Pikachu's Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokemon FROM THE PUBLISHER
Initially developed in Japan by Nintendo as a computer game, Pokemon 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, Pokemon quickly diversified into an array of popular products including comic books, a TV show, movies, trading cards, stickers, toys, and clothing. Pokemon eventually became the top grossing children's product of all time. Yet the phenomenon fizzled as quickly as it had ignited. By 2002, the Pokemon craze was mostly over. Pikachu's Global Adventure describes the spectacular, complex, and unpredictable rise and fall of Pokemon in countries around the world.
In analyzing the popularity of Pokemon, 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 Pokemon in Japanese cultural traditions of cuteness and anime, the efforts of Japanese producers and American marketers to localize it for foreign markets, and the contentious question of Pokemon's educational value and place in school. Including teachers as well as scholars from the fields of anthropology, media studies, and sociology, the contributors track the reception of Pokemon in Japan, the United States, Great Britain, France, and Israel.
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