Chapter Sixty-Two: The Greatest Cash Cow

The entire society was rebelling against mainstream culture, leaving the CCA in a rather awkward position. In comics, the main villains were Frederic Wertham and the CCA, their reputations dragged through the mud in ways almost unbearable to read. This cultural phenomenon wasn't unique to America; it flourished under the European skies as well.

The CCA understood very well that if it didn’t loosen its regulations, underground comics would spiral out of control. Would they really have the FBI chase after those kids?

Japan’s entertainment life was essentially rooted in the same soil as America’s. The so-called traditional elements? After World War II, Japan entered its second phase of Westernization. Traditional things were largely ignored, only to resurface when the country rose again.

Entertainment was easy to grasp: American troops were stationed in Japan, and they couldn’t always be wreaking havoc among the local women, so naturally, other needs arose. Comics and gaming consoles emerged to fill the gap; the soldiers had strong purchasing power, and the industries built on the backs of Japanese women all originated from this era.

Action films, comics, and gaming consoles—all aimed at the American market, their styles closely mirroring America’s. The Japanese quickly realized comics were something special. Unlike movies, even the best Asian cinema couldn’t sway Americans, who suffered from face blindness and had vastly different aesthetic standards. What Asians considered beautiful, Americans might not appreciate.

A small mouth and a face full of freckles—that was their idea of an Asian beauty. Later Hollywood makes this clear: Lucy Liu and Wendi Murdoch exemplify their standards of beauty, and even Rupert Murdoch’s Asian wife. Frankly, Chinese people could hardly find any beauty in these faces, but Americans loved them.

Japan’s so-called national treasures of beauty were unrecognized. That Japanese actress with the broad, flat face in the early Fast & Furious movies was hard to look at. Yet Americans adored her. When Fast & Furious switched to a Chinese-American director, she vanished. Her name escapes me, but she appeared in many films and was the most successful Japanese beauty in Hollywood.

Comics can bypass face blindness. You can create alternate histories, imagine American lifestyles—everything is fair game. “Fist of the North Star” took this approach, a post-apocalyptic comic with Western undertones originally meant for American soldiers, but it became wildly popular in Japan too.

Skin color isn’t an issue, language isn’t an issue, culture even less so. Americans ruined their own comic industry, so Japan seized the opportunity. In Marvel’s heyday, traditional comics still couldn’t compete; Japan’s best-selling comics counted sales in the hundreds of millions, and that was just for individual volumes—they also had weekly comic magazines. Even Marvel and DC combined couldn’t match them.

Japan couldn’t adapt comics into films as well, mostly because of Hollywood’s exclusionary attitude. If every adaptation reached Godzilla’s level, Japan wouldn’t fear Marvel at all.

Who says animated films can’t be adapted into movies? Pleasant Goat and Bald Strong are proof they can work just fine.

Things fell apart later, mainly because of censorship. They’d approve the film during production, then turn around and say the goats couldn’t be cooked. So a billion-dollar IP faded away; overconsumption played a part, but neglecting these properties was an undeniable fact.

China has plenty of excellent IPs: Journey to the West alone is enough, not to mention Investiture of the Gods. If you could unravel the Classic of Mountains and Seas, its mythical creatures could become IPs themselves.

Does it matter whether these are superstitions? It’s history and cultural inheritance. You can extract elements of culture, but don’t glamorize alchemy—there’s too much risk there.

The comic company was named Pirate. Though unconventional, the industry paid it no mind.

William White didn’t want attention; it was best to keep a low profile for now. Even with a complete creative vision and plan, he still needed a vast number of artists. These things simply couldn’t be rushed.

To plunder Japan’s comic industry, William White was wracking his brains. With so many ideas swirling in his mind, it would be hard not to make money—unless his own people sabotaged him.

Cars, steel, home appliances, semiconductors, comics—America managed to ruin all of them. Short-sighted capitalists, politicians chasing votes, and a horde of reckless experts all played their part.

Even if you wanted to transform industries, you shouldn’t use the shock therapy approach—it was far too extreme, and Russia didn’t survive it.

Why is a first edition Hulk comic so expensive nowadays? Because parents burned them all—almost none survived in good condition. You couldn’t find them after 2008, and even now, they’re hard to come by.

A single comic book is worth a million dollars now; it gives you a glimpse of that era.

If any old master could glimpse today’s Japanese comics, he’d probably keel over in shock.

In Japan, the comic readership spans all ages—a fascinating phenomenon. Don’t be surprised to see elderly men with white hair reading comics on the train; it’s completely normal.

Beyond the famous titles, Japan’s comics are countless—hundreds of successful series, with even more niche comics. Call Japan a nation of comics, and many would agree.

It’s a massive industry. When Japan’s bubble economy burst, only entertainment remained largely unaffected.

In recent years, America’s economy has struggled; aside from high-tech sectors, entertainment is the only real pillar.

The high-tech sector has a steep threshold; without a solid foundation, don’t even try. The interests involved are immense, and unless you have the means to protect your wealth, it’s best to steer clear.

This is an era of wild growth; reason means little, and violence is the preferred language.

Fortunately, Japan is relatively easy to navigate. They rarely provoke their American patrons. If you plan to do anything shady in Japan, it’s best to have a foreign face.

Japan doesn’t sell pirated goods? Don’t be naïve. If the profits are high enough, they won’t care. Japanese tourists coming to Beijing love Silk Street, where they’ll buy heaps of LV bags. In Shanghai, it’s Huating Road, with the same goal: counterfeit brands.

When those products disappeared, Japanese tourists were deeply disappointed—many canceled their travel plans.

Is it strange? Japanese buyers pay high prices for knock-offs—about half the cost of genuine items.

What? Japan sells counterfeit goods? Yes, it’s a rarity for a developed country, but all the sellers are foreigners, and the authorities can do nothing about it.

Not only do the police avoid interfering, but even the local syndicates stay away.

Japanese police are famously timid. Typically, the people are gentle—they’ve fought wars for years, and the aggressive types have mostly died out. Though some troublemakers remain, their numbers are few.

The syndicates are a joke; their management is stricter than that of ordinary people. Unless you cause trouble in their clubs, they won’t bother you.

“Don’t disturb others”—that’s the Japanese code of conduct. Every parent teaches their children this way, teachers do the same, and even syndicate bosses uphold it.

So as long as you don’t stir up trouble, Japan is very safe. Even at nightclubs, as long as you have enough cash, your safety is assured.