School Life

Whether Japanese or American, many would agree that the time spent in school, especially high school, is precious. Some would say that they are your golden years. Well, it seems as if the Japanese take that further and it may be lost on some westerners. The amount of anime, manga and novels that are written about Japanese school life is astounding. They often focus on these young characters living out the remainder of their naive youth, not having to worry about the grown-up world around them. Shows such as Cromartie High School have the most absurd stories written, all which is happy-go-lucky and inconsequential.

These golden years, however, are a bit of a paradox. High school in Japan is also notorious for being extremely stressful. The entrance examination required to get into a prestigious high school require extreme amounts of time to study and prepare for, and the pressure is very high to make it into these schools for if they don't then they can count on never getting into a prestigious university as well. This is also covered in many popular stories that is targeted at Japanese youth and these stories seem to reinforce how the Japanese feel about their school life and school culture.

Many of these stories make their way into the U.S. Regardless of how well these stories are translated, without an understanding of how the Japanese view their school culture, much of the emotion that is trying to be conveyed is lost. Even the attire that is worn by the Japanese students is something very foreign to most American students. Understanding the innocence, and sometimes the extreme stress, of Japanese school life is important in getting the most out of shows like Cromartie High School or Azumanga Daioh.