Just finished: Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo

* spoilers, mmmkay? *

 

And so this series ends on an uplifting note after problems with the law meant that Haruko-sensei was unable to complete the course along with her students. But, luckily, she comes back for the next term and so do her class. So, despite nobody getting what they wanted at the start of the series, it all ends happily.

I'm still not sure about this show, though. It never seemed to know what it was about: the Japanese language, being foreign in Japan, or a straight comedy. The storylines were hard to believe, and so was some of the acting, but despite that I kept coming back. It must've had something to recommend it... but I can't quite put my finger on it just now...

One thing I will say: while I was watching this, I started thinking that there's a gap in the market for a sort of Japanese QI, which talks about all the quirks of Japanese culture in an intelligent and funny way. Sometimes Nihonjin no... is informative but then a few seconds later it tries too hard to be funny. Meanwhile Japanology is interesting, but too serious. If there was something in the middle, I'd be very happy.

Continuing: Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm confused. Episode seven has cleared up a few things regarding various students' nationalities, with a couple of unexpected twists. Paul, the suave Mediterranean type, turns out to be English and not a suave Mediterranean type, as I first assumed. Meanwhile the stone-faced businessman turns out to be American, but I thought he was English. And the otaku is Italian, not French. Although the black guy is American, as I first guessed, so I got one right at least.

Meanwhile, the show remains an oddity. I still don't know what to make of it. The most recent episode touches upon the Japanese tendency to be disappointed when foreigners become too... well... too Japanese. It doesn't explain why, though. I'd guess it's something to do with living in such a culturally homogeneous country, meeting a foreigner is a chance to experience something different. Or maybe not.

But this isn't the program to go into these problems, as the storyline stays light and humourous, and it tries to pack everything into half an hour. Asking it to do a thesis every week on Japanese attitudes to other cultures is probably asking a bit much.

That stuff about why "aoi" means blue and green was pretty interesting, though.

Still Watching: Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo

So, episode two is subbed and I'm pleased to say I'm starting to warm to the characters. Plus it does teach you a bit about Japanese. And it looks like each student will get an episode to themselves, so I'm interested to see what happens with English guy or the (French?) otaku.

Although the programme does highlight a problem I've noticed in other shows – getting foreign actors who can act in Japanese. For example, I can't tell if the student in this episode is supposed to be a cold Russian ice queen, or simply cannot act (although bless her for doing her best when singing enka). But I guess the pool of bi-lingual acting talent isn't that huge.

Currently watching: Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo

British people of a certain age will remember a sitcom called Mind Your Language, set in an English As A Foreign Language class, full of ethnic minorities recently arrived on the shores of the UK. Given the same premise, this show ("Japanese Words that the Japanese Don't Know", more or less) could bring back some odd memories of racial stereotypes from the 1970s, a time when saying things like "I tolerate coloured people" was considered the height of sophisticated multiculturalism. It's an unfortunate connection and perhaps a little unfair, but it's one I can't shake.

On the other hand, watching it did also bring back memories of when I was an English teacher, and being stumped when someone asked why a particular phrase is worded in such a way. Also, the idea that foreigners can't wash up properly reminded me of when my Italian ex-girlfriend explained how odd it looked to her when we English don't rinse our plates after washing, and just leave them on the draining board covered in soap-suds.

So, clearly, this show is well-observed and it struck a chord with me. But despite that, I found myself waiting for it to get better. I didn't really like any of the characters and some of the acting is a bit wobbly. I'll watch a couple, just to see if it just needs a while to get going but as it stands, this is pretty missable.