LSE on Anime's Media Mix
If you are a child—or the parent of a child—you probably recognize the bright yellow rodent able to shoot lightning bolts at its enemies. It is, of course, Pikachu, the ubiquitous official mascot of the Pokémon multimedia franchise, a global juggernaut which includes video games, trading cards, televised cartoons, comic books, plush toys, and much, much more. However, Pikachu is far more than just a poster-child for capitalist accumulation; it is, according to Marc Steinberg, a ‘character,’ the essential tie binding the disparate parts of the franchise together to each other and to consumers, as well as consumers to each other.
By: Casey Brienza
Story Date: 2013-01-12T00:00:00