Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters by William Tsutsui
When it comes to monsters as a pop culture icon, Godzilla stands as one of the most prolific. This is useful as Monster Hunter is a Japanese game series focused on monsters and this book would provide information on monsters in pop culture.
Tsutsui, William. Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years King of Monsters. Palgrave Macmillian, October 2004
A Mind Forever Voyaging: A History of Storytelling in Video Games by Dylan Holmes
Looking briefly through the table of contents, there is some mentions of Final Fantasy which is one of the most popular Japanese game series. From this book, it lists possible elements that Monster Hunter pulls from prior video games.
Holmes, Dylan. A Mind Forever Voyaging: A history of Storytelling in Video Games. Dylan Holmes, 2012
Dragons in English: The Great Change of the Late Nineteenth Century by Dominic Cheetham
This text describes the development of dragons in storytelling and culture. Monster Hunter in particular draws inspiration from the wyverns and dragons of Western styles rather than Asiatic. Thus, looking at the history of dragons in culture and their symbolic significance is an angle of inquiry.
Cheetham, Dominic. “Dragons in English: The Great Change of the Late Nineteenth Century.” Children’s Literature in Education, vol. 45, no. 1, Mar. 2014, pp. 17–32. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1036178&site=ehost-live.
Convergence and Globalization in the Japanese Videogame Industry by Mia Consalvo
The article takes a look at the impact of Japanese videogames on a global scale. Considering Monster Hunter World’s recent success in the Western market, this article can provide insight towards the series’ decision in aiming at a Western audience.
Consalvo, Mia. “Convergence and Globalization in the Japanese Videogame Industry.” Cinema Journal, vol. 48, no. 3, 2009, pp. 135–141. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20484485.
Playing the Myth: Video Games as Contemporary Mythology by Vivian Asimos
While one can find references to mythology and folk lore in modern media, this article looks at video games in the context of creating a new mythology. There are connections to be made with the narrative elements within video games that bridge the cultural gap from East to West.
ASIMOS, VIVIAN. “Playing the Myth: Video Games as Contemporary Mythology.” Implicit Religion, vol. 21, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 93–111. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1558/imre.34691.
History of Japanese Role-Playing Games by Takeaki Wada
Role play games began first as pen and paper tabletop games with Dungeons and Dragons being the most prolific. This article might help me better understand the difference in how games are played in Japan compared to the West through the differences between RPG (role play game) and JRPG (Japanese role play game)
Takeaki WADA. “History of Japanese Role-Playing Games.” Annals of Business Administrative Science, vol. 16, no. 3, May 2017, pp. 137–147. EBSCOhost, doi:10.7880/abas.0170228a.
Q&A;: ‘Monster Hunter World’ Leads Answer all the Big Questions
This interview talks about the reason why they called this installment ‘World’ instead of ‘Monster Hunter 5’. There are some philosophical changes to how the Monster Hunter development team approached their newest installment in regards to an international release.
Wright, Steven T. “Q&A;: ‘Monster Hunter World Leads Answer All the Big Questions.” glixel, 6 June 2017, https://web.archive.org/web/20170617003952/http://www.glixel.com/interviews/monster-hunter-world-leads-answer-all-the-big-questions-w488101
Why Monster Hunter: World Leaves Behind Handhelds For Home Consoles and PC
Another interview with the producer of Monster Hunter World in which they discuss the reason for their shift to a different gaming platform. This interview places more emphasis on how World stands compared to previous installments in the franchise.
Knezevic, Kevin. “Why Monster Hunter: World Leaves Behind Handhelds For Home Consoles and PC.” Gamespot, 20 June 2017, https://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-monster-hunter-world-leaves-behind-handhelds-f/1100-6450997/
Capcom: “We’d prefer a game that got a 9 and sold less, than a 6 but sold more.”
This interview looks at Capcom, the publisher of the Monster Hunter franchise and the efforts made behind the scenes to its approach to overseas distribution. Here, I find the interaction between Capcom and Sony as another interesting tidbit for the push into making Monster Hunter World.
Dring, Christopher. “Capcom: “We’d prefer a game that got a 9 and sold less, than a 6 but sold more.” gamesindustry.biz, 6 August 2018, https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-08-03-capcom-taken-aback-by-resident-evil-2-reception
Hironobu Sakaguchi talks about Past, Present, Future of RPGs (PAX 2014)
Hironobu Sakaguchi is the creator of the Final Fantasy series, which is one of the most well-known Japanese video game series. There are insights from how the series grew to how it grew to its popularity. This is a look at one of the pioneers of Japanese games and the climate surrounding them during those pivotal moments of history.
Astewir. “Hironobu Sakaguchi talks about Past, Present, and Future of RPGs (PAX 2014).” Youtube, 1 Sept. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCA5PFYZ_1k
Behind-the-scenes of Monster Hunter World
A series of short videos showcasing the implementation of a new global approach strategy. The videos highlight the interactions between the Monster Hunter Team and their Western audience.
Monster Hunter. “Behind-the-scenes of Monster Hunter: World.” Youtube, 15 Feb. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7z-ZXbhfoKE0vfCVQy2_durOGMZIicjK
A comprehensive look at the origin of the Western dragon. The sheer amount of references to folklore, myths, and legends help to establish the symbolism inherent with dragons.
Senter, Phil, et al. “Snake to Monster: Conrad Gessner’s Schlangenbuch and the Evolution of the Dragon in the Literature of Natural History.” Journal of Folklore Research, vol. 53, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 67–124. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2016970942&site=ehost-live.
This review of the most recent Japanese Godzilla film is one that compares the tone of Shin Godzilla to the original. The portrayal of a popular monster being reimagined in the popular era draws parallels to how the first Monster Hunter games created their monsters compared to the newest iterations.
Tsutsui, William M. “Review: Shin Godzilla.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazzete, 7 October 2016, https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/oct/07/shin-godzilla-20161007/?f=entertainment
The Monster Hunter in Modern Popular Culture
Monsters and the heroes that fight them are a popular narrative device that has been used constantly. Looking at the portrayal of other monster hunters in culture can provide details on how Monster Hunter is influenced by those tropes.
Haas, Lynda. “The Monster Hunter in Modern Popular Culture. (Undetermined).” Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, vol. 20, no. 3, Nov. 2009, pp. 428–449. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aft&AN=505384445&site=ehost-live.
Akihabara: Conditioning a Public “Otaku”.
An article that explores the origins of Japanese Otaku culture. From here, the social development and treatment of otaku (anime fans) is a glimpse into how popular culture is portrayed in Japan. The intersection of pop culture and society is something I think is relevant especially with how huge Monster Hunter is in Japan.
Galbraith, Patrick W. “Akihabara: Conditioning a Public ‘Otaku.’” Mechademia, vol. 5, Nov. 2010, pp. 210–230. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aft&AN=505294021&site=ehost-live.
I’m glad you found some good sources AJ! This stuff looks really interesting.
These are really great sources I think. I might look into a few of the ones you picked up too. Especially the sources on videogame mythology and globalization. Good job AJ