Pikachu's Global Adventure
The Rise and Fall of Pokemon
-
-
2.8 • 46 Ratings
-
-
- $34.99
-
- $34.99
Publisher Description
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 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 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-Renée 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
Customer Reviews
What NoOOO
And cartoon geek ur so RIGHT ABOUT THAT stuff
What "fall" of Pokemon?
I have a confession to make: I, a 20-something year old, man am a Pokemon fan. I've taken a liking to Pokemon since I was a young lad in the late 90s, even having my poor mother take me to the first movie and afterwards taking me to Burger King to not only eat dinner, but get one of those Pokemon toys they were giving as prizes for kids meals. With that being said, I do have a few issues with this book. The minor flaws first that being the price, which I would argue is far too much and the second being the book being outdated. Now on to the major issues, one is that the authors are very bias. It's like their trying to make it sound like every kid who got into the "Pokemon fad" is a moron and they are smarter and better than you. But that brings me to my biggest issue with the book, which is the supposed "fall" of Pokemon. To which I reply: what fall? While it is true Pokemon doesn't enjoy the level of success it did in the late 90s, where it seem almost like it would take over the world, calling their current state of popularity a "fall" as in to say it's not popular at all these days is just absurd. Go to any retail store like a Wal-Mart or a Toys "R" Us and I promise you will have no trouble finding Pokemon merchandise such as toys or T-shirts, which now a days can appeal to both kids and adults whom buy the shirts or hats at a Hot Topic retail outlet for example. The card game is also going strong. But of course, Pokemon is most known as a video game, which brings me back to my earlier point of the book being outdated, the book makes it sound as though the third generation of new Pokemon is the "fall," however those games sold fairly well and since than Nintendo has released for their Nintendo DS system a gen four and five Pokemon games with brand new Pokemon (bringing the total to over 600, which is way they have since dropped the tag line of "Godda Catch 'em All," knowing now a days, it's impossible) and those have been among the top DS selling games. To be told I have a nephew who is all but the age of five whom has caught the Pokemon bug and now he too loves it. In conclusion, this reviewer feels that, whether you're a Pokemon fan or not, that you shouldn't spend your hard earn money on a very bias and even more so misinformed book.
Dronesome
If the author(s) intended to write a book this droning they should at least have written it in academic language, which they seem to aspire to by the sheer number of times they use the word "academic" or reference formal subjects/fields to draw conclusions. I would never buy this book. Thanks for the preview, I can tell a bad book in several pages.