About Us

We are a group of students from RMIT University in Australia who want to provide more insights and thoughts on Japanese popular culture.

As this blog is a final year project, this is our interpretation of what we see and know about pop culture in Japan.We hope you enjoy reading these entries as much as we enjoy writing them.

This blog is divided into 5 pages:

1) Manga/Anime – Ever since the debut of the Astroboy manga series in Japan in 1952, the Anime and Manga culture in Japan has taken the world by storm. Manga, which means comic in the Japanese language, has thousands of series to date. Anime, which is short for Japanese animation, is mostly identified through their big-eyed characters with unique hairstyles, witty catchphrases and massive weapons. In this page, we explore the history of anime and manga and their global influence.

2) Drama/Film – Japan, along with Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, produce some of the most popular television series. Although these television dramas are distributed locally, technology has enabled these series to be viewed via streaming or downloaded online through the Internet. Japan has also a rich history of films. Famous directors like Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiru Ozu and Hayao Mizayaki are re-owned for their film-making skills. This page covers the history of Japanese television and film as well as their contribution to pop culture.

3) Fashion – Japanese fashion is in a class of its own as it encompasses many styles. One of these is the popular street fashion style, in which the concept of ‘mix and match’ of different clothings is the core idea. As a result, sub-fashion cultures have evolved and some examples include Lolita, Visual Kei and Kawaii. This page details the current position Japanese fashion, its sub-cultures and how it has influenced overseas fashion industries.

4) Digital technologies – Sony, Hitachi, Panasonic and Nikon are just some of well known Japanese electronic brands that has become synonymous in society and culture. Products like DVD players, cameras and game consoles can be found in almost any household, establishing Japan’s reputation as one of the forerunners in electronics. Japan is also known for producing exclusive state-of-the-art mobile phones that is almost equalivent to Apple’s iPhone. This page explains how Japan’s digital technologies has made the country a wired society

5) Music – Although Japanese bands and musicians are not common in the music industry, Japanese music is usually heard via soundtracks in Japanese animation, television series and films. Today, Japanese music has had western influence but younger generations of Japanese musicians have slowly re-shaped it as uniquely Japanese. Initially, Japanese music remained in its local music industry but its pop culture has slowly embedded itself into other Asian countries. This page elaborates the history of the Japanese music industry and how it has elevated its pop culture image.