Superheros To Japan
 

I didn't know where to put this, but: What does Japan think of Superheroes?
EX: Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Spider-Man, The X-Men and other heroes? Not the movies, but yeah. What roles do these american icons play in Japan? I mean other than that Spiderman Tokusatsu that came out in the 70s, and Battle Fever J

Outside of the movies, they play almost no role in Japan. They are known as American comic book icons, and the movies tend to do well in Japan, but American comic books are not read in Japan or translated into Japanese for the most part.

I guess that doesn't really surprise me. But, I guess in America we hold Japanese icons uhm... more ?

Really? Like who?

Well, we have Japanese comics translated over here, we have japanese products sold in normal stores. Japanese candy in supermarkets. So, Japan is playing a bigger role for American culture ... From what I can gather.

I would say the number of Japanese familiar with American superheroes is greater than the number of Americans familiar with Japanese comic heroes. Outside of Pokemon and Godzilla, what Japanese icons do most Americans know?

Well we know Zyuranger, as Mighty Morphing Power Rangers which was the icon of the 1990s. And Nintendo :P

But I'm not really the spokesperson for America

I never heard of Zyuranger before now.

I know you are not the spokesperson for America, but you made it sound like Japanese icons are bigger in America than American icons are in Japan, and I think that is probably less true.

Typical US "heroes" are fairly well known in Japan - at least in my experience. Everyone knows who Superman is (and he was even recently used in a series of Toyota commercials)... Along with Spiderman who is known largely through a tokusatsu series. Batman is also fairly well known, I`m not really sure how though.

As for the rest, I really don`t think anyone knows who they are unless they are an American comic fan. (A very rare breed)

For those who are known, it`s all in image - as a character alone. No knowledge of the back story, or wide recognition of the comics - which really aren`t and weren`t read in Japan. There seems to be a general recognition that a character is a US comic book hero simply by looking at it (as the design of a character generally makes it pretty obvious). Other than that, not really any incorporation into culture here.

I would still say that more people would be able to recognize a display of US comic book heroes in Japan that a group recognizing Japanese heroes in the US. I mean, how many people know the Time Bokan series characters at a glance in the US?

If someone saw a Poster of Time Bokan, I'm sure they'd only notice Gatchaman. (Which is known as "G-Force" or "Battle Of The Planets" here in the states)

I think the average person in the states can identify more of the mainstream japanese characters.

Is that the show where that girl had a yo-yo thing as a weapon?

Not even sure I'd say the average American could do this. And I would bet that atleast half of the people who did know Gatchaman would think it was an American cartoon. Of course, this also depends on what city you're in also.

Yeah, I think most people who grew up in the 90s can identify Son Goku.

I guess it depends, where your at.

I think a lot of the recognition is due to Hollywood movies, and not much else. Spiderman and Iron Man are a couple other bigger "blockbuster" series that made it to the big screens in Japan. These movies seem to get quite a bit of promotion in Japan, from what I have seen.

I lived in Japan, and I do not know Time Bokan. Gatchaman I think I could identify. I don't think I know more than a couple other Americans who could, though.

I think they become blockbusters because most of the population don't have the background of the character. They havent been with that character for 70 or less years

I think the interpretation of mainstream hero is skewed, to say the least. Pokemon, Dragon Ball, and the like are not "mainstream Japanese heroes". They`re popular characters, and nothing more. Sort of like Mickey Mouse, Spongebob, etc.

Toss out Yattaman, Ippatsuman, Kamen Rider, Ultraman, etc etc - those are the Japanese mainstream counterparts to the US Superman, Batman, and the like. And unless you are a fan of those to begin with, they`re not likely to be familiar to someone in the US. But I would guess that 9 out of 10 Japanese can sing the theme song for at least one of them.

They are blockbusters because of $100 million+ budgets and heavy promotion for characters that have been comic book favorites literally for generations. Diehard comic book fans in the US will make the movies #1 in America opening weekend, and then that fact is used to promote the movie in other parts of the world.

to die hard comic book fans, the only good movie has been Iron-Man and The Dark Knight

That's kind of a subjective statement. I know many self-proclaimed die-hard comic fans that loved Watchmen and Spiderman in recent years. But I don't want to get too far off topic.

Watchman is a very very difficult subject. The comic book was the best in the 80s, comics were dying before hand. It had so much in it that it really doesnt work as a movie. The die Hard fans are divided between each other. Fans who hate it and Fans who love it. There is no in between with them. I personally HATED the watchmen movie. It doesn't stay faithful to the original source material and when you stray from the source material, the movie became something else

I want to remind everyone I am not a spokesperson for the comic lovers of America. This is just my personal opinion and the opinion of my peers and leaders

There is no need to shout.

Somebody forgot Son Goku. He is damn known almost everywhere. Even my granny has heard of Dragon Ball.