With at least [20,000](http://altinsider.com/altinfographic/) ALTs in Japan, and with so many anime based in elementary to high school settings, I wonder if there are any instances of an ALT actually appearing in a show, even as a background character.
They should make an ALT anime, half of the episodes are just desk-warming fillers.
Nope. It would be strange for the ALT to speak pitch perfect, native level, Japanese, don’t you think?
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The sad reality is that most of what happens while we’re there is forgotten. So the people writing these anime, probably forgot that ALTs are even a thing. The assumption is that we’ll leave, so therefore nothing we say has any use in Japan.
I’ve talked to lots of Japanese friends and none of them have remembered an ALT or a single game they played (past hangman or bingo).
ALTs aren’t trained, and specifically chosen to not speak Japanese so the extent of their impact is pretty limited in most cases.
Not an ALT per se, but in the series, “Major” there’s an American English teacher who naturalized. The character was predominantly present in one of the seasons.
Assassination classroom had an alt as one of the main teachers.
There was a heavily stereotyped gaijin in Chibi Maruko. I don’t think he was an ALT, but maybe an eikaiwa teacher (or perhaps it wasn’t specified). Anyway, it was so blatantly racist I had to stop watching the show. Now I can start to understand what minorities feel across the globe. It sucks to not be represented in media, and then when you finally are, to see an extremely stereotyped and not at all accurate representation at that.
Theres 14 million school students, 1 million school teachers.
Thats 15 million japanese people in the education system and total ALTs are 0.13% compared to that 15 million.
In other words thats why you dont see ALTs because in the grand scheme of overall education and in the grander scheme of Japanese life and society, ALTs dont matter.
Never mind the infrequent small tiny time you spend interacting with a student and the miniscule % of their school life time that is.
I’ve read some comments and can’t quite figure out what an ALT is. Can someone fill me in
Some of the deleted comments on this thread disturb me. How do people not report “friends” involved in such illegal activities?
To take it further, most of the time when anime characters are goofing off in class, it’s an English class.
I think one reason is that nobody in Japan likes ALTs except for other ALTs
These kinds of stories are generally based on the author’s real life experiences and interactions. Is it surprising that their memorable interactions with the awkward sweaty white guy in the background who barely speaks a word of Japanese would be few and far between?
Not ALTs, but I‘ve seen some anime where the English teacher was a native speaker. Funnily enough I can‘t remember the anime name…
Japan Sinks has a character named Daniel. He tries to pass himself off as British but he’s actually from somewhere in Eastern Europe, I forget where. He acts like a clown the entire time because that’s what he assumes people want and expect from him. He’s super earnest and kind hearted, but also kind of annoying.
Yes, but I can’t recall where… Perhaps it didn’t really happen though lol.
A little late to this thread but…. I want to throw in my conspiracy theory:
“Onegai Teacher” is surely based on a fantasy of an ALT and student getting together?
The teacher is an alien … and doesn’t fully udnerstand Earth etc … has big boobs and pinkish hair … I mean c’mon! must be metaphor.
There’s one in an ecchi anime short collection from the 90s or early 00s which was focused on panty shots, I think it was called Color something? Main character getting hot and bothered watching the English teacher’s tongue movements when she was teaching L versus R.
21 comments
They should make an ALT anime, half of the episodes are just desk-warming fillers.
Nope. It would be strange for the ALT to speak pitch perfect, native level, Japanese, don’t you think?
[removed]
The sad reality is that most of what happens while we’re there is forgotten. So the people writing these anime, probably forgot that ALTs are even a thing. The assumption is that we’ll leave, so therefore nothing we say has any use in Japan.
I’ve talked to lots of Japanese friends and none of them have remembered an ALT or a single game they played (past hangman or bingo).
ALTs aren’t trained, and specifically chosen to not speak Japanese so the extent of their impact is pretty limited in most cases.
Not an ALT per se, but in the series, “Major” there’s an American English teacher who naturalized. The character was predominantly present in one of the seasons.
Assassination classroom had an alt as one of the main teachers.
There was a heavily stereotyped gaijin in Chibi Maruko. I don’t think he was an ALT, but maybe an eikaiwa teacher (or perhaps it wasn’t specified). Anyway, it was so blatantly racist I had to stop watching the show. Now I can start to understand what minorities feel across the globe. It sucks to not be represented in media, and then when you finally are, to see an extremely stereotyped and not at all accurate representation at that.
[Ugh Ms. Jodie from Detective Conan?](https://www.detectiveconanworld.com/wiki/Jodie_Starling)
Theres 14 million school students, 1 million school teachers.
Thats 15 million japanese people in the education system and total ALTs are 0.13% compared to that 15 million.
In other words thats why you dont see ALTs because in the grand scheme of overall education and in the grander scheme of Japanese life and society, ALTs dont matter.
Never mind the infrequent small tiny time you spend interacting with a student and the miniscule % of their school life time that is.
I’ve read some comments and can’t quite figure out what an ALT is. Can someone fill me in
Some of the deleted comments on this thread disturb me. How do people not report “friends” involved in such illegal activities?
To take it further, most of the time when anime characters are goofing off in class, it’s an English class.
I think one reason is that nobody in Japan likes ALTs except for other ALTs
These kinds of stories are generally based on the author’s real life experiences and interactions. Is it surprising that their memorable interactions with the awkward sweaty white guy in the background who barely speaks a word of Japanese would be few and far between?
This is a new low, even for this sub
I don`t know anything about an anime but there is a manga that recently came out this year about ALTs. https://kids.gakken.co.jp/himitsu/library-work013/
Not ALTs, but I‘ve seen some anime where the English teacher was a native speaker. Funnily enough I can‘t remember the anime name…
Japan Sinks has a character named Daniel. He tries to pass himself off as British but he’s actually from somewhere in Eastern Europe, I forget where. He acts like a clown the entire time because that’s what he assumes people want and expect from him. He’s super earnest and kind hearted, but also kind of annoying.
Yes, but I can’t recall where… Perhaps it didn’t really happen though lol.
A little late to this thread but…. I want to throw in my conspiracy theory:
“Onegai Teacher” is surely based on a fantasy of an ALT and student getting together?
The teacher is an alien … and doesn’t fully udnerstand Earth etc … has big boobs and pinkish hair … I mean c’mon! must be metaphor.
There’s one in an ecchi anime short collection from the 90s or early 00s which was focused on panty shots, I think it was called Color something? Main character getting hot and bothered watching the English teacher’s tongue movements when she was teaching L versus R.