4 ms·

I wonder if there's any connection between theater and video games in Japan, since theater is another medium where emotion has to be exaggerated to get across t

I wonder if there's any connection between theater and video games in Japan, since theater is another medium where emotion has to be exaggerated to get across to the audience. And some JRPGs (e.g. Final Fantasy or Octopath Traveler) are not just open with emotion but pull out all the stops to get across the emotion they're going for.

lmm 3y ago
Interesting thought - I wouldn't say there's a strong connection, but it feels a bit less distant than in the west, e.g. stage show adaptations of videogames are relatively common.
sph 3y ago
That's Kabuki theatre, but they are that way also thanks to the immense popularity of shōnen manga, aimed at young boys, where the main storytelling device is "tell, don't show". As someone that wanted to get into anime and Japanese media in their 30s, this characteristic has majorly turned me off from the most anime, manga-derived games and JRPGs. I just cannot stand their lack of subtlety and nuance in writing. It is a major and understated expression of the Western-Eastern cultural divide. In the Western world adults tend to appreciate sophisticated stories, maybe too much so, while, from what I understand, the traumatic break from happy school life to overly-rigid business Japanese culture is the reason why even grown adults tend to find refuge in late teen/school-age drama. Most Japanese animated media is made of, but not strictly for, 17 year olds in their senior year of high school fighting the universe and God himself.
- norwalkbear 3y ago
  Happy high school life is a myth, everyone studies hard for university or training due to increasing competition.
jncfhnb 3y ago
Manga got its style from shitty printing presses. They were not reliable enough to draw small detail faces realistically so they started drawing huge, super emotive faces instead with giant eyes and what not. I would guess it’s the root of it

lmm 3y ago

Interesting thought - I wouldn't say there's a strong connection, but it feels a bit less distant than in the west, e.g. stage show adaptations of videogames are relatively common.

sph 3y ago

That's Kabuki theatre, but they are that way also thanks to the immense popularity of shōnen manga, aimed at young boys, where the main storytelling device is "tell, don't show". As someone that wanted to get into anime and Japanese media in their 30s, this characteristic has majorly turned me off from the most anime, manga-derived games and JRPGs. I just cannot stand their lack of subtlety and nuance in writing. It is a major and understated expression of the Western-Eastern cultural divide. In the Western world adults tend to appreciate sophisticated stories, maybe too much so, while, from what I understand, the traumatic break from happy school life to overly-rigid business Japanese culture is the reason why even grown adults tend to find refuge in late teen/school-age drama. Most Japanese animated media is made of, but not strictly for, 17 year olds in their senior year of high school fighting the universe and God himself.

norwalkbear 3y ago
Happy high school life is a myth, everyone studies hard for university or training due to increasing competition.

jncfhnb 3y ago

Manga got its style from shitty printing presses. They were not reliable enough to draw small detail faces realistically so they started drawing huge, super emotive faces instead with giant eyes and what not. I would guess it’s the root of it