Monday, May 08, 2006

Fat Japanese

I am grateful to Wired magazine for this:

"Interactive romance novel meets management sim in Maiden Love Revolution! The PS2 game, a best seller in Japan, starts with a snack-happy ex-beauty queen who wants to get back to her dating weight. Players assume the role of 220-pound Hitomi Sakurakawa as she struggles to slim down - mostly by restricting her diet. To advance, Hitomi must count calories and increase her exercise. The game keeps stats on her progress and ultimately rewards her conformity with a boyfriend."

One cannot help but admire the directness of the Japanese. You want boyfriend? Get thin. No self-esteem issues there, no pretending there is some inner, good Hitomi. There is just a computer game and, at the end of the process, just a boyfriend. The phrase"dating weight" is , of course, a delight, but an American one, I think. People used to like fat girls, will they ever again?

3 comments:

  1. I seem to recall that there are approximately one million young people in Japan who, due to stress-related emotional disturbance, have disappeared off the social radar. They never leave their rooms (other than to answer the call of nature), and are left food on trays by their strangely compliant parents, who do not feel able to enter and shake their offspring out of this peculiar fear-induced torpor - many haven't even clapped eyes on their own children for several months, if not years. Perhaps this explains the absence of chunky Japanese girls? If they hide in their rooms for long enough, chowing down on Ma's lovingly prepared food, with their only exercise confined to their joystick operating fingers, they probably balloon to a 'silver wedding anniversary weight' within a matter of weeks. Then they won't have a hope of getting through the door unless Ma goes on strike.
    Yours,
    J Cheever Loophole

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  2. Mr A,
    Apologies for my rather sporadic communications of late. I have been (and still am, in fact) rather unpleasantly busy. However, I have grabbed a moment in the midst of the maelstrom because I feel it is my duty to inform you that this morning, while travelling through the metropolis aboard the Tube, I witnessed the rare sight of a fat Japanese person. A very fat Japanese person. Female, with lower legs and upper arms that resembled economy sized hams. Just thought you should know...
    Yours,
    J Cheever Loophole

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  3. I love fat Japanese girls! Really my thing. I was lucky enough to find one in my local area where Japanese rarely go (not posh enough). She works as a chef in a posher area of London which suggests great food fun! Poor self esteem suits my purpose (sorry!). Notice how slightly chubby Americanised (or British) females are rather arogant as they know men love them. Even her name is kind of fat sounding. I saw her first by chance late at night greedily and indiscriminately buying and eating food from a local bad quality fats food place. Really turned me on. Hopefully I'll have a lot of fun with her!

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