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Post by ineffable on Jun 18, 2006 23:12:55 GMT -5
"Hideki Kojima, 38, a garbage collector, is such a believer in cute he patronises a "maid cafe," one of several that have sprung up in Tokyo, where waitresses in maid outfits greet customers by squeaking: "Welcome home, master."
The cafe serves food and allows customers to take photos and play games with the maids. Kojima sometimes goes there three times a day, dropping as much as Y10,000 ($A117) a visit for a chance to gawk at the maids. "
That is just sad...
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Post by saeka on Jun 18, 2006 23:21:10 GMT -5
^ Its like the Geisha's dancing and serving tea and such. I woudnt do it though :s
A lot of things in Japan are cute, dont know how to describe it any other way I guess, some of its so chessy, sometiems too much cute is like.. Traumitizing
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Post by david on Jun 19, 2006 6:36:48 GMT -5
This national obsession with cute is an extreme expression of wanting to be loved and accepted by everyone by extolling and pursuing the very essence of being non-threatening. As such it’s an act of overcompensation and a form of national self-denial. A genuinely proud and confident nation rooted in its past and forward looking does not need to obsess over being wanting to be loved. The moment Japan openly confronts its WWII past, you will find its obsession with “kawaeii” toned down by notches. The reason I say it won’t completely disappear is that there is also a strong strand of sexual fetishism embedded within this culture and it’s serving a useful function of providing some form of ‘legitimate’ outlet and venting of sexual frustration for a lot of men in a densely populated and stressful society that Japan is. Hong Kong is another typically longstanding robust kaweii worshipper but it's not as florid. To outsiders it’s amusing at best and looked at with mild contempt at worst. Neither attitude really threatens Japan in any real way. The outsiders I see who worship this kind of thing are little girls and immature women. And certain men in turn fantasize over those who obsess over this kawaeii. It's just a tad mainstream in Japan...(!) Well, that is just my opinion
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Post by داود on Jun 19, 2006 22:28:15 GMT -5
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Post by Farmer Moustachio on Jun 23, 2006 8:15:11 GMT -5
Argh I hate the japanese obsession with "cute", it often goes beyond naivete and enters the realm of stupidity... especially women who want nothing more to look like they're 10 years old, these creatures stare vacuously out of fashion magazines brimming with advertisements for nose enhancements, laxatives and eye lifts, I never realised it was possible for a 25 year old to enter mutton-dressed-as lamb territory. For effs sake. But the boys love it so whatever works, right ?
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frogg
Junior Member
The frog
Posts: 161
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Post by frogg on Aug 28, 2006 8:22:33 GMT -5
This TV no Japanese, this Taiwanese.
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Post by saeka on Aug 28, 2006 8:30:14 GMT -5
Totoro kawaii ne
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Post by ~MangO_O~ on Aug 28, 2006 18:01:31 GMT -5
This TV no Japanese, this Taiwanese. Anyhow that girl is really cute. Totoro haha my cousin watched the movie constantly a while back... not good. I think thor's hammer should smack the cuteness a bit... It goes to the extent of living dolls... and that's not really nice.
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frogg
Junior Member
The frog
Posts: 161
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Post by frogg on Aug 29, 2006 4:18:18 GMT -5
I agree there are many childish girls in Japan, but some kawaii maniac girls are really smart and have mature mentality too. And there are many guys who are so feminine, I think they are worse than Kawaii maniac girls. They should make it compulsory to practice Judo or Karate from grade school, that would toughen them up. It's girls' stuff, let them handle it. And relax, most girls like cute stuff no matter where they live. Kawaii stuff is not pursued just in Japan, they love it in other Asian countries and even in US. Probably Puffy is the pioneer of kawaii cult who created International Kawaii scene. And let Asia have its own sense of cuteness and beauty, no need to put them down with narrow minded bias.
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Post by saeka on Aug 29, 2006 4:27:41 GMT -5
Hey Duy! That totoro song's like stuck in my head. To-toro totooro To-toro totooro lol Ehhh p.s I can kick any guys butt! I dont realy like ami yumi LOL
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Post by etudes on Aug 29, 2006 5:27:36 GMT -5
Pikachu is NOT CUTE. Bulbasaur is the best pokemon to start off with, not squirtle. Those r the sorts of arguements I had with friends back in year 5
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Post by ~MangO_O~ on Aug 30, 2006 10:13:59 GMT -5
Hey Duy! That totoro song's like stuck in my head. To-toro totooro To-toro totooro lol Ehhh p.s I can kick any guys butt! I dont realy like ami yumi LOL Ami yumi? THAT SINGING ANIME? AHHHH NOOOOOOOO MY MIND IS TAINTED WITH EVIL THOUGHS NOOOOO. Maybe it's a whole brainwashing gimmick?
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Post by jewbird on Aug 31, 2006 17:40:15 GMT -5
Well apparently cute is marketable in other countries so it's not limited to just Japan. My take on it is that non-threatening is culturally important in terms of maintaining social harmony with a dense population.
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Post by Micha on Aug 31, 2006 17:54:15 GMT -5
Kawaii traumatising? Disneyland Narita/Universal Studios were stocked with both men and women sporting 'ears' of different cartoon characters. (Not that I can really talk as I purchased some Minnie Mouse ears to ...................................... wear in my own time)
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frogg
Junior Member
The frog
Posts: 161
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Post by frogg on Sept 2, 2006 13:25:15 GMT -5
OMG, I think Germany is smitten by love of cute now The Kawaii did not invade the country, but it came out of there, unheard of! This Japanese group named "Shanadoo" consists of 4 Japanese grils and they sing songs in Japanese. And this group is gaining much popularities in Germany now. I don't think they sing any song in German, I think they sing in Japanese and English only. The interesting thing is that most people in Japan don't even know about this group. They are targetting Germany and maybe other European countries as well. I checked the video and they look more Korean than Japanese to me, however they sing in Japanese and there is no accent, so I guess they are really Japanese. Europe is going down now! ;D
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