AKICILJ: Japanese pop culture recommendations for Alex.

[rivka]

Alex is learning about Japan this week. We're going to be doing origami and reading stories and going to the museum to look at classical Japanese art and eating sushi and learning to write a few kanji and so on. But modern Japanese pop culture is so vibrant, and is such a massive international phenomenon, that I'd really like to expose Alex to some of that, rather than just the high and/or folk culture elements that kids' educational materials tend to include.

I know that there are people on my friends list who follow Japanese pop culture, and others whose teenage kids follow it. It would be awesome if you could link me to web-available resources like songs/music videos, cartoons, toys, clothes, etc. which are young-child appropriate (that's the part that makes just Googling this on my own tricky) and which would give Alex an idea of things that might be enjoyed by young Japanese girls.

(No tentacle porn please, kthxbai.)

Comments

[ailbhe]

Has she seen Totoro? Totoro is brilliant. I don't know much at all about Japanese pop culture but I know there's a ton of Totoro merchandise.

Also, there are millions of Bento communities on LJ.

And it seems like everywhere sells Hello Kitty underpants. Both L&E had them at one point.

We may have started FIAR here; I'm hoping to find time and energy to blog it a bit.

[elusis.livejournal.com]

Was just about to say Totoro myself; also, Kiki's Delivery Service. And possibly Spirited Away, though the intensity might be too much in a couple of spots.

[journeywoman.livejournal.com]

I agree, Spirited Away is too intense for young kids.

[ailbhe]

We really like Kiki's Delivery Service, partially because we have photos of our kids in Visby and outside the walls of Visby. But I'm in two minds about how much I approve of the romance storyline bit.

I do love the girls' underwear in those two though, because they look comfy and large and practical, which is difficult to find...

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Kiki's Delivery Service would be *just* up Alex's alley.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

I not only like My Neighbor Tortoro, I have it on my Netflix list and when I watch it, it goes back to the bottom (as do Galaxy Quest and Monsters, Inc). I like most of Hayao Miyazaki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki)'s films, but I think Spirited Away and the Porco Rosso films are too old for Alex.