Not Made In Japan

Meet the publishing label quietly bringing western indie darlings to Japan

Founded in June 2017, Dangen – a contraction of the English words ‘Dandy’ and ‘Gentlemen’ that also happens to mean ‘conviction’ in Japanese – is an indie-game publisher that is run like a small record label, promoting independent games that have some kind of unifying quality. The six-person outfit, based in Osaka, specialises in signing western games that it believes will appeal to Japanese audience, a demographic that has, company co-founder Nayan Ramachandran claims, historically shied away from western indie games.

Ramachandran’s job title is ‘content connoisseur’, but his role is perhaps best described in music industry terms: he acts as an A&R manager, signing games that he believes fit the label and its fans. In a little over a year, Dangen has already had considerable success, particularly with Iconoclasts, a Swedish made platformer that takes clear inspiration from ’90s Japanese art and design. Here, Ramachandran explains how Dangen is working to convince the Japanese to have an open mind when it comes to buying games from overseas.

Why did you decide to focus on bringing western indie titles to Japan?