I hate America - the manga!

22.12.2008 by Patrick W. Galbraith

Tis the season to be jolly, and this one made me chuckle. The title is "America nante daikirai" (アメリカなんて大きらい), simply "I hate America." The English subtitle is "Do you like America?" I take it the artist Takanashi Midori does not. Her work was serialized in popular manga magazine "Morning" and released as two manga volumes in 2004.

A young Japanese girl comes to New York and her boyfriend get's killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. She takes up a camera and embarks on a journey to find the America he loved, and herself.

The story might have been a serious and moving one, but instead it deals in so many cultural cliches that I couldn't help by laugh. Let's do a run down:

Violent, indulgent Americans with guns? Check!







John Wayne as a role model? You bet.







Killin' Osama bin Laden? Can I get a hell yeah?







Do American's like maids? No - it's Hooter's baby!







And just for kicks, how about throw in some Amish. (There are Native Americans and blacks, also, but I think someone would shoot me if I post those images here.)







Maybe it's a little weird for an American to say this, but I enjoyed this despite all. It's wild to see what this author, and ostensibly her Japanese audience, see in America. The worst parts of the country as they are percieved are right there in vivid drawings, black and white as big as you please. It reminded me of "Moe USA," another manga dealing with Japanese perception of foreigners. Only "Moe USA" deals with non-Japanese visiting Akihabara and love Japanese otaku culture, where as "I hate America" shows how one young Japanese girl cannot bear the United States.

I wonder if anyone else has checked this out? Any thoughts?