Japanese Culture in Fortnite and Beyond

Welcome back everyone. We're diving into something really cool today. Oh yeah. It's all about how Japanese culture, especially manga and anime have become this like global phenomena. It really is fascinating. It all started for me, weirdly enough, with a song in a video game. Oh. I was playing Fortnite and I heard this awesome track. Uhhuh. It was by this Japanese band, USobi. I know them. Yeah. And it turned out to be connected to this really popular anime, The Ancient Magus' Bride. Right. And that's when it hit me like, wait a minute. Yeah. Fortnite with all his players, it's kind of sneakily introducing a whole generation to Japanese culture. It's true. In a way most adults probably don't even realize, you know. I think you're right. It is interesting how Fortnite has become this kind of um cultural ambassador, isn't it? Totally. I mean, this season they really went all out with the Japanese stuff. You've got the traditional architecture, the cherry blossoms, even Mount Fuji in the background. I saw that. And then they did those collaborations like with Godzilla. Oh, yeah. It's subtle, but it's definitely there exposing all these young players to Japan. Right. And it's not just the visuals either. It's like they featured a ton of Japanese IPs. Oh, yeah. You know, intellectual properties like characters from anime and manga. Absolutely. This Yuobi song, it's actually the theme song for the ancient Magus' bride. So, it all ties together. I see. But this whole thing, this love for manga and anime. It's not new, right? No, not at all. It's been building for decades. Absolutely. You look at series like Astro Boy, Sasan, Kenya Boy, those have been around forever. Classic and they all touch on these really universal themes like family, friendship, adventure, things that resonate with people no matter where you live. It's true. But what's really interesting to me is the uh the lineage of these manga creators. You have these legendary artists like Osam Tuzuka, Shitaro, Wishinamorei, Fujiko, Fujio. Oh wow, those are some big names. They were all inspired by earlier works. And then they in turn inspired future generations. It's a cycle. Yeah. It's this amazing cycle of creativity. That's so cool. You know, I've heard of Tazuka. He's like the god of manga. Right. Right. But I've never really grasped why he's so important. Mhm. It sounds like there's more to it than just, you know, entertaining stories. Oh, there's definitely more to it. Tuzuka didn't just create fun sto He was grappling with, you know, really complex ideas, philosophical stuff, social issues. Oh, wow. He was drawing inspiration from Buddhism, from Gases Foust and weaving it all into his manga. Incredible. He elevated it, you know, to this art form with real depth. So, it went beyond just entertainment. Exactly. That's pretty amazing when you think about it. Like how manga has these deep roots and all these incredibly talented creators building on each other's work and we've talked about those universal themes, but like what else makes manga so globally popular? What makes it so captivating, do you think? Well, there's this Japanese concept called mitataru. Mitataroo. Yeah. And it basically means imagining what if scenarios. Okay. And you see this a lot in duini, which are fan-made comics. Jinchi. Okay. It's where fans take existing stories, characters, and just like reinterpret them. Oh, interesting. Let their imaginations run wild. So, they're putting their own spin on things. Totally. There are whole conventions dedicated to Dujini where fans create and share their unique takes on these popular series. That's so cool. So, it's this whole culture of remixing, playing with existing ideas. Yeah. And it's huge. I love that. It's a very different approach to creativity. For sure. And it keeps things fresh, exciting. I can see that.