Japanese cyberpunk refers to cyberpunk fiction produced in Japan.
There are two distinct subgenres of Japanese cyberpunk: live-action
Japanese cyberpunk films, and cyberpunk manga and anime works.Japanese
cyberpunk cinema refers to a genre of underground film produced in
Japan starting in the 1980s. It bears some resemblance to the 'low
life high-tech' cyberpunk as understood in the West, however differs
in its representation of industrial and metallic imagery and an
incomprehensible narrative. The origins of the genre can be traced
back to the 1982 film Burst City, before the genre was primarily
defined by the 1989 film Tetsuo: The Iron Man. It has roots in the
Japanese punk subculture that arose from the Japanese punk music scene
in the 1970s, with Sogo Ishii's punk films of the late 1970s to early
1980s introducing this subculture to Japanese cinema and paving the
way for Japanese cyberpunk.Japanese cyberpunk also refers to a
subgenre of manga and anime works with cyberpunk themes. This subgenre
began in 1982 with the debut of Katsuhiro Otomo's manga series Akira,
with its 1988 anime film adaptation (which Otomo directed) later
popularizing the subgenre. Akira inspired a wave of Japanese cyberpunk
works, including manga and anime series such as Ghost in the Shell,
Battle Angel Alita, Cowboy Bebop, and Serial Experiments Lain.
Cyberpunk anime and manga have been influential on global popular
culture, inspiring numerous works in animation, comics, film, music,
television and video games.Japanese Cyberpunk generally involves the
characters, especially the protagonist, going through monstrous,
incomprehensible metamorphoses in an industrial setting. Many of these
films have scenes that fall into the experimental film genre; they
often involve purely abstract or visual sequences that may or may not
relate to the characters and plot. Recurring themes include: mutation,
technology, dehumanization, repression and sexual deviance.
There are two distinct subgenres of Japanese cyberpunk: live-action
Japanese cyberpunk films, and cyberpunk manga and anime works.Japanese
cyberpunk cinema refers to a genre of underground film produced in
Japan starting in the 1980s. It bears some resemblance to the 'low
life high-tech' cyberpunk as understood in the West, however differs
in its representation of industrial and metallic imagery and an
incomprehensible narrative. The origins of the genre can be traced
back to the 1982 film Burst City, before the genre was primarily
defined by the 1989 film Tetsuo: The Iron Man. It has roots in the
Japanese punk subculture that arose from the Japanese punk music scene
in the 1970s, with Sogo Ishii's punk films of the late 1970s to early
1980s introducing this subculture to Japanese cinema and paving the
way for Japanese cyberpunk.Japanese cyberpunk also refers to a
subgenre of manga and anime works with cyberpunk themes. This subgenre
began in 1982 with the debut of Katsuhiro Otomo's manga series Akira,
with its 1988 anime film adaptation (which Otomo directed) later
popularizing the subgenre. Akira inspired a wave of Japanese cyberpunk
works, including manga and anime series such as Ghost in the Shell,
Battle Angel Alita, Cowboy Bebop, and Serial Experiments Lain.
Cyberpunk anime and manga have been influential on global popular
culture, inspiring numerous works in animation, comics, film, music,
television and video games.Japanese Cyberpunk generally involves the
characters, especially the protagonist, going through monstrous,
incomprehensible metamorphoses in an industrial setting. Many of these
films have scenes that fall into the experimental film genre; they
often involve purely abstract or visual sequences that may or may not
relate to the characters and plot. Recurring themes include: mutation,
technology, dehumanization, repression and sexual deviance.
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