Wii On!
Thursday, April 19th, 2007As part of my ongoing immersion into all things Japanese, I have bought a Wi console, made by company Nintendo.
If you didn’t know already, Nintendo is one of the biggest manufacturers of video games in the world. The Wii is their latest machine, and it has an interesting interface method: instead of pressing buttons with your fingers, you hold two controllers, or リモコン and wave them around in front of your TV. You really have to try it to understand it; the feeling of having two controllers in your hands and frantically flailing them about makes the whole experience much more enjoyable.
I’m currently battling my way through a game called Rayman Raving Rabbids. In it, a group of crazy ラビッツ try to take over the world, and challenge you, レーマン to a series of challenges to prove your worthiness. These take the form of a series of minigames, or single challanges. These may be races, dancing competitions, shootouts with hordes of rabbits out for your blood, or navigating through mazes. Admittedly the game doesn’t have a very solid plotline, but it is still enjoyable. Nevertheless, sometimes the screaming ラビッツ get on your nerves, and I have taken a break to write this blog entry.
I have somehow ended up with the Japanese version, and besides brushing up on my カタカナ, I have had to learn some new words to get through the game. Each minigame is different to all the others, so before you play, instructions on how to complete the challenge come up on the screen. As I have the Japanese version, I have to say… everything… out… loud… slowly… to… understand…, or fire up Firefox and use Rikachan to work out what I’m meant to do. I tell myself that all my hours spent on my Nintendo Wii counts as Japanese study time.
I have always had a fascination with ニンテンド, from when I was young enough to wrap my little fingers around a Nintendo Entertainment System control pad. You might even say that ニンテンド, and their rivals Sega first seeded my interest in all things Japanese. That and the fact that Japan was the only place I knew where grown ups read comic books.
I wouldn’t go so far to say that I’ve come so far with Japanese exclusively because of video games, but I guess they have been a factor in my childhood interest in Japan. Like so many young kids, I played a lot of video games, and was amazed to find out that almost all of my favourite games came from a small island country off the coast of mainland Asia. Although my interest in video games has waned, my interest in Japan has only grown stronger. So many unique things have come from Japan: not just Nintendo and Sega, but 侍, 盆栽, the Walkman, automatic toilets, ドラえもん, not to mention everyone’s favourite podcast.
I know people often end blog posts with a question. You see, we bloggers aren’t always sure people are listening, so a question is a little bit like a to prod our readers to see if they are really there. But this time I really am interested (not that I wasn’t interested before, but you know what I mean!): what made you want to learn Japanese? It’s a question that a lot of Japanese people ask me, and I’ve never been able to give an answer to my satisfaction. I meant to attempt an answer in this post, but I can’t get it across. I hope that my fellow jPod listeners, of all people in the world, will know what I mean when I talk about my interest in Japan.
Maybe you find it hard to answer too. If you feel like it, leave a message!
I’m going back to blasting screaming bunnies with a toilet plunger (really!)
Posted by Max in Max in Shanghai |
April 19th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
It an interesting question to ask and I would be surprised if you don’t get at least one comment…
April 19th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
… or two…
April 19th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
As a blogger myself (albeit a fairly new one), I can sympathise with the whole thing about whether people are listening. I guess that’s what blog stats are for.
Hmm.. that doesn’t help answer your question, though.
Japanese was a funny one for me. I had picked it up in high school because of the stories you hear about samurais and ninjas. I thought “Hey, that would be interesting”. And it was at first. We’d occasionally take time in class to watch Tanpopo or Seven Samurai. However, that initial interest died off pretty quickly, despite the movies. Too much formality and not enough fun.
The genesis of the second and current burst started with anime. A friend of mine, who was absolutely nuts for it (almost in a stereotypical ubergeeky sort of way) got me onto it a while back. Oddly enough, he’s since lost interest while I’ve kept on. Thankfully, the ubergeek mantle was not passed on along with the anime fandom.
Then there are various other aspects of Japanese culture like the Iron Chef, the food in general and the juxtaposition of the very formal and polite with the very wacky and outrageous. Having a friend or two who are Japanese natives doesn’t hurt either.
So there’s my answer. Hope it was something along the lines of what you were expecting.
April 21st, 2007 at 5:02 pm
What makes me want to learn Japanese?
Video games and Japanese films/anime, it would be nice to be able to watch video interviews of the latest games and films/anime without subtitles.
Hopefully with JapanesePod101 I will be able to someday.
April 24th, 2007 at 10:56 am
yup, Max we’re out here… please keep writing.
As for me and Japanese, well I was only mildly interested until I met the woman who is now my wife. I got even more interested when we moved to Japan a couple of years ago!
April 24th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
Thanks for the comments guys. Nice to know you’re out there reading!
April 25th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Max-san!
I own a Nintendo Wii and it’s really a great feeling holding that controller specially in Zelda Twilight Princess ohh it’s amazing!
Now I’m looking foward to Resident Evil 4 Wii edition and Resident Evil Umbrella Cronicles.
Wii Will Rock you! S_R_C
May 2nd, 2007 at 11:05 am
Rayman Rabbits are so amazing that the game dvds are out of stock here! A bit jealous that you can get your hands on it.
Other games like the Super Paper Mario and the Legend of the Zelda are also must-plays.
Maybe be it’s the creativity of Japanese people that makes us interested in them. And IMHO, Japanese is the third largest culture system after English and Chinese. Lucky enough for me to be able to learn the first two since my childhood, and now, thanks for the great podcasts that help me through the third.
May 6th, 2007 at 6:56 am
Ah, Japanese…
I do not think you can be a grey person to learn Japanese. You need enthusiasm, most of all if you are a Westerner, because is not only a change of language but a change of mind structures. And the culture. It is fascinating.
I started learning Japanese because:
1. I have always been interested in how language shapes the mind and vice-versa. Did you know that you store your mother tongue in a particular zone of the brain and all learned languages in a totally different one? My 5-year old nephew lives in England, Brazilian mother and Spanish father, and I am amazed at his learning process with 3 languages. He learns the abstract concepts before he learns a word, and not vice-versa as it usually is when you are growing in a single-language environment. Anyway, Japanese mind is different to Western mind, and that reflects in the language. Btw, it is a wonderful language.
2. Since I was a little child, my parents have wanted to travel to Japan. They never did up to date, but I think their enthusiasm was catching.
3. I have always been, like, the “weird” of the group (atheist, vegetarian, entrepreneur, critic, not image-oriented…). This is not made on purpose or as a pose; it is just that I am natural. So taking into account the two previous reasons, it was only logical.
Well, sorry for the long message. But you must admit, the question was not easy.
And jolly good work you are doing here! Keep it up!