Yesterday I stumbled into this article. The contents are simply amazing.

https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/call-of-cthulhu-rpg/news/call-of-cthulhu-dnd-japan-rpg

TL;DR Call of Cthulhu sells in Japan more copies than all the other editions combined, English included. The average player is female, 17 to 35 years old.

It would seem, also, that in Japan is D&D that is running against CoC, and not the other way around as usually would happen:

Call of Cthulhu has previously been claimed to be more popular in Japan than Dungeons & Dragons, with tabletop localisation specialist Andy Kitkowski stating in an early 2018 YouTube video that Call of Cthulhu has been "the single top-selling RPG - period - for the last seven or eight years".

"The scale is so grand that it is basically like D&D versus all the other non-D&D games in the US or other countries. It is Call of Cthulhu and then everything else. [...] That change happened the last eight years."

"The single top non-[Japanese] RPG in Japan is Call of Cthulhu, by leagues," Kitkowski reiterated on Twitter in June 2019. (Dicebreaker attempted to contact Kitkowski for further comment, but was unable to reach him in time for publication.) "It's the most common point of entry to the hobby. To put into perspective, the CoC shelves at [the] biggest RPG store in Japan are about the size of all the other RPGs together."

Seeing the amazing comic book adaptations of artists like Gou Tanabe (his two-part adaptation of "At the Mountains of Madness" is up there with the most ten stunning comic books I ever read) I'm not surprised to discover HPL's popularity in Japan (also, they have a thing with tentacles over there...) But... a mostly young female public? I would really like to see a session of CoC run by a female Japanese keeper: it would be an interesting way to explore their different cultural approach to the Mythos.

Some hololive vtubers play Call of Cthulhu.
https://youtu.be/QI05VSdAmdA

You can also find a lot of Call of Cthulhu content on Nico Nico, like link related.
https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm36383569?ref=search_key_video&playlist=eyJ0eXBlIjoic2VhcmNoIiwiY29udGV4dCI6eyJrZXl3b3JkIjoiVFJQRyBDb0MiLCJzb3J0S2V5IjoiaG90Iiwic29ydE9yZGVyIjoibm9uZSIsInBhZ2UiOjMsInBhZ2VTaXplIjozMiwibWluRHVyYXRpb24iOjEyMDAsImdlbnJlcyI6ImdhbWUifX0&ss_pos=12&ss_id=2853ea4b-9b97-4e50-996f-59338be95bab
Japanese tend to be a little shy, so you won't see as many Critical Role types of things where players show their real faces all over the internet. What you'll find instead are a lot of transcripts of play read by text to speech.

Quote from: Cave Bear on July 04, 2021, 08:28:14 AM
Some hololive vtubers play Call of Cthulhu.
https://youtu.be/QI05VSdAmdA

You can also find a lot of Call of Cthulhu content on Nico Nico, like link related.
https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm36383569?ref=search_key_video&playlist=eyJ0eXBlIjoic2VhcmNoIiwiY29udGV4dCI6eyJrZXl3b3JkIjoiVFJQRyBDb0MiLCJzb3J0S2V5IjoiaG90Iiwic29ydE9yZGVyIjoibm9uZSIsInBhZ2UiOjMsInBhZ2VTaXplIjozMiwibWluRHVyYXRpb24iOjEyMDAsImdlbnJlcyI6ImdhbWUifX0&ss_pos=12&ss_id=2853ea4b-9b97-4e50-996f-59338be95bab
Japanese tend to be a little shy, so you won't see as many Critical Role types of things where players show their real faces all over the internet. What you'll find instead are a lot of transcripts of play read by text to speech.

Thanks for the links. Alas, I don't speak Japanese. For sure they have some surreal ways for playing over the internet 

The CoC section of Amazon Japan is incredibility packed. I wonder if it is worth to order a copy of the Japanese Keeper Rulebook paying it with an arm and half a leg just to satisfy a collector's hitch...

Go for it. I have the Korean edition. It looks nice on the shelf.

Is this a straight translation, or are there social/cultural modifications to the game?

I grant, to a Japanese person, the world of CoC (especially the default 1920's setting) is probably pretty exotic anyways.

Not sure where they got their numbers from as used to be D&D was very popular over in Japan due to the BX based RP logs, then novelizations, then OVA, then anime series Record of Lodoss War.

But since WOTC told the long standing Japanese translators of D&D that they were not granted permission for 5e. I could totally see CoC leaping ahead in the absence.

I cant really see them competing as like in the US, they appeal to a somewhat different player base respectively.

As for was anything changed? Probably not other than art and  possible relocation from the US to Japan. Odds are they kept it mostly intact. Same was done for Battletech. It got an art overhaul and not much else apparently.

Quote from: Ghostmaker on July 04, 2021, 02:44:28 PM
Is this a straight translation, or are there social/cultural modifications to the game?

The core books of both 6e and 7e are straight translations, as well as any modules/supplements already published in USA. The Japanese publishers, however, also produced their own supplements based on Japanese society - for example supplement "Cthulhu 2010"  explains Japanese law, police structure, religion, and how all these elements can be used in making a CoC adventure (the mainthing in this book is upgrading the base CoC Martial Arts Skills to balance the unavailability of fire arms). There's also like various historical era supplements (sengoku, taishou, etc.), as well as ones for playing school kids for anime fans.

There is also a very healthy, and probably hated by Chaosium, Doujinshi market of fans publishing their own works at cons and various hobby shops (basically a graymarket for fanworks).   

Quote from: Ghostmaker on July 04, 2021, 02:44:28 PM
I grant, to a Japanese person, the world of CoC (especially the default 1920's setting) is probably pretty exotic anyways.

Surprisingly not really. Japan's traditional religion Shinto is rather "liberal" in what it worships - it can be a personification of nature, to famous heroes, to things that's nasty and worshipping it is one way to appease its violent tendencies. Traditional folk tales and myths have petty and flawed gods as much as monsters in the western sense (indeed the distinction between a god and a monster is blurred in many cases). Its mainly a product of a society built on four converging tectonic plates, and a hurricane route, where human lives can be taken in mass in a instant.   

In that sense CoC, a world where humanity is not in control and ultimately a footnote, is kinda more relatable than through the lens of western nihilism (although there is indeed a cultural twist here an there).

I'm wondering if this renewed interest will translate into their cinematography. The late '90s/early 2000s saw a resurgence of Japanese horror movies (along with Asian horror movies in general) but currently they do seem to have lost their way. We will see.

Quote from: Ghostmaker on July 04, 2021, 02:44:28 PM
Is this a straight translation, or are there social/cultural modifications to the game? I grant, to a Japanese person, the world of CoC (especially the default 1920's setting) is probably pretty exotic anyways.

It is, but then they may also be playing a modern era game. There are some local books (I don't recall the names) that have a definite Japan / anime vibe. My kid picked them up when they were living there and regularly played with others online (in Japanese).

There are schools of Japanese horror that fit quite well. They also had their own version of 'creepy pasta' horror. I personally found that younger women are more interested in horror as a genre than in the US. Keep in mind the many J-horror movies that focus on female characters.

When I was living in Japan from the late 80s to mid 90s, there was plenty of Japanese translated CoC materials, but the Hobby Japan Stores would also carry a few English items that weren't yet translated at the time, like Horror on the Orient Express. Interestingly enough, early 1900s are also of interest. I know a lot of Japanese people for example, that read many of Agatha Christie's books (they are fairly easy to read), and both British movie and TV versions of those were often on Japanese TV.

HPL translations have been around for a long time. I gave a set to my wife but she ended up just reading them in English because (at least the translator of the version I gave her) tried to emulate some of HPL's particular prose by using obscure kanjis.

But I think CoC is in an interesting place vs D&D because CoC really is dominant as an RPG horror game, but D&D has to compete with a lot more general fantasy games.

Quote from: 234ne on July 04, 2021, 04:21:14 PM
The Japanese publishers, however, also produced their own supplements based on Japanese society - for example supplement "Cthulhu 2010"  explains Japanese law, police structure, religion, and how all these elements can be used in making a CoC adventure (the mainthing in this book is upgrading the base CoC Martial Arts Skills to balance the unavailability of fire arms). There's also like various historical era supplements (sengoku, taishou, etc.), as well as ones for playing school kids for anime fans.

Oh, snap - that sounds really cool and something I'd love to read in English, to see the different perspective on Cthulhu.

As someone who travels to Japan regularly for work (over 25 times so far), I can confirm all of the above. I've hung out with Andy Kitowski in Tokyo (playing Dungeon World) and I always visit the games shops in Akihabara when I go. The Doujinshi market in Japan for Cthulhu is crazy. I've seen tons of supplements (and bought many) from fans and third party right next to the official stuff. I've even sit in on a game of Cthulhu at Yellow Submarine a couple years ago. Since I understand Japanese, it was pretty easy to slip right into the game. The look on their faces when I pulled up a chair and asked "if anyone's insane yet" in Japanese was priceless... Everyone was pretty cool and welcoming and I chatted with them for a while after the game. 3 Women (including the Keeper) and 2 Guys. My Japanese wife says I am crazy for just jumping in, but she's not a big fan of rpgs anyways.  I've been checking out the game shops for years, and Cthulhu is always a big seller. More so than D&D I think. That and Tunnels & Trolls is weirdly popular there for some reason as well. They have a really good market for non Japanese games too, as I've even seen copies of my published games over there on the shelves for sale. Depending what its, prices can be a little high though with the import cost and what not. Sometimes you can catch a lucky break on used American titles - once snagged a copy of MERP Riders of Rohan for 400 Yen ($4) - it was  a good day!

Thanks,
Brian

www.bluekabuto.com
www.cookiefu.com

Quote from: aztecman on July 04, 2021, 11:57:22 PMThat and Tunnels & Trolls is weirdly popular there for some reason as well. They have a really good market for non Japanese games too, as I've even seen copies of my published games over there on the shelves for sale. Depending what its, prices can be a little high though with the import cost and what not. Sometimes you can catch a lucky break on used American titles - once snagged a copy of MERP Riders of Rohan for 400 Yen ($4) - it was  a good day!

Tunnels & Trolls has a presence in Japan for a few reasons apparently.
A: It uses d6s which are easier to come by in Japan.
B: Flying Buffalo has had some really good dealings with Japanese publishers porting their stuff over.
C: The weird popularity of the Japanese version of their Lost Worlds battle gamebooks as the adult Queens Blade series that became an adult anime series. That almost certainly got people curious about other FB product.