Randomimity - One Piece featured on NHK Today's Close-up

ONE PIECE FEATURED ON NHK TODAY'S CLOSE-UP
Watching NHK World on cable is pretty much like playing the lotto.  Sometimes you get lucky.

I had just gotten home from work.  I was clicking away, channel-surfing, when I chanced upon TV host, Hiroko Kuniya, interviewing a very distinguished-looking gentleman. When the camera pulled away from the guest, I was pleasantly surprised. The whole Today's Close-up set was plastered with enlarged images from the One Piece Manga. 

I hit the jackpot.

The show discussed the reasons behind the popularity of One Piece.  (With over 200,000,000 books sold, One Piece is the best-selling shonen of all time.) I wasn't able to get the name of the guest but I've seen enough of these programs to know that he was either a university professor or independent expert on Japanese pop culture.

The guest gave credence to the social changes that swept Japan in the late 90's for One Piece's success.  Apparently, in the late 90's, working Japanese adults felt that they were not being rewarded for their hard-work.  This made a lot of them gravitate towards One Piece's colorful storylines--which dealt mainly with themes of insecurity, pride, determination, alienation and friendship.

To be honest, I was never really a fan of One Piece.  The fact that it was so popular made me avoid the manga and the anime. But after watching Today's Close-up and learning about the socio-cultural implications of the most successful manga in Japan, I think I'll give it a whirl.

--Mori