Japanese Reactions to NYT Coverage of 2D Love
Lisa Katayama’s recent New York Times story on one man’s relationship with an anime girl-printed pillow has been making waves in the English blogosphere, and those waves have finally made it back to Japanese shores. What did the infamous Japanese BBS 2chan have to say about this?
The most sensical, entertaining comments on the boards, not in any particular order or threading.
“I agree, he should go see a doctor”
“It’s far too late for a doctor”
“C’mon, it’s not just Japan that has things like this. Everywhere has them to some degree.”
“Japanese people also recoil from things like that.”
“Foreigners can’t grasp the splendor of two dimensions.”
“It’s wrong to broadcast sexual deviants out onto the world stage like this. Just leave them alone and let them be.”
“Of course he’s hentai, but I understand it more than scatology”
“The Times is nothing but disgusting anti-Japanese slander.”
“Wanting to marry something two-dimensional is nothing new. Come to Akihabara sometime and you’ll find this sort of people in swarms”
The mood swings back and forth, with sentiments ranging from otaku-bashing to incomprehension to attacking the west for pouncing on a deviation no worse than any others out there. Personally, we at TokyoKinky never judge, and while the pillows and dolls from our friends KanojoToys might be a little sexy to take out to the supermarket, they’ll love you just fine behind closed doors.
