Way, way back when I did my Final Fantasy 7 playthrough, I ended it with an article saying that FF7, despite all of its strongpoints, still pales compared to my favorite RPGs. And so does FF6. I also mentioned that FF7 was partially responsible for an event I referred to as "The First Otakulypse." What was that?
Well, basically, it was back in the late 1990's when it suddenly became "cool" to be a fan of Japanese pop culture. It was brought about primarily by three things: FF7, Pokemon, and Cartoon Network's airing of Dragonball Z. Sure, there were other contributors, but a lot of people, or should I say, modern-day English-speaking otaku got started by one of these three things. Almost every otaku I know in the real world admitted they first got into J-pop culture by one of these three things.
The First Otakulypse ended around 2003 or 2004-ish, when Inuyasha's popularity started to decline. Things haven't been as crazy since. And good riddance, too. You have no idea how sick I am of otakus (yes, I am misspelling it!) constantly deifying Japanese authors like they are infallible. That's not always true. Heck, even the almighty Miyazaki disappointed me with Princess Mononoke. But yeah, I don't mind people trying out another country's mindless diversions, but please, be realistic about it. Yeah, I like Japanese comics more than American comics, and I like action cartoons from Japan a LOT more than action cartoons from America, but I keep things in perspective.
However, there is always the possibility, of a Second Otakulypse.
Now, for something like that to happen, it would have to take something truly titanic in popularity for something like that to occur. Some franchises have come close, but not quite. Naruto and Bleach? I don't see kids re-enacting fights from those series like I see them re-enacting Gohan versus Perfect Cell. Yu-Gi-Oh? Yeah, it was like an alternative to Pokemon at first, but nowadays, people only seem to remember it for the parody series, or Seto Kaiba's popularity with girls. RPGs like FF7? You do know that the original FF7 remains the best selling stat-based RPG in North America and Europe, right? No game Square has made since has sold as well, not even other FF games, not even Kingdom Hearts, not even the FF7 spinoffs.
So far, nothing has brought anime to the forefront the way the anime coming to America from the late '90's and early 2000's did. Knowing my hatred of otakus, it's probably for the better. But if it happens, I'll be ready.
