TokyoScope NEWS: Godzilla Minus One Merch, J-Pop Consumption, Mini Ramen Memories
A round up of recent Japanese pop culture headlines and ephemera
Kaiju: Movies: Goods: Godzilla Minus One Merch
Following up on yesterday’s GODZILLA MINUS ONE poster and trailer reveal, the promotional floodgates for the first Japanese Godzilla movie since 2016 are opening up fast. That means we’re getting out first look some of the merch for the new film set go on sale soon, along with a complete look at the new design for the Big G himself!
Fans are nitpicking the Godzilla creature design (examples: “the shoulders are too big!” “he has no neck!”) and I admit the giant backfins are nearly a bridge too far for me, but overall, I can live with it!
The Godzilla Stores in Tokyo and Osaka will be the place to get the first wave of merch for Godzilla Minus One. The lineup includes stickers, phone straps, acrylic stands, and T-shirts.
The first collector figure has also been revealed. Feast your eyes on the S.H.MonsterArts 2023 Godzilla figure!
Godzilla Minus One is set for release in Japan on 11/3/2023 and North America on 12/1/2023.
Source: August Ragone and Kaiju Transmissions
Podcast: PURE TOKYOSCOPE #51: Oldtaku! Aging Fans of Anime
The latest episode of the PURE TOKYOSCOPE Podcast is live! This time, Matt Alt and myself talk about aging fans of anime and Japanese pop culture, a phenomenon we refer to as OLDTAKU!
You can either listen to the new episode via our homepage on Spotify or through the embed above. Readers of this blog and Matt’s Pure Invention newsletter should dig it the most!
Audio: J-Pop Consumption in the US
Via @NanteJapan
“Some interesting data courtesy of @luminate_data regarding JPop consumption in the US…”
Wow, Japanese is neck and neck with French and actually one percent point higher than Korean! I would have though that with so much hype about the K-pop wave that this would not be the case, but whoomp there it is.
Millennials were raised in a stew of Japanese video games, anime, and lord knows that else (Pokémon), so they fact that they are the prime movers for J-pop doesn’t surprise me.
A few years ago, pop duo YOASOBI were massive in Japan but didn’t have much traction overseas, but since them they’ve successfully leveraged theme songs for hit anime like Beastars and the recent Oshi no Koi to help convert new followers to their flock.
Audio: Disk Union Shinjuku To Open Anime Song Game Music Store
J-pop’s greatest weapon might be it’s ability to piggyback into other media like anime and games. For years, Japan’s Disk Union chain, much beloved by CD/LP collectors like myself, have offered game and anime music bins in their main branches. But now, these genres are getting their own dedicated shop.
The Disk Union Anime Song Game Music Store is set to open in Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward on 7/24. The press release is promising more than 10,000 items, including new and used merch. Anime and game music is a pretty big category and the following subgenres are promised: theme songs, drama CDs, voice actor CDs, along with VOCALOID and / VTuber software. Media will include not only the expected CDs and vinyl, but also cassette tapes, flexi-discs, and mini-CDs.
In anticipation of the store’s opening, Disk Union has launched new webstores for Anime Songs and Game Music.
The store will be decorated with original graphic artwork created by Japanese design legend Kosuke Kawamura. Below is a sneak peak.
RETRO: RANDOM MODE
Phoebe Cates for Mini Cup instant ramen, 1985
