JOURNAL ARTICLE

Psychic TV: The Paranormal as Popular Culture in Japanese Television of the 1990s.

  • Published In: Television & New Media, 2025, v. 26, n. 3. P. 283 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Johnson, Daniel 3 of 3

Abstract

This article examines the 1992–1993 Japanese science fiction drama *NIGHT HEAD*, aired on Fuji TV, as a case study of the 1990s paranormal turn in Japanese television during the Bubble Era. The series centers on two psychic brothers navigating a society marked by social isolation and precarity, using innovative visual effects and industrial music to evoke a tense, uncanny atmosphere that reflects broader cultural anxieties amid Japan's economic boom and subsequent stagnation. *NIGHT HEAD* exemplifies how late-night TV targeted niche youth audiences by blending themes of the paranormal, alienation, and popular culture, paralleling contemporary media interest in psychic phenomena and new religious movements. The article situates the drama within shifts in Japanese television programming, the rise and decline of occult fascination following the 1995 Aum Shinrikyo attacks, and ongoing cultural engagement with the uncanny in various media forms.

Additional Information

  • Source:Television & New Media. 2025/03, Vol. 26, Issue 3, p283
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Psychology
  • Publication Date:2025
  • ISSN:1527-4764
  • DOI:10.1177/15274764241246988
  • Accession Number:182877308
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