Hero Archetypes in Japan and Germany – a Conversation Series

Beginning in summer 2018, we have set out on a journey together with our friends at Yuzu Kyodai (www.yuzukyodai.com) in Tokyo. Our aim: to understand and creativively channel cultural differences between Germany and Japan. 

What does that mean?

First of all, both Yuzu Kyodai and Point Blank share a mutual passion for observing and understanding culture through the lens of everyday life practices. And even at first glance, Japan and Germany offer a fascinating simultaneity of both strikingly similar and diametrically opposed everyday life practices. 

And so it happened that we struck upon a shared topic of interest and decided to dig deeper together: The cultural expression of hero archetypes in tv storytelling. In particular we have looked at live action and anime series as well as recent movie franchises, both through desk research as well as group discussions with regular series watchers in Germany. 

While we aim to use this research to build creative springboards for future formats, we have also decided to share some of our ongoing learnings in a series of conversations between Point Blank and Yuzu Kyodai, Germany and Japan respectively. 

Our first instalment in December will focus on a provocative initial hypothesis: The Hero is Dead!!…? 

Check back on our blog over the next couple of weeks to read our ongoing conversation and drop us a note if you want to join our discussion.