this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2025
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pointless backstoryI was born in the 80s and some of my earliest memories where the Karate Kid films. If anyone here is in their 40s, they'll remember the obsession with karate. Kids were signing up for karate lessons left and right. I recall something on TV where kids were demolishing a house using karate (obviously it was staged by whatevs).

Then the 90s happened, and the West got paranoid about Japan taking over. Pop culture produced absurd books about Japan taking over the US, and people literally feared it happening.


I like anime. It's definitely better than most white culture shit. It just feels like the #1 theme or trope for a video game or series (that isn't the West) is Japan. I'm just utterly bored to death of Japanese schools, Japanese feudal themes, yakuza shit, Tokyo streets, etc. Yes, it's 1000 times cooler than New York or Texas. I'd rather play Ace Attorney or a Yakuza game than COD or Modern warfare. I'd rather watch JoJo's Bizarre Adventure than Family Guy. Japanese stuff is often cooler than Western stuff.

God I can't complain if Japanese developers want to make something that they know with the language they speak. My big gripe is non-Japanese developers imitating Japan because that's what sells. Think Genshin Impact, Battle Realms, or Blue Archive. My steam recommendations are filled with Japanese themes made my non Japanese developers. No, I'm not offended. I'd just like to play a game, once, that doesn't have samurai and geisha. It would be neat to learn about another culture that isn't Japan. Maybe go to another continent.

Wouldn't it be neat to play a stealth game in Nigeria or Bolivia, and not yet another game with Samurai.

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[–] mrfugu@hexbear.net 6 points 1 week ago

I agree this is an issue but I also think it’s been getting a lot better over the last few years, but really in the sense that more countries are getting into game development and are utilizing their own cultures for their games.

[–] CrawlMarks@hexbear.net 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Genshin is pretty good for non Japanese representation.

That anime shit is specifically Japanese propaganda. Like, their version of USAID pays to have fascist themes in anime and then to have that exported for cultural hegemony

[–] AOCapitulator@hexbear.net 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

"That anime shit" lol

Kind of like saying

"Goddamn books"

It's a genre and it has great art to offer, but the mainstream production line is heavily as you say for sure

[–] CrawlMarks@hexbear.net 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Nah, cause like they sometimes make anime that isn't just waifu fascism.

[–] AOCapitulator@hexbear.net 2 points 1 week ago

Yeah, that's what I said?

[–] Cricket@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I wish we had access to more media from other countries and cultures too. We are pretty much limited to indie media in that regard. Speaking of which, someone recently showed me a Brazilian indie game that looks unique and interesting, perhaps even fun. It's about kite battles, which is an old tradition in Brazil (as well as some other developing countries, from what I understand): https://www.cspipas.com/ - I haven't tried it yet so can't give a full recommendation.

PS: Which game is your screenshot from? I'm a big fan of detailed "isometric" games and this one looks nice.

[–] barrbaric@hexbear.net 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I believe it is Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

[–] Cricket@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 week ago
[–] sudo_halt@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

There is a lot of shit from Iranian cinema you could watch, although personally I'm not a huge fan as an Iranian

(I would say a good chunk of Iranian movies are hard to understand without cultural context)

I especially hate Farhadi's shitass pretentious movies, despite him being the most well-known Iranian film roller outside Iran

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[–] charly4994@hexbear.net 5 points 1 week ago

Ironically the company you're showing a game screenshot from went on to make two more similar stealth games, one set in the wild west and one set in the Caribbean with pirates which are both slightly rarer settings for video games.

[–] RedSailsFan@hexbear.net 5 points 1 week ago

stuff from other countries is constantly being shown on blorptube (formerly known as hextube), and its all available to watch on tankietube if you cant be there at the showing

[–] Bloobish@hexbear.net 4 points 1 week ago

There's been some great video games to come out of the Philippines lately such as Until The End. Malaysia also has No Straight Roads which was a hit and has a upcoming sequel.

[–] anotherspinelessdem@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 week ago

More Celtic stuff would be cool like Cuchulainn but outside of a few things we just have so little information about a lot of older Celtic stuff because Roman and Anglo conquest was just so thorough.

[–] Enjoyer_of_Games@hexbear.net 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Debt of Honor (1994)

Rising Sun (1992)

hmmmmm I wonder

Tomorrow, When the War Began (1993)

ha

[–] Damarcusart@hexbear.net 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Realtalk: I can't stand when a piece of fiction has a kind of "Orient" coded area, but it always just "Japan as viewed by weebs" never any influence from China, Mongolia, Vietnam, anywhere in mainland Asia. Or when they claim it is a mix or blend of "Asian countries" and it is like 90% Japan but with like, shaolin monks or a Jiangshi or something.

[–] ButtBidet@hexbear.net 3 points 1 week ago

And generic orient music playing in the background

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