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NEWS: Japan Surveyed on Anime, Manga, Other Cultural Exports


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cat_clan



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Posts: 67
Location: Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
PostPosted: Thu May 20, 2010 12:15 pm Reply with quote
roesnail wrote:
Is the Yamoto franchise is bigger than the macross franchise in japan?

Way bigger, Leiji Matsumoto's universe (Yamato, Galaxy Express 999 and such) is a cultural reference in Japan.
For example, if you go to Ooizumi Gakuen Station in Tokyo you will see an statue for Galaxy Express 999's Conductor. Also some of the trains are decorated with Galaxy Express 999 motif. At the same time you won't find a similar tourist spot in Japan for Macross.
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yamiangie



Joined: 03 Mar 2010
Posts: 465
PostPosted: Thu May 20, 2010 12:23 pm Reply with quote
roesnail wrote:
Is the Yamoto franchise is bigger than the macross franchise in japan?


Yamato has a big thing in the Late 70's and early 80's. I'm not up on Macross but I can get why Yamato would rate highter. It started off the scifi boom that spawned all our fav anime original sci ifs like gundam and macross. It also played a big part in starting anime fandom in the U.S. as well.
Yamato sadly got stalled for the last decade or so with bad OVAs and the argument over who owns what parts of the story and designs.

Also despite what Leiji Matsumoto thinks Yamato does not exist in the same universe as the rest of his works. Hell his works don't exist in the same universe the way he thinks they do as far as I can tell.


Last edited by yamiangie on Thu May 20, 2010 12:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Redlinks



Joined: 14 Feb 2010
Posts: 496
Location: America
PostPosted: Thu May 20, 2010 12:23 pm Reply with quote
w00t for Dragon Ball and One Piece. Very Happy I see Doraemon is still popular there in Japan.
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Cosplaybunny



Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Posts: 224
PostPosted: Thu May 20, 2010 12:26 pm Reply with quote
outlaw55 wrote:

No offense, but most live action films from Japan are really bad. Part of it is the fact they concentrate more on celebrities to sell stuff than actual talent (which shows in the music too...ugg some "artists" don't know how to stay on key...), another part of it is the smaller pool of people to choose actors and such from, and let's not forget budget too. I know there are some "gems" out of all of their films, but they just don't stack up internationally against most other countries. I know I'll get a response from SOMEONE about how "American movies are bad too" but let's face it, most Japanese films are worse than most bad American movies. I know when it comes to actors someone will go "there are bad actors in Hollywood too" and my response to that is, even MOST of the bad actors in Hollywood do better than most Japanese actors.


I don't think you've given Japanese film a fair shake. Japan has a wonderful history of film that has influenced filmmakers around the world as well as anime. Filmmakers like Yasujiro Ozu, Akira Kurosawa, Mikio Naruse, Takeshi (Beat) Kitano, and Kenji Mizoguchi that stand against the test of time as well as Hollywood film. I think (this is an assumption based on your statements) that you have mostly seen current Japanese film. I'd even admit that most of the current live action film coming from Japan is not great. I'd seriously suggest taking a look at the Japanese film available in the criterion collection, it might change your opinion on Japanese film.

I was pleasantly surprised to see One Piece so high up on the list. I'm a little curious as to why both "Manga" and "Manga Creators" were both listed.
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Anime Remix



Joined: 16 Dec 2009
Posts: 354
PostPosted: Thu May 20, 2010 1:49 pm Reply with quote
I would think that Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Detective Conan was always Japan big Anime's.

Just got to love Detective Conan! ^^
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14886
PostPosted: Thu May 20, 2010 2:40 pm Reply with quote
Only 29% heard of and only 4.6% even know the term "Cool Japan." I'm guessing the issue isn't all that important within Japanese people themselves.


Question: "What part of Japanese culture do you want to introduce to the world as a part of 'Cool Japan'?"
Idol 9.3%


Heheh, Idol is so low. Makes one think.... Laughing


"At 60.8%, the Dragon Quest franchise was the top response for games. "

Dragon Quest/Warrior hasn't really taken hold in the West. Old-style RPGs don't really hold Westerners' imaginations. Westerners are more into action where things move and blow up.
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littlegreenwolf



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 4796
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Thu May 20, 2010 2:45 pm Reply with quote
I'm trying to figure out what they mean by Japanese scenery. Like... tourism picture ads of Mt. Fuji, or... landscaping like rock gardens?

Bleah, no Sailor Moon on that survey. I would of been interested in the female survey with that title. I don't buy that a lot of the females surveyed have seen most of those titles. Sailor Moon is one of the few shoujo series that had world wide appeal.
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configspace



Joined: 16 Aug 2008
Posts: 3717
PostPosted: Thu May 20, 2010 5:49 pm Reply with quote
littlegreenwolf wrote:
I'm trying to figure out what they mean by Japanese scenery. Like... tourism picture ads of Mt. Fuji, or... landscaping like rock gardens?

Bleah, no Sailor Moon on that survey. I would of been interested in the female survey with that title. I don't buy that a lot of the females surveyed have seen most of those titles. Sailor Moon is one of the few shoujo series that had world wide appeal.

but this is more skewed towards the current generation of anme. Also, my impression is that most of the teenage and older girls who do regularly watch anime in Japan, watch much of the same shows as the guys.

For example, see: http://altjapan.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/11/girls-who-like-boys-who-drive-giant-robots.html
survey over 5 months last year by http://www.otakuma.net, a Japanese anime social networking site.
Quote:

Male
1. K-on
2. Haruhi
3. Lucky Star
4. Gundam
5. Saki
6. Evangelion
7. Nanoha
8. Hetalia
9. Clannad
10. Toradora

Female
1. Gundam
2. K-On
3. Code Geass
4. Macross Frontier
5. Evangelion and Toradora (tie)
6. Haruhi
7. Lucky Star
8. Clannad
9. Gurren Lagann
10. Minami-Ke


there are also these anecdotes from GaijinSmash when he was teaching in 2007:
Quote:

<snip>

Girl 4: Is this...Naruto? Is this...cosplay? Is this...Americans cosplaying Naruto?!
Girl 5: I think it is supposed to be Naruto. Look, there's Naruto right there. And look, there's Kimimaro.
Girl 2: No, that's not Kimimaro. Kimimaro was sick, but he wasn't THAT pale and thin!
Girl 5: Well, I think it's supposed to be Kimimaro.
Girl 3: Look, that's Orochimaru!
Girl 4: Wow. I didn't think that character could be anymore disgusting, but hey look, they found a way to do it.
Girl 2: ...Is this supposed to be Kakashi?
Girl 4: No. Kakashi's not a tub of lard. That's gotta be Chouji.
Girl 3: No no, look--he's got the face mask and a copy of Icha Icha Paradise. That has to be Kakashi.
Girl 4: Maybe if Kakashi stopped working out and ate chocolate cake everyday...

<snip>

Girl 1: So, there's anime and cosplay in America?
Me: Yeah, anime is really popular in America now. Some people go to conventions. And some people do cosplay. Not all, but some.
Girl 1: What kinds of anime do they cosplay?
Me: Everything, really.
Girl 2: ...Everything?
Me: Yeah. Naruto, Inu Yasha, Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon...
Girl 1: How about Full Metal Alchemist?
Me: Yeah, that too.
Girl 1: Really?! Do they cosplay Al?
Me: I'm sure they have at some point...
Girl 1: ...How? Judging from this picture, it seems like they'd just make a suit of armor out of cardboard.
Girl 2: Poor Al...
Girl 3: What else do they cosplay?
Me: Just about anything. There's even Gundam cosplay.
Girl 2: Gundam?! GUNDAM?!
Girl 1: ....Oh my God. So much cardboard.
< ... >


So I'd say that more girls watching One Piece than Sailor Moon, or even having OP being more notable to them now than Sailor Moon is certainly believable.
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Kikaioh



Joined: 01 Jun 2009
Posts: 1205
Location: Antarctica
PostPosted: Thu May 20, 2010 11:46 pm Reply with quote
The first time I visited Japan (almost 7 years ago now) I asked my homestay brother, who was about my age, what kind of manga/anime he read. He listed a number of sports manga like Slam Dunk and Touch!, along with Detective Conan, Vagabond and One Piece. After talking with him for a while, he mentioned watching Dragonball and Doraemon while he was growing up.

I rattled off some anime that I knew about at the time (Slayers, Robotech, Sailor Moon, Full Metal Alchemist, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Gundam Wing). He said he knew about Gundam, but didn't know about Gundam Wing. The rest of them he'd never heard of. Having the same conversation with my other homestay family members and a number of friends at school, I quickly discovered that the anime I was familiar with here in the States wasn't at all well-known to mainstream Japanese people. In fact, I quickly discovered that anime wasn't particularly mainstream with young adult and adult Japanese people in general ~ it was mostly considered media for kids and otaku (though, of course, everyone read manga).

And so over the years I've come to find that many of the anime/manga series that may be huge cultural mainstays or considered heavily influential in Japan may be relatively unheard of in the United States (series like Sazae-san, Doraemon, Slam Dunk, Touch, Space Battleship Yamato, Captain Tsubasa, Ashita no Joe and Rose of Versailles). Conversely, series that are well-known in the States may be only passingly popular or relegated to kids/otaku fare in Japan (like Naruto, Kenshin, Bleach, Yu-Gi-Oh, Sailor Moon, Fushigi Yuugi and Macross). There are some mainstays that have made it to the U.S. but didn't catch on (like Lupin III and Detective Conan), and a few mainstays that managed to become very popular (like Astro Boy and Dragonball Z).

When I visited last year, it seemed the big otaku franchises were Gintama, Haruhi Suzumiya, K-On, Evangelion and (of course) Gundam. Evangelion and Gundam would probably be the most recognizably mainstream in general media (billboards, karaoke shops, etc.) with advertisements reaching outside the otaku venues. Although One Piece merchandising didn't particularly stand out at a lot of the stores I went to (in Akihabara and Den-Den Town), new volumes of the manga usually had a small section in the front of many stores for sale, so I think a lot of people are following it and it's a de facto cultural mainstay. And of course, Detective Conan and Doraemon advertising tie-ins were all over the place.

I've the undercurrent feeling that in the past decade Japan has found in anime and manga a distinctly unique modern cultural identity that's detached from the traditional Western understanding of Japan (onsens, geisha, Mt. Fuji, samurai, etc.). Of all the media that portray the current Japanese sentiments regarding a huge cross-section of cultural, political and generally anything-goes issues, manga and anime are able to sincerely hit at the heart of and communicate Japan's voice, a voice held back from many foreigners because of their uchi-soto (inside-outside) culture. So in that sense, I can sort of understand why a big sentiment might be placed on anime and manga as being a likable media for relaying that distinctly modern, hip and unique Japanese voice.

As for the 'coolness' factor, I think it goes without saying that mechanized battle suits, Super Saiyans and the legend of the Luffy Pirates, are all pretty damn cool. =D
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kgw



Joined: 22 Jul 2004
Posts: 1177
Location: Spain, EU
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2010 4:04 am Reply with quote
Maybe someone should note that Doraemon, Detective Conan, Dragon Ball and One Piece have been already exported outside Japan...
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Haterater



Joined: 30 Apr 2006
Posts: 1728
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2010 6:00 pm Reply with quote
And some of those shows weren't successful in gaining more monetary support. Like others said, they need to realize that some popular shows there won't necessary mean they'll be successful worldwide. Its worrisome when someone had their list of what was really popular here(Sailor Moon, Cowboy Bebop) and not see it in the survey. Its good that Dragon Ball series and some made it, but we're going to need more driving power. In more ways than what's happening now.
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Corona-Dark



Joined: 22 May 2010
Posts: 4
PostPosted: Sat May 22, 2010 1:08 am Reply with quote
It's rather amazing the impact Akira Toriyama has made on pop-culture. Not just in Japan, but across the globe. Several of his creations are multi-million dollar and billion dollar franchises that have spanned generations, and some of the creations are still #1 on sales charts. For instance, the remastered Dragon Ball Z, and now Dragon Ball Z Kai, continue to prove a superior anime-seller, even in America.

All hail Akira Toriyama! This guy could practically own the media portion of Japan.
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