We have some salty weebs to just love to bark at the wrong tree. Weaboos or weebs for short means anybody who over-glorifies Japanese culture. I could remember how some salty weebs (and many of them have been talking like that former cop, Alan La Madrid Purisima). Some of them kept blaming Power Rangers and Saban Entertainment for Super Sentai's lack of popularity. If anything, Super Sentai's lack of popularity might be best linked primarily to TOEI LTD. It's funny how these guys say, "Never question Toei's decisions!" Wasn't it Toei's decision to let Power Rangers exist in the first place? I'd like to say it was also Toei's decision not just to let Power Rangers exist but to why Power Rangers is airing instead of Super Senta. Meanwhile, Kamen Rider still airs in the Philippines from time to time. I heard the rights to Super Sentai have become more expensive. Though South Korea has been airing Super Sentai as "Power Rangers" for some strange reason and Toei ALLOWS it.
Aside from Power Rangers (which I tried to hide my blatant dislike for it and FAILED MISERABLY) - weebs are now blaming KPop culture as to why JPop isn't as known. The same can go for the fact there are more K-Dramas than J-Dramas on television.
Has Japanese exclusivity been the root cause why K-Drama has become more popular than J-Drama?
At first, I felt the TV stations just didn't have enough balance. It turns out that the reason why Korean entertainment has become more popular than Japanese entertainment is all about EXPOSURE. An article last 2011 called "Why it was so easy for Korea to overtake Japan in the pop culture wars" even gives this explanation:
Reason 1: These days, Japan makes stuff mostly for Japan.
Japanese pop culture, like the Japanese archipelago itself, is too isolated from the rest of the world to have remained a sustainable global influence. This is evidenced by the neologism “Japan Galapagos Syndrome,” which compares Japan to the South American island that has its own species and ecology. In 2010, Japanese electronics company Sharp launched a tablet in Japan that was initially sold nowhere else in the world, appropriately called the Galapagos tablet. Similarly, many of Japan’s videogames are for the Japanese market only.
Some say the problem is Japan’s reluctance to learn English and its negative population growth. Others point out that Japan, whose population is 127.8 million, is a huge enough consumer market as it is, and Japanese retailers don’t feel the need to take the huge risk of launching an overseas marketing campaign. (South Korea’s population is less than half that, at 49.8 million).
Making stuff mostly for Japan? I guess it's no wonder why I couldn't find any Banpresto games back then in English. I heard there's already a Super Robot Wars game in English but my gaming vibes are somewhat sunk. Maybe, that explains why Super Sentai has a very limited audience. Maybe, that explains why Power Rangers became a monster hit. Now, Power Rangers fans who want to watch legally watch the source material with subtitles might not be too fortunate. They were able to get a taste of it with fansubs. The Shout Factory DVDs are there now. However, I felt the initiative and aggressiveness of Toei to get a wider audience are lacking.
Sure, Japan did share a lot of its inventions worldwide. From the rice cooker to the DVD to the BluRay - what makes the entertainment any different? Come on, if you've watched The Toys That Made Us - Haim Saban saw Super Sentai in a hotel and was fascinated by it even if he presumably didn't understand it! I think J-Drama does have a certain degree of exclusivity. I could understand if that super WTF really motherf*cker game Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels wasn't immediately released for the American audience until Super Mario All-Stars. Still, I felt it weird that many games haven't been released with English translations where Bandai merchandise is sold. I remembered playing Ultraman games at the arcade AND the text was in Japanese.
Meanwhile, Korean entertainment has been rather aggressive. I felt it was something that right after Chinese entertainment (both from PRC and ROC aka Taiwan) kicked in - South Korea got aggressive. I could remember how Autumn in My Heart became a huge hit. I could remember Love Story in Harvard was when I really (not joking) wanted to have Kim Tae Hee for my wife. I was 20 years old and she was 25 years old when it happened. There were some Japanese dramas but the aggressiveness wasn't as good as Korean entertainment.
The possible appeal of J-Drama stars vs. K-Drama stars might also explain
Maaya Uchida was been mostly a seiyuu or voice celebrity. Suzy Bae has been more of a K-Drama star after her musical career. What we can see is that Suzy has gotten more exposure in the international market than Suzy. Maaya seems to be rendered to the constraint of Japanese exclusivity. Meanwhile, shows with Suzy are more popular than any Anime where Maaya is a voice actress. Heck, one might have even heard of every last K-Drama Suzy has been in. Meanwhile, it seems Hikoni Sentai Akibaranger isn't as known except to Toku viewers. I wouldn't be too surprised either if there's a good amount of Power Rangers fans checking out Super Sentai are now checking out K-Drama! If Power Rangers had a digital subscription - they might be checking out more of Asia through South Korean shows!
I think the appeal of Suzy is that she doesn't limit herself to the cute image. Maybe, it's because of the hard fact that Suzy's a blackbelt. That's certainly a surefire trip to the ICU if anybody tried to molest her. Miss A disbanded and Suzy focused on her acting career. Hello Venus disbanded and Kwon Nara (who looks a lot like Erika Toda) has been focused on acting. I feel that Maaya has been her being restricted to the cute image when she's in her 30s. Meanwhile, Suzy seems to be more versatile. Suzy has done more than just cute roles. Just watching Gu Family Book and Vagabond (which badly needs a wrap-up movie) makes me scared of her.
Maybe, I could talk about how K-Drama doesn't seem to rely too much on the cutey image either. Sure, I have made fun of Shin Hye Sun because she somewhat looks like Sarah Jane ElGAGO. I just can't find her pretty. There are times I feel she looks like Sayuri Uchida who was a child actress before starring in Chojin Sentai Jetman as Ako Hayasaka. Yet, Sayuri didn't get much focus. Hye Sun had her debut in 2013 in School 2013. Hye Sun would be in her early 20s. Yet, Hye Sun, unlike Uchida, somehow won more projects. Is it because of her good acting and the fact she's obviously a smart girl? I feel her acting seems to represent the spectrum of most K-Drama acting - something Jan Di isn't!
I think it's time for more flexibility. Sure, there's already some flexibility done. Tori Matsuzaka is still acting, unlike the other Takeru, Kazunori Inaba. Takeru Sato is now starring in a Netflix series called First Love. Though, I think a bit more change in how Japanese acting might make things work.
Why do more Japanese entertainment companies need to stop the "Japanese for Japan only" mindset?
Can you imagine how much the world will be missing if all of Japan did that? I wouldn't be enjoying the DVD technology. I couldn't forget how I felt like a child while marveling at the Playstation 2's DVD technology with faster load times. I wouldn't have enjoyed the first four Playstations. I wouldn't be enjoying rice cooker technology. I wouldn't have had my childhood with Super Mario even if I never had a Super NES. Yet, it seems that many Japanese companies are stuck with making stuff for Japan. Please, it's already the year 2022 and it's the 21st century. The rise of the Asian Century is there. Japan just can't afford to be left behind!
Japan's growth back then was because it got out of its comfort zone. It was because they explored the turbulent waters. Toei Ltd. was once an innovative company. Toei Ltd. once stepped out of its comfort zone when it allowed Saban Entertainment to adapt Super Sentai into Power Rangers. Maybe, we can talk also about how Nintendo aggressively promoted the Super Mario Bros. franchise. I could remember how often I felt cringy because of how people bragged they were playing Super Mario World and I never had the game as a child. I could remember my fascination with Megaman to the point that I bought more Megaman games for the first two Playstations. I could remember how Bandai got worldwide coverage thanks to Power Rangers. However, I'm afraid that it's hit by the Galapagos Island syndrome.
Japan did create a lot of stuff that benefited us today. We're learning stuff from Marie Kondo. We're learning the 5S quality check system. Japanese technology is even the reason why we've got non-Japanese companies in the appliance industry. Manhwa was obviously derived from Manga. It's time for them to really get serious. I even used "Akizuki" as part of my pseudonym because of how I admired Japan. Japanese entertainment should really expand to much greater heights and stop the "Japanese only for Japan" marketing niche.
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