm going to Japan later this year (to live) and since I'm getting all psyched up about it, I want to watch anime that has some sort of primary focus on Japan itself. To show what I mean, here's some examples:

Azumanga Daioh - jokes with Japanese cultural references, about Japanese high school girls and what they do in high school

Grave of the Fireflies - Japan during the bombings in World War II

Spirited Away - a little bit less realistic than the 2 above, but the focus is on a Japanese bath house

I know most anime takes place in Japan and deals with Japanese elements, BUT it should have more of a focus on the country and/or it's history and/or distinctly Japanese things (ie Spirited Away's bath house). Any recommendations?

[raence]

Currently watching Shrine of the morning mist. On disc 2 it had a 20 minute section in the extras devoted to where the idea came from and all that. It showed how the ideas came from myth and lore. It even had a good 5 minutes about the town they used in the anime and showed a few comparisons. Besides the extra nothing really grand about it in the terms your talking about.

Picked up the entire series for $21 at bestbuy. Quite funny considering it's the singles in a box and than the singles next to the full collection were for 18 a piece.

[chloes_fork]

Otogi Zoshi has a lot of historical references, both centuries old (the Heian arc) and relatively recent (the present-day arc).

[itsuka]

A series which is very Japanese is Human Crossing. It's a series of 13 episodes slice of life anime, and it features a lot of problems and situations typical of Japanese family life. It's very realistic.

Also slice of life, with some very detailed and realistic bits of contemporary Japanese life and culture, but also some weird twists is Paranoia Agent.

And since we're on the subject, PA's director Satoshi Kon has made some great movies that will show you more about Japan and it's culture. Notably Tokyo Godfathers, but Millenium Actress and Perfect Blue are also good choices.

Of all the Ghibli movies, I think Only Yesterday is the most Japanese slice-of-life, but Pom Poko uses a lot of Japanese animal folklore.

Super GALS! will show you a lot about GAL subculture, and whether it interests you or not, it has a lot of modern Japanese girl stuff in it. I'm not sure about the collection, but the individual discs had pretty good liner notes explaining all the details. It's a bit over the top at times, but a lot of things really exist (like para para).

Salaryman Kintaro will tell you a lot about modern Japanese office culture, men's honor and the power struggles, and also some things about gang honor.

GokuSen has some fun bits on yakuza culture (even if the English translation uses italian mob words to translate). Don't know how realistic it all is... well, the same can be said of many other mob movies I guess. Teaching and school, and a bit of gang culture is also covered well in GTO.

Otogi Zoshi features the history of the Heinan period, and as a bonus feature has some lectures on the period on the disc. The second part of the anime features a lot of specific places in Tokyo, with a bit of focus on the possible supernatural connections of those places. As a story it's slow, but if you want information, there is lots of it.

Shura no Toki features lots of historical fighting heroes of different periods in Japanese history. Additionally, Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X and Peacemaker Kurogane contain historical figures and events of the Meijin period, especially the Shinsengumi. If you watch all three anime, you'll get to see three different Okita's and three different Saito's.

You're Under Arrest is about the Tokyo traffic police and therefore lots of situations are very common and contemporary.

Gasaraki is one of the mecha series that feels most thoroughly grounded in Japanese culture, history and politics.

And if you want to laugh at japanese otaku culture, try series like Genshiken and Otaku no Video. There are more of these type of series around, sometimes dealing even with anime creation itself, like Anime Runner Kuromi.

I'm sure there are more than I can think of right now, but this should give you some ideas already.

[jecca-neko]

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Raence said:
Currently watching Shrine of the morning mist.

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Oh, thank you. I wanted to watch that back when it started coming out in the US but forgot about it. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif Ever since I saw Sailor Moon back in the mid 90's and saw Rei in her Shinto priestess outfit, I've been curious about Shinto and how it works in Japanese life. I want to visit some Shinto shrines in Japan. Another anime that has Shinto priestesses would be neat.

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chloes_fork said:
Otogi Zoshi has a lot of historical references, both centuries old (the Heian arc) and relatively recent (the present-day arc).

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I'll give this a try. Most anime from pre-modern Japan I don't really seem to care for.

[jecca-neko]

You gave lots of recommendations so I'll comment on yours separate.

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Itsuka said:
A series which is very Japanese is Human Crossing. It's a series of 13 episodes slice of life anime, and it features a lot of problems and situations typical of Japanese family life. It's very realistic.

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How does this compare to Seraphim Call and Sentimental Journey? I hated both. I didn't feel like I got enough time to care about the characters since it was new people every episode. Both I couldn't bear to watch more than 1 volume each.

I also don't like My Neighbors the Yamadas very much, if it's similar to that. I do like some slice of life anime (Someday's Dreamers, Haibane Renmei, Azumanga Daioh, etc are great to me) but some I can't stand.

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Also slice of life, with some very detailed and realistic bits of contemporary Japanese life and culture, but also some weird twists is Paranoia Agent.

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Another Satoshi Kon thing, eh? I'll try this one.

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Notably Tokyo Godfathers, but Millenium Actress and Perfect Blue are also good choices.

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I love Tokyo Godfathers and Millenium Actress. I've been tempted to pick them up at some point. I own Perfect Blue.

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Of all the Ghibli movies, I think Only Yesterday is the most Japanese slice-of-life, but Pom Poko uses a lot of Japanese animal folklore.

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Only Yesterday isn't in R1-land yet, though. /images/graemlins/depresse.gif Don't care for Pom Poko. It was cute to see once but the tanuki weird me out sometimes. I am specifically thinking of the scene where the old tanuki guy gathers the young male tanuki and they're all standing on what they all think at first is a "rug".

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Super GALS! will show you a lot about GAL subculture

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Have and love it. I'm collecting the manga as it comes out too, hoping it'll fill it the gaps that the lack of season 2 DVDs left.

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Salaryman Kintaro will tell you a lot about modern Japanese office culture, men's honor and the power struggles, and also some things about gang honor.

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This sounds really good to me. I noticed there's a live action movie of this. Anyone know if it's any good? Netflix has it.

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GokuSen has some fun bits on yakuza culture (even if the English translation uses italian mob words to translate). Don't know how realistic it all is... well, the same can be said of many other mob movies I guess. Teaching and school, and a bit of gang culture is also covered well in GTO.

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Only seen 1 volume of GTO and loved it. I should see more. Gokusen looks really good too.

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Otogi Zoshi features the history of the Heinan period

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Again, really unsure about this but I'll try it.

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Shura no Toki ... Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X and Peacemaker Kurogane

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Unsure for the same reason I am Otogi Zoshi. I've seen a few episodes of Kenshin and didn't care for it. I had already planned to give it another try since a friend wants me to see it.

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You're Under Arrest is about the Tokyo traffic police and therefore lots of situations are very common and contemporary.

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That's one of those 90's shows I still haven't seen yet thanks to higher priorities.

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Gasaraki is one of the mecha series that feels most thoroughly grounded in Japanese culture, history and politics.

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This looks completely uninteresting to me.

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And if you want to laugh at japanese otaku culture, try series like Genshiken and Otaku no Video. There are more of these type of series around, sometimes dealing even with anime creation itself, like Anime Runner Kuromi.

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Seen Otaku no Video, obviously. You can't go to Otakon without seeing its namesake. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif Genshiken and Animation Runner Kuromi are things I've always heard of but didn't know what they were. They're probably interesting watches, but I think some of the others (like Kintaro and Gokusen) are higher on my list of priorities now.

[chloes_fork]

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jecca-neko said:
Most anime from pre-modern Japan I don't really seem to care for.

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FWIW, samurai shows and their historical ilk aren't my favorite genre either, but Otogi Zoshi is an exception. In fact, I prefer the Heian arc to the modern one. It's got an appealing cast of characters, and strikes an artful balance between realism and elements of exaggeration and fantasy. It effectively captures the flavor of legend, of a tale that grew in the telling. It's really good stuff.

[ScorpioEyez]

Shingu has quite a bit about festivals in it if that is something that you're looking for.

[Puppet Master]

Kenshin really doesn't shine in the early epiosdes it's a lot better when some of the other characters start to appear. But the Kyoto arcs the best.

[something]

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Raence said:
Picked up the entire series for $21 at bestbuy. Quite funny considering it's the singles in a box and than the singles next to the full collection were for 18 a piece.

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Oh damn you just reminded me I still need to pick that up.

[itsuka]

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jecca-neko said:
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Itsuka said:
A series which is very Japanese is Human Crossing. It's a series of 13 episodes slice of life anime, and it features a lot of problems and situations typical of Japanese family life. It's very realistic.

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How does this compare to Seraphim Call and Sentimental Journey? I hated both. I didn't feel like I got enough time to care about the characters since it was new people every episode. Both I couldn't bear to watch more than 1 volume each.



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If you hate episodic series, then I'm afraid Human Crossing is also one of those, so it might not be for you.

To elaborate a bit on HC for people who have less problems with episodic series, I wouldn't put it exactly in the same box as SC and SJ, as the latter two are bishoujo series and feature mostly pretty girls, while Human Crossing usually has older protagonists of both genders, mainly parents and thirty-somethings. To me, these stories feel different from the bishoujo type. Stories about a father who wonders why his son doesn't like the bicycle he got for his birthday, or a man whose father's former mistress is determined to become a part of his family, or a son who has problems with the fact that his mother works in not totally proper profession.

[XenoCrisis0153]

even though it's mostly comedy and wacky gibberish, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi has a little bit of a history lesson in it. They discuss post-war reconstruction and the state of modern inner-city shopping plazas and the families that run them toward the later episodes.

[Njr Scrawl]

Urusei Yatsura It might be a sci fi fairy tale, but its grounding is the hum drum monotony of Japanese suburban life really.

UY is filled with Japanese folklore, pop culture & traditional references etc.