As your emailer pointed out, Pokemon is 100% anime and obviously Japanese. They even have dojos. And it’s not the only obviously Japanese anime to succeed outside of Japan.
The other thing is that the things you’re criticizing aren’t popular in Japan either. Metroid: Other M bombed everywhere. I don’t think Other M would have been popular if it had been American. The problem isn’t “it’s Japanese.” The problem is “it’s not fun” and “the story is stupid” and “there are too many cutscenes.” Boring game + stupid story + too many cutscenes is a recipe for failure whether the developer lives in Tokyo or Baltimore.
Pokemon is considered a children’s show.
“Not in Japan! Adults play it there too!”
Exactly.
Let me rephrase it. Japanese culture doesn’t sell to adult Westerners unless you’re talking about marital arts (which fits cleanly into the military mindset).
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