A Former Weeb Goes to Japan
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- A Swede goes to Japan and struggles with overthinking
Live-action Footage video:
• Two Dudes in Japan
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#animation
Imagine going to Japan and an aleatory person gives you some garlic fries
I've never seen "aleatory" used in a sentence. Thanks for a new word. :)
@@Mylstrydr maybe "random" its more common
@@Mylstrydr me too
H. Peralta it’s a cognate with Romance languages (e.g. Spanish “aleatorio”, French “aléatoire”). It might be the case that one of those is his first language.
@@danielabujaber7478 private investigator caught in action
I checked his channel and he has something written in portuguese so you were right
"It truly was...a suburb."
Yes exactly it's so beautiful
I was about to make this exact comment
the reason is because the roads are more narrow and the neighbourhood councils are not dictators
@@Aconspiracyofravens1 exactly. USA is car centric hell
@@Aconspiracyofravens1wait till you hear about the grandma mafias
2:13 please get in the habit
My proudest moment in Japan was after 2 weeks of covertly observing people play the crane games I learned how to play them like a local and won myself a large lucario pokemon plush. It sits on my end table, proving my husband who said "they're just a scam" wrong.
The key is to hook onto a part of the object via one of the crane's prongs as opposed to just grabbing it wholesale.
You can both be right. They're a scam that you outsmarted.
Yeah the costs get very manageable once you know the right way, and a lot of the prizes are actually cool. (as they are official arcade limited goods) If you get lucky enough to have a generous staff see you struggling, they might show you the correct way to get it and put it on just the right position (trust me I was that guy struggling😂)
Another method is to push the prizes with the claw.
i heard they rigged the claw to be weak at griping the prize on random ocassion in order to milk the customer, or is it different to every other machine?
Jun It’s true. Most machines have a “payout” setting where the claw has a stronger grip depending on the amount of plays/money put in. It just so happens that US claws are rigged more and tend to have cheaper prizes because it’s profitable.
Imagine some dude from Japan who loves king of the hill goes to Texas and gets teary eyed because he sees a picket fence
That felt like what Haruki Murakami did when he's interested in Western culture.
I was born and raised in Japan my entire life. Since my dad is American, he introduced me to South Park from a young age. I would love to visit Colorado and go to Casa Bonita.
This is the funniest comment I have ever read
😂
I met a Japanese man who was obsessed with Texas and he proudly showed me this Texas flag print bag he bought at WalMart when he visited the US so you may not be too far off
As I swede who grow up in Japan I believe that weebs mistakes anime for the reality in Japan when in fact anime is an escape from the hard and strict reality in Japan. When I tell my Swedish friends how strict, hierarchical and hard Japan is they often don’t believe that it’s THAT hard or they never wants to go to Japan. But weebs adore all aspects of Japan even more then some of my Japanese friends parents who are members in nipponkaigi (nationalist political party). But Japan is the kind of society where if you don’t fit in life is going to be very very hard. When I studied at a private high school in saitama it was extremely tough. Sure we all had cute school uniform with big red ribbons and short skirts but the discipline was almost militaristic. The rules was hard and many, no social media, no boyfriend, never be late or have an off day and don’t talk about important things. And I also took an after school activity (competition dance). There we had practice 7 days a week from morning before school and after school to around 24;00. We weren’t allowed to eat more then 500 kcal per day and we had open weight check for all in the dance group and if someone weight more then 50 kg we weren’t allowed to talk to them until they lost the weight. We weren’t allowed to talk, stand how we wanted, sit how we wanted snd even stand up/sit down when we wanted to if a senpai was present. And there are many many many more strict and hard rules we had to follow all the time.
That sounds decent tbh, maybe except the dance club where all your time is spent at dancing lol that’s a bit much but it’s a good way to shape up the young and make them discipline
@@TotalWarKS by... fat-shaming girls who weighs more than 50kg..?
This sort of reminds me of the military. Kinda like how with military there's an end goal of being disciplined during all out war, it's as if there's this overarching goal of being a "productive member of society" (for a lack of better words) that overwrites your individual wants and needs. Thank you for showing me your perspective, it's very interesting.
I'm half Japanese and honestly I fucking hate Japan. My parents sent me to live there for 4 years with my grandparents and It was literally the most strict rigid society I've ever seen. Kids can't be kids and weren't allowed to just breath and enjoy life for a few hours. All "friends" were superficial and don't want to actually get to know you. Adult life seemed even worse with no life outside of work. It's a good place to visit. A horrible place to live unless you can live an alternative lifestyle.
@@Yous0147 That's how I would describe life in Japan. Like the military.
That bar was surreal. Definitely a weird capsule back in time. I should've taken you to another one as well for comparison. Oh, and we should've totally used their karaoke machine, that would've rocked their world
Sai C. who are you
@@Nikita13337 wow if that isn't some inland empire business then I don't know what is. I need to go think about that for a while
@@Nikita13337 (but for real you can see me in these two videos: th-cam.com/video/ek2Y8Upkbw8/w-d-xo.html , th-cam.com/video/Lja9br1U93k/w-d-xo.html )
Sai C. oh cool.
Sai C. thanks
Man, I went to Japan 4 years ago and I had 99% the same experience as you. The obsession with konbini, the drunk businessmen in bars offering food and drinks, the emotions in the Tokyo suburbs little streets... On my first day in Tokyo, a businessman fell asleep on me in the subway. When he woke up, he was so ashamed he apologized for 2 minutes and handed me a 2000 yen banknote. I tried to refuse the money but he just dropped it on my laps and ran away.
Probably afraid of getting arrested by the police for touching a woman on accident
100 percent on purpose lmao. Sounds like to him it was worth the 2000 yen 😂
God damn, Japanese people are really nice
Lol that perv did that shit on purpose trust me
@@Akma_devilTheir name is Alexis, a usually feminine name
"It truly was... a suburb"
I really love this line.
th-cam.com/video/6To2s_4Zs-g/w-d-xo.html I love how,"jaded bitter man,"is protrayed as Hao Miyazaki
I remember stumbling drunk through Akihabara while getting really into a song I was listening to in my headphones (i think xxxtentacion-yung bratz, a very very aggressive trap song), and this incredibly cute maid who was handing out flyers for her maid cafe was smiling at me and dancing too. I took one of her flyers, she told me to come to her maid cafe and asked me to show her what I was listening to. Of course, I followed, and showed her the song, which is pretty much the last song I'd ever expect a Japanese maid to enjoy, but she totally got into it with me. So its just me and a cute Japanese maid, in the bright, bustling glow of Tokyo at night, chanting AY AY AY into the endless void of the city without a care in the world. Maybe she didn't even like the song and just wanted me to come to her cafe, or maybe she just wanted to have a good time, either way it was magical. Mari, I know you'll never read this, but I miss you. Reading this back it looks a lot like a copypasta now lmao. Great video btw.
blade this made me super happy aww love the vibes
"Maybe she didn't even like the song and just wanted me to come to her cafe"
That is *ABSOLUTELY* what her goal was. Maid cafes' very existence is based on selling a fantasy to their customers, and the girls who are the best at this are the ones they send into the street to hand out flyers. It's nice that you had a good time, but rest assured, this girl was just doing her job.
fireaza do you enjoy ruining people’s fun, aza
I was not expecting a maid Cafe to be so much fun. Mainly because you look around and see other people being just as confused as you.
Cringe
"Holding back tears at the beauty" Yeah, a lot of stuff there is beautiful. The cars look like they've just been detailed and the people well groomed and outfitted. I'm sure it's difficult to explain to someone from Japan why it's so captivating.
@@KahruSuomiPerkele people from Asia who visit the west say the same thing lol.
Same could be said about America, if only for it's beautiful nature and monuments.
@@subscribeorsus6862 What about Japanese people who visit France? A lot of them get depression because it's nothing at all like the romantic image in their imagination.
SerBallister isn’t that called “Paris syndrome” or something?
@@elokin300 I never have heard this term before.
Wow. After living in Japan multiple times, it's so interesting to hear your story from this perspective. The people at the bar were doing something very important in Japanese culture called "omotenashi". Because you went to the bar alone, culturally they are obligated to host you, even if they don't want to (especially as a westerner). The fries were a part of that, and you probably were given them specifically because it's often presumed that foreigners can't stomach Japanese food. Not sure about being laughed at, but she was probably going to talk to you in English and got nervous. This can often set Japanese people into giggles.
This doesn't mean that they weren't enjoying their time with you (it sounds like they had fun), just that the reasoning behind it may have not been what you thought. Japanese culture is very complicated. I've lived there multiple times and I often think that if my first time hadn't have been when I was a high school student, there is no way I would have picked up the culture as an adult.
I like the conclusions that you came to about your identity. It wasn't how I expected the video to end, and I found it very cool. I'm sure that there are many adventures waiting for you in Japan in the future. The one thing I'd recommend (as a person who has considered Japan my second home for the last 17 years) is learning Japanese. Life there is completely different when you can speak the language, because so much of their culture is bound up in the grammar used with different people. It's not as hard as people make out, and it's super rewarding.
Thanks for the video, your perspective is great.
Thank you for the very interesting insight!
Very hard language to read though.
@@Rolando_Cueva the fact that a Thai person is saying this tells one all you need to know lmao
@@Amaling That's not Thai btw. His name is in Devanagari. Most likely the language is Hindi and he's Indian. Also, Thai script itself is an alphabet so it's not hard to read at all compared to Japanese with a pictorial writing system which is a different beast altogether.
I don’t know if I’d say it’s presumed that Westerners can’t handle Japanese food. It’s more that it would be rude to assume that he liked any particular thing. The fries were probably the most inoffensive thing the person could think of.
When a weeb goes to japan then realizes there are no subtitles 😶
thats why dub exist
Oh no..
Thats not even remotely funny
Bro just tap on the 3 dots in the top right corner.
Weak punchline but ok 😶
that was not only very funny but also very smart and insightful youre the best
It's sad imo that you expected this to be funny or a joke video instead of what it is. That's just what youtube is huh?
@@waluigi3515 they said "not only". Sophia found it funny. Put your sword away
Konbini is the best thing ever in Japan, you can find fresh foods that made daily there. Even in smaller cities like Shizuoka you can still find a ton of vending machines and conbis
Shizuoka a smaller city? There are 700000 people living there
@@TheRushy97 I live in Western Australia. Tokyo has the same amount of people as my whole state. Japan has heaps of people. A small city in Japan has the same people as a big city in most places.
@@just-a-me1168 I think Tokyo Metropolis has about 80% the population of Australia
@@TheRushy97 Shiziuka is literally nearly twice as big as my hometown
@@k.umquat8604 that's most likely talking about the number of people in the city. Most Japanese city's have many more people then in most other places in the world.
"Why do i treat whether i like something or not as a flaw of my character"
You just summed up how i feel about anything i like wow. Ive never found the correct words for it thank you lol 5:40
Yeah something about that struck me too.
Like pineapple on pizza
Same :’’’)
same
I think it’s because that’s often how we relate to each other. Most people tend to judge people pretty quickly and strongly based on their likes and dislikes of things.
As a japanese konbini part-time stuff, I love customer from foreign because they are all
Friendly and polite
On the other hand, customers who are rude to us is always japanese people (especially elderly people )
In my opinion, they know how convenient and grateful it is
but japanese people didn’t because they think konbini has already taken for granted
my exchange to Japan was postponed due to Covid-19. This video is comforting my disappointed ass and for that, thank you, Mattias. I hope you can visit Japan again anytime soon!
did you do it yet?
What's the update?
thinking in strict dichotomies is not only stupid, but dangerous too. you don't have to exclusively love or hate japan
Every culture has it's ups and downs. Japan too, has it's ups and downs, just like literally every other culture out there.
@@lolmeme69_ Yes, but I don't think he shouldn't treat anime as some kind of disease. I get that it can be unhealthy spending all days watching it and stuff, but you did that in the past and got over it, you shouldn't hate yourself for what you liked. I love anime and Japanese music, but it's not like I run around with Konoha headband, doing hand signs, yelling omae wa mou shinderu, yamero, doing JoJo poses and watching anime all day. I think being a fan of animation is no different than being a fan of... let's say... Marvel, star wars and stuff like that,... just an opinion :P
@@lolmeme69_ did you read the comment?
Johnson Tan
I see people say this a lot when a response doesn’t disagree with the person they’re replying to. Maybe it comes from an implicit belief that if somebody is going to respond, they’re doing it to tell you how wrong you are?
@@kdraws3361 Anime is a very niche market that can come off as plain edgyness and pedophile fantasies. Which tbh is not far from the truth lmao. Also lets not forget the literal sexualitation of everything, the power fantasys, annoying tropes, and so on. You like anime? thats cool but it isnt perfect and it can be toxic in a lot of ways.
"Single white guy surrounded by old Japanese men"
bruh, one time in Tokyo, bar hopping and shit, most of them boomers in suits so hospitable, and they bond me more when they brought up some stuff about WWII (telling them my people forgives them..I am a filipino btw). Overall Japan is not perfect, I get some stares because of my curled hair,"scary(they say)" look and c r i s p y b r o w n skin, but ey, you win some u lose some. 11/10 fucking Asahi is better than Heineken
how the fuck do they find curly hair terrifying
Heineken is piss and water from the Amstel river
@@paddlesaddlelad1881 it even baffles me and I cant even get some straight information tho. maybe its mostly seen as a deliquent or a very undisciplined person in Japan.
@@exudeku In asian societies, mostly the oriental ones, our genetics tend to result in almost no people with curly hair genes in our DNA, so it's mostly a sense of curiosity and wonder when people see another jabroni with curly hair. Mostly the older folk tho.
@@dinis8271 Hertog Jan > Palm > Heineken >>> Amstel
2:02 lmao the sign in the bottom left corner says "注意！外国人がいる" or "Caution! There are foreigners" lmaooooo
4:59 "何でゲーム" you put in the effort to write in actual Japanese but you didn't put in effort to come up with fake names for things lmaoo
bro I was going to point that out! lol
lmao moment when we see this
I keep reading 外国 as そとくに because I can never remember how to read it and it’s so annoying-
@@bibzamwe8549 haha I feel that, I've lost countless marks on Japanese class quizzes for not remembering how readings of kanjis change depending on the context
And the other sign says こち, like "this way"
We've been touring to japan twice a year for 5 years straight because my mom likes sakura and autumn/winter there "also the milk teas and the toilets". We've been to toury spots here and there but we tend to get lost on rural areas because the scene there is wild in sakura month. Can't wait get back there again once this thing is over. There's still so much hidden gems to discover
Must cost a lot of money but that sounds like a great family habit ! Did you ever lost the magic - or some kind of magic - or the place feel just as great every year ?
I don't need sleep I need answers
I did but that's to visit to my family and I haven't been for a while cos money
0:30
In other words, you come back saying "I'll never forgive the Japanese!"... And maybe even as a stand user
Is this some kind of...wait what was it ? oh yeah cory in the house reference ????
LightV thats so raven reference
Lol I hope these replies are joking
Ohhh holyyy shit ohhh my godddd
Simpsons refrence noice
I lived in Japan for two years and my favorite part was how safe it is, I was able to go to Tokyo at like 11:00 P.M and get mcdonald's and still feel super super safe.
why would you be scared at 11PM by going to mcdonalds? in what country do you live that you have to be scared of that? do gangsters hang out in your nearest mcdonalds or something?
@@diablo.the.cheater murica.
@@diablo.the.cheater God damn sometimes I hate how fucking insexure Argentina is, like theres no "safe time", you are never truly safe.
The last time i was mugged i had a pistol pointing at me, that day I felt like Usain Bolt lol, i ran like crazy
Aitor Rosell Torralba found this really funny because you described my small town in Canada exactly LMAO. The only McDonalds in our town once had a stabbing incident and the police get called all the time to deal with threatening customers and loiterers. It's also across three liquor stores and a weed store. And not sure if they were a gang but sketchy guys would hang out there all the time, knocking on your window in the drive thru. Not a fun place to go, but when you're craving fries...
@@OrdinaryArgentinian Was about to mention my own country then you did lol. This is why I stay at home even before quarantine. Argentina is kind of a shithole, but at least our non-criminal people are nice sometimes I guess. And the internet community is godlike that's for sure.
The part where one must fail at being themselves to become themselves really resonated with me. I am a college freshman and I have been feeling a lot of pressure to become the best version of me. But a lot of things don't end up working well and thinking about what i should and could be doing gets me down very often. I felt like every failure was just adding distance between me and my goal. But This video reminded me that there is a lot of progress I don't see when I am trying. Thanks as always Matt.
Hey Joel, just wanted to say this is a really hard time to be a college freshman with all the COVID stuff going on, so this is kinda like college on hard mode. Your performance this spring term and going forward is most likely not what it was going to be before everything hit and that’s totally okay. Good luck with your studies!
@@sheab101 My final grades came out today (and they weren't so great), and this was really encouraging. Thank you.
I can relate a lot more than I d want to admit.
@@shersockholmes6261 We in this together bro
Congrats on not getting lost trying to search for the comments
I actually got lost looking for the like button on the video.
My app hasn’t updated yet so I’m good
@@rockspoon6528 me on pc: i do not have such weaknesses
I've lived in Japan for 3 years now and lemme just say....I am incredibly jaded. So much stuff here annoys me endlessly and I always sound like an angry old man scoffing when I see tourists having so much fun just eating basic food or going shopping somewhere. Living here definitely sucks the magic out of everything. The grass is always greener on the other side until you live there yourself. I miss a ton of things about America usually but I know if I moved back I'd miss things about Japan too.
I want to live in japan because america fucking suckkks
oh please explain... in detail
I also lived in Japan for about two years but I still really like it. Sure, some things are annoying but my own country annoys me too. Obviously the magic disappears after a time but I am still kinda excited to go to new places in japan
@Zi FACTS GIRL periodt.
@@teethgiver much intelligence in that comment
You know, hanging out and drinking with some elder japanese men sounds cool
I’ve always loved hanging out with older people :-) I don’t get why some people hate them so much. Like, I guess they just knew a couple of bad ones and are projecting that onto all of them?
Now that I think about it, I guess that’s where _most_ hatred of entire demographics of people come from
@@littlefishbigmountainTH-cam commentors fucking suck /j
@@littlefishbigmountainwho hates old ppl
Things that we were randomly given in Japan: drunken businesses men with ties on their forehead on the subway giving my wife their business cards, and multiple cups of tea brewed fresh to allow us to taste the tea at the market. Pretty neat.
I know there is this thing in Japan that seating is free. Like that bar. But you are required to buy an entrance snack.
This might be what happened. This foreigner didn't know that he should have bought it, so one of the natives bought it for him.
Candies from old ladies with heavy Japanese dialect times three
@@xyro88 But don't they usually give you the snack automatically and then you see like 3 bucks extra on your bill? At least, that's what happened to me usually (although some places didn't have that requirement)
@@AnnaHeey Yea I thought so too. But I don't know enough about the subject to be sure. It's that culture that you eat snack while you drink. Maybe they just wanted to be nice, and instead of buying him a drink they bought a snack.
Or prank him to smell like garlic :|
That advice at the end was really reassuring. I personally struggle with failure and self-worth, and hearing you say that it’s OK to fail, and that it’s even a part of becoming a better person, made me feel a little better about some of the things I’m going through right now. Thanks man, you really helped me out. :)
3:18
I am a Japanese who grew up in Japan from 1995-2014. I remember a time when my father was so busy from his job (he was like, in the 3rd highest position in a moderately large company) that he only ate convenience store lunch for 3 weeks. So yes you certainly can live off those, but not forever
oooh, cool story about The Before Times : )
yes, a perfect story to watch in the leisure station of your spaceship
if this isn't what you were referencing then nevermind
@@weesalikesmilktea4829 Ah, a CGPGrey fan I see.
Bru
I stayed in Japan for a year for study abroad, and man. I freaking miss it.
Now that I've been isolated for more than 2 months due to the pandemic, I've found myself reminiscing my times over there.. My nature walks and spending my money in Osaka, the arcades, and crane games. And also by God, the awesome food.
I've cried a lot because I miss my time in Japan so much. It felt like "home" and also the first time where I felt ok with myself as a person.
@Kwok Yat Wai I can't speak for him, but I'm someone who went to study abroad too (not to Japan though).
In my country I feel pressure from my family and even from myself to abide to some expectations. Being away from the people you know and your own culture is a rather freeing experience, as you can "start over" so to speak and rebuild the circle of people around you.
Normally, the people close to you would find it odd if you were to act differently and were to start doing new things even if they were accepting of those changes, there are also people you'd normally be unable to avoid. When moving there is no such pressure, you can just be true to yourself from the start as long as you are respectful to wherever you insert yourself into.
There are also activities you can only do in other countries, because they are a part of their culture, or rely on the countries landscape, so when you fit in in their niche it's normal to miss it.
I relate so much to seeing places in that are portrayed in art in real life... it’s just so cool how a lot of anime try to really mimic actual places in Japan and absolutely nail it. When I went to high school in Saitama it was so crazy how much the walk from my neighbourhood to my school looked like something I had seen in a film. It was so incredibly beautiful and I’d do anything to go back and relive those first moments.... I’ve gone back every other year since 2015, I was supposed to go again this year but it looks like that’ll be put on hold. 😞 I really think everyone who has the opportunity should visit at least once. ♡
It's just like when I went into a public school for the first time to take an SAT... Having been homeschooled, it felt just like the schools I had seen in so many cartoons and movies, it was surreal.
Just got this video in my recommendations, and I love it!
I’m a Canadian of Japanese descent, living in Japan from about 3-4 years ago.
Granted, i do speak the language and look like the people here, so perhaps I have it a bit easier than many other “gaijins”
But I do want more people to understand that Japan is neither the best place in the world, or the worst place in the world.
I’m not sure what compels people to want to do one or the other, but really… it’s just a place.
It’s just a country, with a history, with its own customs, and it has… people.
It became so much more of a enjoyable, genuine experience when I took off my tinted eyeglasses (tinted with an odd resentment for Japan and its people) and took a moment to understand it, and give it a chance.
1:41 The sheer confidence and energy coming from that one statement made me respect you all the more
Yesss, I always wanted to be a gothic lolita. I'm moving to Japan!
Niccccceee
I've always wanted to be a gothic KNIGHT!
No you don’t, Lolita fashion is niche and most Japanese girls wear long skirt and conservative shirts. Japanese daily fashion is between cute and conservatism. But, you get some different niche fashionable ppl here which are jk(high school), college girls.
@@kittychobit I prefer being conservative and a lolita (kinda) person in my own country. Although I just wear pastel clothing items that are available to me in Canada.
Amazon is nice minus the shipping.
@@kittychobit I mean like most things in japan really
I love how the stick figure for “old, jaded dude who doesn’t like anime” turns into Hayao Miyazaki. That really got me 😂
Usually the end of a really good video is sad, but this guy's enthusiastic "ok bye everybody, bye!" instantly from something bleak or serious is so iconic. 7:15
Travel really does reveal some of the most interesting things about yourself...
As a former weeb I already had high expectations of Japan just because it was my dream to go since I was 10 years old.
I finally went with my husband this year (our first trip got canceled due to coronavirus), and it beyond exceeded my expectations. The places, the people, everything, was just amazing.
Even my husband, who initially had no interest in visiting, tells me all the time since the trip he just wants to go back to Japan. I feel the same way. I can’t stop thinking about it!! It truly blew my mind.
I have studied Japanese for many years and now work here as a translator.
I was expecting a run of the mill Japan impressions video, but man, this was really introspective and really enjoyed your perspective. I subscribed before the video ended.
I am here from "
My Grandpa made Monkeys Illegal in Sweden" and your accent is basically gone now it's insane. Great video!
I'm so depressed, so alone, so bored at home in my shitty little town... This video, despite being 7 minutes long and literally made in MS Paint... was a treat. Like I actually went to Japan and went through all that... And no, I'm not a weeb or anything. Just don't like feeling disconnected from the world. So thank you for this! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Same. My parent move us from big city to shitty little village near little town. I'm also bored because I left all my friends I had (two, but ill never find better than they), I had so many plans to make money (I'm 15 yo introvert) for me or or my parent needs, but they refused to help start it. I have to wake up so early (4:20am), go to school, lessons ends often at 4 pm and come back to home, I mean i have no free time after school. When ill'be adult, i want to live japan, leave these people called family. There's always somebody who has worse life than you, and me. Maybe i don't appreciate what i already have (probably because nothing i do goes like I wanted)
@jasiekx3856 you should make new friends. Your old friends don't want you not to make new friends. If they don't, then they're not good friends. Don't speak loneliness into existence. Just because the physical place isn't to your liking doesn't mean there isn't somebody whom you'd be well off to be friends with. Sometimes, good friends in a bad place can provide a launching point to leave that place rather than further rooting you there.
@@jasiekx3856 As long as you have friends it's not a big issue. Once you start working and earning, you can easily visit each other once in a while. Better than nothing. Take care friend.
@@jasiekx3856 I mean between 4:20 am and 4 pm is more than 11 hours! That's plenty of free time. But if you like this kinda life with no friends, Japan will suit you perfectly! You're literally working your ass off every day (or at least pretend to while wasting your time), and you have zero social life (aside from mandatory drinking with boring coworkers).
@@m0ff607 I mean he/she literally in a village. I totally understand his feeling. Like even if you do make a friend, if you're from completely different backgrounds, they might still be craving the old life.
5:36 onward was something i really needed to hear but was not expecting from a "A Former Weeaboo Goes to Japan" video. Mattias: from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
"Akibara cant exist outside Tokyo'
My dude, you really need to visit Ximending in Taiwan.
I just came back from a long awaited trip to japan and im shocked at how similar our experiences were.
Love your artwork including the random Japanese words😂 I work in Akihabara at a non-subculture-related office job and still amazed everyday that this place exists
I'd love to live there bc I'm disabled and I love the idea of getting to walk in suburbs. Little to no trash on streets. Healthier food options. And a few other cool things I learned from other vids.
And I totally get the bit about the art and trying to fit in boxes while also stretching yourself across a spectrum.
japanese cities are very well designed in general.
you laugh, but I actually broke down in tears the first time I saw the welcome to Arizona billboard. it's like christ we truly are in America
Theres nothing like that first night in Asia; especially Japan during jet lag. Its a life experience for sure.
If you like mundane Japanese neighbourhoods, I bet you’ve found the TH-cam channel Rambalac already.
It’s just him with his camera walking and biking around in Japan. It makes a really relaxing background channel.
It doesn't matter how much time you spend in Japan, you will never find out if you like it or not
You will eventually just find yourself in loving and hating at the same time
When I found out that the locations and scenes from Digimon (my favourite show, my real introduction to anime and Japan in middle school) were real....I will admit, I spent most of my trip checking out those locations. Odaiba is where the main characters live and where many battles take place. Went to Nakano Broadway where Cyber Sleuth is centered. Also, I didn't get to watch Tri til now, and I saw more scenes that I went to. It was so weird and nostalgic ❤
I went when I was like 9 before I ever knew what anime was but let me tell you, everything is so different from how it’s imagined.
This channel is really underrated
It wasn't clear if you only went to Tokyo or not, but it's true, you really do need to explore other parts of Japan as well. While I was looking forward to going to Tokyo the most on my trip, I was surprised how much I loved Kyoto. From hiking up Arashiyama to walking to walking through Kifune Shrine and its foresty outskirts, it was both serene and enlightening.
Agreed The city and country side are night and day, even the people are different. Can be a bad or good thing depending on the foreigner
I've been a Japanophile since childhood like the series of Doraemon, or other cute stuffs that I actually don't know what I did that time but it got way cringier when someone introduced Hatsune Miku and I screamed "Japan" everywhere like a JoJo fans finding out a possible reference. But when I was 11 travelling there with the aid of my relatives (who lives there) in Japan, I barely have the chance to get to Akihabara (which I heard that the merch might be there) and sticks more to historical places or some notable landmarks. I felt quite let down but again there's different stuffs that I am captivated into, like the introvertedness of the residence or the fusion of modern and tradition into one place. I went home and took a hiatus from my obsession, thinking what am I actually obsessing over. People also saying things about Japan like they're actually depressed as heck, people who studies there are depressed as heck and other stuffs(Japanese don't like strangers and their polite manners is a conduct), it probably affected some on my worldview. My next obsession went right back to my Homeland and fluctuated.
I went back to Japan in 2019 with the same position. My interest changed, but still there's always space to the interest in the Japanese. What is most notable that ties me with Japan is probably the nostalgia. It bugs me how I suddenly have that such feelings that never actually happened that much, like I was meeting an acquaintance. And meeting an acquantaince is just revealing more things to us to get acquainted, boi, Japan was not a stranger that I stan anymore?
4:56 the arcade game being titled "why game?" is somehow really funny to me.
When I came to Japan for the first time, I thought it would be a fun experience, at that time I was not really that interested in Japanese culture, I have to say, Tokyo is so compact, my first apartment with my family was so small, the entire room was like 3 beds and then a restroom on the side, it was really small, and there was barely any space to move in. It’s really, really, really cold too (I come from a tropical third-world country), which made it so hard for me to adapt, but I really enjoyed the Konbini stores, it was just so fun to just browse cheap, healthy rice balls, and cool looking juice boxes that has letters I don’t understand, it’s the little things in Tokyo that are just so fun! And the first time I went to the large high-rise buildings and the huge crossroads, I was simply amazed, it was a blazing experience! So much lights! I also went to Akibahara, which, at the time I wasn’t watching anime.. at all.. so I really didn’t know why I went there other than because my dad wanted to go buy some cool anime action figures, it was really weird for me to just see random cosplayers walking the streets there, because I was already adapted to the fashion norm, only to find.. girls wearing maid uniforms? It was really weird for me, but it was still fun, as they had this enthusiastic vibe to them that just made Tokyo light up even more. Tokyo is a great place to visit! So many fun things to do there, but I don’t think I could ever live there properly, it’s quite scary honestly, the bustling city, the large electronic billboards.. but, I still found it enjoyable. I actually want to go back to Japan one day, either to visit, or maybe even stay there permanently, but if I was to do the latter, I guess I’ll probably go somewhere more... residential instead, like Kyoto! Anyway, if you read this far, uh, cool! Thanks for following my story I guess..
That's why i wish i was never born in a third world country bruh i barely even have money to buy money and cared to much about efficiency and have less care about the things i like and i just realized I'm just alive nothing other than that waiting death forgot what makes me happy and will never be
Anime takes place in school/fantasies cause adulthood is misery in japan. Other countries celebrate being old.
There is a reason why there is a word that specifically describes foreigners obsessed with Japanese culture --- it is simply put because Japanese culture is unique and therefore can be quite appealing. I lived in several countries in asia, and there was never an equivalent word for foreigners who obsessed about those countries/cultures. There is no shame in it.
Japanophile, Sinophile, Slavophile, Slavophobe, Sinophobe, Japanophobe
"Not a good youtuber?!?!?!?"
Honestly you are my favorite. you have quite the talent for writing and portraying your thoughts.
I now listen to you every time I need to do something. how you tell your stories really helps put my own thoughts, actions and motivations into perspective.
A weeaboo is always a weeaboo.
There is no such thing as 'former weeaboo'
Both my parents, who have lived in Japan, both agree that you have to spend at least a year there in order to really appreciate the country, and you have to go outside Tokyo
He was already a weeb, that's why he never changed when he came back
I really related to your evaluation of yourself and your struggles creating. I’ve been overwhelmed recently having so many creative aspirations that I too feel like I’m holding myself back
Akihabara does exist outside of Tokyo, albeit in a lesser fashion. Here in Nagoya we have a place called Osu which is where you find your cosplay shops, maid cafes, electronics stores, street fashion, DIY markets and international food. It also has an awesome LED-festooned shrine with an automated holographic crypt complex in its subterranean levels. There's an animatronic dragon show outside of the main gate as an attraction. That said, as I live here I don't really go there much unless I'm showing visitors around, or need to price shop PC components.
To enrich your range of "either or" come to Russia next time. The existential dread will almost kill you but right amount of alcohol and glorious sights will counter that. Hit me up if you go to Moscow, I'll be happy to be your guide.
Ok anatoly
@@radegast2346 I'm actually Andrey
"Come to the Russia"
Me, living on the Russian island Sakhalin (100km from Hokkaido) -
Nu, arigato, blya. Welcome.
@@Duvumvirat У меня родня во Владивостоке есть. Я их навестил в октябре 19го и впервые в жизни там побывал. До этого они приезжали ко мне. На Сахалине тоже хочу побывать когда-нибудь. Владик оказался совсем другим, нежели я себе представлял. Полагаю, что так со всей Россией за пределами европейской части.
Russia will even suck the soul out of tourist
you missed out on Kyoto and Osaka, those two in combination with Tokyo was a dream for me, and i barely scratched anime before i went there
well... my first trip to japan actually cured my weeb-i-ness...
instead I fell in love with the country itself....
I can read japanese and man, the things you wrote on the signs sometimes cracked me up
this was such a gem to find! Incredibly relatable on some many levels, from the former weeb stuff to the overthinking things about "enjoying" something and thoughts on art and creation. Subscribed!
Or maybe you can still love Japan without being a weeb or becoming jaded.
Yeah, that reality sounds pretty good!
That old bar sounded like a fun chill vibe. I don't even drink and i want to go. After all the short mountains, temples, art museums, makeup shops and theme cafes. Imma need 2 weeks!! Great video.👍
You need a month :D
As a composer, that last part of your video hit hard.
Ya'know... I feel like I can weirdly relate to you and your experience. But, different outcomes.
I, too, was a bit of a weeb as a kid (I wouldn't call it to an unhealthy degree, but enough to look back and feel a little cringe). I used to draw as well to the point of wanting to be an artist when I grew up. However, growing up, I kinda abandoned all that. I stopped drawing completely, took a job so I could live, and generally attributed my love of Japan to be a thing that was just me being young and me being a very artsy person at the time (Japan & their media is very pretty, so I feel it attracts artists). I can stress enough how much I really just attributed it as a thing of the past, and if asked, probably wouldn't of said I had any strong feelings for Japan or Japanese culture one way or another (In fact, I was aware of the negative aspects a lot more than when I was a kid).
However, when my family moved to Japan for a military assignment, I had the opportunity to go there to visit... It really turned things around for me.
Okinawa, while definitely different and unique compared to mainland, was fucking beautiful. And, still very much Japanese. I actually found myself falling in love with the place all over again. I loved the simple, dumb stuff. How everyone keeps the streets clean, the 'loudness' of the ads, the weirdest things having cute mascots (A construction company I saw repairing the road had one in Okinawa and it was sort of delightful and amusing to see), and how fucking green and filled with beautiful plants everything was crammed with wherever there wasn't buildings. And Okinawa in particular having the most beautiful water/ocean I've ever seen in my life. (They also have little shisha guardians before every entranceway. Ever. Single. One.)
It reminded me about how Japan was a place that placed a lot of value on nature & beauty in all their things, and the whole experience reignited that old adoration I had for the place in me. That trip actually inspired me to go back to college (I had quit before) and get myself a bachelor degree so that I may go to Japan to teach English, just in the name of getting to be there in a more long term capacity.
Kinda crazy how things worked out. I like anime, sure, but not nearly to the same degree as I did when I was a kid. Now, I love Japan, but for very different reasons. If you ever go again, I may be a little bias, but try some more country side things. Climb Mt. Fuji. Go to Okinawa and see it's unique culture (They are very familiar with Americans there because of the military base, so you can even communicate just fine for the most part). I love Tokyo and the cityscape, but the beauty of Japan has always secretly been in it's nature and landscape. Something about always being able to see Mt.Fuji is just so cool and lingers as a reminder, always, of where you are.
You should go again my dude.
from here 5:38 you flawlessly described one of the issues that annoys me the most about myself. i feel that somehow now i have a proper relieving answer to my constant questioning of some of my likes and possible improvement in some areas and how that makes me feel that i’m loosing ‘quality’.
also i’m really into art, i worship it and by now i have some skills. i’ve created things that i adore, but all of them weren’t affected by the ‘pressure’ i constantly feel when comparing myself to others in a very negative way, feeling no hope, creativity crisis, and too many things i could try and learn that i end up doing nothing at all. or doing it and failing. when something actually succeeds is when an harmony between my mind and inspiration occurs, basically when i just want to have a nice time, no pressure, just endless possibilities to make me or others happy.
i cannot feel thankful enough for this vid and in general this channel.
I’m impressed by how well the kanji and shit is written
I'm actually living in a Japanese foster home (due to parental issues). When I moved here in 2019, I also got lost since I decided to live there. The language, social life and people too. Although my dream of becoming an artist here didn't made me gave up living here in Tokyo. So after the parental issues, the government helped me by sending me to a safe foster home where I get to live with other Japanese kids (despite im the only foreigner who's first to be in the place). But overall, everything's awesome and wholesome. Everyone's cool, the people who are now taking care of me supporting me alot for my next Future plans. It kinda feels a home stay trip.
I have no idea who you are but your video spoke to me on a deep emotional level. You summed up how I have felt about my life in a 7:40 minute video.
"Maybe I should go again, maybe I should work here or live here" those were my thoughts until i realised i actually did get obsessed again
That is what's special about human I guess :)
You need to like Japan for something else than their anime, it's just a small part of their culture and history. It's like appreciating canadians only for the igloos. If you can go over it, then you can cure yourself from weeabooism.
Broooooo.... Igloos?! XD Winter aint THAT bad there
but we don't really have igloos...
but Quebec has a winter ice hotel once in a while
The Golden Cap Man ????Canada literally extends past the arctic circle. It gets pretty fuckin cold in some provinces.
I liked the lesson at the end. Life isn't about succeeding and being perfect at every little/very specific things. It's about living the life God blessed you with and learning and growing from mistakes and experiences. You just gotta live life, and not restrict it with unnatural expectations.
1:02 how do you go into a bar and just .... talk to people.
You converted me to your tourism way. Only thing planned is that I'm gonna do kendo, cause i'm a fencer, so I figured it could be cool.
なんて言ってるか全然わかんないけど、棒人間が可愛い
ありがとう！
@@MattiasPilhede you speak japens
2:14 had the same experience the first time I went to Japan. It may seem a little silly but when you've grown up watching anime and then go there, you experience all of the emotions you have attached to those landscapes you've only seen in those films and shows.
trip to japan to self-honest and being better yourself? that’s a pretty smooth transition.
dude was so high in his video i think I'm questioning my life now
“It truely was... a suburb” 😢 that was beautiful someone get the tissues
I think I remember your video on how you went to the 2 extremes of liking Japanese culture and I honestly disliked how anti-otaku you became, but it’s good to see how you finally traveled to Japan to get a realistic perspective on liking the culture, and became an enlightened weeaboo, like me lol
Honestly as a Japanese half and living here for 7+ years it sucks, people are rude just don’t come here it’s really toxic
Sunflower what? How are they toxic, they’re really kind and heart warming. At least compared to other western countries. Btw I’ve lived in Japan for almost half of my life.
There exists a polar opposite to your problem: a japanese embassy in france has a hotline for tourists who had their hearts broken (and their savings wasted) by what they THOUGHT paris would be, versus what it actually is.
Being too hard on yourself as an artist and giving yourself analysis paralysis via "what style should I do" is relatable
this video went places in the last half i was not expecting
2:03 I love how it says “caution there’s a foreigner” in the bottom left
This was a very insightful video, thank you. I think it goes to show that you can be interested in a country and enjoy it for being a different place without being unhealthily obsessed with it
being able to read katakana makes this funnier, loving all the hidden gems
"I'm an exotic creature"
Why it got me, I don't know why, but I laughed
The most relatable unrealtable video I have ever watched
Being yourself nowadays gets you canceled or bullied or harassed