You've never seen shirts like

?

I'm looking for quotes like this one. (and hopefully more original than this one)

Ah, the Japanese language equivalent of Engrish t-shirts..

"I want a Japanese girlfriend" (creepy, sad and grammatically incorrect)
"I'm not interested in normal people" (quote from Haruhi I'm guessing)
<2ch meme you were never part of to attempt to show that you "get it", but is more like a parent trying to use hip slang to relate to their kid>

Nothing I'd qualify as humorous.. I've seen some funny shirts with Japanese on them around here but unfortunately I can't recall anything they've said. Village Vanguard, LOFT, Tokyu Hands, etc sell that kind of stuff.

I do remember one shirt I saw at a store a long time ago that said "日本代表" that I wanted but didn't buy since I was a poor student at the time. The juxtaposition of a foreigner wearing such a shirt would have been kind of funny.

Last edited by Jarvik7 (2011 November 16, 8:57 am)

Although I disagree with Engrish, I do like the way the Japanese stylize English text on their shirts. It's too bad they can't say something cool.

Jarvik7 wrote:

I do remember one shirt I saw at a store a long time ago that said "日本代表" that I wanted but didn't buy since I was a poor student at the time. The juxtaposition of a foreigner wearing such a shirt would have been kind of funny.

I think it'd be funny if a Japanese person wore the shirt that said 日本人彼女募集中。

(I'm sorry)

kainzero wrote:

vonPeterhof wrote:

I think there would be some awkward implications in that. As if he means he will only settle for a 真日本人...

of course it's awkward! that's why it's so funny, lol.

Don't know about where you are from, but in Russia if a girl was wearing a t-shirt that said "Looking for a Russian boyfriend" the implication would be "Jews, Gypsies, Chechens, Uzbeks and other nyerus' ("non-Russian scum") need not apply". Considering the ethnocentric views on nationality that are widespread in Japan and the prejudices against some groups of the population, like the Zainichi Koreans or the Burakumin, it does not sound funny to me at all. But then, I am looking at this through the eyes of a 75% nyerus' living in Russia, I have no idea how a Japanese person would interpret that.

Yeah, I guess the Japanese don't have that "We're on the brink of a race war" mindset that many Russians seem to have. At least not yet. Although I do remember reading some conspiracy theories about Koreans infiltrating and secretly controlling the DPJ, as well as stealing donated goods from tsunami-stricken areas, but I'm assuming those views are way out of the mainstream.

Last edited by vonPeterhof (2011 November 16, 5:58 pm)

不法滞在中 is also kinda relevant. Making a foreigner in Japan wear that t-shirt for a couple of days would be one nasty 罰ゲーム

Last edited by vonPeterhof (2011 November 17, 8:45 am)

apirx wrote:

本命は日本人　sounds relevant

It's mistranslated though.

It means something more like "My true love is Japanese". It doesn't necessarily imply that you also have other lovers.

Other people who you are not dating/interested in, such as your grandmother.
Even if it did mean "favourite girl out of my harem" (which is possible if you are saying that the other girls are meaningless to you), the English just says "other". Still wrong.

It is most commonly used on valentine's day to differentiate between giri/tomo chocolate and chocolate for someone you actually have a romantic interest in.

Last edited by Jarvik7 (2011 November 17, 9:37 am)

Jarvik7 wrote:

Other people who you are not dating/interested in, such as your grandmother.
Even if it did mean "favourite girl out of my harem" (which is possible if you are saying that the other girls are meaningless to you), the English just says "other". Still wrong.

It is most commonly used on valentine's day to differentiate between giri/tomo chocolate and chocolate for someone you actually have a romantic interest in.

It is also used to distinguish 本命／遊び. Anyway think of the context. I imagine the point is that someone would wear this T-shirt when they're with their non-japanese girlfriend as a joke. The implication being that they think Japanese girls are better/hotter and that this person beside them isn't their main girlfriend. It's like the bumper sticker "my other car is a ferrari" placed on a shit car or a cheap bag labelled "my other bag is prada". The implication is that the other/main one (which reflects their real taste/class) is better so 本命 seems appropriate in this case.

Last edited by nadiatims (2011 November 17, 6:02 pm)

But the Daily Mail is a trashy right wing tabloid. :S

Crazy right wingers aren't exactly uncommon in Japan, just look at 2ch, anti-foreigner protest videos, anti-Korean sentiment in the comment sections of Korean music videos on Youtube, etc.

Last edited by dizmox (2011 November 17, 6:31 pm)