Web Japan > Trends in Japan > Pop Culture
Mascots Making Waves
"Loose" Characters Employed to Boost Local Development
Local governments and other organizations are increasingly turning to mascot characters to boost regional development. Certain of these beloved yuru kyara (literally "loose characters") are even transcending their home regions to become popular nationwide.
Read more >>"Element Girls" Bring Chemistry to Life
Book on the Periodic Table Attracts Readers of All Ages
The Element Girls, 118 female cartoon characters based on the building blocks of all matter, are gaining fans among a wide range of readers in Japan, including people who do not consider themselves scientifically minded. The Element Girls are the stars of a dictionary of the periodic table.
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Tokyo Character Street
Tokyo Character Street opened in March 2008 and has since served as a center for people who want to buy goods featuring characters from anime and other forms of pop culture. A total of 15 shops operate there, including TV networks' shops, an Ultraman shop, and a Snoopy store.
Otaku Tourism
"Otaku tourism" is now in full swing, with scores of manga, animation, and video game enthusiasts traveling to places mentioned in their favorite works. These young tourists delight in shooting scenes from the same angle as in the work, purchasing limited edition memorabilia, and immersing themselves in the world of their favorite characters.
Comic Essays Offer Glimpses of Otaku Life
A new style of manga known as the "comic essay" has become popular among readers in Japan. This new format features illustrated anecdotes from the authors' everyday lives. Lately numerous comic essays have appeared that portray the lives of Japan's otaku (anime and manga fanatics).
Bumper Year for Japanese Cinema
Among the Japanese films that have captured audiences' imaginations in 2008 were sophisticated anime features, a depiction of the bond of marriage and the subtleties of family life, and a delicately woven tale of life and loss.
One Thousand Years of Genji
One thousand years have passed since the earliest recorded mention of The Tale of Genji, a novel written by the noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu. Various events are being held to commemorate this milestone in places that serve as the backdrop for the story.
Dressed To Impress
Manga has become an international lingua franca. Many enthusiasts also enjoy dressing up as their favorite characters. "Cosplayers" from around the world, each dressed in a unique costume, gathered in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, this summer to take part in the World Cosplay Summit (WCS) 2008.
Manga Masterpiece Hits The Silver Screen
20th Century Boys, a hit manga series written by the globally renowned Urasawa Naoki, has been turned into a live-action movie trilogy, with the first part scheduled to premiere in August 2008.
Lifelike Figures
Top-quality, minutely detailed anime character figurines have become highly sought-after collector’s items. Action figures with fully opposable joints attract children, while collecting figures of manga and anime characters enable fans to create a world all their own.
Opening Up The World Of Modern Art
Just as modern artwork continues to shatter existing boundaries, there is also growing experimentation in the design of art museums and exhibition spaces. Museums are displaying more hands-on artwork, moving their exhibits to outside venues, and designing their premises to be an integral part of the city outside their walls.
The New Wave Of Traditional Theater
Kabuki has a long history of skillfully incorporating contemporary trends as it developed and matured as a performing art, maintaining at all times a spirit of "anything goes." That spirit is alive and well in the twenty-first century, most recently taking the form of works staged in collaboration with writers and directors of contemporary theater.
Anime Goes Academic
There is a growing movement among Japanese universities and graduate schools to take an academic approach to anime and manga. Once seen as children's entertainment, these forms are coming to be viewed in an entirely new light.
