From Spirits To Superfans

The mythical origins of popular gaming culture.

- Hannah Gould

If nothing else, 2016 has demonstrated the unexpected power of a popular mythology to capture people’s hearts, minds, and wallets. Among the more lighthearted demonstrations of this fanaticism is Pokémon Go, a GPS-based, augmented reality smartphone game that rebooted the global pop culture phenomenon of Pokémon. Even before it was released in its home country, Japan, Pokémon Go had become the most downloaded phone application in a single week – in history. Reports of its enthralled players exploring their city for the first time, entering churches and graveyards in pursuit of Pokémon, and even becoming seriously injured whilst playing the game, caused equal bemusement and moral panic.

Since the 1990s, Japanese popular culture franchises like Pokémon, Power Rangers, Hello Kitty, and Sailor Moon have captivated audiences around the world. They have also been the vehicle for Japanese religious mythology to go global. Just as 6th-century Buddhism spread to Japan from Baekje (modern Korea) via icons and sutra texts, in the modern day, Japanese animism has spread to the West – perhaps in a more subtle form – via trading cards, animated films, and iPhone applications.

Pokémon owes much of its conception to creator Taijiri Satoshi’s childhood love of bug collecting. But like other Japanese games, manga (comics), and anime (animation), it also draws heavily upon the animist mythology and religious history of Japan.