Japan has a massive impact on the world thanks to anime, manga, and video games. The effects of this culture are everywhere without even a lot of people knowing it. Famous movies, characters, games, and a lot of different types of content have links to this culture.
From Jujutsu Kaisen anime and manga to your Hello Kitty toys, Japanese culture has expanded almost everywhere. If you have Charter Spectrum TV, Netflix, or any streaming service, there’s so much Japanese animated content (anime), you can stream.
In this article, you can check out the segments of Japanese culture like gaming, manga, anime, toys, and cosplays.
Japanese Games
The Japanese gaming industry is arguably the best in the world. There are so many well-known games today that are considered classics by a lot of gamers. Even the two out of three major gaming console companies, Nintendo and PlayStation, are Japanese.
Japanese games cover a diverse variety of genres. Some famous games that a lot of gamers consider classics are Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Street Fighter, Tekken, Resident Evil, Castlevania, and Metal Gear. Even beyond PCs and consoles, recent viral mobile games like Pokémon Go also have the same Japanese DNA.
Besides rolling out games and making better consoles, Japan also holds major gaming tournaments. For instance, there’s Evo Japan where Tekken players from around the world come to compete. Other than such tournaments, there are famous gaming conventions scheduled year-round in Japan.
Manga
Manga stands for Japanese comics. And according to many readers, these comics are much better than western comics. The unique drawing style and intricate plots are some of the major reasons behind the popularity of manga. Another quality that makes manga famous among readers around the world is that manga creators stick to the original plot. It makes these comics easier to follow for the readers and does not lose their attention.
One Piece, a famous manga series, has sold over 500 million units worldwide and the series is still ongoing. This is just one example. Many other series have also sold tens of millions of units. In addition to these hard copies, most readers read manga from websites and applications. So, the number of readers is much higher than the copies sold.
Light novels are another type of manga with more focus on the details of the plot. Both these types of comics are an extension of Japanese culture continuously becoming more famous around the world.
Anime
Anime is Japan’s take on animated content. One of the most popular examples of anime is Dragon Ball Z. A lot of people who don’t even watch anime know about Goku, the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise. Another famous example is Pikachu from the Pokémon universe. These are some recognizable faces from anime.
These animations have storylines based on the manga. Usually, a manga comes out first, and then after a while follows its anime adaptation. All popular anime usually have manga series under the same name. Ongoing series like Demon Slayer and Attack on Titan are some current series that a lot of fans love around the world.
The cultural impact of anime has been so massive that a lot of people understand some common Japanese words and phrases. Like, they know “Nani” means what, “Arigatou Gozaimasu” is thank you, and “Yare Yare Daze” is for good grief. These are just a few examples and there are many others like these.
Japanese Toys
Japanese toys are another industry famous worldwide. Hello Kitty and Pokémon are two recognizable names. This industry is so massive that the overall sales of the Pokémon franchise are estimated to be $100 billion. These are collective numbers for anime, manga, toys, and video game sales that make Pokémon the world’s biggest franchise.
In addition to Pokémon, there are many famous toys that came out of Japan. Beyblade is one of the more well-known ones with more than 120 million units sold. These numbers are other than the replicas and copies of the actual spinning toys. Similarly, Bakugan is another anime-related toy that was very famous at one point. Lastly, there is a variety of trading cards like Pokémon cards and Yu-Gi-Oh.
Modern Japanese culture has gone worldwide thanks to their games, manga, anime, and toys. Today, fans even celebrate it by cosplaying their favorite characters at comic cons and expos.
Cosplays and Comic Cons
If you want to see Japanese and anime culture outside Japan, comic cons are one of the best places. You can find people cosplaying their favorite anime characters with complete getups and accessories. Even outside these events, you can find a lot of cosplay characters. You can find many of them on Instagram and Twitter.