Description

Roger Dahl’s Comic Japan is a collection of the best of the Zero Gravity cartoon
strip, a popular feature of Japan’s leading English-language daily newspaper
The Japan Times since 1991.

The strip stars Larry and Lily, a young American couple working as English
teachers in Tokyo, who never manage to fully integrate into Japanese society.
Rounding out the strip’s ensemble cast is the three-generational Koyama family,
with whom Larry and Lily share friendship and regular misunderstanding. There
is plenty of miscommunication between the Japanese characters as well.
Zero Gravity takes a whimsical approach to the meeting of cultures. The primary
focus is on the humorous misunderstandings between East and West, but nearly
as often it explores the quirky dynamics of changing relationships between
generations and subgroups within Japan. Though the strip is certainly an
exploration of colliding cultures, it is primarily a story about characters who have
a good deal of affection for one another.
The book contains eight chapters covering various aspects of Larry and Lily’s life
in Japan. Each chapter contains 16-20 pages and 32-40 cartoon strips, with 2
strips to each page. Each chapter opens with a brief introduction to the theme of
the chapter. A 3-page illustrated introduction to the book introduces Roger Dahl,
his career, and his inspiration for Zero Gravity.