Talk:Izumi Akazawa/@comment-39.42.71.48-20140706212805/@comment-397235-20140708025302

It's really true. The Japanese are really good at storytelling anyway (you can tell, as some of their more successful plotlines have made their way across the Pacific, from Seven Samurai to Battle Royale). I think part of it is a cultural thing, too. Their ideas seem much fresher over here than our own writing. While I'm not a big fan of the "America has no culture" school of though, a lot of what's considered good right now isn't really (a certain novel about sparkly vampires comes immediately to mind).

One of my most sincere hopes as a writer is to become successful in Japan. So much of my writing is heavily influenced by that country, so it'd be the ultimate compliment to be able to compete favorably with Japanese writers on their terms. Anyone in America can be successful (I mean, look at Max Brooks: he wrote an unfunny, inaccurate handbook that's not even a good satire, and it did so well they made a movie about it starring Brad freaking Pitt!); it takes real talent to do well elsewhere.