Why Trash Taste is Disliked in Japan

[@dummynodepanda]

This might be an unpopular opinion but, if you are paying taxes (income tax, not sales tax) in a country, then you have every right to criticize that country. It's not like they're living there for free, the amount of taxes they pay is probably more than most Japanese people. This is not exclusive to Japan, in most countries in Asia, you will always be seen as a "guest" if you don't look like the people there no matter how long you've been living there and paying your taxes.

[@dedvi]

The difference is that they are extremely well known figures. If you or I criticize our country, basically no one will notice. If they criticize the country, they are seen by millions of people, most of whom have 0 idea about what it’s actually like and will trust whatever the people from that place are saying. In essence, the problem isn’t complaining. It’s spreading misinformation even if untentionally

[@JohnBrown-tw2qi]

@@dedvi their team fact checks them and adds notes whenever one of them gets something wrong; so unless they intentionally spread misinformation they shouldn’t be any less accurate than a native Japanese influencer.

[@annalebedyntseva188]

You’re 100% right

[@GBR9794]

@@JohnBrown-tw2qi if ther podcats are prerecorded then it isn't the issue. if it isn't then there can be very minor issue.

[@annalebedyntseva188]

@@dedviyep, but they say their opinions, not facts. And they never claim this to be true. Public figures are people as you and me, and we have same rights to share our thoughts

[@anothy7228]

Major cultural differences can be difficult, but I think if you are consuming content in a foreign language that you should of course consider the culture of the people producing it. I would never listen to a Japanese podcast and say "wow these guys seem very insincere and too passive!" if they use polite speech. Just like how our humor can come off as rude, Japanese people's indirectness and double-speak can also be interpreted as rude in societies where directness is valued.

[@ChristopherCricketWallace]

Exactly. 💯

[@yummychips_]

@@ChristopherCricketWallace I wouldnt care about some one creating content in their home languge. I would have an issue with A japanese person was making Japanese content intended mainly for Japanese in my country, and make commentary that is only surface level about the culture. That basically trash test. I like them, but I completely get why they are not liked in JP. Trash test is for weebs, and most weebs romantize Japan and its culture. Would make complete sense why there is a disconnect between JP and Trash test fans.

[@anothy7228]

@@yummychips_ What do you specifically mean by "surface level" lol, they go to many different places in Japan, speak with Japanese people and describe their experiences? I don't see how this is the same as someone who has never been to Japan or perhaps only visited. Joey as well is half Japanese and spent much time as a child in Japan, and speaks incredible Japanese so his opinions are very valid

[@soragranda]

@@yummychips_ Its not even weebs, newcomers on anime manga community...

[@emca1597]

This comment needs to be pinned, I absolutely agree with your points.

[@AYoungdude]

I think this highlights a point. Japan doesn't take criticism from inside or outside. So "trash taste" which highlights some real problems is seen as an outsider point of view when frankly their opinions are legitimate and from the inside.

[@rrypara]

Japan as a country still terrifies me because they have no moral compass at all. Right now, they're losers of the last World War, and put on a leash by the States, so they're just drawing Anime titties, but the moment they get a chance to rear their ugly, inhumane faces out again, I think they'll do it. They're unapologetic, immoral and quite frankly, inhumane group of people.

[@fiftysquiggly]

This. It would be as if a group of Japanese friends, obsessed with U.S. culture, moved to the United States and then created a pod cast where they shot the shit and discussed their experiences - pro and con - *from a foreigner's perspective* . The target audience for Trash Taste is clearly foreigners who have little experience with Japan and Japanese culture and want to hear about it in a casual format from an outsider's perspective. It seems to me, however, that this type of "speaking" out in such a casual format strikes a nerve with some people. I personally love and appreciate it as a foreigner falling into their target audience.

[@trollingisasport]

@@fiftysquiggly There are definitely those kinds of channels out there but a large amount of them are likely in different languages.

[@Seoyeaji921]

​@@Chuck8541but joey doesn't hate japan infact it's the opposite he just states things as they are sometimes

[@shadowrobot7708]

I even think they are too soft on their problem to be honest. The legal system there is fucked.

[@MMRRSasuke]

As someone who lived in Japan for roughly 14 years as a software dev I can say that MAJORITY of my japanese friends that work a regular salary man positions are all miserable and stressed mostly due to the working hours, I was lucky enough to work at a company owned by one of my close friends(He's Russian) We get to have regular schedules, normal holidays and It's not going to hurt your job prospects calling in sick few times a year. Also I do agree with the boys on a lot, for example how fucking slow the Japanese are when It comes to anything formal examples: Getting a credit card, Getting an ownership for a house, loan approvals, garbage disposal anything VISA/RESIDENTSHIP related, It's god damn awful.

[@marie-michellefortier2993]

OMG!! So much! And if you forget your hanko for one little thing at the bank, you have to go get it and come back another time! Ughhh! 🙄

[@krunkle5136]

The formal things being slow is good because it forces people to think about what they're doing and keeps away instant gratification.

[@myuzu_]

It's also bad because it's slow for no reason.​@@krunkle5136

[@locinolacolino1302]

Why I find it crazy people go on and on claiming Japan's technology is 'four years ahead of the west', when they can't agree on what frequency their electrical outlets should be, their government is still relying on floppy disks, and they haven't streamlined basic financial processes.

[@krunkle5136]

@@locinolacolino1302 meanwhile in America everything is pushed onto apps and the cloud and people wonder why they're getting hacked. Paperwork is never obsolete.

[@areallyrealisticguyd4333]

Their critiques and grounded view of Japan give a more honest perspective to people who want to visit/live in Japan. Anyone who loves a country and it's culture should be able to accept that not everything is perfect and may not be for everyone.

[@timrim9405]

And when they laugh it means that they are not that serious and their criticism shouldn't be taken as harsh serious criticism because at the end they love Japan... I would never guess that someone might not get it. Guys are trying to show their unique perspective and be lighthearted but it's interpreted as even more arrogant. Where I live if you would interpret lighthearted talk as more arrogant and worse you would be perceived as weird and potentially deranged... Everyone can talk about their experience, everyone can have their unique perspective and normally for example laughing about disliking sushi should be interpreted as more acceptable than just rambling about sushi. To some degree it feels like overboard Chinese and Twitter drama mentality...

[@Ceylin_Kurtbogan]

@@timrim9405 that is because as with most americans/westerners you do not look at cultures the way they present themselves but only from a point of view that has your culture in the center. That lightheartedness is not seen as something positive in many cultures of the world but is instead seen as not taking something seriously enough, making fun of it or ridiculing it for content. Yes, it indeed looks very arrogant especially in "broadly" asian cultures. Now I know this is not what they do or intend to, but my point is that if you are shocked to a degree someone in the world did not interpret it the way you have always been, it means you are not really able to look at it objectively enough.

[@Ceylin_Kurtbogan]

I do like these guys btw so my point isn't that they are awful people who are doing much harm to Japan. I am just trying to give the Japanese perspective that I think most people in the comments are missing the mark of. For example, if what you are looking for is indeed honest critique and grounded view of Japan in order to work/live here, these guys are one of the worst people to take advice from. They just do their social media business / entertainment while living in a artifical gaikokujin bubble full of "cool foreigner" youtubers, never really have to endure the hardships of the actual life everyone else is facing, never really feeling the need to even use Japanese language. They are not an accurate representation of what it is like to live in Japan. They are more lucky or lets say blessed than other people to be able to do whatever they want to do and just have fun doing it with a Japanese background image.

[@charliebaker1427]

​@Ceylin_Kurtbogan Japan isnt free of objective faults regardless of what viewpoint you look at it. Theres enough public transportation molestation that theres a distinct word for it happening on trains and they have female passenger only train cars to boot instead of actually taking steps to better presecute it. That shits wrong no matter what cultural lense you wanna place on your viewpoint

[@timrim9405]

@@Ceylin_Kurtbogan In normal situation if person can mistake polite lighthearted talk with ridiculing and arrogance I would assume that something is wrong with this person. It looks for example like delusion that comes from low self-esteem or something weird like that... I know that some people or groups of people can interpret as rude and arrogant things that are objectively not arrogant and are even polite. It's just some weird misunderstanding? Or maybe some people think that everyone who have different perspective should just shut up no matter how reserved, polite and lighthearted is their approach...? And lets remember that we are talking about material directed toward English speaking audience and everyone should take this into account. And fun fact is that they often talk about experiences of their friends and overall people who live in Japan, and they constantly directly remind audience that no one should take their selective opinions too seriously and in this context it's obvious that their whole lighthearted approach is in general a result of their modesty mixed with openness. In opposition to many people on the internet they are not trying to attack anyone which is good thing... And they are not ignorant; they are more serious about significant topics like crimes. They are not perfect but no one is perfect, and polite but really huge disagreements are common even among close friends simply because not many things really have to be taken that seriously...

[@shubashuba9209]

*Trash Taste complains about Japan* Japanese haters: "How dare they!" *Trash Taste complains about Britain and the US* Brits and Americans: "Haha, TRUE!"

[@hiddendrifts]

prolly bc the british and americans constantly complain about themselves, so it's more socially acceptable

[@ailafen8783]

I dislike them as a Brit. Hopefully they stay in Japan. 😊

[@KingBatch07]

shut up@@ailafen8783

[@Redl1me_]

I'm guessing Western society tends to be much more self aware of it's problems which is why so many western content includes satire about Western countries.

[@savage7882]

​@@ailafen8783 Are you from London by any chance

[@PandaKnightsFightingDragons]

As someone who is also mixed, it felt bad to see Joey labeled a gaijin. Ppl complain about them not being properly informed but don't have the base knowledge to know that Joey is half-Japanese and has lived in Japan for about half of his life.

[@havokmusicinc]

sadly this is typical, he doesn't look native and therefore is treated as a foreigner

[@klemenhudobreznik3421]

@@asdfghjjhgf AND CONSIDERING HOW DISGUSTING JAPAN VALUES OVERALL ARE THAT IS CAUSING PEOPLE NOT TO HAVE KIDS PROVES IT (BE IT OVERWORKING OWN WORKERS TO D*ATH, TOXIC IDOL CULTURE, NOT CARING FOR MENTAL HEATLH ENOUGH, BULLYING ANYONE WHO HAS ANY OTHER HAIR COLOR THAN BLACK HAIR AND SO ON)! GET HELP!

[@twgok3162]

@@asdfghjjhgflike when he chided the school who leaked japanese school children private info through a campaign to make it safer, the sex cult or when ruroni kenshin author got arrested for child porn and then other manga authors came out to protect them. Going against older authority figures, making others business hours and going against consensus may be western values. But in many situations it may be the right value

[@GAPIntoTheGame]

@@asdfghjjhgfthat doesn’t negate his experience in Japan though, he’s not wrong about the facts he just has different values and so he will criticize stuff that ppl in Japan won’t. Saying he has western values says nothing about the facts he is claiming.

[@ingridbmangubat]

To me, Joey is really more gaijin culturally than he is Japanese. Yes he is fluent in speaking, but his mindset/ perspective is definitely western. In a lot of instances, I find him the least likable of the three. He sometimes comes off as a bit arrogant just because he's half and fluent. For someone who has supposedly more experience about Japanese culture, he talks and acts like he doesn't understand it. Connor and Garnt seem more level headed in their perspective of Japanese culture.

[@angelogenesantos]

Nobita is actually right. If you only look at Connor in Trash Taste. you would see him as a person who always complains. But if you take time to look at his own channel. He has done countless videos interacting with the culture and even be a part of it. And let us not forget that this is a podcast. This is their opinion, this is their views which is not being generalized.

[@leastselfawarepotassium]

Yeah 100%. Connor does come across as a grumpy old man half the time but he does also has a lot of good things to say.

[@YokoYokoOneTwo]

I honestly never watched Trash taste precisely because of him. And I'm not even Japanese. Whenever Joey and Garnt start talking about silly stuff he always seems so pissed or arrogant, as if he doesn't want to be associated with them. And yes, I did watch his videos, it doesn't make his face less punchable

[@LuciusHill]

It's also the cultural difference between Japanese and British. British people like to complain about every single fucking detail of every single fucking thing they can think of. It's nothing specific to Japan, they would be complaining the same exact amount no matter the country live in, they just happen to live in Japan at the moment. Complaining is considered a fun passtime for brits, aussies, and new zealanders like myself, and it's nearly always in jest and never serious. All 3 of them have outright said that they love the country, and that every criticism about Japan is made out of love, it's just that the way of showing respect and love is very different between English speaking countries and Japan.

[@theProClaimer]

He only moved to Japan to 1st - bang as many asian girls as possible and 2nd - Japanese content is relatively EZ to monetise. Nobody thinks that U some Martin Luther King that gonna change society. Know your place and curb you whining, otherwise leave our country - there's plenty other countries on planet These type of people always make a good fake smile when camera around, and U 100% don't realise what they really like in person 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@SonicRyan1992]

the inverse effect happened where before the podcast, he had a 93% female follower count because his funny voice acting (mostly as Sebastian) videos gave off a charming gentleman impression; then the cosplay videos and Trash Taste broke that image with him as a silly monkey.

[@SakuraStardust]

As someone who tries to discuss Japan from an unbiased perspective, I appreciate other creators with honest takes. I grew up as a little American kid who thought Japan was a perfect and flawless utopia based on the anime and drama I watched. I thought Japan was so perfect that I planned on studying there as soon as I graduated high school and had a 5-year plan to become a citizen and “escape” America. This was way back in 2013. Around the same time, I became incredibly ill and wasn’t able to move to Japan like I planned. During that time, I began researching Japan extensively and trying to understand the country for how it truly is; the many good things as well as the bad (I also studied the language in college, hence my content niche.) So, with all of that said, I think it is very important to be unbiased in discussing these topics, as I likely have many viewers myself who now aspire to move to Japan. I think Trash Taste’s honest takes are very important for western viewers curious about Japan. I think honesty is important with the topics they discuss, so the viewer can see topics and cultural elements from different perspectives and build their own opinions from a variety of viewpoints. I can understand how people can be offended by the Trash Taste as well, though. This is just my opinion, of course.

[@iruleatgames]

I hope you are aware that they are extremely biased from a Western perspective. Some of their takes are bordering on Frankfurt-school communism, whether intentional or not (I doubt they've examined the origins of some of their more political beliefs, but I don't know for certain). To note, by saying that they wouldn't raise a daughter in Japan, in the context that they said it, they are calling everyone there a creep at best and a pedophile at worst. It's a blatantly evil statement, given that they provide no nuance whatsoever. They have women only train-cars there, not because it's a massive problem, but because they *don't* tolerate what happens in New York subways. It's literally the polar opposite of how they describe it, as they chastise Japan for eradicating the remnants of the issue. Their inability to understand this shows their lack of basic intelligence and common sense.

[@DrPepperFan]

I love your videos! Keep up the good work!

[@winterwarden]

say honesty one more time

[@danteshollowedgrounds]

Oh hey love your channel.

[@Nekotamer]

wanna know the hurtful truths about your country? ask the foreigners. applies to every country.

[@nont18411]

Really? Most of the foreigners I have seen (including me) view Japan as some kind of Utopia perfect society and hate their own country for not being as good.

[@anonymouskira4205]

Many country see foreigner as uncultured person😂😂 So u want uncultured person do as they want on your country? In my country, foreigner (tourist), making mural on public place....dont put ur moral code on another country...if u can follow the moral then respect them...😂😂

[@ゆっくり鑑賞アカウント]

They will tell the truth but they are only applied of the area the foreigners know. Which usually doesn't help at all. Since it is simply wrong or they already know it far before them, and there is a reason why its the way still.

[@kinpatu]

@@nont18411Go live there for a few years, and you’ll come away with a more balanced view.

[@chaun1115]

"Ask the people with the least experience and knowledge about your country. They don't have any biases and will only speak the truth." lol

[@Per0lus]

Let's not forget that Trash Taste is part of Kadokawa. They work for a huge Japanese company, which probably influences their experiences of "Japanese company culture". Being part of Kadokawa obviously also has an effect on their spread to both English & Japanese audiences.

[@rontype1554]

Kadokawa huh? I guess it makes sense considering who some of their guests are.

[@sidneyrobinson18]

Wait for fucking real?? Thats wild

[@adamhercik581]

@@sidneyrobinson18 GeexPlus, where they are employed, is subsidiary of bookwalker, which is a subsidiary of Kadokawa.

[@Shad0wslayer]

@@sidneyrobinson18 They talked about it in the early episodes of the podcast (can't remember which one exactly) but basically, Bookwalker (owned by Kadokawa) wanted ways to expand to more people and Meilyn (TT Manager), suggested that they collab with KZbinrs

[@chysamere]

That explains why Garnt blocks his videos in Japan. Can't bite the hand that feeds you after all.

[@superjustsayin3264]

I think a lot of complaints by Japanese people aren’t recognizing the fact that “the boiz” aren’t so much complaining as they are comparing their experiences against their own predominantly western experiences. They will talk about all the really cool aspects of Japan at the same time they talk about the less than perfect aspects. It’s only human and realistic to acknowledge that no country or culture is going to be perfect. They roast their own native cultures just as much as they do Japan’s culture. In general, they’re having discussion geared towards their predominantly western audiences, and acknowledging some factors that would probably drive other westerners crazy if they had to deal with them on a daily basis. I feel a Japanese person having to integrate into Europe or the Americas would have similar opinions related to the “culture shock.” In Joey’s case he grew up with both and Garnt or Connor often defer to his knowledge about matters. Connor actually does a pretty good job delving into different Japanese experiences that don’t exist in the Weat, and he asks Japanese people about them without being judgmental, as you point out in your video. :-)

[@Necroskull388]

Yeah, it's weird how these particular Japanese commenters (I'm well aware that there are literally tens of millions of Japanese who couldn't care less) seem to imply that the boys aren't open minded enough or aren't trying hard enough to assimilate or are being disrespectful, when they're tuning into a program made in English for a western audience being disrespectful and close minded while refusing to assimilate to the community. I think they're the exact same as jingoists in America and Europe in that regard -- disrespectful and close-minded to other cultures, the same thing they accuse Trash Taste of being. Jingoists exist everywhere -- the US, the UK, and everywhere else, Japan included.

[@JoshQwerty]

well said 🙂

[@flyinggecko6617]

I agree with you. Sadly, it appears that Japanese people simply can't relate to that because irony/sarcasm doesn't exist over there, and also, most of them have never been to another country; so i can see why it's so easy for them to miss the point

[@werrkowalski2985]

Thing is that the very notion of "perfect" assumes some ideal, so some cultural ideal one should aspire to. So a criticism of another culture is indeed a criticism from some point of view, it is biased, and it is a form of an attack. One can compare, but to hide criticism behind "comparisons", or perhaps even some absurd notion of "objective criticism" in this context is somewhat disingenuous.

[@vegancardigan]

And people just ignore how much they praised japan for things the liked, they complain about very few things that could use some improvement, they praised healthcare, food, how good everything looks, small buiseneses that they personally interacted with, customer service that they now miss in other coutries and probably more, i am sure they praised it a lot more that complained

[@SwitchMaxFX]

It really does seem like a half and half situation. Some complaints are very valid. Theyve been called out for just having no idea what they were talking about and accepting it as truth but a lot of the complaints seem to be taking everything they say too seriously, like a lot of people these days.

[@Botan_Katou]

Yeah, the problem with TT is that people don't understand its just 3 guys talking shit without really giving any thoughts to it. You're 10000% not supposed to take any of their hot takes/complaints seriously. 🤷

[@MultiLelde]

Yeah, I’m American and they’ve had tons of bad takes on the states solely based off experiences in the biggest staple cities in our country. Sure it annoys me when they haven’t really experienced all there is to offer here but it’s inevitable when someone is talking about a country outside of their own.

[@reivell3699]

They sounds american dude, at some point these apes would complain about no guns in Japan. If they love American culture so much they should stay in USA

[@yeenevaevalie]

What are some of those things that they've been called out for "having no idea"? would be interesting to see some examples :)

[@n0rmal953]

@@MultiLeldelol people take everything too seriously. I’m French and a lot of people have “bad takes” on France but I don’t care, sometimes it’s funny but most of time just bland. We can shit on our own country much better than any foreigner. Unless someone is of malicious intent or calling to violence… everyone is allowed to criticize something.

[@ChristopherCricketWallace]

Let's not forget that idioms, sacrasm, double-entendres and other word-play related jokes just won't land to many/most non-native English speakers. Same goes for Internet lingo and obscure memes.

[@greatwave2480]

As a non-native speaker I'd say if your level of English is sufficient enough to listen to podcasts like these then understanding word play is not an issue at all. Learning a language includes idioms and funny stuff too! It's more about cultural differences. I'm not Japanese but I can totally see how these guys can be seen as insufferable. They're loud, blunt, they complain about things that doesn't affect them like some twisted sjws... I watch some of them separatelly from time to time but seeing them together is just unbearable for me. It's like accidentally joining a private voice chat on discord. It's too personal, confusing, full of dumb jokes and no one controls what they say whatsoever.

[@pauloazuela8488]

Yes , I often don't get their own humor

[@mekksviews9843]

yeees i have been telling these to people. I only learned about sarcasm in 7-8 years ago because i was watching vlogs and reaction videos of the western countries.

[@dramotarker1352]

​@@greatwave2480 As a non-native speaker, I completely agree. If you’re proficient enough at a language, then your understanding of the language can be at the same level as your native language. Your description of the podcast is very harsh, but it does illustrate your point very well - that some people fundamentally don't like this type of content. And for the very same reasons why you dislike it, other people like me really like the podcast. And for cultural reasons, the average person in Japan might have an experience closer to yours than mine.

[@itsjustvin7630]

@@greatwave2480so....they sound human

[@jahoyhoy9097]

Be brave and don't be afraid to criticize something if it's wrong.

[@okamichamploo]

It's funny that the mask thing was such an issue cause although pretty much 99% of people in Japan were wearing masks at that time, I also saw that at least 90% of those people wearing masks would take them off whenever they sat down to eat with friends or coworkers. The signs in restaurants said to only remove the mask to take a bite and then put it back, but I barely saw anyone doing that.

[@danshakuimo]

I was in Japan this summer and it seemed like most of the guys didn't wear masks but most of the women did lol

[@eigojiyouzu]

100%

[@stevestevens8709]

Wow that's strict but hey if I am a Foreigner coming to someone else's home u gotta respect there rules

[@chrys8319]

​@danshakuimo because men don't need to wear makeup. A cheat way for women. I'm not saying women must wear makeup but it's expected of them (japanese culture to comform and not be the odd one)

[@drconflict629]

99%? That's ridiculous.

[@stitch603]

I enjoy listening to Trash Taste because it's just friends talking about dumb stuff like how I do with my friends when we hang out. I can only speak for myself, but Trash Taste doesn't influence my view towards Japan about the negative comments they talk about. I try not to be a nuisance in public in America so when I was in Japan, I did try to abide by their social etiquette to not be a nuisance. I can understand how some Japanese people may view and criticize Trash Taste and that's entirely okay because that's their own view towards them.

[@tsuki3752]

same. obviously people in japan aren’t gonna see the problems bc they speak japanese and have lived there their entire lives or most of it. i think it’s quite helpful for foreigners to see a “true” side of japan after the country had been glamourized for so many years. it’s helped me inform my decision on the possibility of moving and it’s swayed me away from it, which i think is perfectly fine. saved me some money from moving there and having a culture shock and having to move back.

[@佐々木優大]

As a Japanese college student, I aprreciate how passitonate they can criticize Japan and Japnese people. All the nagative aspects of Japan they shared here enforce me to get out from this small island :) Thanks

[@YabaiModding]

Switch with me and come live in Chile, you'll be begging for Japan in a week. I don't do refunds though.

[@slytha3002]

Nah switch with me in the Philippines. I also don't do refunds.

[@AbhaySingh-mz5je]

Switch with me in India . I, too don't do refunds.

[@hhbddjstar]

This might just be my own opinion. Being an Asian who grows up in Asia (I did live in Japan for half a year), and has been living in US for 13+ years, I sometimes do feel Trash Taste podcast is outspoken; however, only from an Asian pov. In Asia, we grow up being quiet about the problems in our own communities and societies. Like, people aren't ignorant. They know the bad things happening and going on but no one dares to criticize it. It's very rare to hear someone said "My country A is so corrupted and bad because of a b c d reasons". It's such a big taboo to do so as it's seen as unpatriotic. But for Westerners, it's very common to criticize their own government or political parties. Joey, Garnt, and Connor are just a bunch of friends talking bout random stuffs, but because they are 1) foreigner and 2) talking about a big body of people or a ruling body of government, they are look upon as ungrateful and disrespectful to Japan. Side note, in Japan, you can't talk bad about the government and its official (openly) or its society as a whole, but it's totally fine to target individuals...which I find kinda weird? bullying and cyber-bullying in Japan are quite notorious after all, but most people tend to ignore them.

[@ayushsenseisama]

Totally agreed, western culture is a lot different than asian ones and they expect us to feel the same as they do. If any outsider criticizes my country i wouldn't like them either irrespective of their intention

[@cateve3757]

What you write about Japan is far from the truth. How deeply have you interacted and talked with the Japanese people after living in Japan for only six months? Is your Japanese language skill good enough to talk with Japanese people in depth? They are hated by the Japanese because they mix facts with lies, not because they are "foreign" or "talking about a big organization or the ruling party of the government". (By "they" I mean Asian-British men.) There are a lot of foreigners living in Japan on X（Twitter） who are sharing their opinions, advice, and political discussions with a lot of Japanese. There is a mutual respect. In Japan, anyone can openly speak ill of the government, government officials, or the society as a whole if they want to. Japan is neither a communist nor a socialist country. Freedom of speech is guaranteed in Japan. Anyone can march in demonstrations, hold rallies and speech contests without being a member of any organization. We may even participate in election campaigns.

[@perfectslumbersa9511]

it's China, not Asian

[@9051team]

​@@cateve3757hey man can you give examples of when they were wrong? I want to look into it.

[@randypc1]

​​@@cateve3757Saying that they "mix truth with lies" would imply that they do it on purpose, but I don't think thats true. They get many things wrong, they have and will probably do so in the future. And that is because they are just three dudes talking, and like anyone, have bias and misinformation. And that is fine, or should be fine. People on the internet really shouldn't be so quick to believe anything on the net and also shouldn't equally be as quick to call someone a liar if they spread misinformation. Just correct them.

[@vp7877]

True they really don't know what they're talking about sometimes, but this isn't a super serious and clinical podcast that seriously breaks down social issues. Bro they get absolutely clowned on by there worldwide audience when they make other mistakes, like when Connor says food poisoning isn't an illness. It's why they call themselves trash taste, they make stupid mistakes all the time and are unnecessarily opinionated, which is really funny sometimes

[@Nhan_nguyen271]

yeah I agree with that, they literally name the podcast trash taste and they are not even a news channel, just casual homie chat together

[@Terandula]

Mudan, their editor, even started putting in fact checks as a meme. Theme just spouting random unfiltered "facts" makes them relatable in my opinion - I mean, who doesn't do that?

[@photonemoncoordination8437]

​@@Nhan_nguyen271true, joey will say stupid shit thats statistically false about japan and laugh, but the comment will be, "This is whats wrong about japanese society as a whole, when I was in japan for 0.001 microsecond I see this happend everywhere its because their japanese philoshopy of one shit, two shit" the whole comment selection suddenly become japanese expert, political expert, history expert, or every expert to support them

[@mrwannabe00]

Bro the episode with them not really caring or watching the ending of AoT damn people were mad

[@d1anacrystal127]

I loved that drama so much its so funny reading the angry comments because other people had a bad opinion of their fav anime@@mrwannabe00

[@Enzar17]

The really major difference is that Chris came to Japan as an ALT, and started KZbin really by accident. He's grown entirely organically over his career, has tried extremely hard to integrate with Japanese society, speaks quite good Japanese, has Japanese friends, and he really just wants to show all the things he loves about the place he lives. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows with Chris either, he brings up a lot of the same problems that Trash Taste does. He's talked about how tough it was during covid, he's talked about the weird backwards way that Japan is still extremely reliant on physical currency, he's talked about how bad Japanese television is, he's talked about how much of a hindrance the massive bureaucracy of Japan can be, all of which has been brought up on Trash Taste too. But the difference is in the delivery. I think Chris often comes off as being quite respectful, even when he criticises Japan. But Trash Taste I think comes off as quite harsh, which is a very common thing in the west, but not so in the east. So it's a group of western guys, making western content, austensibly for a western audience, and that can clash greatly with Japanese sensibilities. And it doesn't help that foreigners still face significant stigma in Japan.

[@Ceylin_Kurtbogan]

I agree with most of your comment that the issue here is basically with the perceived attitude. The only thing I don't agree with is the last comment. (I mean I do not agree with Japanese TV being bad at all since ridiculous morning time or midnight time shows are not a good representation of it but that is on Chris, not you haha) The only stigma in Japan against foreigners would be the one some people feel for illegal workers from Southeast Asia. Otherwise there is no stigma. I live in Japan. Many foreigners that talk about the stigma never look at their own actions and how they are disturbing everyone else with their actions, seeing Japan as a playground, a vacation resort at which Japanese people rightfully get pissed at. It happens more often than you think. Just the other day I was in a cafe for some self-study, 3 Americans were basically speaking too loudly with eachother and laughing like crazy, making "yamete kudasai!" jokes, disturbing everyone in the process. As if that wasn't enough one of them constantly kept wiping his hand on the chair/sofa thing. When they got confronted they went full Karen even to the cafe manager, got so defensive and immediately used the "xenophobia" card even though I was also there in the cafe and no one ever did anything to me. Honestly, they were almost punchable... I bet if they recorded a video now, they would talk about xenophobia in Japan and get so many comments taking their side. Just learn the language, try to gain something from Japanese culture yourself first before critizing it, learn to value the "Japanese mind" and apply it to your life, life choices and goals and then criticize what you like or don't like about Japan and I promise you, almost not a single soul will ever mind your criticism in Japan.

[@mk_gamíng0609]

@@Ceylin_Kurtbogan Japan IS Xenophobic tho if your in the area of a crime as a foreigner your going to be a suspect instantly even if it was almost impossible of you to have committed said crime By denying issues your denying improvement By denying improvement you truly do not love a country

[@Luckybonick]

@@Ceylin_Kurtbogan saying japan has no stigma against foreigners is INSANE i'm sorry, my sister lived there for years, spoke fluent japanese, was married to a japanese husband, had exclusively japanese friends, and was STILL always very clearly ''the foreigner'' and was always clearly treated differently.

[@charliebaker1427]

​​@@Ceylin_Kurtbogani mean say what you will about personal interactions but anything to do with documentation and applications you'll absolutely be treated differently just because youre a foreigner. Either way japan is absolutely xenophobic lmao trying to say otherwise is nonsense

[@alexprus7953]

Most of Chris's criticism is backed up by either specific personal experience, or hard facts, so it's really hard to be mad at him, even with his direct British humour.

[@DHJakon]

As a non-resident but frequent visitor I agree to a lot of their comments relating to Japan. But they will always get criticized for not knowing enough. It's like having native level Japanese and getting "nihongo-jozu." Even Joey gets the gaijin treatment by other Japanese.

[@rontype1554]

Funny. I am not confident with my Japanese speaking yet they don't say that "nihongo-jozu" thing until I revealed to them that I'm not Japanese.

[@sidneyrobinson18]

​​@@rontype1554if you look Japanese sometimes they don't say anything and that's a pretty surprisingly wide margin of people considering I, a Latino, have been confused as being Japanese by two separate Japanese people. Really friggin surprised me

[@jonghoonpark8050]

If one is not Japanese, why should they ever hope to be fully accepted in Japan? Japan is not an immigrant country. It's not Canada, America or some of the European countries. Foreigners are not entitled to being accepted as being anything close to native. They are not obligated to embrace anyone from outside their borders. It doesn’t make them bad or negative.

[@Omnifarious42]

@@jonghoonpark8050 Jfc dude

[@Mtbdrum]

​@@jonghoonpark8050Europe is also not an "immigrant country", but every country will become one incl Korea.

[@tomatoshadow]

What I find interesting is that you'll notice that literally all their complaints directed towards Japan are **systemic**. I don't recall any single instance where they said bad things about a Japanese person or an interaction they had with one. I think that's one of the biggest cultural difference because it's pretty much the opposite in japan from what I've heard (can't speak against the institution but bullying people is normal) Being non-asian, if I ever heard foreigners complaining about the system in my country I would very likely agree them. "You think public transport here sucks? Yeah I think it sucks too!" Whenever I hear them complain, I feel like it's the kind of thing anyone should stand behind, not just general opinions. I find it super interesting that some Japanese people take these comments personally because that's not how I would react at all. I disagree with my government on a lot of things and we'll be the first to complain about it. Another thing to take into account is that Japan is often very romanticized in the west. A lot of westerners talk about it like this perfect society of convenience and will often think of Japan as better than any other country. And on the other hand, you have people who strongly resent that sentiment and feel the need to point out all of Japan's flaws; not because they have anything against the country but because they hate that people look at it with rose-tinted glasses. The guys from trash taste are very aware of this and are mindful of both sides. They don't want to come across as people who ignore all the bad but they're still very obviously happy to live there. I think they just want to provide a very nuanced opinion of Japan, with all the good and the bad, especially since most Japanese people are too sensitive to speak about their country in a more sincere way.

[@Dontfeedchad117]

Chris being a special guest every now and then definitely helps... Chris does have the best selling book out right now.

[@Great_Sandwich]

Only reason I subbed to TT: To catch the episodes when Chris is on. The only comment I wrote on the channel was one regarding Garnt's excessive complaining and sh*t-takes about people of a certain age. Frankly, I don't know why I still sub to them.

[@sindri1447]

@@Great_Sandwich Yeah, I don't know why you would be subscribed to them. Seems like self abuse to me. I'm subscribed to them cause I enjoy the podcast quite a lot. Staying subscribed to a channel you hate is just madness.

[@Great_Sandwich]

@@sindri1447 No biggie. I check the title when it comes into my feed, and if it doesn't interest me...

[@ToscaTee]

@@Great_Sandwich can’t you just check the channel periodically if chris is in the videos or not? Or notified through social media whenever the guy has guest appearances or collabs? Nowadays channel subscription is reduced to a bookmark so i don’t see the loss of unsubscribing especially if you don’t like tt to begin with. You’ll eventually see their videos with chris anyway with yt’s current algorithm if you regularly consume chris broad’s content.

[@overthewebb]

Chris is not part of trash taste, he's a guest and a friend. Why Chris is getting dragged into this is blowing my mind

[@TalonKarrde03]

As a foreigner who has lived in Japan for 11 years I still don’t feel like I’ve interacted or integrated all that much. It’s very hard to make genuine Japanese friends with the language and culture gaps.

[@TalonKarrde03]

@@NotAnInternetTroll hey man I totally have! I’ve made plenty of non Japanese friends but I have formed some genuine bonds with Japanese friends! I guess I wanted to say is that even for a very outgoing social person (myself) forming a strong friendship requires more work then it typically would in NA. There’s nothing wrong with that inherently, just a detail I wanted i share from my personal experience. Thanks for such a thoughtful reply will try and take your advice to heart!

[@Pepe-dq2ib]

@kingofassholes4348 same for me, i never view foreigner as American either.

[@bassyey]

It'll be the same as me, an Asian, going to any country in the West. No one really will accept me there. You just have to accept that you won't integrate.

[@cooper22887]

@@bassyey Yeah, I hate people from the west complain about this in Aisa, when in reality it just work the same the other way around..

[@Ceylin_Kurtbogan]

If you do not speak decent/fluent Japanese, it will be very hard to make any meaningful connections yes (except for very few percentage of Japanese who can speak intermediate-advanced english) and if you are a Westerner, due to even larger cultural gaps it will be even harder. For example Americans generally (I definitely do not mean the OP) strike off too personal, cocky, disrespectful and arrogant due to their natural approach to people and subjects. I do not think these for Americans due to knowing what kind of people they are but all throughout Asia, this is the image. This is indeed how it looks like from Turkey to Japan let me tell you lol. I didn't have much integration issues. I have been living here only for 4 years, all of my friends are Japanese, my fiance is Japanese, I work with Japanese coworkers in a Japanese engineering company and attend dancing classes with a group of Japanese ladies, go have drinks with them once every two weeks after class etc. I never feel left alone, never seen as the "other" or anything else. They sometimes joke and say "もう日本人やん" ("You already became Japanese, haven't you?") to me to make me feel even more included. Of course they know I am not Japanese, I know that as well. I mean....they are right, I am not Japanese and I am a foreigner because I wasn't born here, my personality wasn't shaped by the cultural norms of here and I do not have the collective memory of small things they all can associate with being Japanese (one of the reasons Japanese comedy is not funny to most foreigners). Making peace with that is just better. Obviously not for the OP but I really can't sympathize with people crying over not being considered Japanese when they indeed aren't. I agree meaningful connections with Japanese people take longer time (for sure....) but I think that is a good thing overall. It takes harder but when you finally do, it is more permanent and healthy I feel like. One final note though, Japanese people are VERY detail oriented and they take note of even a small gesture you do and they remember it in the right time. Even if they might act like they know nothing.

[@LukeJLB]

Being able to prosecute for harassment/stalking/having photos taken/etc. if you're diagnosed with PTSD is still a high bar to clear. The suffering you experience as a result of it needs to meet diagnostic criteria for specific disorders, and sometimes it won't rise to that level, or the clinician won't be able to directly tie the origin of the disorder to the event in question. Many, if not most of the women I know in the US have experienced some kind of harassment or SA, but a good percentage of them don't have "diagnostically" significant mental health symptoms as a result. But they still suffer. The best analogy I can think of would be like if you could only prosecute for getting mugged or beaten up if you got a broken bone or stab wound. What if you just got bruised all over? So, again, not that other countries are necessarily better at that in terms of their laws, but I don't think being able to prosecute if there's a medical diagnosis is necessarily the best counterargument. The question, I guess, is whether the act itself should be a crime, or whether it only rises to the level of a crime when there is a certain level of recognizable harm. I definitely think there's an argument to be made against the former, in the sense that if you're only concerned with the act, then you can end up with victimless crimes, which always sucks, but in the case of the latter, then you have to worry about who gets to decide what "recognizable harm" looks like and how much of a burden it places on victims to prove that they've been harmed. In the case of gendered violence/harassment/etc., it's too common all over the world that that burden of proof is too difficult to meet.

[@irinya-ish]

I'm, surprised this has not been mentioned yet. In most developed countries, taking sexual photos or "creep shots" is illegal in itself. Same for groping and other form of sexual harassment. Yes, Japan is not the only country with "women only" cars, but I bet they are the most "economically developed" with them.

[@zer0name720]

The thing about British humour is that everything is fair game. They're living in Japan, so they'd naturally formulate a bunch of humour around that. If they were living in Iceland, they'd totally rinse it dry out of love (and frustration). I think that's a cultural feature that takes some getting used to for Japanese people in general; I would know because I'm the same way with my humour and my Japanese friends slowly warmed up to love it after the first few initial shocks, ha ha! Oh, and the other thing that gets glossed over is the fact that while they do take themselves seriously from time to time, they're never proclaiming themselves as messiahs that all must heed to. They're always willing to admit they could be totally in the wrong about stuff, and are primarily there to have 2 hours of pure unfiltered banter on camera. It's hella funny, insightful, and just plain goofy... And that's why I tune into them

[@theProClaimer]

Then go back to Britain and make as many joke as U like. We don't want/need your type here, thank you very much. 😉

[@tsuki3752]

true. british people LOVE to complain about britain (no matter where they live in britain) but they continue to live there and can’t imagine living anywhere else. it’s just how it is

[@PigeonCrash]

While harsh I don't think the Japanese criticism is unfounded at all. They do bring up some fair points, even if I don't agree with all of it. Great job on this video, it was very interesting to see what the Japanese community thinks about them.

[@Pepe-dq2ib]

they dont care.

[@Darkstar2425]

Sometimes I feel that some people get annoyed with what people say because they actually kind of agree with them but are too afraid to say it themselves.

[@greyflotsam7452]

They're literally the anime version of Top Gear. Also the two who complain a lot are the actual Brits. The other is an Aussie. The Aussies have a joke about Brits: "How can you tell a plane has come from England? It keeps on whining after the engines have turned off." Explanation for those with weaker English / relying on Google translate: "to whine" means to make a loud, shrill sound (like a jet engine), but it's often used to mean something like to complain excessively and somewhat pathetically (make lots of loud, shrill, annoying noise).

[@MNkno]

❤

[@christianbethel]

Australia is British.

[@mrcat2493]

they hardly have anything to do with anime tho

[@benjaminallison4973]

@@christianbethel No, no it is not. As an Australian I find that offensive.

[@squeakyelbows]

@@christianbethel No, no it is not. As a British I find that offensive.

[@SpaceSeal64]

I think it's interesing how so many Japanese people (according to the comments mentioned in the video) take personal offense to criticism of their country. Like, if a Japanese person complained about the US I literally couldn't care less, I'd probably even agree with them.

[@KantoCafe715]

Yea I guess. Recently in my recommended one KZbin was this long documentary about people complaining about housing in the UK and none of them were British 😅 and the housing was social housing too (offered by the state).

[@chyffon5454]

@@chocolatechip2922mostly people from non-diversed region.

[@singhatishkumar]

Not only that trash taste has criticised America and other countries way more than Japan

[@TheDivineShiver]

Japanese people try to deny anything that is not positive. They are simply too awkward and afraid to talk about real problems and would rather just pretend that they and their country are perfect.

[@darklazerx7913]

Americans are usually super sensitive about any outside criticism though lol

[@nathanielrubin3392]

10:48 Female only car in trains and monorail do exist in the Philippines also. These greater preferrence to women gives them more space to ride. This does not mean that female are being s. harass here. I'd like to believe that practice in Japan is a way of showing respect and recognition of the government to the women as a group.

[@lisa_kikukawa]

I've lived in Tokyo for 12 years and what the trash taste people say about Japan is such a breath of fresh air for me. Japan NEEDS more people that care about the country that are willing to speak up about topics that are extremely harmful the society as a whole.

[@Pepe-dq2ib]

hopefully they listen and Japan turns into the country he came from.

[@zzzzzzz88]

@@Pepe-dq2ib Agreed! Japan would be 10000x better if it was flooded with pakis and Indians like the UK is!

[@LOONAbd]

@@Pepe-dq2ib always some dumb moron taking things to the extreme, most of what people want is idk, not using fax????????? being able to go around with just credit/debit card without having to worry about having cash????? it's 2023 my guy, that's not a west thing

[@1eyeddevil929]

No they don't

[@noranizaazmi6523]

​@@1eyeddevil929 the suicide rates would disagree with you.

[@bilalmega3349]

The show is called Trash Taste. Also, many have cited that most Japanese aren't really open to making genuine connections with "gaijin". Thus, the podcast was obviously therapeutic for them and their frustrations with socializing there, or the lack thereof. In other words, they were venting amongst themselves. Nothing more

[@ゆっくり鑑賞アカウント]

ah yea talking bullshit without researching and spreading is theraputic. they can do it private.

[@chaun1115]

>they were venting amongst themselves. No. It's a podcast with an audience. They are not at the Hub drinking overpriced drinks with their friends. But I agree that people should not take it so seriously. It's basically three random people sharing their thoughts, no matter how educated or uneducated they are.

[@godzilla2k26]

They reflected a mirror on people, most can't handle that.

[@ゆっくり鑑賞アカウント]

@@godzilla2k26 of course people cant take that when the mirror is distorted.

[@Terandula]

@@ゆっくり鑑賞アカウント or it may just be a different viewpoint - as if japanese people get all facts right

[@keenekoo]

I think it's important for the Japanese people who watch them to know that the criticism trash taste brings up are actually common thoughts among overseas people. The whole "how do you know" without being a part of Japanese society, or know a Japanese person to have a right to criticize how they do things doesn't make sense when the internet is around. You can listen or read plenty of Japanese people and foreigners with first-hand experiences complain about it on social medias/online. Basically, what I'm saying is you don't need to personally talk or be friends with a Japanese person to know how brutal their work culture is for example - just look at jujustu kaisen season 2 animation staff.

[@pikago1811]

Exactly! It's such backwards reasoning, I'll never understand...

[@user-SaputroYono]

​@@pikago1811 Japan for ya!

[@mysteryegg340]

I've seen a few episodes accidentally when my nephew was staying with me (he loves it) and although I do find some of the things they come out with quite cringey, I am not exactly their target demographic, being a middle aged woman. They seem like a decent group of lads just chatting and having a laugh. There's nothing offensive about them, they aren't peddling weird/dangerous ideologies. I don't think they really bad mouth Japan, they just talk about their real life experiences. I think it would be weird if they just spoke about the positives. I like their honesty. I am a British expat myself (not in Japan) and it is challenging to forge genuine connections and friendships with people from totally different cultures who speak a language that you don't speak much of; you do naturally drift towards other expats. But it works both ways, it shouldn't just be the foreigner that has to make the effort to get to know someone - I am not talking about language, that should obviously just be on the foreigner.

[@eekeey]

As a fellow middle aged woman, I fucking love these dudes.

[@SergirothGames]

The problem with “Japanese person reacts” is that 99% of them add next to nothing to the original video, and just sitting there and dropping an “んんん。。。” every 5 minutes. The other 1% add a comment or two at best.

[@haves_]

1. They don't publicize their "Japanese", only the pop culture stuff. That made it look like they didn't care about the Japanese people. And most of their "Japanese" experience is converted into English when they talk, so there's that. Honestly, for someone to change their residing country is a massive power move, they ARE above the majority.

[@thenicflynn]

I think a lot of their complaints about Trash Taste are more due to them not knowing what things are really like outside of Japan. It is easy to get super upset about someone pointing something out like the work situations or the raising a daughter in Japan when you don't actually know how different it is outside of Japan. They have lived in Japan for a while and one them is Japanese. They're dudes having a chat and it is great, I don't think anyone is turning them on for a view into highly accurate data (see what I did there. The two don't mix) of Japan. They tune in for some relatable conversation and a good time with the boys. They're entitled to their opinions and to share in their experiences and perspectives just like everyone else is. I am American and I can't tell you how many Japanese people have shared their "opinions" about my country, I would assume those wouldn't be the same types of people. I moved to Japan and after being here a while I am kind of tired of the rose tinted views on Japan the internet goes after...its a dishonest and its due to many foreigners really caring about not offending anyone with their opinions about Japan. After being here a while the highly positive views of Japan are kinda blown out of proportion it's good to see some dudes just having a chat.There should be more discussions like that without just becoming hateful or something. (which they're not) They love it here or they wouldn't still be here.

[@thenicflynn]

Its a book lol

[@michaelatlas2341]

If you don't like it, go back to your country. You're in Japan to assimilate, so stfu. Typical Westerner who just sees the problem in everything and always has a solution, which often involves letting said westerner/s trash whichever culture verbally and in actuality. You've done enough damage to Japan by just being there. Stfu.

[@MrTea101]

Be glad it ain't the kind of level of complaints as Twitter users in the West, it's absolutely retarded.

[@MNkno]

You've added a dimension I didn't consider when I listed (some of the) reasons I didn't like the guys in the video this time... There are loads of problems in Japan, but listening to these guys isn't going to add anything that is going solve them. Knowing what solutions exist in other countries might, though. You're right on that.

[@siralpha6020]

Really good points there

[@lightreviews1934]

Trash Taste provides a somewhat real insight into how life is in Japan, which is a country that's so good at hiding its skeletons, for foreigners who have absolutely no clue. They say the good and the bad about everything and have fun with it, which shows their authenticity with how they feel. Having said that ofc you don't have to take everything they say seriously further emphasizing the absence of "irony" in Japanese language. What impresses me is that they don't cower saying the bad despite being foreign and inevitably facing ridicule from Japanese citizens and Japan geeks.

[@iruleatgames]

"I wouldn't raise a daughter in Japan." Given the context of what they said, how would you feel if someone moved into your community, and proceeded to call everyone there a creep at best and a pedophile at worst. It's a beyond disgusting, evil statement, given that they provide no nuance whatsoever. They have women only train-cars there, not because it's a massive problem, but because they don't tolerate what happens in New York subways. It's literally the polar opposite of how they describe it, as they chastise Japan for eradicating the remnants of the issue. Their inability to understand this shows their lack of basic intelligence and common sense.

[@user-SaputroYono]

Sound like communism

[@plasticflower]

Maybe not all their criticisms are unfounded, but some of it is really stupid and their own fault. Foreigners will always have a harder time finding friends, it’s not that “Japan has perfected not having social connections” or what they said near the end. It’s because they probably don’t make an effort (except for KZbin videos to show off)

[@lightreviews1934]

@@plasticflower "I can't understand foreign humour and will not do so coz I'm too hard headed and have a bad attitude to all things foreign or things I can't understand." LOL I find it hard to take your comment seriously when youtubers in Japan actually attract foreigners to a country that has a struggling economy. You're either 12 or mentally challenged as all of what your arguing is incredibly superficial and shortsighted. Think first before you speak.

[@ponderingmonk525]

“…and I see many Japanese worry about the influence”. That’s exactly how Americans feel. All stereotypes have a basis in truth, no matter how small. Still though, just cause I’m an American doesn’t mean I am a polite gentleman, that I smell bad(applies to westerners in general), that I am scary etc(Idiotic influencers do not speak or represent an entire part of the world). People just need to take what they hear with a grain of salt, Japanese and non-Japanese alike

[@SetiKt]

Americans often deemed japanese as incels, pedophiles, etc. They saw some part of japanese culture and judged them by their morals. So it's only fair if japanese people gave them xenophobic treatments. Though, I wouldn't believe in american morals. Forcing customers to pay for service fees and tips is ridiculous, and if you didn't give any tip you'd be deemed inhumane. What a stupid moral compass.

[@ponderingmonk525]

@@SetiKtI wouldn’t say it’s fair because neither side is fair. However it does makes sense

[@derekskelton4187]

Well Americans like their servers paid slave wages@@SetiKt

[@cozy6308]

@@derekskelton4187 Im convinced you havent heard of the japanese work culture

[@savanthuman8809]

​@@SetiKtNo, the media does, not the people.

[@goodcocobean2259]

It’s called trash taste because they know their opinions are trash (and sometimes their taste in anime), and they don’t actually mean any harm. I wonder if the Japanese people have figured it out yet.

[@pauloazuela8488]

Sarcasm isn't famous in Japan.

[@Daniel-jz9td]

As Trash Taste maybe would say, if you get triggered by Trash Taste opinions that'd be skill Issue.

[@SilverYPheonix]

Yeah, the way Connor flexes being a gorilla who will never read anything is definitely harmless. Especially the implications that enjoying reading is just a way to compensate your lack of intellect, gosh it was so satisfying watching Garnt beat him at his own game of Chess. These guys are rich and entitled man, put that in your head already.

[@pauloazuela8488]

​@@user-oy3pf2ni2kAnd I do hate sarcasm myself. That's why I rarely watch Trash Taste nowadays unless they bring a guest.

[@Noctis37]

Sure their take should not be taken seriously but how many fans do you think actually believe the crap their saying, I wonder?

[@rebeccachia]

Chris is the embodiment of positivity, and Trash Taste is opposite . But that’s why it’s called “Trash Taste” 😅 and another thing is that the Japanese culture is always positive, they are sensitive when other speak negatively 😅 I think those haters have not travelled overseas before, and made comparisons with two countries

[@KanpekiJan]

Not sure if I agree there, Chris does criticize things in Japan quite a bit, and he has drawn controversy because of it. He's also a Brit, lol

[@godzilla2k26]

They live there. Maybe don't judge by appearance?

[@aiohto7884]

I do agree though the fact that Japanese people are very patriotic and they highly take pride of their country. So some of the things that were said by “Trash Taste” may have offended them a little. That’s just what I think tho.

[@mathieul4303]

Nah

[@Azusai]

"Chris is the embodiment of positivity". You sure we're watching the same person? 😅 When Chris compliments Japan, he compliments it and if he criticizes it, you can see in his expression how frustrated he is.

[@whimsycottt]

I think its kind of wild how some people would rather comment on "what do they know, they dont actually live here and integrate with the culture" rather than take this opportunity as a way to reflect in their country's flaws. When people tell me how bad America is because its unwalkable and how dangerous it can feel, i go "You're not wrong." Its good to acknowledge your country's flaws because thats the first step in fixing it.

[@lchen2522]

But Joey is literally half Japanese, does that not count for anything. I am not a consistent watcher of the podcast (and stopped this year because the algorithm no longer promotes it) and only watch Connor and Joey’s content. I can see how they can come across as grating.

[@kageyamareijikun]

not when he looks like a random Middle-easterner/Arab in the eyes of most average Japanese in the street or in the countryside.

[@lifekunsex-girlfriend4364]

Japanese aren't very accepting of hafu (half Japanese people or children) FYI

[@luisiana1121]

The thing with the Japanese is that they don't consider you Japanese solely because of how you look. Looks, masking (metaphorical), fake politeness and honor is everything in Japan. So even if Joey is Japanese by blood, if he doesn't look Japanese, chances are he isn't considered Japanese by the very same natives of Japan.

[@kageyamareijikun]

@@luisiana1121 Unless he looks like some famous and handsome actor like Takeshi Kaneshiro (who is half-Taiwanese) or can whack a tennis ball really good like Naomi Osaka. Otherwise no he just looks like someone who came from Afghanistan with the dark skin and beard. It's not endearing to the locals here.

[@luisiana1121]

@@kageyamareijikun Yup that's true. Unless he's some hot shot from Hollywood or some big name and face, because of his looks alone, he wouldn't be considered Japanese by those who haven't heard of him. That and the beauty standards there

[@ShibaHamamatsucho]

日本語が話せる外国人として、ジョーイさんを除いて、その他のメンバーは日本語初心者で、日本に住んでからまだ2-3年も経っていないことから、日本に関する知識が不足していることは明らかだろう。それに関わらず、原作の英語ポッドキャストが和訳されたので、英語特有の皮肉や冗談のニュアンスが失われ、英語が喋れない日本人リスナーさんに不快感を与える可能性が高いと考えています。

[@ARDIZsq]

I find it interesting that some think that Trash Taste talking about negative aspects of Japan will make people hate the country. I have ALWAYS wanted to visit Japan. I've also watched quite a lot of Trash Taste. hearing the negative parts of Japan doesn't make me hate the country, it gives me more realistic expectations of what a visit to the country could end up being like, and I think that's honestly a REALLY good thing. Many foreigners may hold this idealized view that Japan is a utopia where everything is perfect, but it's important to remember that, like anywhere else in the world, Japan is really just another country full of human beings. People aren't perfect. I think that learning the more realistic and often negative aspects of Japan helps temper expectations, and is better in the long run. As an example, imagine this: A foreigner from say the US has this blinded idealized anime-tinted view of Japan. It's a utopia full of cute girls and no problems, the stereotypical "weeb view of Japan." Now imagine they go to Japan, experience what it's REALLY like there, and are left with a negative view of the country and experience as a result. If that same person had instead held the view that "Japan is just another country with some unique experiences," then they'd have a much more realistic outlook on things and enjoy their time much more, especially if something good happens to exceed their expectations. I'm not sure if that's a great way of explaining it or not. Basically, Trash Taste is good because they help give more realistic expectations of Japan, which will only serve to better the overall image of the country in the long run.

[@YabaiModding]

I visited Japan this year for a month for the concert of Watagashi Unou/Misumi Yuuka (Ex-Lulu Suzuhara), and was honestly kind of afraid of leaving with "Fuck, Japan sucks." because I had heard all the bad stuff, knew how miserable the salarymen are and how foreigners are ostracized. I stayed in Ikebukuro, near the West Exit of the station, so I expected like, crime, and people looking at me with scowls and basically pointing and saying "a gaijin!". Here's my experience as someone coming from South America: The Japanese treated me better than people in my own damn country, went out of their way to pull out google translate instead of just saying "no", accomodated me whenever they could and helped me when I needed it. You can WALK on the street past 6PM, even 3AM and you're completely safe in a "bad" area?! The streets are clean, hole free and repainted every single day. What the hell is this sorcery. Everything is so cheap except for transportation. Way cheaper than my country. Hard-off/Book-off/Suruga-ya/Mandarake is heaven on earth. Everyone is so damn nice and polite and customer service is excellent (except for the Capcom Store in Shibuya PARCO, those girls hate their job and it shows.) The train system is god damn amazing. It was the best damn month of my life. My country is an unsalvageable dump, and sucks ass in comparison. I want to leave it and stay in Japan forever, even if to survive I'm to be exploited in some damn black company. Can't be worse than the shitty job I do here anyway.

[@rontype1554]

This is petty sure, but I didn't like it that they had insufferable guests like Hasan Piker or Pokimane.

[@The_Catnip]

It just shows they have an open mind imo I despise Hasan with a passion but if I don't hear him out about his views, that would be bigoted, no?

[@rontype1554]

@@The_Catnip Those who despise him have "been there, done that". I barely watch Trash Taste but I don't see them having guests that have contrary opinions to Hasan's usual takes. Now that's bigotry if true.

[@diegos7337]

I think this guys are just honest in the way they see things. They are not trying to offend Japanese people. But Japanese people are much more serious. So I think this is a case of cultural Shock.

[@darwisybaqir5877]

they dont really take sarcasm so i was kinda expecting it really

[@sethydeathy]

This is really a culture barrier on how westerners communicate verses Japanese. To many Japaneses they are just complaining non-stop but to westerners, casual criticism is just part of a normal conversation. also it's called "trash taste", so yeah.

[@MrGalRoz]

Garnt is the foreign weeb, Connor is the confused yet accepting Gaijin. Joey is the critical Hafu.

[@alexzeng9833]

Both Hafu and Gaijin are used with extremely bad connotations and specifically to demean people as to say they're worse for being less Japanese, don't recommend using those terms casually

[@MrGalRoz]

@@alexzeng9833 i doubt Joey or Connor would take offense. And i dont go around calling people gaijin and hafu. And honestly its one of those idiotic aspects of the Japanese cultures so i dont care much about it and neither should you.

[@太陽神-u1l]

All of them are gaijin and not Japanese no matter how much they wish they were

[@alexzeng9833]

@@太陽神-u1l like the half Japanese man who knows Japanese better than you could ever dream of (even if you're native) and has lived there for about 20 years or more?

[@laurencefraser]

@@alexzeng9833 Seems like there is definitely a significant subset of the Japanese population who would say 'absolutely yes'. ... and also plenty of Japanese people who would think that first group are idiots.

[@AnikethBandi]

It seems like the issue is that people who see the clips only see their comments and not the rest of the podcast. If you actually watch the full podcasts, they go out of their way to actually experience life in Japan.

[@thebeyonder5032]

At this point, Nobita should be a guest at their podcast since he’s a fan and sometimes mentions them in his videos. Would be interesting to see him there.

[@susbedo9258]

Connor always try to play up a persona of himself as someone that is ignorant and insensitive. But if you watched his streams and from testimonials from others, everyone says that Connor is the total opposite and is actually a humble person. Connor constantly interacts with Japanese and you can often see him giving gifts to random Japanese kids. Another fact is that, Connor's Japanese is fast improving and Chris Broad claims that Connor's Japanese proficiency has already surpasses his own Japanese

[@darkpie1000]

What is Connors youtube channel, like I have no idea who he is

[@q.u.o.t.e7149]

@@darkpie1000Oh! Give me a second!

[@q.u.o.t.e7149]

It’s ConnorDawg

[@susbedo9258]

@@darkpie1000 1. cDawgVA 2. CDawgVods 3. ConnorDawg

[@Skyl3t0n]

@@q.u.o.t.e7149 CDawgVA is his main

[@GeebusCrust]

I can understand wanting them to interact more deeply with the culture before criticizing it, but it's honestly not always possible, and even in a collectivist society the people are not a monolith. In plenty of street interview videos in Japan I've seen wide and varied opinions, some of which are completely built on assumptions from media and seeing, but not interacting with foreigners. In a lot of these same videos, I see Japanese people who have spent time abroad and come home with plenty of things to say about ways their country could improve. And finally, I don't think they spend much time complaining about Japanese people, but most of their complaints surround certain systems, which have way more to do with tradition than anything else, like the intense amounts of paperwork and slow bureaucracy. Government offices being among the last systems in the country to adopt digitizing their records just seems backwards to westerners, especially when many of them still carry a view that Japan is a technological wonderland. The idea of using a hanko stamp you can buy at Donqui being seen as less fallible than a handwritten signature, but also that a resumè should be handwritten in pen wrather than typed. The traditional culture is a very alluring point people that want to explore and learn about Japan, much of which has survived into the modern age thanks to how rigid and inflexible that tradition is. But westerners don't see the value in the ritual of old traditions making its way into systems like bureaucracy, which they believe should be more flexible and responsive to the people they serve.

[@ninicookie6300]

as someone living in switzerland watching all of these guys for years, I really don't get the sense that they're trying to make japan or japenese people look bad and i don't view japan or the japanese people negatively as a result of watching these guys. i think the trash taste podcast is like you said just them being friends, talking about whatever it is they want to talk about and i usually just take it in a very casual way. i don't think their thought-process during these episodes is very deep and upon reflection on their parts on their individual channels they give some more accurate and down-to-earth insights into their experiences and how they feel about the country and people :3

[@namelessking111]

They love Chris Broad because he mostly showcases the beauty of Japan, they hate Trash Taste because they expose the darker and shittier side of Japan. Trash Taste complains so much about America too yet Americans love Trash Taste, really goes to show the difference in the mentality between the two. It doesn't help either that they all take everything so seriously and are unable to understand sarcasm for the sake of comedy. 🤦 I'd say the strong clash in two different cultures is the main reason why most Japanese people will never appreciate Trash Taste.

[@taylors5069]

Omfg lord its just friends talking giving their opinions.. also of course they will talk about the bad parts or what they dont like about Japan they live there. Japanese tend to undermine sexual assault here and many times go unreported. Of course other countries can and do have it bad but they arent living there..

[@JakeMatthews-OnLo]

Not a fan of them as an American either.

[@raymondfernandez1736]

I really enjoyed this video and hearing what Japanese ppl's impressions are. If i could convey a concept to Japanese ppl that i think would be helpful for them to understand one cultural difference is that it seems that the Japanese mindset is to look at the overall picture and discard the minor annoyances in favor of an overall positive judgement. Westerners do not ignore the minor annoyances and when giving the entire play by play of what they liked and what they didn't etc it's seen not as being negative about Japan but rather than every situation is going to have good and bad things and we see us acknowledging those small negatives as being honest and being genuine. So Japanese may hear these comments and think oh well that's a small thing or something that doesn't always happen and think "wow this is such a tiny thing wow how arrogant for them to bring that up since it's so trivial etc" Westerners hear it and chuckle to themselves and think wow so nowhere is perfect, or well i at least now know this may happen so i'll prepare mentally for it , or wow that's a very interesting thing that is very different and unique to Japan how interesting etc. As a westerner when i see chris broads video my interpretation at times is that he's not giving us the front row experience in favor of not mentioning "the truth" we see those negative experiences as the true full picture without them. We tend to be suspicious or feel that someone is not telling us the whole truth. I hope this makes sense I'm trying to convey how very different our outlook is so that Japanese ppl can understand that we're less likely to think negatively of Japan from these things that they feel are negatively criticizing. I've had way more negative feelings generated by seeing the over the top reaction of Japanese critics of very tiny complaints from my western perspective it reads to me as overbearing , overprotective, and controlling which does not seem comfortable or fun. They have the right to feel how they feel of course as we are different and their opinions are valid but i just wish they were aware of how we see things because i feel alot of the criticisms are based upon the belief that it is showing or judging Japan in a negatively light when it really isn't. I hope i did a good enough job of explaining. Thank you again for your work

[@HermanFalckHow]

It's fair. Japan is such an enigmatic country where one of the reasons foreigners find it so interesting is that it is kind of elusive and stuck in this weird alternate reality where it is both the most developed country in the world and also one of the least devloped out of all the modern countries. It's nothing like the west but it has this super advanced and beautifully modern infrastructure and interesting art and super modern and also super traditional. It's textbook fascinating. And I can totally understand why Japanese people are protective of that. But I wish it was a bit more forward, because it does feel like certain things are evolving in a very China like direction. Suicides due to lonliness and working conditions are not important pillars that hold the whole nations identity together.

[@lucifero9077]

You cannot have strong opinions and being silly at same time in Japan

[@drifter402]

I'm not japanese. I just think their podcast sucks. They never know what they're talking about.

[@1985rbaek]

Sorry for the long comment. It is basically talking about differences between North European cultures and Japan. I think this is one of these "lost in translation" kind of things. The Trash taste crew doesn't seem to have serious complaints about Japan, but it is a way of humor, that might not be understood in Japanese culture. I am from Denmark, where we do have a similar kind of humor to the British and the German. It is very much about the tone they say the things, that explains if it is serious or not, which can be hard for non-english speakers to understand. Where you might struggle with the language, these kind of nuances, which may be unique to Northern european cultures may not be picked up on, so it is taken quite literally. Tattoos are an odd one, Tattoos are often associated with sailors and the Navy here in Northern Europe, so not as gang symbols to the same degree as in the US or Japan. Tattoos became popular before I was born in the mainstream culture as well. Our former king Frederik the 9th had big tattoos as well. For sailors, the tattoos are a way to recount the places they have been. Military people do also often have tattoos as reminders of the tours they have been on to remember their unit and experience. Behind most tattoos there is often a story to tell. On the work ethics hinted at, it is way different here in Northern Europe, than most places around the world. Here tasks are way more important than the time you are there. If you do not have any tasks, you should seek out tasks or go home. Staying later than your assignments require you to is seen as wasting time. Cultures are also very direct with less focus on seniority, so you do often get open disagreements between workers (even your boss), which is somewhat encouraged to create a concensus on how to solve a task. So when Trash Taste talks about these kind of things, it is from the British perspective, where it is wildly different, and it is taken in a light tone (from the videos I have seen), as not to be offensive but more like a personal re-telling of the disconnection between expected outcome and the real world. It should be considered a personal anecdote, not a criticism.

[@ducktrapper483]

Trash taste is probably one of the main reasons i actually want to move to japan despite all of the complaining because trash taste shows a more realistic side of japan rather than just japan being a fun wonderland, similiar to how they complain america which, im american and i appreciate how people not inside of here view us. Having an outsider critisize and praise whatever is quite refreshing. So for the japanese audience, if they didnt like japan they wouldnt have moved there in the first place, they love japan but there are some stuff that does need critique as with all countries. Love yall in japan, peace!! 日本人は大丈夫です。日本が好きでも小さい問題です。多い国が小さい問題です。あとこの3人は冗談です、そうして緊張するてお願いします。わたしの日本語ちょっと痛いのにでも頑張るぞ。

[@krunkle5136]

I think largely the problem is there's a perception that some people actively want to wage war against the culture and change it rather than just offering critiques and showing the realistic side. It's a thing in general with Americans, that they want to terraform. Everything into looking and acting like America.

[@Ceylin_Kurtbogan]

I live in Japan and occasionally (although not so much these days) watch their videos. Most of their views are quite West-centric and their criticism comes from that point basically. To be honest, they mostly live in an artificial bubble within Japan with their mostly foreigner friends and make use of Joey when they need to interact with the staff and that is it. I am saying this because your experience will probably be very different from theirs if you actually make the move the usual way so just a heads up :) Even Joey actually has a very westernised mindset/personality to truly live or understand 日本心 which means he won't be able to build much of a connection with most Japanese people. He obviously knows about it but does not or cannot really empathise with it. That is actually one of the most important reasons on why Joey is not seen as Japanese even though he is 50% Japanese. That is not because Japan has a strict one drop rule or anything. It depends hugely on lifestyle. There are many half Japanese tv show hosts, influencers etc that I have never heard anyone claiming to be non-Japanese so "Japan is a xenophobic country" statement is way too overblown. As a non Japanese and non western person living here, it is giving me a different perspective on both groups of people. I haven't lived through anything they are constantly complaining about even though I have been here long enough. (other than facts everyone knows like paperwork or garbage recycle) For example Connor especially LOVES to complain. Most issues he complains about though, could have gone in 2 seconds if he actually showed the effort to learn the language of the people he is living amongst. This is what I meant by living in a bubble btw. Not knowing the language dissociates him from many actual aspects of the Japanese culture in which Japanese people get a bit pissed off since from their view it is a white dude that shows no effort to learn their language, living in a small gaikokujin bubble in Tokyo without having to speak Japanese within a day, complaining about this and that, that he seemingly is not very knowledgable about. Connor for example gives an impression of living in a unique and fun animeland that has a Japanese background image, instead of living in the actual Japan. Lastly, how you perceive it in your country is due to the cultural background you have due to being born around a culture that resonates with that idea. Most of old world is not like that and is formed by people united ethnically and culturally to eachother for thousands of years and had different values and therefore a more conservative mindset than lets say a place like USA which basically has civic nationalism in its core. So it is not really possible for them to view this as you view outsiders viewing US :) It is not even fair to ask them to it that way because that would be observing a nation from a lens of another :) I am not saying this is what you do, I just wanted to share the Japanese perpective. I have been living in Japan for over 4 years, I have a Japanese fiance, all-Japanese friends and I have never felt like an outsider or "the one who does not belong". Also certain westerners think everywhere in the world should think like them and that if they live in Japan for some months, Japan should consider them "Japanese" like how people who are not ethnic Germans being considered German. It is not fair to ask this of Japanese people. They never had this value, most of the world doesn't. So yeah you should come to Japan knowing you will never be Japanese. You are American, I am Turkish and we live in Japan. If people make peace with their identity and problems before moving to Japan this would not even be a topic. Many people see Japan as an escape route/escapism from all their problems.

[@mk_gamíng0609]

@@Ceylin_Kurtbogan Your experience is the rarity Also I hate this idea of western/eastern values and standards No matter what country you live in CERTAIN issues are always issues Japan is VERY sexist , Most women don't talk to the police if something has happened to them since they do not trust the police to act on it. Japan has a suicide problem that is not getting solved

[@derrickcrowe3888]

​@@Ceylin_Kurtbogan I'm an American living in Taiwan, and I agree with basically everything you said. There is a very clear division between foreigners who make an effort to learn the language and culture and those who don't. And the ones who don't make that effort tend to also complain the most. Moving to a significantly foreign country guarantees that things will work differently than one's home country, so trying to insist on the methods and ideas that one is used to will always create problems and frustrations. It's like trying to force an America-shaped peg into a Japan-shaped hole, as it were. By adapting to the culture and expectations, working within the systems they've built that work for them, a lot of the problems foreigners face tend to naturally resolve themselves. Because they're already solved for the rest of the population, and we just have to join in. I don't watch Trash Taste (tried a couple times, never enjoyed it), but I agree that it seems like basing expectations of Japan off of their largely unique, insulated experience will not give an accurate picture. It'd be like asking a Chinese immigrant living in Chinatown in San Francisco what America is like. They can honestly say what life is like for them, but it would be foolish to treat them as an authority on America as a whole or to use their very specific experiences to set expectations for your own.

[@KhoiruunisaRF]

Agree. Sometimes I get the impression that Japanese people want their country to be viewed as a utopia where nothing bad happens.

[@leviburklund7630]

As the boys have said before on there pod cast one of the reasons they don't do KZbin in Japanese is because of the audience.

[@perrenchan6600]

I think really its the age old issue of, once you get to know them, theyre not that bad. Like cdawgva for example, hes done a lot of IRL vlogs and content and you can see him talking to japanese people in japanese. Like whenever he goes to bars, he taught viewers about the culture of buying a drink for the bar owner as a means of appreciation or when you cheers you try to lower your glass. Its just one of those things. Until you actually look into them and understand their cultural background or see the efforts they are putting in, your initial impression will be skewed with good reason of course

[@okamichamploo]

I'm getting the feeling that it's less what they are saying and more the way they are saying it. I've had plenty of conversations about issues with life in Japan, and the Japanese people I know are usually very receptive, but like in 11:25 when you start with a simple premise like "Japanese businesses move slowly" and then go from there to "Everything in society has been designed to be long winded, bloated, and sloathful. It's Ridiculous, It's Disgusting!" etc. It just comes off as overly critical, arrogant, and condescending.

[@kekgnome493]

well about 50% to 60% of what they said is somewhat true lmao. I lived in Japan for 5 years and I can say that I do experienced the same things that the boys did. Especially during Covid.

[@JokeRmakesPie]

I really, really like this video. It shows us how japanese react to them, which in a sense I do understand, nobody wants their country to be talked about badly. But at the same time, it is important to talk about the bad things. So this video remains extremly respectful and I like that.

[@AAKEngine]

Thier complaint about everything is 'relative' Relative to thier experience in thier native country. Connor's point, he does some Japanese friends here and there, I am from India and I have seen Tiktok/shorts complaining something about India by foreigners and then see the comments filled with Indians cursing the creator. No one likes to hear negetive things about thier country but tbh, I am not like that. I see something bad pointed out I just say, 'its thier experience so it's not false in any way.' Plus you'll definitely feel better about your country then some outsiders trying to get by. I would personally love to live in Japan but thier opinions does help picture what a day to day life can be. After reading quoras about past Japanese employees and constant portrayal of hardwork stuff in even their own media like anime, it can convince anyone it's tuff out there, I know some individuals who have great work/life balance but that's only in some creative fields. Seen 'the day in life' videos of workers and tbh even a manga artists work soo much that it looks like they just genuinely like working hard. But it's the same for our countries as well, some slack some are just there and some are productive. Chris and Pete (Premier two) were both teachers and they never seem to actively disagree with them as well. Plus I mean Anime man is Japanese himself and he also shows many reports on his second channel nowadays that kinda seems on brand to thier criticism. I have never thought "damn I hate Japan now" as thier sentence generally end with, 'don't get is wrong we love living here buy there are +ve and -ve's about everything' kinda statements. Good video still showing the other side we don't pay attention to often.

[@TheGuzeinbuick]

Never watched Trash Taste but I've seen some clips. Not my cup of tea. I just don't think they're very funny. One of them cracks a joke, the rest of them laugh, and then one by one they each repeat the exact same joke. Freaking annoying.

[@josedorsaith5261]

Yeh, a lot of it is very cringe. The hosts would have a similar experience if they lived in other countries, because they're socially-awkward

[@Darcmagikan1]

I personally am disgusted by how openly the pure xenophobia and racism is practiced in japan. her in Germany telling people: "we only serve German people in this restaurant" would not only be unthinkable, but also illegal. how can a first world country be this far behind in such basic things as common decency?

[@thadtuiol1717]

Because Noeth East Asian countries are ethnostates: China is basically for the Han people, Korea for the Hanguk and Japan for the Yamato, and they can physically define those.

[@lekhakaananta5864]

First world in physical technology. Not first world in culture (except anime waifus). Like, you could point out how mainstream culture in Germany completely flipped around regarding racism since WW2, trying to atone for Nazi atrocities, while in Japan it was more about finding excuses than admitting wrong. The Chinese and Koreans still have valid criticisms about how the Japanese government never recognized its crimes against humanity to the degree that Germany, for example, has. But then you also have to consider the greater context around them; China and Korea might be valid with their complaints, but they themselves are also incredibly racist. That's why their push to shame Japan doesn't work as well as when Europeans shamed Nazis. The pot calling the kettle black just isn't very convincing. The west actually has less racism, and a more egalitarian, humanist ideal from their homegrown philosophy of Enlightenment. Centuries of relative prosperity also helped with that; it's easier to care about human rights when you are prosperous and don't have to compete for basic survival. Japan might have modern tech, but the culture hasn't been modern for as long as the west; they modernized industrially with the Meiji Restoration. Prior to that they had isolationism as literal national policy. Compare that to Europe at the same time which had centuries of experience with global trade and international contacts through the practice of Mercantilism. Sure, Europeans would still have a generous dose of xenophobia as well, but most of the industrialized European states were already on the way of being multi-ethnic societies simply due to frequent contact with foreigners and the natural movement of people across borders. Both Japan and Germany were occupied by the Allies, but there's practical reasons why the occupiers cared about changing racist culture in Germany but didn't care so much in Japan. It was basically a lost cause; harder to do with less potential pay-off. Why would you invest in rooting out racism in a culture that is so much more steeped in racism, steeped not by propaganda like the Nazis but due to a more fundamental survivalist mentality? How do you do that while all their neighbors remain racists? Once you got the Germans to stop being racist, they would fit right in with their other non-racist European neighbors. But if you got Japan to be non-racist, they'd just feel like they were the lone saint among other racist Asian countries. And lastly, how would it benefit the Americans? So the Americans didn't bother trying to de-imperialize Japan to the extent they did to de-Nazify Germany. As mentioned, it's frequently pointed out that they still pay respects to their war criminals out of nationalist sentiment.

[@Kagpaw]

Yeah, and that's why your country is muslim now.

[@kaguya6900]

The unfair Japan bashing was something I did with my circle of friends on the same college program as I was on when I first came to Japan. The bashing was even worse for those who didn't learn the language very well or easily. So I'm not surprised to see a guy who can't speak Japanese doing a lot of bashing. Culture shock is worse for those who can't communicate (it was pretty bad for me at the time, and I was better than most of my western friends at communicating in Japanese). All that said, I understood that the bashing I did way back when was unfair, and I'm really glad that I didn't record it on video and upload it to the Internet.

[@DavidJohnsonFromSeattle]

The reason Japanese don't like Trash Taste is because their content is geared towards westerners but is being directed to Japanese by the media and stupid YT algorithms. If the top Japanese pop stars were appearing in my news programs and showing up in my YT feed, I would be hating too because that is not content I care for. It is disingenuous to list the criticisms I would have for such content as if it had any legitimacy. This is mostly cultural differences that causes me to not care for content that was never ever meant for me. To pretend like this is anything more than KZbin and the media's fault is ridiculous.

[@lokhaxz803]

Anyone wearing a Fakku shirt isn't worth listening to

[@zeruszephuros5419]

As an outsider, an Asian that doesn't live in japan i really understood both sides, mainly comes down to culture and what you're used to, and openmindness, no one's to be blamed really

[@pickaxattacks1879]

A lot of the criticisms against the Boys are just people making assumptions without fully taking in and understand what they're saying. Ironically, their claims about the Boys not knowing what they're talking about stems from the critics themselves also not knowing what they're talking about. They don't understand that stuff gets lost in translation/theres more to it. The point of the podcast is 3 dudes(and sometimes a 4th dude/dudette) talking shit and occasionally facts for about 1.5 to 2 hours. They aren't supposed to be fully taken seriously. They do complain about Japan, some are valid criticisms and other may not be. They also complain about their home countries, like saying how the weather or the food is shit in Britain. Another important factor is that western countries favor individualism rather than viewing citizens as cogs in a machine. Doing your own thing is acceptable, even if it could be viewed as odd to some. For the west, having a differing opinions or ideas is normal, as the Boys have showed us countless times.

[@TheNorthlander]

You earned a subscription, I really liked how intelligently you portray the different sides and carefully share your own opinion. Great video!

[@warwicker22]

I know what it’s like to live in Japan and end up with mostly foreign friends. It happened kind of by accidentally for me. Even though the friends I had were from other parts of Asia, we all spoke in English and related on how much we stood out. Of course I made some unbelievable Japanese friends (I flew there in ‘19 just to attend my friend’s wedding!), but it can be difficult when you’re not fluent in the language. Athough people did enjoy the opportunity to practice their English. Haha!! More specific to these guys, I like their individual content more. As you mentioned with Connor, he does some really good stuff.

[@RiSK907]

honestly I have a hard time sitting through Trash Taste now adays. Joey is constantly talking about how great and popular they are, he's become very full of himself and needs to chill with that ego. Gigguk and Connor are a little more palatable but they also tend to go off on rants about really boring things as well, such as their food preferences (who cares...? seriously WHO lmao) Idk its just not that good anymore imo especially since they have been trying to distance themselves from anime more and more. I can only watch clips here and there now If I were Japanese I could definitely see them finding the guys from Trash Taste very annoying

[@fahrenheit2101]

Bruh Trash Taste has always been about mundane shit - I'm surprised you ever liked it. I've loved it pretty much the whole time. Chill convos, not trying to get too political or anything.

[@karndrogo]

Their food preferences had been a topic in a lot of their early videos (where the meme about boneless chicken, all bread taste the same, pizza and such came from) so I’m not sure what you’re on about here. They talk about their experiences and trips so it’s kinda given they’d talk about a lot of normal stuff

[@Jaqrkazi]

The issues with trash taste are multi-layered and while I think a good amount of the criticism is hyperbolic and exaggerated there are two distinct things that stand out. You tube as a career is night and day to the average Japanese work-life and it’s still somewhat of a fresh concept in Japan. So the idea that these relatively rich foreigners can just walk into the country and get paid good money just to make videos where they criticize it, definitely can come off as arrogant and disconnected. Granted again, their content is primarily for western, English speaking audiences. The 2nd thing is that all three of them are career KZbinrs while Chris broad was an ALT first for years before kind of falling into KZbin. He has more authenticity as someone who got a real grounded experience with Japanese culture compared to the trash taste boys.

[@Skyl3t0n]

Ok a lot of people are complaining etc. but when have they lied? There were a few instances where they provided false information (not out of malice but because that's how they remembered it) but those were always corrected with editor side notes. They mostly talk about experience and what they observe. You can't really argue with that. And if you get offended by it, the problem more likely lies within you and not the person sharing their experiences.

[@Leongon]

Japanese TV is all about perfection and positivity. Work culture is about being at your desk instead of being productive. They don't deal well with the truth just like everyone else in the world who can't handle criticism, they just have their own brand of inability to handle criticism.

[@trollingisasport]

I don't mind them complaining, but I just hope that they balance it out a bit every once in awhile. Everytime I watch them it feels like they are talking down culturally. I feel like a lot of them haven't acclimated or are willing to accept that some things are just different. It's one thing to criticize crooked politicians and bad actors, but to constantly dog on the culture is stupid. Literally every country has it's flaws, so unless you are criticizing the individuals and their respective scenarios you're rage-baiting against the country.

[@josedorsaith5261]

It's especially strange considering that they would not be accepted for acting the way they do back in England/Australia. A lot of 'Japanese' issues they complain about apply to the UK & Australia

[@fahrenheit2101]

These comments are so lacking in nuance Always either "gtfo of the country", "all they do is complain" Or "haha japan are racists" Trash taste complain abt japan, but also glorify it. And they also complain about the west and glorify it. But people seem to ignore most of that ig.

[@neverknowsbest.]

*seeing as joey is Japanese he literally has the right to talk about HIS experiences in japan with not looking Asian*

[@nufh]

Been to Japan several times. The working culture there is not my type, because I am a laid back person, which is the opposite of Japanese culture. And openly discriminated a few times there too, not a very pleasant experience, but I love their manga anime and games. I have a cousin who lives there.

[@arachniderchen1788]

I hate the one who called himself "the anime man", when all that he can really understand are new animes and jojo only... 👎

[@ZainKaneko]

I think a big issue that comes with content creation and entertainment in general is the parasocial nature of it all regardless of whether a viewer likes or dislikes a creator. Many viewers will make judgements based purely on information that was curated for entertainment purposes, but treat that information like it's gospel.

[@_burningshadow_8010]

It's funny because whenever there's videos claiming shit like "Japan is the safest country" *there's always* japanese women in the comments being like: *no it isn't, not for women* and now they actually even though they are blunt about it, address that problem and basically say like "if you have to split your train/metro by gender you've got clearly got a harassment problem." They get hated on for it even though they are right. Japan has many strict laws in certain topics for example Pornography is illegal which is not necessarily a bad law in my opinion yet it has the opposite effect that they want it to have. Because in turn *everything else* gets sexualized more. There's tonnes of Japanese games that are "within the law" and normal/legal would land you in prison in plenty of west countries. They are quite simply put "Games which encourage sexual harassment and pedophilia" and obviously that's only just a small part of it. There's so much more. "I wouldn't want to raise a daughter in Japan" is damn right, that's completely justified. I'm from the Netherlands btw, so obviously porn and prostitution is legal here to the full extend as long as people are adults. And I'm not saying this is "the solution" and this is some sort of paradise. But it's heck of lot better than whatever Japan has done by making it illegal. Because you indirectly create an atmosphere where people will try to get around that and an atmosphere in general that breeds harassment. Meanwhile over here if you are seriously so sexually feckin frustrated that you can't keep your hands to yourself, piss off and go to a red light district or something. I know and understand that stuff like Brothel's are *wrong* and have negative effects and influences yet despite that *they prevent a worse problem* so unless you have a better idea, it's much better to have it be legal but keep it within it's boundaries than to have it be illegal causing it to run rampant and effect *children* because you over- sexualize everything tv-shows, stores, clothes, games, "Cafés" It's the same reason why for example *America sucks* at dealing with alcohol and drugs. Because trying to fight it and make it taboo only makes people want it more, whereas if you are legally allowed to drink alcohol and even your parents try to presuade you to try some *it becomes uncool* well... at least a little bit. At least to the extend that it's not some "forbidden nectar of the gods" and generally speaking people especially young adults 18-21 will just be more responsible drinkers. It goes from "Cool" to "Normal" or even "Cringe."

[@mii9010]

The Trash Taste podcast have absolutely no idea what they're talking about on topics like mecha and stick to long debunked myths Some might say that this isn't a super serious podcast but the audience takes the opinions seriously and this doesn't reflect positively on the product they're talking about, causing disdain from the fans and discouraging people from getting into it.

[@ElDapperCaballo]

I think the meaning of trash taste might be lost in translation from English to Japanese as well. Being that they all come from the English anime community, someone who has likes or “taste” that most people would disagree with would say that they have “trash taste”. And when they created the podcast, they acknowledged that they might say things or have views about anime and other topics that most people might disagree with. I think most people that enjoy watching them do so because they might have another view point or perspective about a particular topic or anime, even if they might not agree with what’s being said. And it’s the difference in opinions and views that lead to interesting conversations that isn’t just agreeing with everyone else. Like you mentioned, guys like Connor and Chris have had the opportunities to interact with Japanese people and get to share different things to the world (personally i love Connor’s videos with Kaho), and so you get to see that they do in fact care about the people and the culture. But I can see why someone who doesn’t have any context about Trash Taste would watch them and think that they’re just bullying Japanese people and culture. At least that’s what I think about the topic.

[@darwisybaqir5877]

so it's just garbage content then?

[@bloopa7011]

Its important to note that these japanese people are a vocal minority as most vocal minotirities are. The number of people who know about traste taste and dislike them isnt as big a number as this video is trying to make them seem. Honestly a lot of the criticism of these japanese netizens have of trash taste, reeks of classic xenophobia which IS a huge problem with japan. Its obvious overall trash taste still loves japan or they wouldnt live in it. But no country is perfect and they point out the problems not to hate on it but to point out their experiences as people who has lived in them. Just like any other country and any other foreigner who moves there people will have both positives and negatives about the country. And the fact that these japanese netizens cant understand that and their conclusion is to hate on trash taste and go "of course these foreigners" also the face masks they complain about it but in the end they have never disrespected the face mask rules through action even if they hated it. They were just voicing their thoughts on it all.

[@TheDustyForest]

I am British but its only really through Trash Taste and the backlash they've had from both Japanese and American audiences that I've really realised how uniquely British our way of complaining about stuff is. It seems like a joke but we just complain about everything in a light-hearted manner, everyone knows when you complain in this way about something that you aren't really serious and it doesn't mean you categorically hate something, but it seems like non-British people don't see this layer and just equate complaining with dislike, when for British people I think they are not really connected.

[@taloscal]

mhmm, its like work-place banter in a way, if I go to work and don't get playfully insulted at least 5 times while i'm there then I get worried i've upset someone.

[@Frienea]

We have a similar complaining culture here in sweden

[@veduci22]

We non-British can see this layer but we mostly see it as "unnecessary"...

[@FinancewithXibaobao]

I can understand Trash Taste being disliked as they aren't native to Japan and they do things that aren't considered tatemae or 建前. Then again their channel name and branding is Trash Taste so it's not excusable but it is trash taste. No pun intended.

[@bcluett1697]

When they say the culture focuses on not interacting with others I think that's a big city thing most places. When you get such volumes of people it's difficult to treat everyone the same and then try and take time to connect to people when you're spending all your time just trying to commute from place to place with what little free time you have. I see a lot of people judging Japan with the standards of a big city experience since that's all they have seen.

[@Ahlovendino]

not gonna lie, i've gone to the country side in korea and most people would just point or talk about me but not try to help or approach me lol, it gtes way worse from the countryside because you'll be seen as a foreign existence so lots of people will further try to avoid you. At least in the city, people are much more welcoming.

[@Saiyusa]

While no one should be mistreated for what they look like, sounds like Japanese were treating foreigners better during Covid than they were treated in the US

[@PeacefulSeraph]

I think they're self deprecating enough that they don't come off as jerks, but they definitely push at the box walls with what they say. It keeps things fresh that they'll talk about anything & everything- as a viewer you can just chill and feel like you're part of a big friend group.

[@mattcy6591]

I used to like trash taste but they've fallen into a habit of not having real reactions. They will say something controversial for the sake of being controversial, and the other guys will lean into that and react just as hard as a polar opposite just to get rage engagement in the comments. No, connor is not that outraged about garnt and bone in chicken.