For me it was music.
Back in the 90s I used to listen to a lot of Japanese songs without understanding anything. They always sounded so cool fast, catchy, kind of mysterious. I think I built them up in my head as being way deeper or more meaningful than what I was used to.
Now that I can actually understand the lyrics… a lot of them are just kinda… normal? Sometimes even a bit repetitive or cheesy. Not bad, just not what I imagined.
It’s weird because before, not understanding the language actually made it feel more special.
Also more recently I completed Grandia 2 and Lunar 1 and 2 in Japanese. I found they just didn't live up to the localization in English. Reading it in Japanese just didn't feel so special. They really did a great job with the English localization.
Curious if anyone else has had something like this where finally understanding Japanese made something less impressive instead of more. I wonder if I would have the opposite of this if I read Berserk in English?
by AdUnfair558