The 4th episode of Encounters on Netflix is bullshit.

First of all, I really enjoyed the first 3 episodes, but the 4th episode is having me fuming right now.

Before I proceed I just want to clarify that I am a Japanese person who’s had a lot exposure to western cultures compared to my peers.

You have a nut job gibberish speaking lady claiming that she is the reincarnation of aliens and talks to them in her dreams? Her demeanor is the most stereotypical of your average Japanese occultist which is not uncommon here in Japan and I can’t believe this is the type of person they chose to represent Japanese witnesses, it makes us look like a bunch of loonies still stuck with medieval time beliefs.

Then it also doesn’t help when you interview a priest who obviously doesn’t understand the scientific principle behind will-o’-the-wisp, which is something we learnt about in middle school chemistry so no, most of us understand that it’s just a fucking chemical reaction and not the ghost of our dead grandmas. Throughout most of the interview the priest focused on talking about spirituality and “energy”, like what the fuck does it even mean? I by no means disrespect spirituality and in fact shintosim/buddhism is an integral part of Japanese culture except not in the way presented here. Most of us do not believe gods or spirits, but we still go to shrines and temples as a way to bond with our families and rituals are part of our tradition and we tend to stick to traditions, simple as that.

Then with the 3rd guy Jou(I don’t know if that’s how the English version translated his name), his entire demeanor didn’t seen worthy, I don’t want to discount his encounter story but the whole “no need for evidence we just need feel” bit just rubs me in the wrong way as it pulls the topic back into the zone of ridicule for skeptics.

Fukushima nuclear meltdown was a significant event for the Japanese society and to me it is even more significant that UAPs were sighted at this historical event. It really perplexes me as to why they chose to interview these weirdos to muddy a topic that could’ve led to a much more interesting discussion based on science.

Don’t even get me started on the gross generalization of “the Japanese view”with Astro Boy, Ultraman and Totoro?! There are more than 100 million of us and no, most of us don’t think alike despite western stereotyping and no, not all of us know what Tezuka(the mangaka who drew Astro Boy) thinks. In fact kids growing up nowadays probably don’t even know who Astro Boy is. The whole interview about Japanese culture was twisted and distracts away from the actual topic of UAP. We are just like everyone else, we live in a society run (mostly) on reasoning and if most of us are like the ones portrayed in this episode this country would’ve looked very different.

I believe for a docu-series like this it is most important to present information matter factly as it is already an incredibly difficult uphill battle to sway the public to take this topic more seriously. This episode destroys so much of the tension and thought building done by the first 3 episode that it left a very bad taste in my mouth.