Time flies seems to just fly by this year, it does not seem that long ago when the Coronavirus was this new and scary thing and now all of a sudden everyone has become so used to it. Here’s hoping that 2021 will be a better year for everybody. Anyway, let’s have some news.
Netflix is planning to put up more anime content, so that’s good news for all anime fans I suppose. As far as I am aware, Netflix’ original anime content seems to be well-liked, so it will be interesting to see how these new series turn out.
Deadline
https://deadline.com/2020/10/netflix-plans-anime-content-strikes-deals-with-4-producers-japan-korea-1234602414/
Next, we have an article suggesting the Kotatsu (or heated table, as they call them here) make its international debut, specifically for Chicago which suffers from cold winds. Personally, I am not so sure on whether having your legs warm but being battered in the face by cold wind would make for an enjoyable evening. Also, they are looking to adapt the design to be normal dining-table height, which kind of kills the appeal of crawling under the Kotatsu and falling asleep. Overall, not sure on this one, I’m afraid.
Businessinsider
https://www.businessinsider.com/kotatsu-japanese-table-outdoor-dining-chicago-restuarants-covid-design-competition-2020-10
If you live in Japan and paid attention to the news, then you will most likely have heard about the rise of a new threat, bears. You may be familiar with the somewhat funny looking signs, warning wanderers in the mountainy countryside of bears. On some trails, you will find wooden contraptions to make noise, so that you can announce yourself to the bears even. Bears usually only attack when startled by something, so if you announce yourself via a loud knocking on wood, they are less likely to attack you. Recently, two elderly women have been killed after encounters with wild bears, prompting concern. I just hope, that rational measures are taken, to ensure that a peaceful co-existence with the bears is possible.
JapanTimes
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/10/26/national/bears-japan/
Now, the “Great British Bake Off”, a baking show from the UK, has come under fire recently for cultural misappropriation. First off, I have no idea why this appeared on Yahoo! Sports for me. But I thought it was somewhat hilarious, so here goes. The show featured a so-called “Japanese Week” and some viewers seem to have taken issue with the results of that basically ending up being just some pancakes, sprinkled with Matcha powder. Especially one actress, Naoko Mori of Torchwood fame, commented that she was offended by the program. Now, of course, we all should strive to do our research and refrain from cultural missteps as much as possible. But, as a foreigner living in Japan, I found it pretty rich to be offended by something like this. I’m a German, and if I was offended by every little bit of cultural misappropriation that takes place in Japan, my salt-levels would most likely eclipse those of the Dead Sea. “Immer zuerst an die eigene Nase fassen” (always check your own nose first) is a German proverb that comes to mind here, meaning that before you criticize someone for something, you should check if you are not doing that something yourself.
Yahoo! Sports
https://sports.yahoo.com/bake-off-japanese-week-backlash-100633022.html
I’ll leave it at that for now. Next week is going to be interesting, with the American election coming up there is a chance for a human to once again take power in the White House. If you are American, I hope you go vote (or have already done so). Consider, that your actions have consequence not only on America but also on the rest of the world. Take care and until next time!
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