Family Guy in Japan?

March 8, 2005 2:43 AM

Is the show "Family Guy" on the air in Japan at all? Do the Japanese like it? Is any American animation popular in Japan?

I ask because I am an American and a big fan of Japanese animation...is the fascination cross-cultural?

posted by furiousxgeorge to media & arts (8 comments total)

well, there were the Simpsons commercials for CC Lemon, but I guess the Simpsons are as global a phenomenon as Disney at this point.
posted by nautone at 4:11 AM on March 8, 2005

There are hardly any foriegn shows on regular Japanese television, let alone cartoons. Even the Simpsons only recently began airing on cable and is not well known among regular Japanese.

American movies, on the other hand, are very popular.
posted by dydecker at 4:17 AM on March 8, 2005

Friends and ER are quite popular in Japan. And 24 is HUGE. My friend just rented the entire 3rd season and received a collectible pen.
posted by ejoey at 6:12 AM on March 8, 2005

It seems to me that American cartoons are rarely if ever on television here, though all of the students I work with (Junior High & High School) are familiar with the Simpsons and love watching the DVDs, which are readily available here.

But as far as cross cultural fascination, definitely not. Most Japanese seem to be quite happy with domestically produced manga/anime.

On preview: I just remembered that I do have on student absolutely obsessed with Happy Tree Friends. He will draw imitations of the cartoons all day on his desk. He's about 12 years old.
posted by dead_ at 6:13 AM on March 8, 2005

The Simpsons has been on satellite TV in Japan for at least 8 years, first on WoWow and then on Rupert Murdoch's SkyPerfect for about the past 5 years. Satellite TV is pretty common. As you can imagine, the Simpsons' humor doesn't translate, however, so I suspect only those who strive to be good at English watch it. If you rephrase your question from "American animation" to "British SuperMarionation," The Thunderbirds is revered by many in the appropriate generation.
posted by planetkyoto at 6:18 AM on March 8, 2005

Cartoon Network is on in Japan, and it has a lot of the same shows that the US version has... (this was about 2 years ago)
posted by quibx at 6:59 AM on March 8, 2005

i saw the simpsons on TV in japan back in '99. the japanese friends with whom i watched it didn't seem to enjoy it as much as i did, and i didn't even understand half of what was going on because it was dubbed in japanese. i lived in japan for about 5 month in '99 and in taiwan for a year in '02, and that one simpsons show was the only american animation i ever saw on TV.
posted by scottreynen at 7:51 AM on March 8, 2005

I don't see how Family Guy would have mass appeal over there, since the vast majority of the humor relies on obscure US pop culture references that even I have trouble placing sometimes. The same applies to the Simpsons, although to a lesser degree. Cultural context humor. Kind of like when I was watching Shaolin Soccer trying to figure out what the movie was like for someone watching in their native country (my best guess was a sort of Asian Naked Gun-type spoof).
posted by rooftop secrets at 10:29 AM on March 8, 2005