Ask John: Did Gundam Wing Boost the Profile of J-Pop Music?

Question:
I’m certain that the musical genre known as “J-Pop” has been around for quite a long time, but I’m curious – from your perspective, did the opening themes from Gundam-W have any influence on the gradual influx of J-Pop into North America, and, by extension, its apparent incorporation into more and more new anime features released over, say, the last 10 years?

Answer:
Strictly speaking, die-hard fans of contemporary Japanese music will often argue that there’s a distinction between J-pop and anime music. “J-pop,” an abbreviation for “Japanese popular,” would be represented by Japan’s best selling musical artists while “anime music” may sound similar to J-pop, but is performed specifically for use in anime, and may be performed by idol groups with a limited lifespan, or by anime voice actors whose primary career isn’t professional singing. However, over the past few years this distinction has continued to become more difficult to distinguish as best selling mainstream Japanese pop acts like Dragon Ash, Ayumi Hamasaki, BoA, and Gackt are performing more “anime music.” I’m definitely not an expert on J-pop, but I do know that the genre Westerners think of as “J-pop” has existed in Japan since at least the early 1980s.

Music has always been an important component of anime, and in the early 1980s, if not before, anime theme songs began to be sold on 45 EPs. In the early 1980s, anime like Macross and Megazone 23 even overtly emphasized a relationship between anime and J-pop by making idol singers prominent characters. Catchy anime theme songs were big business by the 90s. And before Gundam W, successful J-pop artists like Larc~en~Ciel and X-Japan were either performing anime theme songs, or having their music used in anime. So by the time Gundam W used poppy theme music by Two-Mixx in 1995, Gundam W wasn’t pioneering the use of pop music in anime; it was just following well established anime industry traditions. I have no doubt that the Gundam W anime helped popularize Two-Mixx. But I don’t believe that Gundam W had any hand in popularizing J-pop music or its relationship with anime in Japan beyond what already existed at the time. Gundam W may have had a bigger impact in America.

Although I don’t know for certain, I suspect that Gundam W was the first anime ever broadcast on American television that retained its original Japanese language theme songs. Gundam Wing was a massive and impactful series in America. Gundam Wing introduced countless Americans to anime, and specifically mature, dramatic anime. Brief clips of Two-Mixx’s theme songs were also the first exposure to “J-pop” for many budding American anime fans. While there’s no formal evidence available, I would guess that the American television broadcast of Gundam Wing has been a major contributing factor leading to the increased release of domestic anime and J-pop soundtracks, and Cartoon Network broadcasts including Fullmetal Alchemist, Outlaw Star, Teen Titans, and Hi Hi Puffy Amiyumi that feature “J-pop.”

I don’t think that Gundam W has anything to do with the seeming increasing frequency of J-pop music in anime. Popular, mainstream Japanese rock and pop music has always been a staple of anime. I think that, in part, as America’s anime fan community has become more knowledgeable about anime, its recognition of J-pop music in anime has increased. But more importantly, I suspect that Japan’s entertainment industry has become increasingly pro-active about incorporating J-pop music into anime in recent years as a method of boosting sales and revenue. Especially considering that the Avex Group, one of Japan’s most successful record companies, has been sponsoring anime production for several years now, it should come as no surprise than an increasing number of songs and performers on the Avex label have been incorporated into anime productions.