First off…

I will not lie – I’m an avid anime/manga consumer. It gives you a warped sense of what culture is like in Japan. On the one hand you think that every scantily clad school girl has a kick ass robot that can transform into a spaceship, on the other hand you also get a glimpse at the anger and frustration with their economy which has been tanking for the past decade or so (try taking a read through the manga Akumetsu – a story of a teenage boy who is on a mission to clean up their dire political situation by killing all the evil bureaucrats. Remember, read right to left.).

A recent survey of Japanese men asked what behavioral traits they find attractive in a woman. Here, in order of importance, were their replies:

  1. She links arms with you
  2. She makes you bento
  3. She does her best to help out in your daily life
  4. She asks “Do you love me?”
  5. She always spends the weekend with you
  6. She asks “What were you doing?” if you don’t see her for a day
  7. She wants to accompany you everywhere
  8. She cleans your room for you
  9. She does her best to match her hobbies to yours
  10. She’s jealous of your last girlfriend

O.o

Are you kidding me? THAT is the type of behavior that they find attractive?! Granted, this is probably like a Facebook Quiz or Cosmopolitan Magazine quiz, but I’m going to assume that even if the choices were pre-written they had to originate from someone who is knowledgeable of what Japanese men desire. Reading through this list makes me wonder ‘What the hell is wrong with Japanese culture?!’ It’s no wonder their population is starting to wane.

All I get from reading this list are that Japanese men find a docile servant attractive. And they also have an Oedipus complex. Personally, I find that most of these characteristics aren’t what I’d find attractive in a woman. On they contrary, they seem like they’re describing a codependent nag. Or they’re characteristics I’d find in a psychotic stalker. Have fun finding your pet rabbit in a pot of boiling water when you get home.

Let’s make an assumptions and say that this survey was geared towards the young adult crowd (ages 17-24). It still hurts my brain to think that Japanese men want someone who is not their equal but someone who will essentially solely to stoke their ego. Personally, almost all of those behaviors would drive me batshit insane.

Granted, I could only think that if it was an American survey you’d have options like ‘Isn’t pregnant’, ‘Doesn’t want to kill me’, ‘Enjoys watching me drive my car’. I think I’ll poke around the net and see if there are any other similar surveys from around the world.

And finally…

I saw this and you can tell why I’m a tad jealous of all the weird things which are Japanese
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkqAlosnvCc&fmt=18[/youtube]
This thing would freakin’ RULE. If you work downtown they could replace all those dumb ass Segways that all the tourists are scootin’ around in. However, I could also envision a few drawbacks:

  • I feel like my fat ass would be flopping over the butt-butterfly seat 🙁
  • Being a…uh…’portly-built’ American, I think that my weight would either cause it not to move or burn out the little motor inside every few days
  • Definitely not meant to be used as a get away vehicle in a crime
  • I wouldn’t trust Angela with a screw driver, a volt meter and a soldering iron anywhere near that thing
  • I wouldn’t trust me near that thing if I was drunk