The Dragon and the Dazzle

Marco Pellitteri examines the growing influence of Japanese pop culture in European contexts in this comprehensive study of manga, anime, and video games. Looking at the period from 1975 to today, Pellitteri discusses Super Mario, Pokémon, kawaii, Sonic, robots and cyborgs, Astro Boy, and Gundam, among other examples of these popular forms. Pellitteri divides this period into two eras ("the dragon" and "the dazzle") to better understand this cultural phenomenon and means by which it achieved worldwide distribution.