First Day of School
The title is a misnomer- it’s not the first day of school. That was back in April. It’s also not the first day of the fall semester (Japan is on a trimester system). That was last week. It also wasn’t my first day at the school- that was yesterday.
But today was the first day I was in a classroom, teaching, in front of real, live students. It was an experience.
I was nervous.
It started when I forgot a cable for my laptop. I made a powerpoint presentation and needed the cable to connect my laptop to the TV. I left it on my coffee table.
I never, ever forget things.
It was a sign that I was more on edge than I thought. I was letting details slide- the nervousness was getting to me.
At the bus station, I went to the correct platform and boarded the bus. I forgot to read the sign on the bus, and if it weren’t for a nice man who spoke English, I would have wound up on the completely wrong part of town. He asked where I was going, and once I informed him, he said I should get off and take the next bus. I thanked him and did so.
I read the bus’s screen, which I should’ve done to begin with.
つつじ
Good. My part of town. I got on and arrived at school, nervous I would look foolish for forgetting the cable. From what I could tell, it was no big deal- I borrowed a school laptop and was good to go.
I taught four classes; the lesson was a self-introduction and basic things like checking understanding. “What is my favorite food? How old am I?” There’s an idea that Japanese students are somehow smarter or more well-behaved than American students. Let me just say this-
Kids are kids. Everywhere.
Some kids were chatty. Some were shy. Some were very studious and attentive- and some just wanted to sleep. I’m tired now and don’t know what else to write- but I just wanted to say that it was a good day.
God of War 3
I recently accomplished one of my goals- to play a Japanese game. The other week, I bought a Playstation 3 and God of War 3. I’ve been meaning to play the game for awhile (like 3 or 4 years), and now I finally did.
I selected God of War 3 for this goal for a number of reasons. First, it was an action game, with minimal plot (or so I thought). I would be able to make it through the game without knowing Japanese, unlike playing an RPG. Second, it was an American game. I’ve played many games made in Japan that are localized for the US. I wanted to see what the experience was like on the other foot. What would be translated? Would the movies be dubbed, or simply subtitled? Would the menus be changed? And what other differences would exist in the game?
For those of you unfamiliar, the God of War series started on Playstation 2. Deeply based in Greek mythology, it follows Kratos, a warrior who pledges his life to Ares, the God of War. The game later reveals that Ares tricked Kratos into murdering his wife and child (trust me, it makes sense in the game) in order to destroy everything that was holding Kratos back from his warrior path. Enraged, Kratos pledges revenge on Ares and, after finding Pandora’s box, uses the box’s power to ultimately murder Ares. With the God of War’s throne empty in Olympus, the gods ask Kratos to take the place of Ares.
Kratos = Hypermasculine
In the second God of War, Zeus realizes that Kratos is far more violent and power hungry than Ares ever was. Fearing him, Zeus takes away his immortality and fatally wounds Kratos. On his way to Hades, though, Kratos breaks free and goes on a quest to meet the Sisters of Fate. He requests that they reweave his fate, and after denying him, he murders them all, takes control of the loom, and reweaves it himself. He enters a fight with Zeus, who ultimately escapes.
God of War 3 is the chronological end of the series, where Kratos invades Mount Olympus, murdering the gods one-by-one, until he finds and kills Zeus.
The psychological effects of these games cannot be understated. Kratos is the very definition of hyper-masculine: muscle-bound, violent, strong-headed. In the beginning of God of War 1, some of the gore effects are enough to turn a stomach; but the mechanics of the game, the storytelling, and the puzzles keep the player playing. Yet by the end of the game, the gore effects that were once horrific are no longer enough; the player wants more. And every subsequent game finds a way to up the action. Kratos is not a very desirable person: selfish, brutish, cruel. But by playing the game, the player strangely becomes Kratos; something in the game connects with the player. Is it the dark side of human nature? Is it simply really cool special effects? I can’t say. What I can say is that after playing the game, you feel like you can do anything.
So, all of that being said, what did I think of playing God of War 3 in Japanese? It was… interesting. I beat the game without referring to a guide; it was easy enough to understand despite the fact that everything was translated into Japanese: the voice-acting was all redone in Japanese, the text and menus were all translated. Eventually, I started following the plot clips on YouTube in English just so I could know what was going on in the story.
What was more interesting than the translation was the censorship.
With a rating of “Z,” Japan’s strongest rating, I was expecting nothing less than skull-crushing, disemboweling action. But after watching a few of the English movie clips, I realized that some of the gore effects were censored. Additionally, all nudity was removed from the game. This left me with the strange feeling of, “What did I miss?” While doing crazy combos on enemies or hitting a boss’s weak spot, what exactly was taken out of the game? I don’t know.
I’m also not sure if this content was removed specifically for Japan, or if I played an “international” version of the game. By that I mean some countries, such as Australia, have strict content laws governing video games. Sony may have created “US” and “International” versions of the game simply to avoid some localization for every country.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the game and fans of the series won’t be disappointed. But would I play a Japanese game again? Nope- that itch has been scratched. Would I replay God of War 3 in English just to see what I missed?
You bet.
