Fiction, consumed incautiously, eventually bleeds into reality. I used to watch Naruto on Thursday evenings after school. It was always a huge relief to leave the serious, entangled world of high school and puberty and gossip for twenty-three action-packed minutes of animated ninjas beating the crap out of each other. For one half of one hour each week my mind was translocated to a place with rules I could understand and interactions I could follow, and so I became obsessed. I remember discussing the Sasuke-Itachi showdown with the same grave, hushed tones that most people reserved for the kind of events that involve the police. I could (and still can) make hand signs with disturbing fluency. No, I promise I can, check this out—wait, where are you going??
Thanks for sharing! I started learning Japanese in May 2022, in preparation for a 5 week trip to Japan that just ended two weeks ago. I've been really enjoying the process, particularly by starting to understand how ideas are built in Japanese. I also grew up watching Naruto, although I was watching the dub, and only started listening to Japanese audio when I started watching other shows.
Sounds like you're just a little bit* further along in your journey, and it's lovely to hear your reflections on the process and particularly how you have these stories about specific words. I look forward to being at the level where I can experience more of those. Keen to hear more ☺️
Thanks for sharing! I started learning Japanese in May 2022, in preparation for a 5 week trip to Japan that just ended two weeks ago. I've been really enjoying the process, particularly by starting to understand how ideas are built in Japanese. I also grew up watching Naruto, although I was watching the dub, and only started listening to Japanese audio when I started watching other shows.
Sounds like you're just a little bit* further along in your journey, and it's lovely to hear your reflections on the process and particularly how you have these stories about specific words. I look forward to being at the level where I can experience more of those. Keen to hear more ☺️
*A fair bit 😂