DC and culture

[mangaluva]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_l ... _procedure

Wikipedia knows everything 

Yes, yes it does. Thank you!

And i'm highly impressed by the trains too, mainly because of ScotRail, which is running well if the train is only fifteen minutes lates, and when a train is cancelled the most common complaint is "not again".

[Abs.]

While we are at it, Kogoro often rents a car, I wonder if owning a car is that expensive there? Maybe because environmental stuff (pollution) and lack of "space"? And probably high tax?

Owning a car is not that bad.  Driving that car over long distances is ALL SORTS OF BAD.  Mainly due to the toll roads.  Gas isn't cheap either.

As far as why Kogorou doesn't own a car, it's probably plot-driven.

[mangaluva]

I just thought that most people don't own cars in Tokyo because there's pretty much nowhere to park them and the trains are cheaper and more convenient.

[Abs.]

I just thought that most people don't own cars in Tokyo because there's pretty much nowhere to park them and the trains are cheaper and more convenient.

It's true.  There would be nowhere to park the cars if more of the population drove.  But right now parking isn't that hard to find.  Just not as convenient as you would hope for most of the time.

In Kogorou's case, there doesn't appear to be a parking space convenient to where he lives and works.  (Not having to commute to work also is a strong point in the car-not-necessary column.)  But I still say the main reason is because it's better for the plot if he didn't drive. 

[Callid]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_l ... _procedure

Wikipedia knows everything 

Yes, yes it does. Thank you!

And i'm highly impressed by the trains too, mainly because of ScotRail, which is running well if the train is only fifteen minutes lates, and when a train is cancelled the most common complaint is "not again".

Perhaps that fits your imagination even more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_j ... m_of_Japan#

Simply search around a little bit, if you aren't satisfied^^

[Conia]

After so many episodes, I started to understand a few things about japanese culture. I can't believe there's a train to get to almost every corner of the country  It would be so awesome to have that in my country 

The train system in Japan is simply amazing.  Not only can you get to most places by train, but they almost always run exactly on time.  You can practically set your watch by them.  Of course, there are some places that are not accessible by train, and for those Kogoro usually rents a car.

Here's a map of the trains in Tokyo (every single line on that map is a different train line)

Spoiler:

Here's a map of the JR trains surrounding Tokyo (It doesn't show the many private lines that exist in the area)

Spoiler:

Here's a map of the train lines in eastern and northern Honshu

Spoiler:

And it's just as comprehensive throughout the rest of the country.

Truly amazing

[ty.ra.nt]

Truly amazing

Spoiler:

Igual que el subte de Baires, no?  

[Conia]

Truly amazing

Spoiler:

Igual que el subte de Baires, no?  

Spoiler:

Igualito

[kholoudsafir]

Another non-exclusively japanese thing I learned about from DC was wine etiquette. It comes up a lot in the anime. Maybe the director likes wine or something...

It has captured me as well, rich people have wine cellars, wine tasting groups....ect. I am not saying that I did not imagine Japanese people drink, but the way it was brought in DC, in more than one occasion, made me think, are rich people more interested in this? or is it getting more fashionable in Japan to know more about wine?

[mangaluva]

Another non-exclusively japanese thing I learned about from DC was wine etiquette. It comes up a lot in the anime. Maybe the director likes wine or something...

It has captured me as well, rich people have wine cellars, wine tasting groups....ect. I am not saying that I did not imagine Japanese people drink, but the way it was brought in DC, in more than one occasion, made me think, are rich people more interested in this? or is it getting more fashionable in Japan to know more about wine?

I don't know, wine obsession seems to be a pretty common thing among upper classes in parts of Europe as well, though it's more about Whisky in Scotland. Maybe it's just because some wines are so expensive, they're sort of a status symbol.

[dany]

Coming from an european country where wine and the culture surrounding it is quite important, I can testify that it's a mark of elegance and prestige for the middle to the upper classes.
As for Japan, it's also true.
Beer is for young people and salary men. Wine is for rich people who can afford it ( (good) wine is one of the most expensive alcohol in Japan). Of course it's only a generalization of japanese people and can't reflect accurately the truth but the idea is something like that.
In the same way, every western goods represents something valuable for the most part (food, fashion accessories,...) and that's one of the reasons why a lot of shops names are either in (often a bad) english or french.
Of course there are also a lot of  high value japanese goods too.

[mangaluva]

Coming from an european country where wine and the culture surrounding it is quite important, I can testify that it's a mark of elegance and prestige for the middle to the upper classes.
As for Japan, it's also true.
Beer is for young people and salary men. Wine is for rich people who can afford it ( (good) wine is one of the most expensive alcohol in Japan). Of course it's only a generalization of japanese people and can't reflect accurately the truth but the idea is something like that.
In the same way, every western goods represents something valuable for the most part (food, fashion accessories,...) and that's one of the reasons why a lot of shops names are either in (often a bad) english or french.
Of course there are also a lot of  high value japanese goods too.

It's largely down to the middle ages when, in most European countries, alcohol was the only safe thing to drink- there was no way to purify milk or water and there were no soft drinks or fruit juice, so everyone drank beer (whisky was more common in northern countries like Scotland where beer froze in the winter), and upper classes drank wine to differentiate themselves.

[kholoudsafir]

I do not if I am wrong at this, but another thing that I got from DC bout marriages is the marriage age, the people seem to marry in their early twenties. I understand that Shinchi's and Ran's parents got married about 18years ago at least, comparing this with the western culture in the mid 1990s when DC started, it was still early.

On the other hand, how common is it in Japan for couples to live together before marriage? May be it is my bad memory, but I can not remember a place in DC where couples, other than husband and wife living together?

Also, it seemed that couples are tend to have serious relationships, commitment seems more expected ( many criminals in DC had a motive of being dumped after a long relationship), I mean in comparison with the west, I am not so sure about this point, may be it is my imagination    . 

[c-square]

I do not if I am wrong at this, but another thing that I got from DC bout marriages is the marriage age, the people seem to marry in their early twenties. I understand that Shinchi's and Ran's parents got married about 18years ago at least, comparing this with the western culture in the mid 1990s when DC started, it was still early.

Yeah, marriage before 20 is quite rare in Japan, especially because 20 is considered the age one becomes an adult.  Marrying age in Japan has tended to be in the early to mid-twenties, though over the past decade or so that's been steadily rising.  One of the major reasons for that is that fewer and fewer women are deciding to get married.  In Japan, traditionally when a woman gets married, she's expected to quit her job, live at home and raise a family.  Now-a-days however, Japanese women are becoming more and more career-minded and are unwilling to simply cut their careers short because they get married.  So some women just choose not to marry, or choose marry later.  It's getting common to find people marrying in their early to mid-30s now.

On the other hand, how common is it in Japan for couples to live together before marriage? May be it is my bad memory, but I can not remember a place in DC where couples, other than husband and wife living together?

It is very uncommon for Japanese couples to live together outside of marriage.  It would be considered extremely inappropriate.  It is even considered inapproprate for couples travelling together to stay in the same hotel room if they're not married.  I remember travelling with my finacee (who is now my wife) in Japan, getting strange looks when we said we wanted to share a room together.  Sometimes they'd say, "Ahh!  You must be brother and sister then!", which is hilarious because we look nothing alike!  (We even had someone say "Ahh, you must be mother and son!"  )  Japanese custom dictates that the man should live with his family and the woman with hers until they get married.  Then the woman moves in with the man to live with and take care of his family.  That's why there are many examples in DC where wives are taking care of their husband's parents, but almost none where the husband is interacting with his wife's parents.

Also, it seemed that couples are tend to have serious relationships, commitment seems more expected ( many criminals in DC had a motive of being dumped after a long relationship), I mean in comparison with the west, I am not so sure about this point, may be it is my imagination    .   

Casual relationships aren't as prevalent in Japan as they are in west.  You have to remember that it was only a few generations ago that pre-arranged marriages were the norm, and they still occur to this day.  Casual relationships are getting more and more common, espcially as the age of marriage goes up, however people don't talk about them much, and they're definitely not seen in the media much. 

As for being a motive for murder, I can see why it might be more so in Japan than in the west.  Honor is a huge deal in Japan.  One of the worst things you can do in Japan is lose your honor.  Some people commit suicide after losing their honor.  Commitment is akin to honor, and so if a marriage fails, it brings shame to both people.  Arguably the biggest reason why Eri and Kogoro are not divorced is not that they have hope for their marriage, but instead that a divorce would seriously damage Eri's reputation as a lawyer.  So, when someone breaks the marriage commitment, and forces that shame upon their ex-significant other, it's reasonable to think that the sig. other would feel helpless, would get angry, and might even try to get revenge, thereby, in some twisted way, attempting to regain some of that honor that was wrested from them.

[TheBlind]

Yeah, marriage before 20 is quite rare in Japan, especially because 20 is considered the age one becomes an adult.  Marrying age in Japan has tended to be in the early to mid-twenties, though over the past decade or so that's been steadily rising.   One of the major reasons for that is that fewer and fewer women are deciding to get married.  In Japan, traditionally when a woman gets married, she's expected to quit her job, live at home and raise a family.  Now-a-days however, Japanese women are becoming more and more career-minded and are unwilling to simply cut their careers short because they get married.  So some women just choose not to marry, or choose marry later.  It's getting common to find people marrying in their early to mid-30s now.

From what I understand, it use to be heavily frowned upon if you did not marry before reaching the age of thirty in Japan. Women, especially, were placed under heavy pressure to get married before that age or they would be labeled a name ("past due" or something) and somewhat pitied. Which makes it understandable why the divorce rate in Japan is steadily increasing from years past in older couples. It use to be that you got married more out of social acceptance and "convenience" than love. Which is why, from my understanding, it was normal for a husband to cheat(discretely) on his wife during marriage and have mistress and the wife had to accept that, because just like you said, a divorce would be much worse on your image. So with ideals of the "West" becoming stronger, divorcing or not marrying till a later age is more accepted, along with other things.

Casual relationships aren't as prevalent in Japan as they are in west.  You have to remember that it was only a few generations ago that pre-arranged marriages were the norm, and they still occur to this day.  Casual relationships are getting more and more common, espcially as the age of marriage goes up, however people don't talk about them much, and they're definitely not seen in the media much. 

Are you sure? Casual relationships seem to be more common in Japan these days than in the West. The only difference I see is that in "the West", relationships can start out casual and develop into marriage while in Japan both parties somewhat make it known that their in for a casual or serious relationship from the start. It explains the DC murders where girlfriends get dumped. Telling a "Western" girl you plan on marrying her and not doing it means her destroying your property while hating herself for falling for your lies, doing it to an "Eastern" girl probably means something way worse like an elaborate murder, . In seriousness, I believe they are more serious about things said in a relationship because of that understanding you have from the start of what the relationship is going to be.

As for being a motive for murder, I can see why it might be more so in Japan than in the west.  Honor is a huge deal in Japan.  One of the worst things you can do in Japan is lose your honor.  Some people commit suicide after losing their honor.  Commitment is akin to honor, and so if a marriage fails, it brings shame to both people.  Arguably the biggest reason why Eri and Kogoro are not divorced is not that they have hope for their marriage, but instead that a divorce would seriously damage Eri's reputation as a lawyer.  So, when someone breaks the marriage commitment, and forces that shame upon their ex-significant other, it's reasonable to think that the sig. other would feel helpless, would get angry, and might even try to get revenge, thereby, in some twisted way, attempting to regain some of that honor that was wrested from them.

I actually like your point about Eri and Kogoro, it's very interesting. The honor factor is also very huge in Japan, to the point it seems unhealthy sometimes(don't mean that in a negative way). I guess the equivalent for here "in the West" would be money.