

How Japan became a pop culture superpower - Thevet
http://www.spectator.co.uk/arts/arts-feature/9425771/how-japan-became-a-pop-culture-superpower/

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jpatokal
Uhh, did it? Japan had its heyday back when Super Mario and Pokemon ruled the
world, but it's in decline now. Top search keyword in Japan itself in 2014:
"Frozen" (yup, the Disney flick). #2: "Yokai Watch" (heard of it? didn't think
so).

I'd say Korea has a much better claim to that title these days, although aside
from Gangnam Style, the _hallyu_ hasn't made that much of a dent on the United
States.

[http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21611039-how-
re...](http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21611039-how-really-
uncool-country-became-tastemaker-asia-soap-sparkle-and-pop)

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kiyoto
It depends on where you look. If anything, anime/manga (or anything that is
categorized/miscategorized under the Otaku category) are gaining wider
adoption in the West by the day, and for music, "Baby Metal" is gaining
traction: babymetal.net

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hga
Indeed. Echoing the comments that it's being normalized in the US, look at
this bog standard argument against incremental gun control, unremarkable
except for the penultimate panel: [http://hsgca.net/wp-
content/uploads/2013/10/compromise_v21.p...](http://hsgca.net/wp-
content/uploads/2013/10/compromise_v21.png)

Where in a closeup of the girl'a head she's shown with tareme eyes and ahoge
hair, the latter a clue that she's foolish in some way (so is Belldandy). The
artist DK clearly understood and used this visual language.

That the Japanese also like Disney flicks, or echoing jmole, stuff from Korea,
is hardly remarkable.

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jmole
It seems to me that what we're seeing now is the normalization of Japanese
cultural output, rather than the dominance of it. Set against the background
of Korean cultural ascendancy mentioned by jpatokal (prevalent moreso in Japan
than America it seems), and the widespread derision of Chinese culture,
America is more familiar with Japanese tropes, norms, and media, and
integrating them into mainstream pop culture.

It's a big step forward from the Otaku subculture that is generally associated
with anime, and I think that's a good thing; my biggest impression upon
visiting Japan was not the overwhelming craziness usually associated with it,
but the fact that they're a society that's already encountered its population
peak, and (for the past two decades) a corresponding slide into recession and
deflation.

The US and other first world countries would be wise to look at Japan for both
a model to follow, and a series of pitfalls to avoid, because we'll all face
the same issue in due time. Culture (pop or otherwise) is an important
messenger of the values a society holds dear.

Perhaps the most enlightening aspect of Japanese culture is our media's
obsession with some of the certain "odd qualities" that it espouses. The
morbid fascination we collectively seem to have with the weirder parts of
Japanese culture certainly seem to point fingers at weaknesses within our own.
Hentai is almost glorified, while the tiny 8 oz beverage cans in almost any
vending machine are ignored.

While absolutely not a perfect society in a multitude of ways, the Japanese do
get a lot of things right. I think the normalization we're seeing is a good
step toward learning more valuable lessons, and more importantly, being
receptive toward those lessons.

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a8da6b0c91d
The article is dumb. This was a global #1 in the 60s:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ91ikAhJ5Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ91ikAhJ5Q)

Only weird nerds know about japanese cartoons and comic books.

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Veratyr
Iunno, I'm pretty sure most people know what Pokémon is and a large portion of
those know it had a TV show. Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh and
Cardcaptor Sakura all seem to be pretty well known among the younger
generations and by extension the older generations who raise and take care of
them.

And anime/manga is becoming more and more mainstream. Sure it's not like
you'll walk in on your boss catching up on the latest episode of Attack on
Titan but it's getting there.

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Gurkenmaster
When I was still in school there were quite a few people watching anime or
reading manga but they rarely talked about it in school.

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squozzer
Cartoon girls with big eyes and short skirts. Like, duh.

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blndcat
but the big eyes can be traced back to Donald Duck of all characters

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ANTSANTS
I think you mean Bettie Boop.

