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That's part of the problem right there. 80% of the traffic on this 'Japan Forum' is in the anime subforums. I like some anime, just as much as the next guy, but anime is a terrible representation of Japanese culture.
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I don't think it's bad that anime is a starting point into Japanese culture. Watching films such as Spirited Away made me interested in Shintoism, watching Barefoot Gen made me read up more on what happened during the war. The point is my knowledge of Japan is not based on the anime but the anime led me to read well researched books instead.
I think what's worse is programs like Japanorama which although I love it, kind of portrays the Japanese as being a race of strange, wacky and unusual people, you go over there and it's like 'my god, they're all so normal'