Transgenders, Robots, and Japanese Television

I don't watch much TV during the year, mostly because I don't have a TV in my room, but let's take this moment to explore a very different and interesting genre/realm of Japanese Television.

Today, I was introduced to two new TV shows.

One consisted of nothing but Transgender/Gay men, with one straight man and a couple of straight women. The other is a weekly drama about a girl who has fallen in love with a Robot, somewhat reminiscent of that Robin Williams movie whose name has escaped me.

Ones-man: The Japanese Obsession with Gay Men
Onesan is a Japanese word for 'sister.' It can also mean 'older woman.' This Transgender based TV show takes that word and changes the ending to match the English word 'man.' And thus the cleverly titled television show begins at 7 pm, a prime time for Japanese Television. Furthermore, the show exists on a network/channel that is free for anything who plugs in their TV. This means, unlike Queer As Folk or Queer Eye For the Straight Guy, which existed on cable channels only available to those who pay, the Japanese TV watching population has free, uncensored access to the life of the gay/transgender celebrity. Each section of the show is similar to Queer Eye in that the men have specific specialities that they feature on their television shows. But otherwise, from the 30 minutes that I watched today, it seems to be a lot of fake eyelashes, boas, and flamboyance. Again, only in Japan.

What Happens To Sex?: The Details That The Writers Missed
There's also TV show that features a young, handsome (by Japanese standards) Robot who effects the lives of all of those that he interacts with until finally a poor girl falls in love with him, even with the notion that he is a robot. As I watch the last episode, the poor Robot expresses his love for the girl, but ultimately leaves her as he realizes that his hard drive will crash in one day. One last day of bliss before we must all face the reality that technology breaks. That said, before the sad ending was foreshadowed, and it seemed like the two 'lovers' might actually might make it, I couldn't help but wonder 'If this works out, and this girl decides to spend her whole life with him... What happens to the basic human needs such as sex?' Call me dirty, but I'm sorry, that would suck. It's also a mystery to me as to why the writers decided to write such a show, and who in the world decided to produce it.

There are many more mysteries involved in Japanese TV, but I had a day of work of nothingness, and I'm tired, so maybe we can talk about this again later.

In the mean time: yay Kina and her weekly blogs!



One day, I shall go to her concert. As well as William Fitzsimmons. Sweet.

muito bjs