2 French Girls, 16, Run Away to "Land of Manga"

...And the old Japanese adage "reading manga all the time makes you stupid" is proven true yet again.

From the Morning Edition of the Chunichi Newspaper for July 4th, 2006:

According to the July 3rd edition of the French newspaper Liberation, 2 16-year old girls from the Paris suburbs, who were both manga fanatics, left home without notifying their families because they "wanted to visit the land of manga."

They tried to traverse Russia by rail, however they were apprehended in Poland on the 2nd and their dreams never came to fruition. The pair were obsessed with Japanese manga and rock music, and told their families that they were visiting a friend before leaving home on the 22nd of June.
The pair assumed that "visa wouldn't be necessary if you went by rail or sea" and intended to cross over to the Korean peninsula from Russia, and then enter Japan by ship. Japanese manga and anime are immensely popular among younger French people, but they are also causing some concerns such as distracting them from studying.

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>for July 4th, 2007 wow...

>for July 4th, 2007
wow... they're spoiling the future...

Surely manga isn't the cause

Surely manga isn't the cause of such severe stupidity...er, r-right? *looks around nervously*

>July 4th 2007 fixed

>July 4th 2007
fixed

[...] Two manga-lovin’

[...] Two manga-lovin’ French teenagers try to run away to Japan, but only get as far as Poland. [...]

Hahaha, it's not the manga's

Hahaha, it's not the manga's fault that they're stupid is all I have to say.

if reading manga makes u

if reading manga makes u stupid then i wouldnt have enough intelligence to type this out rite?

Me read manga, means me

Me read manga, means me stuped? I think not. :banghead:

so is it funny that they're

so is it funny that they're from France or that they got stuck at Poland?

i don't get it....

Let's all be rational; manga

Let's all be rational; manga aren't created to lower the intelligence of the human species. If these girls couldn't differentiate dream world from reality, it is their own problem; there is no use to blame Sailor Moon or Sangoku. If they start to accuse manga of being evil... I then know the reason why these girls are stupid... -_-

lol, i agree with kitches,

lol, i agree with kitches, they seem to personally have a low intellect XD

Hey, I wold like to go the

Hey, I wold like to go the the Land of Manga as well, but I prefer to do it with a tour group.

If reading Mangas makes you

If reading Mangas makes you stupid then why are the Japanese kids so smart? Just maybe they learn from an early age to distinguish between reality and make believe.

Stupid racists, all Japan

Stupid racists, all Japan means to you is manga? Anime fans, too stupid, too fast.

I don't think it's manga

I don't think it's manga that's dangerous. It's the naivity that was there before reading the manga which is dangerous.

I'm surprised they didn't

I'm surprised they didn't dig a hole on the ground to go to China and then perhaps swim over to Japan. :doraemon:

I love manga, those girls

I love manga, those girls are stupid and most of the commemts here do not do any manga fan justice by being on the internet.

please people, learn to type and put words tougher that make semi sence.

Doesn't the saying reading

Doesn't the saying reading manga will make you stupid refer to the fact that if you manga and neglect your schoolwork, you literally will be stupid?

it's not the manga's fault

it's not the manga's fault that they're neglecting their schoolwork. it's their own fault for not knowing their priorities.

so doing anything but schoolwork would make you stupid, not necessarily manga.

Okay.. LOL. That's really...

Okay.. LOL. That's really... sad... They're, what, 16 years old? How irrational, stereotypical can these two children be?

The most upsetting part of this all is that manga is being blamed for their being baka(oh that's in the language from the land of manga, let me fix it)

XDDD. My lord... Get a grip France! And... how did they get to Poland so quick? o_O;;?

>The most upsetting part of

>The most upsetting part of this all is that manga is being blamed for their being baka

Actually that was just a random comment thrown in by the translator (yours truly) as a semi-humorous aside, one that apparently troubles a lot of people judging from the comments.

And yes, "reading manga all the time (more accurately "only reading manga" makes you stupid" is/was a popular saying in Japan among parents and older people. As for whether it's true, well, just like TV and stupidity, video games and stupidity, and the internet and stupidity, it's really a question of which came first, the chicken or the egg.

It sounds like they weren't

It sounds like they weren't very intelligent to begin with--they didn't think they'd need a visa if they went by rail/sea? Riiight. And maybe if all you ever read is manga because that's all you *can* read would qualify one for stupidity. Hopefully reasonable people will understand the difference and realize that there is such a thing as personal responsibility.

Extreme Naiveness.... >:(

Extreme Naiveness.... >:(

@Neuroretardant: I see, that

@Neuroretardant:

I see, that makes the article/comments a little more clear. And of course, one's responsbility is a factor of how well one can think :rolleyes:

I'm French, I love manga,

I'm French, I love manga, but I would never pull a stunt like that. (Well, a friend told me that she would take me to Japan one day with a tourgroup, to buy manga and the likes, but that doesn't count, does it ?)
But, really, coming through the Korean peninsule ? Never heard about North Korea and the "little" problems they have with humans rights ? Or the fact that its frontiers are completely closed ?
-_-

Cheza "how did they get to Poland so quick? o_O;;?"

Since Schengen, there's no physical frontier between the european states (minus Ireland and Britain). You can go anywhere in Europe without a visa.
...maybe that's why they didn't think they would need any visa to travel all around the world ?
I'm trying to make excuses, I know... but the way their minds work is truly boggling.

meh, they wanted to go on a

meh, they wanted to go on a trip, they were more adventurous than any of you will ever be.

:\ "Land Of Manga"? Crazy

:\

"Land Of Manga"? Crazy people.

Yes, I read manga nearly all my time, but I've toned it down recently from the lack of series I read, and yes, I do neglect my schoolwork. But I'm not stupid...
I do have common sense to stop reading when I'm tired/bored.

But I would like to make a point, that manga can teach you educational. (Depends what kind of genre you read though >.>) :-D

^_^; Theses girls are pretty

^_^; Theses girls are pretty much in their own world... *dreams* Yeah...if i could i would try to ship myself to Japan by express and with a recommendation . There will be no need for visas.(j/k) XD :-D :-P

They will have something to

They will have something to tell their kids, if they ever reproduced.
There wasnt any manga in the past centuries, but look how many people did stupid things or believe stupid things ! ( eating a cake that become one`s god body, miracle potion, end of world cults, "this is for your own good" repeatedly used by leaders speaking to the masses, men and women living hell because of their beliefs, people killing other people because of their beliefs, or people living in their make-believe world continuing to destroy the environment ? :banghead:

We didnt wait for manga to believe in anything, whatever our age, and do weird things, whatever the reasons.

they have more courage than

they have more courage than most, and its a long trip from france to poland...they should be applauded for having the guts to go after their wishes and being adventurers..

hm..I disagree about manga

hm..I disagree about manga making us stupid :banghead: but I have to agree with it being a little distraction if you really get into a book ^_^; :3 ...I've experienced it, so yea..this is the last page, 10 minutes later, still reading...lol, but I still love manga and I know I have to do hwk and crud so yea...still have to read though! XD :-D

so they were stoped in my

so they were stoped in my country? How nice but i still wonder why nobody took interest in them on french border. So in conclusion. Even if i have a dagree in economy , know 4 languages , finished numerous of diffrent courses i am an idiot cause i like to read manga in free time? yeah.....dream on. I think that those brats parents aren't also without guilt...I mean ...come on .....how long it took them to realize that smt was wrong? Those kids were 16 not 21 !

I nerver read a story o

I nerver read a story o stupid, i feel really bad... I'm french ...

Aww, c'mon, they're not

Aww, c'mon, they're not stupid. They're just lovely naive children

>>The pair assumed that

>>The pair assumed that “visa wouldn’t be necessary if you went by rail or sea” and intended to cross over to the Korean peninsula from Russia

HAHAHA, what, did they think kim jong il was going to just let them in?

Now they're going to try to

Now they're going to try to ban manga from french schools, aren't they...

*glad to be in the US*

Honestly, this shows how a few stupid people can ruin it for everyone. Like in my elementary school (yes I liked manga in elementary school...), one kid brought something not-so-ok (i think it was Sgt. Frog and the teacher happened to open it to a wrong page) and then all manga was banned. Even my Angelic Layer book. (Even in it's innocence.)

As unrealistic as their goal

As unrealistic as their goal may have been, I like their adventuresome spirit. A really crazy idea, but I admire their spunk! :-P

Also, I think it's pretty rude to call someone stupid that you've never met before. -_- If these kids were under some sort of psychological duress, it wouldn't be quite so funny to insult them, now, would it? Before we all jump the bandwagon and criticize these kids, let's keep in mind that (most likely) no one here knows them personally.

time for a short quiz: What

time for a short quiz:
What might be another possible root of their stupidity, other than their obsession of japanese culture?
a)They're french.
b)They're 16.
c)They're girls.
d)All of the above.

WTF.... ....seriously...half

WTF....

....seriously...half of you guys can't even spell and go off about being smart....

*passes you all a grammar book* use it...and stop murdering my language all of you 'tards who used the word "baka"

Pwned

Pwned

...Maybe I should change

...Maybe I should change comment to registered user only?

No, keep it the way it is,

No, keep it the way it is, it's amusing. It's a sad state of affairs when this is by far the biggest hot-topic issue in the history of the site.
I'm going to offer a few of my own thoughts on the topic, namedly

(1) yes these girls are probably inherently stupid regardless of whether or not they read manga (or "adventurous" or "innocent" or whatever nicer word you want to use)

(2) Have fun on INTERNET reading COMIC BOOKS

I don't think this only

I don't think this only happens to manga-obsession. A lot of people when they are obsessed (I think maybe I could use this term for this) could try to pursue what they want right?

It just so happens that manga is starting to enter the mainstream so people are blaming it...

History...repeats itself...or maybe...if you really want it...go for it? Maybe that's their type of thinking.

Looking at the poor spelling

Looking at the poor spelling and grammar of most of the manga fans defending the claim manga makes you stupid, I'd have to agree with the claim. ;-)

By the way, Japan has a lot more to offer than anime and manga. You obsessed manga and anime tards are the kind of people who shame all the other foreigners living there with an actual life. Just liking the stuff is okay, but it shouldn't take up so much of your life that it's the reason you want to learn the Japanese language and your reason for vising Japan. That's just pathetic. -_-

The comments by some of the

The comments by some of the Japanese people are really funny...*snicker*

Correcting myself: *visiting

Correcting myself:

*visiting :-P

*hits head against a

*hits head against a wall*

Man, these girls sure are stupid, but I wouldn't fault the mangas, nor anything else for that matter. Anyone who thinks that Japan is a "Land of Manga" or is delusional and no, I'm not from Japan to think such things. But it's a country just like all the other countries. Plus, a good comic ( manga ) fan, would know that there are other countries that publish manga.