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For many Western children, anime and manga is their first window into Japanese culture. In fact, it’s sometimes their first window into another culture outside of their own. However, these fictional stories can sometimes give off misleading impressions about what Japan is really like. Trends, habits, and lifestyles that are popular in anime might actually be taboo or unusual among actual Japanese people.
On the other hand, some popular trends in anime, even ones that seem like exaggerations, might actually have some truth to them, complete with statistics to back them up. Most of the time, however, the truth lies somewhere in the middle, with anime often exaggerate facts for entertainment purposes. After all, real life tends to be a bit more nuanced than fantasy.
10 Right: Vending Machines Are Huge In Japan
A character can often be seen enjoying something to eat or drink from a vending machine. Vending machines might also appear in the backdrop without characters actively using them.
In real life, vending machines are very common in Japan, with there being millions of such machines throughout the country. To some extent, these machines function as public refrigerators. Some even are even known to sell things other than food, like clothes, umbrellas, and toys.
9 Wrong: Hairstyles Are Not As Varied As Anime Characters’
It’s almost a given that real-life Japanese people don’t have multicolored hair. In fact, in many anime and manga, a character’s hair might only have an unusual color for the audience’s benefit and be said to be black in-universe. Still, it can be surprising how strict the Japanese can be when it comes to their hair.
In Japanese schools, it isn’t unheard of for students with naturally brown hair to be made to dye it black. And with all the unusual hairstyles in anime, it can be surprising to learn that some schools might even prohibit girls from wearing their hair in ponytails.
8 Right: Schools Clubs & Festivals Are Popular
Many anime episodes deal with school festivals and clubs. They go hand-in-hand, as clubs are often shown putting on displays during such festivals. Clubs like this are known to be popular in Japanese high schools, usually divided into sports clubs and culture clubs.
A majority of students at schools attend such clubs and there are even known to have some influence at the school. Granted, the stereotype of a powerful student council that dominates a school in anime is still something of an exaggeration.
7 Wrong: Anime Characters Talk In Ways Japanese People Would Find Offensive
It’s been noted that anime characters often speak in ways that would be unusual in daily conversion. Such ways are considered too gendered or archaic. In addition, certain words popular in anime will rarely be used in actual speech. For example, in most situations, it’s considered very insulting to address someone as “baka,” meaning “idiot,” despite how many times an anime character may do it.
Admittedly, this is complicated by the fact that what is considered appropriate and inappropriate varies by region. The aforementioned “baka” can actually be considered less offensive than other words for “stupid” or “idiot” in one region than others.
6 Right: Video Game Arcades Are Still Popular In Japan
Anime characters can often be seen attending gaming arcades and having fun. Given that such places have died out in the West, many fans might assume that this is an outdated media trope. After all, Western cartoon characters never to such places in modern cartoons.
Though counterintuitive, arcade gaming still remains one of the largest forms of the gaming market in Japan, even well into the 2010s.
5 Wrong: School Uniforms Are A Bit Different Than The Ones In Anime
In anime, school-aged heroines often don stylish sailor fuku when attending classes, famously derived from European naval uniforms. The Sailor Scouts of Sailor Moon are named after their school-uniform-inspired costumes. In general, however, schools make their own rules about uniforms and may favor different styles of uniforms. High schools, in particular, have been noted for gradually preferring plaid skirts and blazers.
On a related note, the sailor fuku worn in real Japanese schools tend to be much more modest than those worn in anime, generally having longer skirts and more muted colors. While it’s not unheard of for girls to wear their skirts higher outside of school grounds, doing so in formal situations or in class would be considered inappropriate.
4 Right: Students Are Expected To Clean Their Classroom
In anime, school-aged characters are often expected to help clean their classrooms once class has ended for the day. This can be seen in anime as far back as Sally the Witch. Indeed, Japanese students do have periods where they help clean up the classroom. Work is usually divided among small groups and younger students might get one or two days off from cleaning a week.
This is done more to teach children responsibility than for cleaning purposes, as there are still adult staff members who are employed to clean the classrooms after school. The exact workload also varies from school to school. In younger grades, for example, the children aren’t expected to clean the toilets.
3 Wrong: Modern Shrine Maidens (Miko) Are Not Exorcists
Japanese miko have inspired various characters in anime and manga, such as Miaka Yuuki and Yui Hongo in Fushigi Yuugi. In anime, the position of miko is treated as an extremely powerful one, being able to perform exorcisms or even summon spirits. Granted, historical miko were once regarded as shamanic, but this role has changed over the years.
Even by the late 1800s, miko mostly tend to handle mundane shrine functions, like cleaning, performing office work, selling souvenirs, or performing sacred dances. Exorcisms are usually performed by actual priests.
2 Right: Entrance Exams Can Hold More Weight Than Grades
In anime, it’s isn’t unheard of for characters who fail every test or constantly skip class to somehow make it into high school by sheer virtue of doing well in the school’s entrance exams. Likewise, a good student can ruin their chances of getting into their dream high school by doing poorly in the entrance exam.
This is, in fact, based somewhat in fact. Japanese schools have developed a reputation for not failing students and allowing students to move onto the next grade despite poor test scores, thanks in part to entrance exams being of greater concern.
1 Wrong: Not Everyone Is Middle Class Nor Do They Live In Big Houses
Japan, like most places, is made up of people belonging to various economic classes, but anime tends to favor portraying the middle-class and, sometimes, the extremely wealthy.. Conversely, it’s very common for anime characters to be portrayed as living in rather large houses.
In Doraemon, for example, the main character lives in a lavish house with a balcony and Japanese-style sliding doors. With a move towards living away from one’s extended families in real life, apartment living has become much more common in modern Japan.
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