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HSG's avatar

I had just moved to Japan when Sunusu! Denpa Shonen first aired. I recall it being extremely popular. For those who are interested, a documentary about the show was made in 2023 (The Contestant). It was interesting to hear both the contestant and producer reflect upon the spiraling sadism of Japan reality shows of that era.

Coincidentally, Koshun Takami (creator of Battle Royale manga which was published a year after Denpa aired) gave some interesting interviews at the time about the zeitgeist of the 80s and 90s and how gen Z Japanese were forced to navigate a very different world than their parents. That experience manifested itself in a lot of the shock-Japan content (mainly films) of that era according to him.

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Matt Alt's avatar

It's amazing to me how controversial Battle Royale was at the time; it feels borderline documentary now.

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Ted Taylor's avatar

Terrific article. There were some great show back in the '90s, fantastic resources for language learning/acquisition, (as was manga!).

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Arizzle's avatar

how well you chart things out. thank you, we need this being pulled into focus - here in the states right now.

somehow hopeful as well.

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Jul 9
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Matt Alt's avatar

Thanks for reading!

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Matt Alt's avatar

Sorry to see you go. I know you were being deliberately abrasive, but you raised some valid points about conflating “the West” with “America.” I try not to do that, but this piece is pretty obviously about a resonation specifically between Japan and the U.S.

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