Japanese Movie Theaters

I randomly just want to tell you about Japanese movie theaters and how awesome they are. There are people in America, like me, who still consider movies to be a form of art and really appreciate them, but overall, I feel like the general public sees movies as simply a form of entertainment. Hence we have some incredibly stupid and mind numbing movies with no point, theme, or intellectual benefit at all. I’m not saying that Japan doesn’t have some stupid movies, but my impression is that the Japanese people as a whole still largely have an appreciation for the art of cinema. I find it really refreshing.

Before I get into details about Japanese movie theaters, I just want to point out something I think about quite often that’s somewhat related. When people in the U.S. think about animated films or shows, they automatically assume that it’s for children which isn’t always the case. In Japan, there is the mindset that just because it’s animated, doesn’t mean it’s for children. Take Miyazaki’s final movie that came out recently, The Wind Rises. If a kid sat through that, they would be so bored and not understand anything. A lot of Japanese anime is like that in general. There are heavy themes, violence, sexuality, and complicated story-lines in many Japanese anime.  There is a great appreciation for comics here as well (most anime stems from comics anyway). I really get annoyed by the Americans who see a comic book or an animation and can’t take it seriously because “they are for children.”. Thank goodness we at least have Pixar which seems to be one of the only animation companies that can touch the hearts of adults and children alike…even if they still are considered to be “kids’ movies.”

So anyway, the appreciation for movies in Japan can really be seen by looking at their movie theaters. Let me explain…Japanese movie theaters are exquisite. I have never once set foot in a crummy theater in Japan. Sure, there are some nice theaters in America too (where I live they are far and few between though), but it goes even further. When entering a Japanese movie theater, it seems like you are actually going to see a live show like a play or an orchestra or something. They are always impeccably clean, beautiful, and well decorated. Unlike American theaters, you actually choose your seats in advance. The exact time the movie starts and begins including previews and credits is listed. If you are seeing a 3D movie and still have your 3D glasses from a previous 3D movie you saw, you don’t have to pay for the glasses again which is super nice. The chairs are always on a steep slope so no one’s head is ever blocking your view. The chairs themselves are comfortable and spacious. If you buy food/drinks, they give you a tray that locks into the cup holder of your armrest and hovers over your lap so you don’t have to hold anything. Did I mention they sell beer that you’re allowed to drink during the movie? Once the movie is finished, and you exit the theater, there is almost always staff there who take your trash from you and separate it into recycling and such. You don’t have to do anything except hand them your garbage, and they thank you for coming to their theater.

Inside the lobby (from Google).

Inside the theater (from Google).

What really impresses me is that people do not make a sound or look at their phone during the movie which is how it should be, right?! I remember when I was home for Christmas, and I went to see Catching Fire with my mom. There were people talking behind me throughout the whole movie. A woman with two small kids came into the theater half way through the movie and sat down next to me. She started talking with the people who were talking behind me. Then she said the movie was too scary for her kids, so she gave them Gameboys to play with. As if the light from the Gameboys and their constant chatting wasn’t bad enough, the volume on the Gameboys was turned all the way up! They were playing Donkey Kong, and the music in the game was so loud. I’ve never been so shocked and furious at the rudeness of people. This would NEVER happen in Japan.

Another thing that impresses me is that when the credits after the movie start playing, almost everyone sits quietly through all of them without leaving. In America, as soon as the credits start rolling, more than half of the people in the theater leave right away. People in America don’t seem to care about respecting the movie and director, and if they stay, it’s only to see if there’s some sort of clip after the credits. In Japan, I believe they stay until the end out of respect. I should point out that most of the films I’ve seen in Japan are in English, and the credits are not translated. In other words, most Japanese people can’t even read the credits, but they still sit through them anyway! It really makes me feel happy. For me, even if reading the credits is boring, I like to appreciate the music that goes along with them because I know somebody either chose that music for a reason or composed it for the movie.

If you ever visit Japan, I think it’s worth it to see a movie here. It is a big more expensive, but it’s for a good reason.

This is a really silly picture I took on my mom and I when
we went to see Monsters University (in Japan). The walls
inside the theater were all lit up, and you can see how
awesome the chairs are.