Anime’s Impact on Pop Music in the Two European Leading Markets / 1: France

This chapter is a lateral, indispensable take on the transcultural processes favoured by the global success of anime. Taking the French context as a key case study, the chapter starts from the historical fact that Japanese comics and animations are part of the local cultural landscape since the 1980s, and how all the former children who grew up during the 1980s and 1990s share common references, mainly through the televised cartoons of that time. The series were localised, with French names and dubbing, and these references are now part of the nostalgic background of most current adults. From the early 2000s, the series were broadcast whithout any changes, dubbing apart, and a new generation of children followed enthusiastically, acknowledging the second phase of the acculturation of Japanese animation in France. Looking at the French musical creations of the 2000s and 2010s, we find these common references. Musicians integrate these elements to their works, with textual, visual, or musical quotations. The chapter explores two popular genres, electronic music and hip-hop, to show that, on the one hand, all artists share a cultural background linked to the animated titles that they enjoyed as kids or teenagers, and on the other hand to examine the differences between the nostalgic homage and the current consumption of anime. The main focus is on Daft Punk (electronic music) and Orelsan (hip-hop). These cases show how anime culture was not only received but also integrated through various projects like Daft Punk’s collaboration with Leiji Matsumoto for the movie Interstella 5555 (2003) or Orelsan dubbing the main character of One Punch Man in the French version of this famous anime.