| The first time I began to think about this was when I was reading Onanie Master Kurosawa during High-school. The story occurs during middle-school and has an epilogue where characters are in high-school, but for me the middle-school part always looked like high-school, and the high-school part always looked like college. I felt the same thing about Sonny Boy and I feel the same thing about any middle-school anime. IDK, the anime characters in them just seem... way too smart and with way too much understand of their own feelings? When I was in middle-school, me and my peers all seemed retarded (Granted, I'm from Brazil). For such reasons, I was never able to see "school anime with teenagers" as "school anime with teenagers", as anime schools, for me, were an abstract and fantastical concept not very different from a Sci-Fi city, for example. So I don't feel like I'm watching the silly and mundane struggles of teenagers, but rather something much more fundamental. Do you feel anything similar? |
| School anime does not represent school well. It ignores frequent tests, homework everyday, and sitting through long lectures. |
 |
| I never tripped and fell into boobies in any of my schools, so I'd say they're pretty inaccurate. |
| Japanese schools are different. Their grade system likely isn't even the same as what you had. Japan has a different culture than you. Also I wasn't "retarded" in middle school nor anyone I knew outside a small few. |
| ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⣸⠋⠀⠀⠀⡄⠀⠀⡔⠀⢀⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⡘⡰⠁⠘⡀⠀⠀⢠⠀⠀⠀⢸⠀⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠁⠀⣀⠀⠀⡇⠀⡜⠈⠁⠀⢸⡈⢇⠀⠀⢣⠑⠢⢄⣇⠀⠀⠸⠀⠀⠀⢸⠀⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⢰⡟⡀⠀⡇⡜⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⡇⠈⢆⢰⠁⠀⠀⠀⠘⣆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⠀⠀⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠤⢄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡼⠀⣧⠀⢿⢠⣤⣤⣬⣥⠀⠁⠀⠀⠛⢀⡒⠀⠀⠀⠘⡆⡆⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⢵⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡰⠀⢠⠃⠱⣼⡀⣀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠛⠳⠶⠶⠆⡸⢀⡀⣀⢰⠀⠀⢸ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⣀⣀⣀⠄⠀⠉⠁⠀⠀⢠⠃⢀⠎⠀⠀⣼⠋⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠴⠢⢄⡔⣕⡍⠣⣱⢸⠀⠀⢷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⡰⠃⢀⠎⠀⠀⡜⡨⢢⡀⠀⠀⠀⠐⣄⠀⠀⣠⠀⠀⠀⠐⢛⠽⠗⠁⠀⠁⠊⠀⡜⠸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⢀⠔⣁⡴⠃⠀⡠⡪⠊⣠⣾⣟⣷⡦⠤⣀⡈⠁⠉⢀⣀⡠⢔⠊⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡤⡗⢀⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⢀⣠⠴⢑⡨⠊⡀⠤⠚⢉⣴⣾⣿⡿⣾⣿⡇⠀⠹⣻⠛⠉⠉⢀⠠⠺⠀⠀⡀⢄⣴⣾⣧⣞⠀⡜⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠐⠒⣉⠠⠄⡂⠅⠊⠁⠀⠀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣻⣿⣿⡇⠀⠀⢠⣷⣮⡍⡠⠔⢉⡇⡠⠋⠁⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀ |
| I think it's a little bit of Column "Japan has stricter education standards", a little bit of Column "The Mangaka forgot what Children/teens are like." Personally, I never aligned with Anime schools (to baby weeb me's chagrin). As a Kid, I also mistook the Sailor Senshi for teenagers due to how seemingly tall and independent the girls were. |
 |
| I think it depends really what show you're watching. But of course, I think this goes for any media in regards to high school, not just Japan's anime and manga renditions. Take Hughes' Ferris Bueller's Day Off for example: it's fantastical, it highlights everything you wanted your high school life to be. You yourself wanted to be Ferris, you even wanted to be Cameron (who is the most realistic of the two). Even if Cameron is seen as a normal teenager in respect to Ferris, he's still a fantasy to some sense. Always lazing around, a wet sop of misery. You see yourself in him. But then again, Cameron had a car drive through the walls of his house. He lived in a cold, museum-like cabin in the middle of nowhere. He's made up of so many specifics, what make him exciting outside of his relatable 'humanness'. Even The Breakfast Club, which is toned in a more down-to-earth approach to teenage life has that fantastical makeup. Think of Skins UK, or Norway's SKAM, Rebel Without a Cause, or even Stand By Me, all of those 'coming of age' series or films that people dote on for representing youth. It doesn't make them bad, no. The root cause of this, I think, is very simple. These pieces of media are all recreations. Every person that is recreating these days of youth have already surpassed them. Writers, poets, directors, singers, all of them. They can get close to that feeling, very close, but they'll never be able to embody it fully. It's something that can only ever be felt in the moment, true besotted nostalgia. For my myself, I can't seem to understand the way I used to be when I was a kid, or even three years ago. I was always infatuated coming of age anime, waiting for the moment something like that was going to happen to me (it never did, it usually never does), so maybe I'm part of the problem. Although, I think you can find certain aspects of media where that floundering adolescence. The kind that makes you put your head in your hands and have to look away from the screen, because you used to behave the same exact way. But the dramatics and the plot that surround will always give it this faraway feeling. We're boring, and we want to become them. Do I have room to speak on this? I'm still 19 for 4 more months, after all.  |
| The stuff they do IN school feels like school to me, but characters often act older when outside of school. I have at times mistaken high school for college, and at least one translation explicitly mentioned college when the Japanese version did not. That particular title had an unusual high school even by anime standards, to be fair. |
LucifrostMar 9, 8:19 PM
| その目だれの目？ |
| Middle school anime often feel like high school, because the characters often seem unnaturally sharp for their age. High school anime often feel like middle school, because the characters often seem unnaturally dense for their age. |
| Nobody in them is chain smoking, or getting pregnant, or making stationary into weapons, or getting sent down for being a nonce, or systematically bullying supply teachers, so no. |
| "I am the Nemesis, I am the Warlock, I am the shape of things to come, the Lord of the Flies, holder of the Sword Sinister, the Death Bringer, I am the one who waits on the edge of your dreams, I am all these things and many more." |
| No. That's why series with middle or highschool cast are better to be enjoyed by adults fans. |
| BANZAI NIPPON. Nippon is the Land of freedom. Nippon is the Land of Peace. Nippon is the Land of Justice and Prosperity. In Nippon, we trust. We love Nippon, we love Anime. Anime love us, Nippon love us. 日本 |
| Well, I enjoy middle school and high school anime even if it is not a realistic depictation of middle school and high school. |
| I can't personally relate to it at all, as I left School for good mid-year 5 (primary school) and never experienced either middle/secondary or high school. I'm guessing I wasn't missing out on much though, being home educated suited my circumstances better, but it wasn't perfect either. |
 |
| So far, nobody has said Yes. There are some things not yet mentioned I should point out: Japan's middle school classrooms function like (American) Elementary ed; the students sit in a 'Homeroom' in the same seat, with the same kids, every day, and the teachers change in and out. I think Fate Stay Night is one of the rare anime I've seen where this is shown deliberately- when Fujimora leaves the classroom and Kuzuki the Math teacher- comes into the class. High Schools are like colleges and you have to pass an exam to get in. Even into the lowest level ones. The more exclusive the school, the more restrictive the passing requirements on the exam are. So they have something called 'Cram Schools' that sort of exist in the west for college prep; where students go to study in the off-season to pass the entrance exams. They do this also for college entrance exams. Anime doesn't seem to portray a lot of characters outside the 'Average school student who aims to attend HS' caste; like mechanics or cooks. IF they do it seems to usually be: they are destined to be the owner or the head chef. But never just a worker bee. Counter-examples welcome. They also don't seem to portray how students used to be bullied for being bad students (dumb, unable to keep up) This is actually the reason there's a crisis of kids attending special schools- they can't handle the bullying. It probably also explains hikikomori e how it starts... |
| No, it doesn't feel like my own school experience. It's much better than what I went through in real life. |
 |
| I don't think highschools in anime feel like university at all. As for middle schools, I can't really say since my country doesn't have them, to me that's also highschool. |
| There are always exception in general if the show is good people act like they are school student. |
| School (and university) anime are heavily idealized and shown in lighthearted ways for the sake of escapism for the Japanese audience, why? I don't know. |
| There is a good reason why Japanese kids and teenagers seem more independent, at least compared to American ones. Have you ever seen anime characters asking their parents to drive them somewhere in a car? In the many, many school-based anime I've watched, the number of times I've seen that is practically zero -- because those kids are walking/biking or taking buses/trains to school and leisure destinations from a young age. Lucifrost said: Was this in the Yu-No hentai OVA? Because a lot of official/licensed hentai translations (i.e. pretty much all the subtitles out there for hentai made before the late 2000s) will "age up" the characters by recasting high schools as colleges, calling teachers "professor," and using college phrasing like "going to class / after class" instead of "school," "lecture" instead of "##period," "campus" instead of "school grounds." Along with the more blatant distortions like a character saying she's 16 and the subtitles saying 18.and at least one translation explicitly mentioned college when the Japanese version did not. That particular title had an unusual high school even by anime standards, to be fair. |
| Well anime school never truly felt like school to me, it ignores many things like tests etc. Also I'm from Poland, the culture is so different I could see "my school life" only in movies/tv-shows and Polish ones show the reality of it pretty well. Same with school clubs, Poland doesn't really have them, I mean they exist to some extent, but not really - they were never a part of my life nor 80% of my peers. When it comes to maturity, most anime characters feel smarter than the age they are portraing anyway - so when it comes to "high-school" and "middle-school" anime, I don't really treat them like kids nor do I see them as such. [tbh I don't see much difference between high-school and middle-school in anime anyway, high-school ones just focus a little on going to college, while the latter focuses on change between schools/maturity/expectations etc.] so yeah, It rarely feels like school to me and it brings me no-nostalgia or relatability |
[🇮❜🇲 🇦 🇵🇷🇴🇫🇪🇸🇸🇮🇴🇳🇦🇱 🇭🇺🇸🇧🇦🇳🇩🇴 🇨🇴🇱🇱🇪🇨🇹🇴🇷] |
Reply to 09philj
Nobody in them is chain smoking, or getting pregnant, or making stationary into weapons, or getting sent down for being a nonce, or systematically bullying supply teachers, so no.
| @09philj I'm pretty sure I've seen anime/manga that checked at least one box each, so. Onanie Master Kurosawa literally has characters stop smoking during highschool because "it became mainstream". |
BubblegumPatty said: I think it's a little bit of Column "Japan has stricter education standards", a little bit of Column "The Mangaka forgot what Children/teens are like." This. And I'd add "cultural differences" to these; my (second-hand) impression of Japanese students is they tend to be more "responsible," in terms of work ethic, obeying the grown-ups and the rules, not standing out from others, etc. At least compared to Americans/Canadians. That may contribute to teenagers in anime feeling "more mature." Also there's always the constant "background radiation" that is "this is all fiction and not real-life." |
Reply to SuperAdventure
So far, nobody has said Yes.
There are some things not yet mentioned I should point out: Japan's middle school classrooms function like (American) Elementary ed; the students sit in a 'Homeroom' in the same seat, with the same kids, every day, and the teachers change in and out. I think Fate Stay Night is one of the rare anime I've seen where this is shown deliberately- when Fujimora leaves the classroom and Kuzuki the Math teacher- comes into the class.
High Schools are like colleges and you have to pass an exam to get in. Even into the lowest level ones. The more exclusive the school, the more restrictive the passing requirements on the exam are. So they have something called 'Cram Schools' that sort of exist in the west for college prep; where students go to study in the off-season to pass the entrance exams. They do this also for college entrance exams. Anime doesn't seem to portray a lot of characters outside the 'Average school student who aims to attend HS' caste; like mechanics or cooks. IF they do it seems to usually be: they are destined to be the owner or the head chef. But never just a worker bee. Counter-examples welcome.
They also don't seem to portray how students used to be bullied for being bad students (dumb, unable to keep up) This is actually the reason there's a crisis of kids attending special schools- they can't handle the bullying. It probably also explains hikikomori e how it starts...
There are some things not yet mentioned I should point out: Japan's middle school classrooms function like (American) Elementary ed; the students sit in a 'Homeroom' in the same seat, with the same kids, every day, and the teachers change in and out. I think Fate Stay Night is one of the rare anime I've seen where this is shown deliberately- when Fujimora leaves the classroom and Kuzuki the Math teacher- comes into the class.
High Schools are like colleges and you have to pass an exam to get in. Even into the lowest level ones. The more exclusive the school, the more restrictive the passing requirements on the exam are. So they have something called 'Cram Schools' that sort of exist in the west for college prep; where students go to study in the off-season to pass the entrance exams. They do this also for college entrance exams. Anime doesn't seem to portray a lot of characters outside the 'Average school student who aims to attend HS' caste; like mechanics or cooks. IF they do it seems to usually be: they are destined to be the owner or the head chef. But never just a worker bee. Counter-examples welcome.
They also don't seem to portray how students used to be bullied for being bad students (dumb, unable to keep up) This is actually the reason there's a crisis of kids attending special schools- they can't handle the bullying. It probably also explains hikikomori e how it starts...
SuperAdventure said: There are some things not yet mentioned I should point out: Japan's middle school classrooms function like (American) Elementary ed; the students sit in a 'Homeroom' in the same seat, with the same kids, every day, and the teachers change in and out. I think Fate Stay Night is one of the rare anime I've seen where this is shown deliberately- when Fujimora leaves the classroom and Kuzuki the Math teacher- comes into the class. That's not quite right. American elementary schools have a single teacher teach the majority of subjects. |
| その目だれの目？ |
Reply to Zalis
There is a good reason why Japanese kids and teenagers seem more independent, at least compared to American ones. Have you ever seen anime characters asking their parents to drive them somewhere in a car? In the many, many school-based anime I've watched, the number of times I've seen that is practically zero -- because those kids are walking/biking or taking buses/trains to school and leisure destinations from a young age.
Lucifrost said:
and at least one translation explicitly mentioned college when the Japanese version did not. That particular title had an unusual high school even by anime standards, to be fair.
Was this in the Yu-No hentai OVA? Because a lot of official/licensed hentai translations (i.e. pretty much all the subtitles out there for hentai made before the late 2000s) will "age up" the characters by recasting high schools as colleges, calling teachers "professor," and using college phrasing like "going to class / after class" instead of "school," "lecture" instead of "##period," "campus" instead of "school grounds." Along with the more blatant distortions like a character saying she's 16 and the subtitles saying 18.and at least one translation explicitly mentioned college when the Japanese version did not. That particular title had an unusual high school even by anime standards, to be fair.
| @Zalis It was the YU-NO game. Spike Chunsoft did exactly what you describe. The changes are somewhat believable as the characters are on summer break and have no classes. |
| その目だれの目？ |
Reply to Lucifrost
SuperAdventure said:
There are some things not yet mentioned I should point out: Japan's middle school classrooms function like (American) Elementary ed; the students sit in a 'Homeroom' in the same seat, with the same kids, every day, and the teachers change in and out. I think Fate Stay Night is one of the rare anime I've seen where this is shown deliberately- when Fujimora leaves the classroom and Kuzuki the Math teacher- comes into the class.
There are some things not yet mentioned I should point out: Japan's middle school classrooms function like (American) Elementary ed; the students sit in a 'Homeroom' in the same seat, with the same kids, every day, and the teachers change in and out. I think Fate Stay Night is one of the rare anime I've seen where this is shown deliberately- when Fujimora leaves the classroom and Kuzuki the Math teacher- comes into the class.
That's not quite right. American elementary schools have a single teacher teach the majority of subjects.
| @Lucifrost Probably yea- but I just meant the format, of having a homeroom where teachers change (or not in some cases) I do know from my school, different teachers came in for some subjects like Music, Library (yes we had a subject called Library!), Art, and Gym- well we did go to the gym for "Gym class" (unfortunately we didn't get to wear those bloomer shorts) |
Reply to Zalis
There is a good reason why Japanese kids and teenagers seem more independent, at least compared to American ones. Have you ever seen anime characters asking their parents to drive them somewhere in a car? In the many, many school-based anime I've watched, the number of times I've seen that is practically zero -- because those kids are walking/biking or taking buses/trains to school and leisure destinations from a young age.
Lucifrost said:
and at least one translation explicitly mentioned college when the Japanese version did not. That particular title had an unusual high school even by anime standards, to be fair.
Was this in the Yu-No hentai OVA? Because a lot of official/licensed hentai translations (i.e. pretty much all the subtitles out there for hentai made before the late 2000s) will "age up" the characters by recasting high schools as colleges, calling teachers "professor," and using college phrasing like "going to class / after class" instead of "school," "lecture" instead of "##period," "campus" instead of "school grounds." Along with the more blatant distortions like a character saying she's 16 and the subtitles saying 18.and at least one translation explicitly mentioned college when the Japanese version did not. That particular title had an unusual high school even by anime standards, to be fair.
Zalis said: There is a good reason why Japanese kids and teenagers seem more independent, at least compared to American ones. Have you ever seen anime characters asking their parents to drive them somewhere in a car? In the many, many school-based anime I've watched, the number of times I've seen that is practically zero -- because those kids are walking/biking or taking buses/trains to school and leisure destinations from a young age. Oh yes- really good point on that- I notice that too, it's literally their kids live independent lives all day from the moment they leave the house to the moment they get home. They can go to school, stores, malls, friend's houses even if they live across town by taking the excellent designed transit service which has attendants to keep them safe- and the streets and sidewalks are specifically designed for pedestrians- with ramps, bridges, and areas separated from traffic sometimes by barriers. Even US cities that have good transit like NYC and Chicago don't have that level of environment design (nor consideration of human scale) |
Reply to SuperAdventure
@Lucifrost Probably yea- but I just meant the format, of having a homeroom where teachers change (or not in some cases) I do know from my school, different teachers came in for some subjects like Music, Library (yes we had a subject called Library!), Art, and Gym- well we did go to the gym for "Gym class" (unfortunately we didn't get to wear those bloomer shorts)
SuperAdventure said: Library (yes we had a subject called Library!), Art I had library too. We went to the library for that. Art was a rare subject in which another teacher came to our homeroom. |
| その目だれの目？ |
| What is it like my HS life? Not really. I mean I actually did found a club with friends, which is a sub-plot of anime. Two actually. We just mostly talked about big brain stuff, stupidly, like the good little prep kid I was, who had everything figured out. I had a few fun experiences, though I doubt they would translate well to a Japanese anime lol. I mean the reality is school is still mainly boring classes, and stressful assessments. Anime pretty much ignores all that and focuses on just dumb hijinks and club stuff/outside of school stuff that is tiny portion of HS life, here or in Japan. Funnily enough, it's why I still can occasionally watch those shows, as an adult because there isn't a HS anime out there, that actually feels reflective of my experience. I wouldn't say it's like university, beyond the fact that sure, you can structure your time differently, to allow for more free time on some days. University is also still a lot of studying (on your own, outside of the classroom) and assessments, which again are boring to show, unless you are doing some psychological drama on stress within the school system or something. |
Reply to Lucifrost
SuperAdventure said:
Library (yes we had a subject called Library!), Art
Library (yes we had a subject called Library!), Art
I had library too. We went to the library for that. Art was a rare subject in which another teacher came to our homeroom.
| @Lucifrost Your school must have had a library... mine didn't; well they kind of tried to have the actual STAGE in the cafeteria be the library for a while in Elementary. It was terrible, they tried having class in there while kids were in the cafeteria, separated just by the stage curtain. Couldn't hear a damn thing. Then again, the stage being also the cafeteria... that school wasn't designed very well. |
| Middle school was sort of like anime to me because I had such an insane imagination that I twisted my life to be like anime lol. However highschool is going terrible and I hate it (not anime like) |
| I don't even remember what middle school/high school was like TBH. |
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