Pikachu's Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokemon (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780822332879)

Initially developed in Japan by Nintendo as a computer game, Pok駑on swept the globe in the late 1990s. Based on a narrative in which a group of children capture, train, and do battle with over a hundred imaginary creatures, Pok駑on quickly diversified into an array of popular products including comic books, a TV show, movies, trading cards, stickers, toys, and clothing. Pok駑on eventually became the top grossing children's product of all time. Yet the phenomenon fizzled as quickly as it had ignited. By 2002, the Pok駑on craze was mostly over. Pikachu's Global Adventure describes the spectacular, complex, and unpredictable rise and fall of Pok駑on in countries around the world.

In analyzing the popularity of Pok駑on, this innovative volume addresses core debates about the globalization of popular culture and about children's consumption of mass-produced culture. Topics explored include the origins of Pok駑on in Japan's valorization of cuteness and traditions of insect collecting and anime; the efforts of Japanese producers and American marketers to localize it for foreign markets by muting its sex, violence, moral ambiguity, and general feeling of Japaneseness; debates about children's vulnerability versus agency as consumers; and the contentious question of Pok駑on's educational value and place in school. The contributors include teachers as well as scholars from the fields of anthropology, media studies, sociology, and education. Tracking the reception of Pok駑on in Japan, the United States, Great Britain, France, and Israel, they emphasize its significance as the first Japanese cultural product to enjoy substantial worldwide success and challenge western dominance in the global production and circulation of cultural goods.

Contributors. Anne Allison, Linda-Ren馥 Bloch, Helen Bromley, Gilles Brougere, David Buckingham, Koichi Iwabuchi, Hirofumi Katsuno, Dafna Lemish, Jeffrey Maret, Julian Sefton-Green, Joseph Tobin, Samuel Tobin, Rebekah Willet, Christine Yano

Author: Joseph Tobin
ISBN-10: 0822332876
ISBN-13: 9780822332879
Publisher: Duke University Press
Language: English
Published: 02/05/2004
Pages: 299
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.94lbs
Size: 8.76h x 6.64w x 0.76d

Review Citation(s):
Univ PR Books for Public Libry 01/01/2005 pg. 67 - Strongly Recommended