Media mix

In Japanese culture and entertainment, media mix (wasei-eigo: メディアミックス, mediamikkusu) is a strategy to disperse content across multiple representations: different broadcast media, gaming technologies, cell phones, toys, amusement parks, and other methods.[1] It is the Japanese term for a transmedia franchise.[2][3]

History

The term gained its circulation in late 1980s and is first used to describe adaptations of Sakyo Komatsu's Japan Sinks, but the origins of the strategy can be traced back to the 1960s with the proliferation of anime, with its interconnection of media and commodity goods.[4]

The penetration into the American market of the series such as Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh![1] gave rise to the recognition of what is variously called transmedia storytelling, crossmedia, transmediation, media synergy, etc.[4]

Researchers argue that the 1963 Tetsuwan Atomu marked a shift in Japanese marketing: from the focus on the content of the commodity to "overlapping the commodity image with the character image".[2]

The book Anime's Media Mix: Franchising Toys and Characters in Japan by Marc Steinberg details the evolution of the media mix in Japan.

A number of Japanese media franchises have gained considerable global popularity, and are among the world's highest-grossing media franchises. Other Japanese media franchises among the world's top 15 highest-grossing media franchises include Hello Kitty, Gundam, and Dragon Ball, while the top 30 also includes Fist of the North Star, Yu-Gi-Oh and Evangelion.[5][6]

Terminology
  • anime-ka (アニメ化), recast as anime
  • dorama-ka (ドラマ化), recast as drama
  • gēmu-ka (ゲーム化), recast as computer game
  • noberaizu (ノベライズ, "novelize") recast as novel
  • komikaraizu (コミカライズ, "comicalize") or manga-ka (漫画化), recast as manga
  • eiga-ka (映画化) recast as movie

See also

Notes
  1. Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, p. 110
  2. Steinberg
  3. Denison, Rayna. "Manga Movies Project Report 1 - Transmedia Japanese Franchising". academia.edu. academia.edu. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
  4. Steinberg, p. vi
  5. "Pokemon Beats Out Star Wars, Marvel as Highest Grossing Media Franchise". ComicBook.com. August 28, 2018. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  6. Peters, Megan (June 23, 2018). "'Pokemon' Is The Highest-Grossing Franchise Of All-Time". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2018.

References
  • Marc Steinberg, Anime's Media Mix: Franchising Toys and Characters in Japan.
    • The book references and cites numerous sources on the subject

Further reading
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