This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Ununnilium: Pulled out...
Possible Western xamples are Kappa Mikey and Perfect Hair Forever. Western examples of this trope will, by the trope's very nature, be exceedingly rare.
...because neither of those is an example of this; they're more parodies of anime in general. It's probably possible for there to be such a thing, but I can't think of one, or even how one would work.
Morgan Wick: Maybe a Weird Western Thing marketed to Japan or elsewhere in Asia. Not so much the trope itself as a parallel to it.
Ununnilium: That'd be interesting. We'd need more Asian contributors to tell us what "counts", though.
Claws: Wouldn't Loco Roco and Patapon be perfect here?
Freezair For A Limited Time: Then add them. You don't need approval before adding examples.
On a more random note, I'm beginning to think that the French are giving the Japanese a run for their money in the weirdness department.
Obviously a young person wrote the article as there were many Japanese series that were mainstream prior to Sailor Moon & Dragon Ball showing up in the mid-90s (though, of course, they were mostly Macekred...
Freezair For A Limited Time: Widget-dom is not designated by being Japanese, though. Widget-dom is about being both foreign and very weird, with its weirdness attributed to its foreignness. Or, failing that, it's sufficiently weird that one suspects it's foreign.
Vergil: Anyone else think Okami qualifies? It might have a lot of traditional adventure tropes, but it's chock full of Japanese culture, and the Celestial Brush techniques smack of calligraphy.
Prfnoff: I'm starting to think that this Needs A Better Description. It's already started to drift by including Western things, and now Star Wars has been listed as an example...
Freezair For A Limited Time: Huh? I'm not against broadening the scope of the page, but whoever added Star Wars? Completely Missing The Point.
Stupidnickname: Okay, here's what I think: Widget Series begins with WJT, but now it's broadened into Weird (NATION/REGION/X) Thing. And part of the problem is that WXT and WJT have more differences than similarities, as WEIRD is by definition, not the same thing. So, what we need here is one entry for Widget Series/WJT, and then a different page for WXT inspired by WJT. I, personally, have often described events or quirks in reality by, 1) describing the thing, and then 2), trailing off lamely by saying: "It's a whole thing . . . " That's clearly not WJT, it belongs on a "It's a thing" page.
Bionicman: I'm removing Metal Gear Solid, as I've seen countless people over the years comment on how Western the game feels (in particular, the action movie-esque first game James Bond style third game), and I've never heard anyone identify an aspect of the game as particularly Japanese.
Filby: Took this out:
- New Guardians #2 featured Snow Flame, the Super Villain who gets powers from sniffing cocaine.
It's charmingly bizarre, but that quality doesn't rest on its perceived foreignness.
Sabbo: Removed Mario. Maybe you could've called that a widget series... 20 years ago. It's rather mainstream Japanese-origin fare now. Also, the phrasing was like a long-winded Better Than It Sounds entry.
- This troper has heard of this game, released some time ago in Japan and later the US. From what I could gather, it involved rescuing a lady being held by a large pyromanic reptile. The hero was some European guy whose occupation was fixing various systems in houses. He had to travel through a number of worlds, facing such enemies as flattenable heads, flying turtles, and man-eating Venus fly-traps, and would occasionally travel through large cylindrical metallic constructs. In addition, there were a number of cubic holding blocks that could be reached by the hero's highly-athletic skills. Many just gave him money; some would give him a G-Rated Drug that made him more resilient to damage, while others gave him plants that allowed him to fire spheres of destruction at enemies. Definitely sounds like a Widget Series to me. Maybe someone else here has also heard of it?
Mizufae: Cooking With Dog, the highly popular Youtube Cooking Show in which a grey poodle named Francis narrates an adorable Japanese woman cooking dishes for you, needs to go on this page. But considering how many different examples would come from youtube, does this pandora's box need to be opened?
