[iraldir]

sorry it's almost a meme at this point that France has a thing for Japan and vice versa. The 90s in particular were ripe with animes on the main French channel, lots of collaboration between France and Japan. We got Japanese movies in the cinema much prior the rest of the world and even today you can find gigantic sections for mangas and anime in bookshops, cinemas...

[johnwalkr]

I did my PhD in Japan, in a lab focusing on robotics for lunar exploration, among other things. Every semester there was a revolving door of interns and exchange students from France[1], and a good percentage of them came not for the very interesting subject matter, but for their interest in manga and anime. It was always cringy when they introduced themselves as an anime cosplay enthusiast with the mistaken impression that this a normal hobby for adults in Japan.

Now I live in Europe and joke that you don't see a bunch of Japanese weirdos walking around Brussels dressed up as Tintin.

[1] In the ten years I was there, the number from France was pretty constant, but there was an upward trend in this type of person coming from Scandinavian countries and the US. There is an excellent meme on this matter: https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/481/981/034...

[chaorace]

I know it's a joke, but I can't help but feel endearment for the (obviously not real) guy every time I see this. Who wouldn't want to trade stories with an eccentric foreigner in a silly hat while eating barbeque and watching fireworks?

[mcqueenjordan]

In my experience, most Japanese people are much less judgmental about these things than this seems to imply (and less so than Westerners in general). Of course, there's always a time and place for "liking what you like", but this seems a bit otakuphobia-esque.

[anthk]

Honestly, the reverse it's a bit true... for Japanese girls/women. They love Disney.

[johnwalkr]

Well, I didn't elaborate the extent of some of these people but the equivalent would be meeting multiple, 24 year old Japanese women attending MIT for a summer program that has Disney cosplayer as their identity and skip class to walk around Boston taking selfies with Minnie Mouse hats on.

[amiga386]

From my childhood, it was obvious the French had a love of anime from series that made it to the UK, like Ulysses 31 [0] and The Mysterious Cities of Gold [1], co-productions between French and Japanese TV companies. I also thought Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds [2] was French, but it was produced in Spain.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_31

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysterious_Cities_of_Gold

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogtanian_and_the_Three_Muskeh...

[karaterobot]

Tangentially, Mysterious Cities of Gold played in the U.S. in the 80s, on the children's cable network Nickelodeon, along with another French show they called Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea, evidently titled Les Mondes Engloutis in France. I also loved these shows as a kid!

[PurpleRamen]

To add a bit, the first manga in Europe was released in France, in 1969. The first anime was 1972. Also in the 70s, a number of co-produced france-japanese anime were produced for the first time, followed by many others over the decades. I also remember a number of cooperations for Live Action-Movies too.

In general, I get the impression that France and Japan seem to have a deep friendship with each other, on the cultural level.

[anthk]

Sorry my dear Northern French friends, but Spain had a lot of animes since the 70's too. Candy Candy, Mazinger Z... and OFC DB since 1989.

Also, well, on Japan... Spain, 1500's/1600's, research about "Coria del Río" and be amazed.

[Cruncharoo]

Thanks all for the replies. I retract my snark!

[seanmcdirmid]

I wonder if the French experience Tokyo syndrome like the Japanese experience Paris syndrome?

[iraldir]

Yeah very much so, maybe even more. As noted, the main lense that people use to discover Japan is animes, which is obviously pretty far from what real Japan is like. Especially the work culture in traditional companies is a massive shock for a lot of French expats.

Personally I still find a whole lot to love in Japan, which could be an entire post by itself.