Pikachu's Global Adventure

by Tobin, Joseph; Buckingham, David (CON); Sefton-Green, Julian (CON); Allison, Anne (CON)

• ISBN13: 9780822332879
• ISBN10: 0822332876
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-02-01
• Publisher: Duke Univ Pr

Summary

Initially developed in Japan by Nintendo as a computer game, Pokémon 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, Pokémon quickly diversified into an array of popular products including comic books, a TV show, movies, trading cards, stickers, toys, and clothing. Pokémon eventually became the top grossing children's product of all time. Yet the phenomenon fizzled as quickly as it had ignited. By 2002, the Pokémon craze was mostly over. Pikachu's Global Adventure describes the spectacular, complex, and unpredictable rise and fall of Pokémon in countries around the world. In analyzing the popularity of Pokémon, 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 Pokémon in Japanese cultural traditions of cuteness, 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 Pokémon'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 Pokémon 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-Renee Bloch; Helen Bromley; Gilles Brougere; David Buckingham; Koichi Iwabuchi; Hirofumi Katsuno; Dafna Lemish; Jeffrey Maret; Julian Sefton-Green; Joseph Tobin; Samuel Tobin; Rebekah Willett; Christine Yano

Author Biography

Joseph Tobin is the Nadine Mathis Basha Professor of Early Childhood Education at Arizona State University

Table of Contents

I. CONTEXTS AND ISSUES
Introduction	3	(9)
Joseph Tobin
Structure, Agency, and Pedagogy in Children's Media Culture	12	(22)
David Buckingham
Julian Sefton-Green
Cuteness as Japan's Millennial Product	34	(19)
Anne Allison
II. GLOBAL CIRCULATION
How ``Japanese'' Is Pokemon?	53	(27)
Koichi Iwabuchi
Localizing the Pokemon TV Series for the American Market	80	(28)
Hirofumi Katsuno
Jeffrey Maret
Panic Attacks: Anti-Pokemon Voices in Global Markets	108	(33)
Christine R. Yano
III. PLACES AND PRACTICES
Initiation Rites: A Small Boy in a Poke-World	141	(24)
Julian Sefton-Green
Pokemon in Israel	165	(22)
Dafna Lemish
Linda-Renee Bloch
How Much Is a Pokemon Worth? Pokemon in France	187	(24)
Gilles Brougere
IV. POKEMON GOES TO SCHOOL
Localizing Pokemon through Narrative Play	211	(15)
Helen Bromley
The Multiple Identities of Pokemon Fans	226	(15)
Rebekah Willett
Masculinity, Maturity, and the End of Pokemon	241	(16)
Samuel Tobin
Conclusion: The Rise and Fall of the Pokemon Empire	257	(36)
Joseph Tobin
Contributors	293	(2)
Index	295