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Answerman - Why Is Alice In Wonderland So Popular In Japan?


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AkumaChef



Joined: 10 Jan 2019
Posts: 821
PostPosted: Sat Feb 23, 2019 9:49 am Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:

Maybe you just don't recognize it when you see it? There are probably at least as many adaptations and references to Urashima Tarou in anime as there are to Alice. Journey to the West, though Chinese, is not western, and likewise is constantly referenced and reused. You'll also find many references to other classics like Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (Princess Kaguya) and Momotarou. And there are dozens of anime about traditional youkai, ayakashi, and kami and the people who deal with them.

Alice is definitely one of, if not the leading western literary influence, but she's hardly eclipsed Japan's own sources as inspiration for anime.


I agree completely. And some of the references to Japanese culture might be so incredibly obvious that we miss the forest for the trees: Ninjas, Samurai, Sushi, Shinto temples & associated imagery (Miko, paper wards against spirits, etc.), Japanese swords, Super Sentai heroes, Giant robots, car tuner culture, sailor suits, maneki neko statues, etc. Even the classic "high school life" subject matter of many anime is distinctly Japanese, even down to the "ringtone" of the school bell.
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