>When did you start noticing this enter the mainstream?
I'm unsure of a specific time period that I'd feel comfortable putting on it, partly because it's honestly been an underlying aspect of tech/cyberpunk culture for as long as I can remember. I mean, go back to the early William Gibson stuff and the "Asian-Megacity-Tokyo-Aesthetic" is shoved down your throat - and I say this as a guy who thinks Neuromancer is one of the best books ever written.
I think the other issue I have with the Japan pedestal-ization that happens is that, if you actually live there, it's got its own arguably fucked up societal issues and isn't necessarily better than here - just different.
I'm unsure of a specific time period that I'd feel comfortable putting on it, partly because it's honestly been an underlying aspect of tech/cyberpunk culture for as long as I can remember. I mean, go back to the early William Gibson stuff and the "Asian-Megacity-Tokyo-Aesthetic" is shoved down your throat - and I say this as a guy who thinks Neuromancer is one of the best books ever written.
I think the other issue I have with the Japan pedestal-ization that happens is that, if you actually live there, it's got its own arguably fucked up societal issues and isn't necessarily better than here - just different.