Japanese pop culture has been contributing gems to the entertainment industry since its inception. Currently, its popularity has reached its peak in all forms of Japanese entertainment such as anime, manga, movies, and TV shows, among other things. Now that the popularity of J-pop culture has reached an ever-growing stage, more and more people are joining the phenomenon every day.
In recent times, the Japanese pop culture boom has been off the charts, so I thought why not take a look at its rise in the West? So, let’s see how Gojo, Luffy, Godzilla, and even artists like Creepy Nuts and Eve have influenced our media consumption and perception of Japan.
Domination of Japanese Anime, Manga & Live-Action Media
In the 2020s, the craze for anime exploded with its popularity soaring like never before. People who haven’t watched or know anything about anime and manga wanted to get a taste of them.
Jujutsu Kaisen became the most popular anime, according to the Guinness World Records. It was stated that “the anime has a global demand rating 71.2 times greater than that of the average TV show.” Furthermore, many excellent anime like Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, which became the highest-rated anime, and One Piece at its pinnacle are also some of the most in-demand anime right now. The One Piece anime is on a 6-month hiatus right now, though.
This is all proof of how anime has just gone from the “it’s just a cartoon” phase to one of the most demanded forms of entertainment worldwide. Not just anime, famous shonen manga such as One Piece, JJK, Blue Lock, and many others have been topping the charts and are selling like crazy in recent years.
Alongside the success of anime and manga, Japanese live-action TV shows and movies also have been shattering the curse and making headlines in recent times. With an incredible 71.6 million views in the second half of 2023, the One Piece live-action TV show (review) rose to the top of Netflix’s “Most Watched series.”
We also got other amazing live-action shows such as Alice in Borderland, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Parasyte: The Grey, which were liked by fans worldwide. In a nutshell, all three biggest products of Japanese entertainment have achieved monumental success!
Well-Deserved Award-Winning Season for Japanese Cinema
Japanese films have been enthralling cinemagoers for a long time. In the 2020s, films from Japan received lots of awards which was a historic win for Japanese cinema. Movies such as Drive My Car (2021) and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (2021) won the hearts of the fans. The anime movies that came out during this period, including Suzume (2022) and The Boy and the Heron (2023) were appreciated equally by both critics and the audience. Not to forget that Hayao Miyazaki’s latest work took home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
Furthermore, the best example of the sensation of Japanese cinema is none other than Godzilla Minus One (2023) by Takashi Yamazaki. Ever since its release, it has been the talk of the town in Hollywood. With the team winning the Best Visual Effects at the Oscars 2024, every single one who watched the movie never failed to appreciate it. It is the remarkable beauty and subtlety of Japanese cinema that continues to amaze the cinephiles for centuries to come.
Japanese Themed TV Shows Taking Over the World
American TV shows set in Japan have enchanted audiences and made us desire more TV series that tell ancient folklore. The recent phenomenon is the Shogun series by FX. Being the platform’s most expensive show, this series exceeded everyone’s hype and expectations to become one of the best TV shows in history.
At first, the authors considered it to be a limited series, but upon seeing the reception from the fans, they changed their minds and renewed Shogun for multiple seasons.
Shogun is not the only Japan-based show loved by the fans as Tokyo Vice starring Ansel Elgort captivated the fans with its rich crime stories. Not to forget the stellar animated series, Blue Eye Samurai, which was massively applauded by the fans and critics. These show’s immense success and their renewals are a testament to how the audience loves Japanese-themed TV shows. There is no denying that they have some of the best stories there.
Japanese Games Selling Like Hot Cakes
Apart from anime, TV shows, and movies, there is no scarcity of games set in Japan that are highly enjoyed by fans. Earlier this year, Rise of the Ronin was released. Even though the game received mixed reactions, the game surpassed the sale of the Nioh series. The 2019 GOTY, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is still loved by the fans, and it is evident from the fact that the game has clinched a new record for selling more than 10 million units a few months ago.
The Ghost of Tsushima PC port that was released earlier this year is being highly celebrated by the fans as they finally get the chance to witness the amazing journey of Jin Sakai. It is now confirmed that Ghost of Tsushima became the largest single-player PC launch for PlayStation. Even after four years, thanks to Sony, its popularity is skyrocketing!
The Ubisoft team unveiled their next game Assassin’s Creed Shadows with dual protagonists from Japan a while back. Though the game has been embroiled in controversy, with its release pushed to next year, fans are excited to play an AC game set in Japan. Much more than that, we are excited to play the next installment in the Ghost of Tsushima series, i.e. Ghost of Yotei.
Closing Thoughts
With the rising popularity of streaming services, it has become much easier to access Japanese Pop Culture media. The English dubs are largely available for anime and TV shows, mangas are available in many languages, and we don’t have to worry about games as it is available on every platform. So, the massive barrier to entry that used to exist before has been shattered with the advent of new tech platforms. Thus, anyone can take a deep dive into Japanese entertainment and immerse oneself completely without any worries.
All these aspects of entertainment have substantially boosted Japanese tourism too. A lot of people, including myself, dream of traveling to the land of the rising sun to visit the iconic places I have seen in anime, manga, or games. Therefore, as you can see the exponential growth of Japanese Culture is reaching greater heights in the current generation. It will only continue to grow, and I hope to have various splendid Japanese tales to experience in all kinds of forms.
That said, what’s your thought about the Japanese pop culture boom? Let us know in the comments below.
Aparna Ukil
