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Subject: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: 2001 on 03/27/16 at 5:49 pm
I rarely see this talked about here, but it was a pretty big thing at my high school. When anime like Naruto, Bleach, Death Note, Inyuyasha etc. started airing and YouTube took off, a huge Japan trend followed. I partially believe that the whole scene thing was influenced by Japanese rock fashion at the time.
I myself started listening to Japanese rock at the time (Asian Kung-fu Generation and W.A.N.D.S were my jam). I watched one anime (Death Note) but I also rewatched DBZ around then. I also bought a few import DS games from Japan including Jump! Super/Ultimate Stars (fighting game), Ouendan 1 and 2 (rhythm game ala Elite Beat Agents), and Rhythm Heaven (another rhythm game). I also remember whenever you'd go to any kind of forum pretty much everyone had an anime avatar and sig even if the subject of forum wasn't anything related to it.
It might've been a Canada-only fad but I'm not sure. Was it popular where you guys live? I've heard some name-drops a few times onthis board but no one seems to want to go into detail lol.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: Baltimoreian on 03/27/16 at 6:13 pm
There are a lot of anime fans in the United States. Especially in New York City. In my school, they have tons of anime fans. Even in my art class, most of my classmates would have folders with anime characters. So, it's not a Canada-only fad.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: Toon on 03/27/16 at 6:15 pm
http://cdn.meme.am/instances/59390928.jpg
Yep! There was japan obsession in the late '00s alright. People going crazy over anime, japanese games, manga, culture and everything else inbetween. It was actually time I even heard of people cosplaying as their favorite japanese characters.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: Eazy-EMAN1995 on 03/27/16 at 6:17 pm
There was a bit of Japanese obsession, but the Early 2000s was when Japanese culutre was probably at it's peak here.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: 2001 on 03/27/16 at 6:52 pm
There are a lot of anime fans in the United States. Especially in New York City. In my school, they have tons of anime fans. Even in my art class, most of my classmates would have folders with anime characters. So, it's not a Canada-only fad.
It doesn't seem to influence fashion or music anymore though. Actually, what I noticed in recent MVs like Meghan Trainor's "No" is that a lot of them look very K-pop. A lot of MVs these seem to be just dance videos.
There was a bit of Japanese obsession, but the Early 2000s was when Japanese culutre was probably at it's peak here.
I felt while early 2000s had things like Pokemon/Digimon/Dragonball Z it didn't really translate into an obsession of Japan itself. I didn't notice rock bands borrowing from Japan or dudes trying to make their hair look stick straight with Asian-influenced hairstyles like this
http://www.menhairoo.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hair-men-chest.jpg
http://www.prettydesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Long-Straight-Ash-Blond-Hair-with-Blunt-Piecey-Bangs.jpg
It seems that was more a late 2000s thing.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: Baltimoreian on 03/27/16 at 6:55 pm
It doesn't seem to influence fashion or music anymore though. Actually, what I noticed in recent MVs like Meghan Trainor's "No" is that a lot of them look very K-pop. A lot of MVs these seem to be just dance videos.
Well, they rather care more about Japanese cartoons than Japan's fashion and music. Although, some of them are into K-pop or J-pop.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: Zelek2 on 03/27/16 at 7:18 pm
The era of the West's fascination with Japan was more like 1997-2007 imo, not so much 2007-2009. Anime became moreso popular on online communities during the late 00s (partly due to the availability of subs and uncut anime), as television began showing less and less of it.
The West is still obsessed with Japan today, but it seems to have progressed from an era of unironic weeabooism into "self-aware weeabooism" ("Notice me senpai" etc.) :P
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: Baltimoreian on 03/27/16 at 7:21 pm
The era of the West's fascination with Japan was more like 1997-2007 imo, not so much 2007-2009.
The late 2000s were basically the hype for anime culture in the West. The late 90s/early 2000s were like the hype of Pokemon, Digimon, and Yu-Gi-Oh. All of which came from Japan, but it didn't hype up many North American folks.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: 2001 on 03/27/16 at 7:24 pm
The era of the West's fascination with Japan was more like 1997-2007 imo, not so much 2007-2009. Anime became moreso popular on online communities during the late 00s (partly due to the availability of subs and uncut anime), as television began showing less and less of it.
The West is still obsessed with Japan today, but it seems to have progressed into an era of unironic weeabooism into "self-aware weeabooism" ("Notice me senpai" etc.) :P
I'm not sure if it's possible to say which era objectively had the most. 2007-2009 had access to YouTube and a lot of streaming sites though, while the previous eras did not. I also believe scene was heavily influenced by the Japanese rock bands of the time. The late 2000s also had Avatar, the first popular Western anime.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: #Infinity on 03/27/16 at 8:30 pm
Japan was super popular pretty much throughout the whole cultural 2000s, but also going back to the 1998-1999 school year with the breakthroughs of Dragon Ball Z, Pokémon, and Sailor Moon, and extending all the way to the late 2000s, during which Death Note and Naruto were big fads. Ever since the early 2010s, however, America seems to have shifted its focus away from Japan and instead towards South Korea, with k-pop groups like Girls Generation attaining cult followings that no j-pop artists could match, not to mention Gangnam Style in 2012. The last time I can remember a significant media piece in America focusing on Japan was Cars 2, which largely took place in Japan and even featured the iconic electro j-pop song from the late 2000s, "Polyrhythm."
I was especially exposed to Japanese culture all throughout the 2000s, as not only was I a fan of Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! as a kid, I soon thereafter got into Dance Dance Revolution and eurobeat music, both of which had communities dominated by Japanophiles. Back then, it always seemed like Japan was where all "cool" culture hailed from, at least in my personal life.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: #Infinity on 03/27/16 at 8:36 pm
The era of the West's fascination with Japan was more like 1997-2007 imo, not so much 2007-2009.
What Japanese culture was popular in America during 1997? Dragon Ball Z wasn't very well known yet, and even the Studio Ghibli films weren't officially released until the following few years.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: Toon on 03/28/16 at 12:53 am
What Japanese culture was popular in America during 1997? Dragon Ball Z wasn't very well known yet, and even the Studio Ghibli films weren't officially released until the following few years.
I didn't think Japanese culture was really popular in 1997. When talking anime most of the stuff seems to be from 1998/9 or later. Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, Yu Gi Oh, Beyblade, Digimon, Naruto, One Piece, Bleach got popular in the 1999 or later. But hey what do I know. Not much of a japanese fan or expert.
First time I ever really took notice to the big obsession with anime was in the early '00s.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: #Infinity on 03/28/16 at 3:28 am
I didn't think Japanese culture was really popular in 1997. When talking anime most of the stuff seems to be from 1998/9 or later. Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, Yu Gi Oh, Beyblade, Digimon, Naruto, One Piece, Bleach got popular in the 1999 or later. But hey what do I know. Not much of a japanese fan or expert.
I think Japan got mildly popular in the 1980s, as that was around the time Japanese technology was first widely believed to be superior to western technology. There was also the breakthrough of Japanese video games from companies like Nintendo, Namco, Konami, and Capcom, not to mention films with a heavy focus on Japan like The Karate Kid, Godzilla 1985, and Empire of the Sun. Even the Ninja Turtles were heavily rooted in Japanese folklore, despite being an American show. Still, you didn't really have a whole lot of Japanophiles not of Japanese descent until the core Y2K era, with the shows you listed. A lot of anime from the late 20th century wasn't dubbed in English until about that time; the Fanning sisters, for example, voiced the main characters from My Neighbor Tortoro, a movie released years before either of them was even born!
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: mqg96 on 03/28/16 at 7:55 am
There was a bit of Japanese obsession, but the Early 2000s was when Japanese culutre was probably at it's peak here.
I felt while early 2000s had things like Pokemon/Digimon/Dragonball Z it didn't really translate into an obsession of Japan itself. I didn't notice rock bands borrowing from Japan or dudes trying to make their hair look stick straight with Asian-influenced hairstyles like this
While I wasn't the biggest anime fan. I think it could really go both ways. Pokemon, Dragon Ball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Sailor Moon were the most popular early 2000's anime, including many others. Although, there were many teens into CN (Toonami) and Kids WB anime at the time too. When got popular throughout the early to mid 2000's, it had a lot of important anime at the time too for the older demographic. My theory is that before came into existence, CN (Toonami) was able to fit all kinds of crazy anime that catered to everybody, kids, teens, and even young adults, so it could mix up everything on there, but after 2001 when came out, that allowed them to divide the demographic and specifically keep mature anime on and keep kiddy anime on CN (Toonami). So anime was really a big craze on TV in the U.S. throughout the whole 2000's decade. It's just that over time since the digital age and the rise of the social media/internet have gotten big in the late 2000's, you can stream anime online or easily find the Japanese versions subbed and watch it ahead of time, which has declined anime on TV over the years. Today here in 2016 your only source of legit anime on TV is Toonami on , otherwise the rest of the anime on other channels are super kiddy. You can find so much more anime to watch on Netflix or the subbed versions on websites.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: aja675 on 03/28/16 at 9:16 am
I remember when animé hair was popular.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: SpyroKev on 03/28/16 at 10:01 am
The obsession with Japanese culture in the Early 2000s was through Toonami. I wouldn't go stating the obsession started in the Late 90s since you weren't aware Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon and Pokémon were even from Japan then. All you knew is how much of a addictive fad the trend was. The Early 2000s were all about Super Saiyans, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh cards, Digimon and Bay Blade. Only fictional wise. I first became aware of Japan in 2002 through a Super Smash Bros. Melee Fire Emblem trophy description and I just seen the country as boring at the time.
I was obsessed with Naruto in 2008-2009 though. The manga was my go to.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: mqg96 on 03/28/16 at 10:35 am
The obsession with Japanese culture in the Early 2000s was through Toonami. I wouldn't go stating the obsession started in the Late 90s since you weren't aware Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon and Pokémon were even from Japan then. All you knew is how much of a addictive fad the trend was. The Early 2000s were all about Super Saiyans, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh cards, Digimon and Bay Blade. Only fictional wise. I first became aware of Japan in 2002 through a Super Smash Bros. Melee Fire Emblem trophy description and I just seen the country as boring at the time.
I was obsessed with Naruto in 2008-2009 though. The manga was my go to.
2002/2003 is when I really got hooked into most of that stuff. I discovered Toonami on CN in 2002 and I got the Gamecube and Super Smash Bros. Melee in 2003. Most of my memories of Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Dragon Ball Z were all through CN while Digimon and Beyblade I caught through Jetix. While seeing the toys and cards at stores like Wal-Mart, KB Toys, or Toys-R-US throughout my whole childhood. Most of what I listed were the kiddy anime though. Most of the real good Japanese anime like Trigun, Inuyasha, Death Note, Bleach, Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, Black Lagoon, etc. were a lot more mature with a serious toned story-line, which were mostly played on , unless we're talking about serious ones like Naruto or Yu-Yu Hakusho which were on CN.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: mach!ne_he@d on 03/28/16 at 11:42 am
While I wasn't the biggest anime fan. I think it could really go both ways. Pokemon, Dragon Ball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Sailor Moon were the most popular early 2000's anime, including many others. Although, there were many teens into CN (Toonami) and Kids WB anime at the time too. When got popular throughout the early to mid 2000's, it had a lot of important anime at the time too for the older demographic. My theory is that before came into existence, CN (Toonami) was able to fit all kinds of crazy anime that catered to everybody, kids, teens, and even young adults, so it could mix up everything on there, but after 2001 when came out, that allowed them to divide the demographic and specifically keep mature anime on and keep kiddy anime on CN (Toonami). So anime was really a big craze on TV in the U.S. throughout the whole 2000's decade. It's just that over time since the digital age and the rise of the social media/internet have gotten big in the late 2000's, you can stream anime online or easily find the Japanese versions subbed and watch it ahead of time, which has declined anime on TV over the years. Today here in 2016 your only source of legit anime on TV is Toonami on , otherwise the rest of the anime on other channels are super kiddy. You can find so much more anime to watch on Netflix or the subbed versions on websites.
Yeah, anime was massively popular in the early '00s, and had across the board appeal at the time to a number of different age groups. Stuff like Pokemon and Digimon was largely aimed at a younger demographic, but you also had Toonami airing shows like Tenchi, Outlaw Star and Big O. After 2001, quite a bit of that more "mature" anime did shift over to Adult Swim, so you could make the argument that Toonami became more "kiddie" around that time.
Either way, anime had a large following among teenage boys in the early '00s, so much so that Nu Metal bands actually started to adopt some anime imagery to further cater to what was the genre's main demographic. In the process, you got stuff like this:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61p8ua8rl4L.jpg
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: #Infinity on 03/28/16 at 5:08 pm
While I wasn't the biggest anime fan. I think it could really go both ways. Pokemon, Dragon Ball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Sailor Moon were the most popular early 2000's anime, including many others. Although, there were many teens into CN (Toonami) and Kids WB anime at the time too. When got popular throughout the early to mid 2000's, it had a lot of important anime at the time too for the older demographic. My theory is that before came into existence, CN (Toonami) was able to fit all kinds of crazy anime that catered to everybody, kids, teens, and even young adults, so it could mix up everything on there, but after 2001 when came out, that allowed them to divide the demographic and specifically keep mature anime on and keep kiddy anime on CN (Toonami). So anime was really a big craze on TV in the U.S. throughout the whole 2000's decade. It's just that over time since the digital age and the rise of the social media/internet have gotten big in the late 2000's, you can stream anime online or easily find the Japanese versions subbed and watch it ahead of time, which has declined anime on TV over the years. Today here in 2016 your only source of legit anime on TV is Toonami on , otherwise the rest of the anime on other channels are super kiddy. You can find so much more anime to watch on Netflix or the subbed versions on websites.
You also still have predominantly anime/manga-inspired comics and drawings posted on DeviantArt. Other than that though, I really don't sense Japanese culture being nearly as popular in America anymore as it was from 1999-2008. I hardly even hear anybody talking about or referring to it in popular media, and there are really no longer any massive shows since the late 2000s. Yeah, it's easy enough to find anime in its original, untranslated form via Netflix or other modern Internet venues, but they're primarily consumed by Japanophiles, who are still a highly niched community. In fact, they're the same ones who have such a presence in the DeviantArt community. Regardless, there's certainly nothing as dizzyingly popular anymore as Pokémon or even Naruto or Death Note.
It seems to me like Japan's popularity is pretty much now back to the same levels it was in the 1980s and most of the 1990s - known, embraced by an underground few, but not mainstream. The fact that the third incarnation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the most popular children's action-adventure cartoon today makes this especially apparent. It's just a lot easier for people nowadays to obtain their favorite anime and manga, whereas back then, you'd have to be lucky to find them in the imports section of your local video or comic store.
Either way, anime had a large following among teenage boys in the early '00s, so much so that Nu Metal bands actually started to adopt some anime imagery to further cater to what was the genre's main demographic. In the process, you got stuff like this:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61p8ua8rl4L.jpg
And this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H4l9RpkwM
Actually, even Gorillaz, an offshoot project from a pompously British act, integrated a lot of obvious anime influences into their visual style.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-uiECDB62Y
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: bchris02 on 03/29/16 at 2:37 pm
I rarely see this talked about here, but it was a pretty big thing at my high school. When anime like Naruto, Bleach, Death Note, Inyuyasha etc. started airing and YouTube took off, a huge Japan trend followed. I partially believe that the whole scene thing was influenced by Japanese rock fashion at the time.
I myself started listening to Japanese rock at the time (Asian Kung-fu Generation and W.A.N.D.S were my jam). I watched one anime (Death Note) but I also rewatched DBZ around then. I also bought a few import DS games from Japan including Jump! Super/Ultimate Stars (fighting game), Ouendan 1 and 2 (rhythm game ala Elite Beat Agents), and Rhythm Heaven (another rhythm game). I also remember whenever you'd go to any kind of forum pretty much everyone had an anime avatar and sig even if the subject of forum wasn't anything related to it.
It might've been a Canada-only fad but I'm not sure. Was it popular where you guys live? I've heard some name-drops a few times onthis board but no one seems to want to go into detail lol.
I don't believe that was as much a late '00s thing as it was a part of high school geek culture. Japanese stuff was huge in the early '00s when I was in high school, especially with gamers. When I went to college, however, not near as many people were into it. This points to it being an age thing being that my college years were 2004-2008.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: Katluver on 03/29/16 at 7:44 pm
I remember the Japanese culture also seemed to be popular during the 80s so it was probably a recycled trend.
Subject: Re: The Japan obsession of the late 2000s
Written By: Toon on 03/29/16 at 8:00 pm
You also still have predominantly anime/manga-inspired comics and drawings posted on DeviantArt. Other than that though, I really don't sense Japanese culture being nearly as popular in America anymore as it was from 1999-2008. I hardly even hear anybody talking about or referring to it in popular media, and there are really no longer any massive shows since the late 2000s. Yeah, it's easy enough to find anime in its original, untranslated form via Netflix or other modern Internet venues, but they're primarily consumed by Japanophiles, who are still a highly niched community. In fact, they're the same ones who have such a presence in the DeviantArt community. Regardless, there's certainly nothing as dizzyingly popular anymore as Pokémon or even Naruto or Death Note.
It seems to me like Japan's popularity is pretty much now back to the same levels it was in the 1980s and most of the 1990s - known, embraced by an underground few, but not mainstream. The fact that the third incarnation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the most popular children's action-adventure cartoon today makes this especially apparent. It's just a lot easier for people nowadays to obtain their favorite anime and manga, whereas back then, you'd have to be lucky to find them in the imports section of your local video or comic store.
1999-2008 sounds about right. Back then it was common for nearly everyone to be watching anime or something. Nowadays I see people who're made fun of for liking anime or Japanese things. From 1999-2008 if it was anime chances are it was popular. Yu Gi Oh, Pokemon, Digimon, Beyblade, Bleach, Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, Sonic X, Fullmetal Alchemist, Shaman King, One Piece etc all were big and popular when they first aired here. People going to libraries to get the latest manga and even some who literally wanted to try and learn the Japanese language so they can experience the original content before it was translated and localized. In the '10s the popularity as seems to have declined a bit. Makes me assume that Japanese obsession mainly just a 00's cultural trend or something. Usually the only people I see watching anime are the big Japanese fans who fell in love with anime back in 1999-2008. I wonder if the Japanese popularity will comeback in the 2020s with a new generation of fans. Guess time will tell.
On Deviantart over a majority of the art made seems to be Japanese influenced art. It actually started to bother me a bit as I got tired of seeing anime/manga art every time I opened up the website. Deviantart came out in 2000 meaning that from the very beginning there was already tons of Japanese fans on the website.