Japanese cyberpunk

Japanese cyberpunk refers to cyberpunk fiction produced in Japan. There are two distinct subgenres of Japanese cyberpunk: live-action Japanese cyberpunk films, and cyberpunk manga and anime works.^[1]

Japanese cyberpunk cinema, also referred to as Extreme Japanese Cyberpunk, refers to a sub-genre of underground film produced in Japan, starting in the 1980s. It bears some resemblance to the 'low-life high-tech' cyberpunk, as understood in the West; however, it differs in its representation of industrial and metallic imagery and an incomprehensible narrative. The main directors associated with the Japanese cyberpunk movement are Shinya Tsukamoto, Shozin Fukui, and Sogo Ishii.^[2] The origins of the genre can be traced back to the 1982 film Burst City, before the genre was primarily defined by the 1989 film Tetsuo: The Iron Man.^[3] It has roots in the Japanese punk subculture, which arose from the Japanese punk music scene in the 1970s, with Sogo Ishii's punk films of the late 1970s to early 1980s introducing this subculture to Japanese cinema and paving the way for Japanese cyberpunk.

Japanese cyberpunk also refers to a subgenre of manga and anime works with cyberpunk themes. This subgenre began in 1982 with the debut of Katsuhiro Otomo's manga series Akira, with its 1988 anime film adaptation (which Otomo directed) later popularizing the subgenre. Akira inspired a wave of Japanese cyberpunk works, including manga and anime series such as Ghost in the Shell, Battle Angel Alita, Cowboy Bebop, and Serial Experiments Lain.^[4] Cyberpunk anime and manga have been influential on global popular culture, inspiring numerous works in animation, comics, film, music, television and video games.^[5][6]