All The Tropes Wiki Project, Part XXIV

[Black Aeronaut]

On a different topic entirely, am I the only one irritated by Burnator's profane objection to a Japanese trope name?

Oh where to even begin with that.

Heh.  I began twice before I was satisfied with what I wrote.

I was sorely tempted to comment about this myself, but then I noticed that it was already 9-10 days old.  That said, though, I have the body of what I had thought to write.  If anyone thinks it's of any use, please let me know.  It may even be useful as YMMV material on the trope page itself.

Hrm.  I don't normally skulk around here, but given that I'm one of a few Japanophiles in Bob's usual haunt who's actually been in Japan for an extended period of time, I feel I'm pretty well qualified to supply some useful feedback.

Part of the issue here is that "Yamato Nadeshiko" is, in and of itself, a distinctly Japanese trope without any real counterpart in any other culture.  That is, a very kind, gentle, docile young woman who is not only physically attractive on just about every level, but also very erudite and well educated.  She is also extremely proficient in domestic affairs such as cleaning, cooking, and balancing the household budget.

In short, she is the Japanese version of A Perfect Woman.  However, here the waters are muddied in that other cultures have different ideas about what makes A Perfect Woman.

The closest thing we get to that in American culture is "The Girl Next Door", but that lacks some of the implications that the Yamato Nadeshiko has.  For example, The Girl Next Door can be extremely lively and rambunctious, and nowhere nearly as well educated.  The only real requirements is that she is extremely physically attractive ("Hellloooooooo NURSE!") and suitably personable.  The Yamato Nadeshiko, on the other hand, is (again) a docile personality not given to the rambunctious hi-jinks The Girl Next Door might exhibit.

My advice?  Take a chill pill, do some research, and if you still feel that a change is needed, *then* come at this again, only a little less profane and with some actual solid reasons for it.  As has been mentioned by Bob, very rarely is a title for a trope what one might expect without suitable context.

Believe me, if such a thing were possible, then this world we live in would be a lot less confusing.  Unfortunately, though, we have to work with what we got.