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This is a question I wonder if many people here have asked themselves... do you honestly like Japan, as a country (whether you've visited or just look in from the outside)? My own feelings are... mixed. Japan has a pretty fascinating culture that is essentially a scrapbook of various elements drawn from cultures that contacted it that were then evolved based on what the people of a given era wanted/needed. However... the country itself is pretty problematic looking at it from the outside. Political corruption, resurgent nationalism, toleration of organized crime, and the tendency to ignore all 'domestic issues' by those outside the household in question (including the police) are all reasons to be ambivalent about Japan. However, the closeness of police to people's lives (the kouban system), otaku culture, and the traditional aesthetic values of Japan are pretty interesting. We all have our reasons for the way we feel about Japan, if we feel anything. If you'd asked me fifteen years ago, I would have unhesitatingly chosen option 1, but the more I studied, the more I realized just how many problems the country just fails utterly to deal with. That said, if you asked me the top three countries - other than my homeland - that I'd be interested in living in, Japan would still be number one. Why? I got addicted to hot springs after a visit to one in Arizona, and studying history is one of my major hobbies. Pretty hedonistic of me, eh?

1. Those multiple times Yuuji considered ignorance to be a perfectly valid excuse for gross generalization in his godawful internal monologues. "All "big" women are shopping in a certain way. But I'm not an expert in this sort of thing." "Students at this age have got nothing but homework and masturbation to fill up their free time. But I'm not an expert in this sort of thing." Well, if you're such a non-expert-at-this-sort-of-thing, then kindly shut the fuck up. I mean... um... stop this train of thought the fuck up. Whatever. 2. That one time Yuuji (and the writer) couldn't figure out whether his superiors value him. At different points in the story, he describes himself as an extremely valuable asset and a worthless disposable dog. Alright then! 3. That one sequence with EEEEEVUL cannibal orgies and the notion that tasting human flesh (even unwittingly) somehow makes one beyond help and/or salvation. They're all GHOUUUULS now, Amane. So, you know, don't feel bad about abandoning all of them. And try not to think too much about all the stashed food Kazuki hogged. 4. That one time Yuuji couldn't make up his mind about conventional medical treatment. When it comes to Sachi, medical science is obviously worthless... but sure, let's send Michiru off to a hospital, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't hurt. 5. The whole thing with Yumiko's dad, wherein barely legal teens play the stock market (or something). Gawd, that part was so awful, I've done a pretty good job at erasing it from my memory. That entire sequence after Yumiko's dad arrives at the school? That's what I am referring to. 6. That one time they blew up the fucking school. Really? REALLY? 7. Michiru's "GOOD" ending. Ugh. 8. Sachi's final decision point and its completely random consequences. Huh. I guess thought really is material. Who knew? 9. Those several times I nearly dropped the whole thing even before the first decision point. The common route eventually turned into the most excruciating piece of slice-of-life I've ever read. I couldn't wait for the repetitive and pointless torture that stopped providing any new insight into characters' personalities and motivations after the first hour or so to be over. 10. Those seven and a half million times Yuuji was being a reprehensible douche. Worst protag ever? Worst protag ever.