Tokyo Olympics showed once more how beloved and popular Japanese media is - as it was full of pop culture references. But it also showed how easily fans of Japanese pop culture participate in propaganda and become a part of it.

As someone who consumes a lot of Japanese media, Tai (they/he) is sitting down together with media critic, translator and streamer Kazuma Hashimoto (he/him, Twitter: @justicekazzy_, Twitch: @kagenaga_ln) to learn more about critical consumption of Japanese media from an anti-imperialist lense - considering Japan's own bloody imperialist history. Popular tropes like the samurai and the yakuza are de-mystified, Japan-specific fascist themes broken down, you will come across popular examples like Ghost Of Tsushima and Attack On Titan and you will hear how frustrating it is to exist as an East Asian person in English speaking fandom spaces.

CW: Japanese imperialism, Nazism, Rising Sun flag, Swastika, Anti-Semitism, Anti-Eastern-Asian-Racism, Anti-Indigenous Racism.



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Mentions:

• Final Fantasy (series)


• Final Fantasy 14


• Dragon Quest (series)


• Nier (series)


• Kingdom Hearts (series)


• Nintendo


• Goku/Dragonball + Dragonball Z


• Pikachu/Pokemon


• Hello Kitty


• Toei


• Gundam


• Godzilla


• Demon Slayer


• Persona (series)


• Super Mario (series)


• Yakuza (series)


• Resident Evil (series)


• Attack on Titan


• Ghost of Tsushima


• The Last Samurai


• Black Butler


• Jojo's Bizzarre Adventure


• Cyberpunk 2077


• Hetalia


• Tokyo Revengers

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Kazuma's recommendations:

• +81 Podcast [Spotify|Apple Podcast|Anchor]


• Against Japanism Podcast [Spotify|Apple Podcast|Buzzsprout]

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Resources:

Best Games Period Podcast: Final Fantasy XIV (ft. Kazuma Hashimoto) [Spotify|Soundcloud]

Essay by Kazuma Hashimoto on Ghost of Tsushima [Polygon]

Essay by Kazuma Hashimoto on Attack on Titan [Polygon]

Documentation about Bosozoku: Japan's Most Violent Biker Gang [Vice]

Asahi Shimbun: 83% against holding Tokyo Olympics this summer

The Mainichi - Japan Daily News

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CONTACT:

MAIL: safespaceistrelativ@outlook.de

IG: @safespaceistrelativ.podcast

TWT: @relativsafe

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sound design by nik lock

art design by Tai