(Out of) the Mainstream

There are a few things that I still want to discuss about my recent musical undertaking with a band, but I'd like to hold off on discussing them for now because I'm not quite ready yet. In lieu of that, I'd like to discuss about other nagging topics. One of them concerns what I brought up in my "farewell to Psyduck" post, regarding the mainstream-ness of Pokémon. Pokémon is well-known and popular in many places, but its mainstream quality is another thing. It's something that seems to really depend on the place and the people who are attracted to it.

In the U.S., as an example, Pokémon is definitely mainstream. The games are popular and well-known across gamers there, and the anime can be readily watched, if one knows where to look for it. The latter even has its own English dub to cater to as many audiences as possible. It's so well-known that some enterprising people had integrated it in a jocular fashion, but then realized the potential of this, which then led to what is known today as Pokémon Go. In conventions all around the country, Pokémon cosplay is also highly prevalent, with possibly many characters cosplayed at a single event. Barring Japan as its place of origin, it's undoubtedly at home among its fans here (perhaps, even too at home at times), so the mainstream quality is established.

In Indonesia, as another example, Pokémon doesn't quite seem to be as mainstream. Based on observations, barring the recent example of Pokémon Go and the localized TCG, the games seem to be popular only among a select group of people, almost like a "cult game" of sorts. The airing of its anime with its local language dub has also been off and on, as I've detailed in a different post. In many conventions, I've also often found out that if it weren't for me, I would pretty much be the only one (or one of a very few) who cosplays a Pokémon character, confirming its non-mainstream status as described by the Psyduck cosplayer herself. Yet on the other hand, the two aforementioned things have elevated Pokémon to a sub-mainstream status, and with that, it enters a gray area of sorts. The situation in Europe may have some similarities, including the gray area.

Supposedly, it may be hard to determine the mainstream status of Pokémon. Even in both of the places I've spent major time in, Pokémon remains something that select groups of people know rather than most everyone knowing. Yet it does seem that even people beyond gamers and fans of Japanese things do show some understanding, while a good amount of those gamers and fans may understand a bit more. In that regard, the mainstream-ness of Pokémon may really just be in the eyes of the beholder.

One year ago: Local EX Raid (vs. Rain), 11/7/2018
Two years ago: Closer and Farther PokéStops