If you haven’t noticed yet, 2024 seems like a very interesting year for anime fans who happen to be sneakerheads. And don’t get us wrong, that’s a pretty big chunk of sneakerheads right there. Now, this year was certainly great for everyone interested in either because we had lots of anime sneakers collabs! But we’re not gonna dive into them specifically today. We’re gonna go back to the roots of the anime-sneaker relationship. So, let’s open our modern fashion history books to the next chapter, shall we?
Before we get specifically into anime, we gotta look at the sneaker industry and its state in Japan. Now, while the 80s was a groundbreaking period in the US, thanks to Michael Jordan & Co, there’s more to it. You see, Japan was doing pretty well when it came to sneakers and streetwear. In fact, one of the OG of the OG kicks was the Onitsuka Tiger (1949), a very Japanese product! And in the early ’90s, Japan brought in a lot of heat in terms of kicks and style.
You see, the sneaker industry was a pretty niche community in 90s Japan. It consisted mainly of forward-minded people and skaters who wanted to rock Western fashion styles. Moreover, creatives like Hiroshi Fujiwara, Nigo, and others, helped the streetwear scene become popular. Naturally, you can’t talk about streetwear without sneakers! And then, in 2001, Nike further pushed the status of Japan in the sneaker culture with the CO.JP line. From there on, the rest became history!
Whenever we think about animation, anime will certainly come up. And whenever we talk about comics, mangas will definitely creep up and take over the conversation. Now, the anime world is vast, but there’s one thing that keeps popping up there, and it’s sneakers! Whether it’s through Yu-Gi-Oh’s Air Muscle or Slam Dunk’s words of wisdom, sneakers were there. If you want more proof of all of that, you can check out all the times sneakers appeared in mangas… and in turn, in animes!
When we say pop culture, we’re talking about things that became popular on a huge scale! And by that definition, sneakers, streetwear, as well as anime, are all a huge part of pop culture as we know it. You see, anime with all of its vibrant colors and extravagant styles made a name for itself. Moreover, these same things led to a fresh take on sneaker designs! After all, this crossover gave us some solid kicks and storylines that can go down in history books.
The sneaker industry doesn’t lack in terms of awesome collaborations. However, in the last few years, many brands (really many) decided to pay tribute to different animes. For example, Adidas and Dragon Ball Z joined hands to give us an awesome collection! But while this collaboration kickstarted the hype, it definitely wasn’t the last one we saw. You see, in this couple of years, we got plenty of collabs like Naruto x Crocs, Pokemon x Puma, Hunter x Hunter x Reebok, and many more. Now, what people relied on customization for, can officially get from official partnerships!
You know, with all the technological advancements, the sky is the limit for anime sneakers! From high-tech to interactive kicks, sneaker tech can go anywhere, especially when anime is included. Who knows? Maybe someday we’ll have kicks that bring our favorite characters to life. And of course, we can’t deny that anime sneakers can open doors to exposure for both industries! And if you wanna keep up with all this news once we have them, our blog has got your back. Godspeed!
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