Oshi-Katsu Chronicle 1996: The Amuraa Phenomenon, GLAY's BELOVED, Pokémon Is Born and Yahoo! JAPAN Launches

In February 1996, Pocket Monsters Red and Green came out for the Game Boy. You connected game consoles with a link cable to trade the Pokémon you had collected, or to battle friends.

In the streets, “Amuraa,” women copying Namie Amuro’s clothes and hairstyle, drew attention.

A woman in 1996 walking through the city in an outfit shaped by music

“Amuraa”: Copying Namie Amuro’s Clothes and Hair

Fans who adopted the singer Namie Amuro’s hairstyle and fashion were called “Amuraa” (a name formed from her surname). Long dyed-brown hair, thin eyebrows, miniskirts and platform boots were the styles that drew notice. Jiyu Kokuminsha (in Japanese)

That year’s Japan Record Award also went to Namie Amuro’s “Don’t wanna cry.” The Album Grand Prize went to globe and Best New Artist to PUFFY. Amuro was 19 at the time, the youngest solo singer to win the award. Japan Composers Association (in Japanese) / ORICON NEWS (in Japanese)

In August, the four-member group SPEED from Okinawa debuted with “Body & Soul.” At year’s end they were chosen for a new-artist prize too. When they debuted, every member was still in elementary or junior high school. Their second single, “STEADY,” became a million seller. Natalie (in Japanese) / Japan Composers Association (in Japanese)

GLAY’s First Budokan Show, and a Fan Club Anniversary Live

GLAY released BEAT out! in February and won their first Oricon No. 1. On September 9, at the final show of a tour, they stood on the stage of Nippon Budokan for the first time. The album BELOVED, released on November 18, became GLAY’s first million seller. GLAY official site, first half (in Japanese) / second half (in Japanese)

On May 8, a live show marking the founding of the official fan club “HAPPY SWING” was held at Akasaka BLITZ. The first half was an acoustic set that included Oasis’s “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” and for the encore some members came out wearing the T-shirts handed out to attendees. GLAY official site (in Japanese)

On December 1, footage centered on the Budokan show was screened on a giant outdoor screen at the east exit of Shinjuku Station. The members were not there, but nearly 5,000 people gathered. GLAY official site (in Japanese)

GLAY in 1996A year of moving up, one show at a time

BEAT out!First Oricon No. 1, in February
Fan club liveHAPPY SWING show on May 8
First BudokanTour finale on September 9
BELOVEDNew album on November 18

Releases and shows arrived one after the other, and fans followed both.

X JAPAN released DAHLIA in November and held shows at Tokyo Dome on December 30 and 31. L’Arc-en-Ciel also released True on December 12. X JAPAN activity record (in Japanese) / Tokyo Dome (in Japanese) / L’Arc-en-Ciel official site (in Japanese)

In October, the music program Break Out also began. By introducing the bands that would be called the “Big Four of visual kei” the following year, it became a chance to discover new bands on TV. Program record (in Japanese) / JBpress (in Japanese)

Trading Pokémon, Raising Tamagotchi

Pocket Monsters Red and Green, released on February 27, is a game about collecting and raising the Pokémon you meet along your adventure. Some Pokémon appeared in only one of Red and Green. Pokémon official site (in Japanese)

Connect the consoles with a link cable and you could trade with the Pokémon a friend held. You could get a Pokémon you couldn’t find in your own copy, or battle with the ones you had raised.

On November 23, Tamagotchi, a small egg-shaped device for raising a character, went on sale. It was a toy you looked after by doing things like feeding the character on the screen. Bandai (in Japanese)

Both are about "raising"; the fun with friends differs

Pocket Monsters

Connect with a cable to trade and battle the Pokémon you caught and raised.

Tamagotchi

Care for it every day, then show friends how it turned out.

Red and Green featured 150 Pokémon in all, and each version cost ¥3,900 before tax. Tamagotchi caught on mainly among high school girls, and 88 million units had been sold worldwide by the end of March 2022. Pokémon official site (in Japanese) / Bandai (in Japanese)

Comiket Moves to Tokyo Big Sight, and Companies Exhibit in Winter

Comic Market moved its venue from Harumi, Tokyo, to Tokyo Big Sight. The 50th, on August 3-4, drew a combined 350,000 people over two days, and the 51st, on December 28-29, drew a combined 220,000. Comic Market Preparation Committee (in Japanese)

At the winter 51st, corporate booths were set up in West Hall 3, with 12 companies exhibiting.

Comic Market, 1996The first year at Tokyo Big Sight

350,000: 50th event, August
220,000: 51st event, December
12: Companies exhibiting

Source: Comic Market Preparation Committee (in Japanese)

Corporate exhibitors grew to 29 companies at the 52nd, in summer 1997, and to 51 at the 54th, in summer 1998. They took part alongside the circles (groups of amateur creators). Comic Market Preparation Committee (in Japanese)

Companies exhibiting at Comiket

Winter 1996 (Comiket 51)

12 companies, with corporate booths set up in West Hall 3.

Summer 1997 (Comiket 52)

29 companies

Summer 1998 (Comiket 54)

51 companies

On TV, Detective Conan (known in some countries as Case Closed) began in January. Thirty years on, it is still on the air. TMS Entertainment (in Japanese)

Yahoo! JAPAN Launches: Searching for Sites You’re Interested In

On April 1, Yahoo! JAPAN began service. It initially listed about 15,000 sites, in a system where staff sorted and registered each site by content. Users found sites by browsing the categories or typing in words. LY Corporation history

Yahoo! JAPAN was Japan’s first commercial search site. In July it also began offering news and weather forecasts. LY Corporation history

Yahoo! JAPAN at launch

April 1Service begins: Japan's first commercial search site.
At launchAbout 15,000 sites: Staff sorted and registered each site by category.
JulyNews and weather: Added to the service.

Computer networks (pasokon tsushin) were also in use, with 5.73 million users that year. That was up by more than 2 million in a single year, from 3.69 million in 1995. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (in Japanese)

Orix Wins the Japan Series; the Giants’ Comeback Pennant Is a “Make Drama”

In pro baseball, the Giants came from behind to win the Central League pennant. On July 6 they trailed the first-place Hiroshima Carp by 11.5 games. Manager Shigeo Nagashima declared a “make drama” (meiku dorama) on July 16, and the team came back from there. Jiyu Kokuminsha (in Japanese)

In the Japan Series, Orix, back-to-back Pacific League champions, beat the Giants four games to one. Game 5, which decided the series, was played at their home ballpark in Kobe. It was the club’s first national championship in 19 years, since the Hankyu Braves days. Orix look back (in Japanese) / Nippon Professional Baseball: Japan Series (in Japanese)

In the J.League, the Kashima Antlers won the annual title. They had won the first stage in 1993, but this was the first year they became annual champions. J.League (in Japanese)

Key Events of the Year

Pokémon and Tamagotchi arrive, and the internet becomes a fun place to look things up

Jan. 8The anime Detective Conan begins broadcastingAnime
Feb. 27Pocket Monsters Red and Green are released (Game Boy)Games
Apr. 1Yahoo! JAPAN launches its serviceTelecom
Aug. 3–4Comic Market 50 (350,000 total visits over two days)Fan works
Aug. 5SPEED make their major debut with "Body & Soul"Music
Sep. 9GLAY hold their first concert at the Nippon BudokanMusic
Oct. 3The music program Break Out begins on TV AsahiMusic
Oct. 19–24In the Japan Series, the Orix BlueWave beat the Giants four games to one to become Japan championsSports
Nov. 4X JAPAN release the album DAHLIAMusic
Nov. 9The Kashima Antlers win their first annual J.League titleSports
Nov. 18GLAY release BELOVEDMusic
Nov. 23The handheld pet-raising game Tamagotchi goes on saleToys
Dec. 28–29Comic Market 51 (220,000 total visits; corporate booths set up for the first time)Fan works
Dec. 30–31X JAPAN hold DAHLIA TOUR FINAL at the Tokyo DomeMusic
Dec. 31The 38th Japan Record Awards (Namie Amuro's "Don't wanna cry" wins the Grand Prix)Music
Year-endThe 13th Buzzwords of the Year awards ("Amuler" makes the Top 10)Media

1996 at a glanceRaising, copying and searching

JanDetective ConanStarts on TV
Feb 27Pocket MonstersRed and Green go on sale
Apr 1Yahoo! JAPANAbout 15,000 listed sites
Aug 3-4Comiket 50First at Tokyo Big Sight
Sep 9GLAY at BudokanA first for the band
Nov 23TamagotchiGoes on sale

Characters to raise, styles to copy and pages to find.

The Year’s Buzzword Awards

Jiyu Kokuminsha's Buzzwords of the Year: the 13th awards (1996)

Grand PrizeJibun de jibun o homeretai ("I want to praise myself"): Yuko Arimori
Grand PrizeYuai / Haijo no ronri ("the logic of fraternity / the logic of exclusion"): Yukio Hatoyama
Grand PrizeMeku dorama ("Make Drama," Nagashima's phrase for a dramatic comeback): Shigeo Nagashima
Top 10Enjo kosai ("compensated dating"): Katsushi Kuronuma
Top 10Loose socks (baggy white socks worn by schoolgirls): Akira Tokita
Top 10Chobe riba / Chobe rigu (slang: "super bad" / "super good"): —
Top 10Heisokukan (dakai) ("sense of stagnation" and breaking through it): Kiyoko Nakamura and Kenji Higa
Top 10Amuler (fans imitating Namie Amuro): All the self-declared genuine "Amulers"
Top 10"Gan to tatakau na" ("Don't fight cancer," the "gan-modoki" theory): Makoto Kondo
Top 10Fusakui sekinin (responsibility for inaction): Ryuhei Kawada

“Amuraa” and “loose socks” made the top ten. The recipient column for “Amuraa” reads “everyone who considers themselves genuine ‘Amuraa,’” naming the fans. The grand prizes went to three phrases: “Jibun de jibun wo hometai” (“I want to praise myself”), “Yuai / haijo no ronri” (“Fraternity / the logic of exclusion”) and “make drama.” Jiyu Kokuminsha (in Japanese)

In 1997, Pokémon becomes a TV anime and Morning Musume is formed. It is also the year of X JAPAN’s breakup announcement and final show.

FAQ

When did "Amuraa" become a buzzword?

It made the top ten at the 13th Buzzword of the Year awards in 1996. The word referred to women who copied Namie Amuro's hairstyle and fashion, and the award recipient is listed not as an individual but as "everyone who considers themselves genuine 'Amuraa.'"

Who won the Japan Record Award in 1996?

At the 38th awards at year's end, the grand prize went to Namie Amuro's "Don't wanna cry." The Album Grand Prize went to globe's self-titled album, Best New Artist to Puffy, Best Vocal Performance to Yoshimi Tendo and the Arrangement Award to Shanran Q. SPEED and dos were also chosen for new-artist prizes.

What kind of year was 1996 for GLAY and X JAPAN?

GLAY held their first Nippon Budokan show on September 9 and released the album *BELOVED* on November 18. X JAPAN released the album *DAHLIA* on November 4 and held their tour finale at Tokyo Dome in December.

Where does the term "Big Four of visual kei" come from?

It was the name used by the music program *Break Out* when it introduced SHAZNA, La'cryma Christi, MALICE MIZER and FANATIC◇CRISIS, who made their major debuts in 1997. The program began in October 1996.

When did corporate booths first appear at Comic Market?

The first was at Comic Market 51 in December 1996, when 12 companies exhibited in West Hall 3 at Tokyo Big Sight. The event has been settled at Big Sight since that year.