Pure TokyoScope Podcast 156: China Declares War on Japanese Pop Culture! Angel’s Egg 4K Anime Review!
Patrick Macias and Matt Alt bring you pop culture direct from Japan!
PREVIEW EPISODE! This time on the PURE TOKYOSCOPE Podcast, authors Matt Alt (Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World) and Patrick Macias (Mondo Tokyo: Dispatches from a Secret Japan) dive into some recent events, including the 4K re-release of the Angel’s Egg anime, Burger King Japan getting new owners, and China getting mad at Japanese pop culture!
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SHOW NOTES
Angel’s Egg Returns in 4K and Oshii Revisits the Anime’s Mysteries
Eight Million Ways to Happiness: Wisdom for Inspiration and Healing from the Heart of Japan by Hiroko Yoda (click to preorder)
A Historic Shift in 50 Years of Tokusatsu: PROJECT R.E.D. Launches with Super Space Sheriff Gavan Infinity
Space Sherrif Gavan opening (1982)
Don Horror (and Horror Girl)
The Blue Swat Dictator
She’s the Sheriff (1987)
Burger King Japan to be bought by America’s Goldman-Sachs
Burger King Japan Baby Body Burger
BK King Yeti Sticker
China Bans Crayon Shin Chan and Other Japanese Movies
Trailer for Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Super Hot! The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers
Boys (and girls), be ambiguous! When Japanese leaders wade into the culture wars, pop culture suffers by Matt Alt
New Show Sponsor: Tomo Sushi Bar and Hibachi Restaurant and Lounge (Cleveland)
Sign up for the Pure TokyoScope Patreon! You’ll get access to full episodes, bonus video content, our Discord server, and an archive of past episodes.
Excellant coverage of the cultural dynamics at play here. Your framing of China's recent crackdown on Japanese anime and media as "declaring war" really captures the deeper strategic tension beyond just content regulation.
What strikes me most is the paradox you're highlighting: Angel's Egg gets a 4K restoration while simultaneously being banned across the strait. It underscore how anime serves as more than entertainment in this geopolitical moment—it's become a cultural proxy war. China isn't just banning content; it's signaling that Japanese soft power representations are viewed as threats to cultural hegemony, particularly around anything touching on ambiguous identities or philosophical ambiguity (which Angel's Egg epitomizes).
The intersection with Burger King's ownership change under Goldman Sachs is also interesting in a globalization context—corporate structures shift with as much volatility as cultural policies. Have you noticed any patterns between Western corporate consolidation in Japan and these cultural crackdowns from neighbors?