BB_mofo posted...
And that is where J-pop went wrong. The Western J-pop fandom was synonymous with the weeb subculture, so it came with a lot of baggage. K-pop made it to where it was in the West on its own merits. Anime made people into fans of J-pop. K-pop made people into fans of Korean pop culture (manhwa, food, fashion, K-dramas).
Yeah. I speak to any Jpop fan here in London, and they almost entirely equate it to anime. Its kind of disheartening since there are so many artists and actors out there in dramas, movies and the music industry who aren't appreciated unless they are a part of an anime series.
Hell, even the biggest Jpop idol groups like the Sakimichi 46 series, cute, the AKB sister groups or Bish are not known at all in the west. But in Asia they are huge.