Japan Pop: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture

A fascinating illustrated look at various forms of Japanese popular culture: pop song, jazz, enka (a popular ballad genre of music), karaoke, comics, animated cartoons, video games, television dramas, films and "idols" -- teenage singers and actors. As pop culture not only entertains but is also a reflection of society, the book is also about Japan itself -- its similarities and differences with the rest of the world, and how Japan is changing. The book features 32 pages of manga plus 50 additional photos, illustrations, and shorter comic samples. Acknowledgments, A Note on Language, l. Introduction, Part I. Popular Music, Part II: Comics and Animation, Part III: Television and Film, About the Contributors, Credits for Photographs and Illustrations, Credits for Song Lyrics, Index