Ask John: Is Pokemon a Temporary Fad?

Question:
Just about everyone who isn’t enamored with the Pokemon franchise is quick to label it as a fad. By all accounts it is nothing more than a fad, but the game series is nearing its 10th anniversary in Japan and still shows no signs of slowing down. Are we dealing with a new definition/parameter for the term fad, or is Pokemon actually a genuine cultural interest which is here to stay?

Answer:
Quite simply, I think it’s inaccurate to label Pokemon as a fad. There’s no question that during 2000-2001 Pokemon was smashingly successful in America. In fact, it was successful to a degree that’s just impossible to maintain. As most anime fans are aware, the tremendous mainstream success of Pokemon and the blitz of American corporate interests rushing to cling onto the bandwagon created a backlash within the domestic anime fan community. Overexposure killed Pokemon, along with natural market evolution (no pun intended) as the young Pokemon fans that zealously supported the boom in America got a little older and discovered new toys.

But Pokemon hasn’t disappeared in America altogether. While it’s not as wildly popular or successful as it once was, Pokemon is still a significant brand in the American consumer market. Unlike a fad, which is typically something of little value or substance which catches on quickly then vanishes just as quickly, Pokemon has simply settled into a reliable and consistent presence in America, much the way it has in Japan. The urge to unjustly criticize or attack Pokemon is only an instinctual defense to the series’ overexposure. Calling the American Pokemon craze a “fad” is another example of reactionary behavior that doesn’t objectively look at the franchise’s current status.

If we move over to Japan it should become more clear that Pokemon is not a temporary fad. The continuing Japanese interest and support of Pocket Monsters signifies that the show does resonate with Japanese cultural values or sentiment. As anime fans, we’re familiar with classic, perennial anime series like Doraemon, Sazae-san, Anpan-man, and Tetsuwan Atom that have been around for decades and generations. That a contemporary show may be among these venerable titles is an idea that, I think, American fans don’t think to consider. I believe that we’ve actually lived through and experienced the birth of a new addition to Japan’s catalog of staple anime series. In other words, I don’t think that Pokemon is a fad at all. I wholeheartedly believe that Pocket Monsters will still be popular in Japan another decade from now. By all evidence, there’s simply no reason to believe that, at least in Japan, Pocket Monsters won’t still be current and popular 10, 20 or even 30 years from now. Astro Boy, Doraemon and Sazae-san have been current and respected anime in Japan for 30 to 40 years because these titles have become adopted into, and become a part of Japanese culture itself. Likewise, I think that Pokemon isn’t just an anime or just a video game series or just a trading card game. I believe Pocket Monster has become a part of Japanese pop culture in the same way that Star Wars and Star Trek and The Lord of the Rings have been absorbed into Western popular culture consciousness.

Pokemon certainly had a temporary moment of glory in America, but I think calling it a fad, in reference to either its Japanese or its American identities, is a pure reactionary spite that doesn’t rationally consider the continuing market support of Pokemon or its social significance to worldwide popular culture.