Photo: FP/Stephane Mouchmouche
Barnabás Heincz
15/08/2024 07:00
The far eastern series market has long been completely dominated by Japan. In the 1980s, manga - comic books in a typical style - was the strongest product of international Japanese pop culture. It was only a matter of time before they conquered television in anime form.
The anime culture reached its peak at the turn of the millennium, when anime series were part of the morning line-up on all Western television. A standout anime, and a huge success in Hungary, is Death Note (2008): Ryuk, a sinigami, is bored in the realm of the death gods, so he drops a death list on Earth. The booklet claims that the person whose name is written on the list will die. The list is found by Jagami Light, a crafty high school student, and all hell breaks loose.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure was a pop culture milestone, as it outgrew the anime fan camp in Hungary after 2012. The author of these lines woke up at dawn every Saturday morning between 2005 and 2006 to watch the anime Yu-Gi-Oh!
Another classic is the neo-noir Cowboy Bebop (2005), a true space western. Set in the distant future, the 26 episodes explore themes and issues that have inspired not only the minds of audiences, but also the art of a range of creators from Rian Johnson to Robin Williams.
Although the popularity of Japanese anime is undeniable, for a long time films and series from the Far East failed to break into the broader Hollywood-dominated public sphere of the West. The first stop on the road to South Korean success was the 2019 comedy-thriller Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho. It's no coincidence that it was the real icebreaker for western audiences: the film won four of its six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, making history as the first non-English language film to receive the accolade.
Squid Game kick the door down in 2021, as the Netflix production has not only taken over the world's biggest streaming platform, but also social media and has been turned into a reality TV show. The story is simple: hundreds of penniless gamers accept a strange invitation to test their skills in games for kids. The prize is tempting, the danger deadly.
These successes were followed by Gyeongseong Creature, a romantic horror series that captivated audiences, transporting them to the dark, war-torn world of 1945 Seoul. Let us tell you that the monster is truly terrifying - precisely because of its humanity. Mask Girl, which tells the story of a body-image-obsessed office girl and the plastic world of social media.
South Korean successes came before 2019, with Jewel in the Palace being broadcast on 91 countries. The genesis of South Korean successes is always the same: they deal with human, everyday stories - death, misery, struggle, love.
