Toys
There is nostalgia for the Rubik's Cube. [30]
1980s nostalgia is nostalgia for certain aspects of the 1980s. There is 1980s nostalgia in Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, [1] Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, Sweden, the UK, the US and elsewhere. 1980s retro is retro related to the 1980s.
Generation Z are nostalgic about the 1980s, in anglosphere countries [2] [3] [4] [5] and in Japan, [6] [7] even though they were born after the end of the 1980s. [8] The same is true of members of Generation Y born after the 1980s in South Korea. [9] Tom van Laer (University of Sydney) and Davide Christian Orazi (Monash University) described the effect of the television series Stranger Things on Generation Z as "pseudo nostagia", [8] but Charles Fairchild (University of Sydney) disputes that concept and label. [2] In 2022, Spotify said that Generation Z are more nostalgic for the 1980s than for other decades. [10] [11]
It has been said that, if a twenty year nostalgia cycle applied, then 1980s nostalgia would have ended circa 2010. [12] In 2016, it was said that this had not happened, and that a twenty year nostalgia cycle did not appear to apply. [13] As of 2025, 1980s nostalgia continues. [14]
1980s music was more popular than that of other decades in Europe in 2010. [15] In North America and Europe, it has been said that the quality of 21st century pop music is largely actually inferior to that of the 1980s. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] Lost 80's Live is a 1980s nostalgia concert tour. [21] 1980s nostalgia music genres include synthwave, vaporwave, chillwave, sovietwave, the '80s remix and hypnagogic pop.
Some 1980s fashions have been revived [22] in the 2010s [23] and 2020s. [24] 1980s fashions that have been revived include shoulder pads, [25] [26] power suits [27] and 1980s makeup. [28] [29]
There is nostalgia for the Rubik's Cube. [30]
Showa American Story is a Chinese video game set that combines American 1980s nostalgia with Japanese Shōwa nostalgia, as seen from the perspective of a video game developer who encountered the pop culture of those countries as a child in 1980s China. [31] [32] [33] [34] Its trailers feature 1980s music from Warabe, and the first went viral in 2022. [35]
There is nostalgia for the 1980s television program Round the Twist [36] and for the 1980s art of Ken Done. [37] [38] The Newsreader (2021) is a nostalgia television program about the 1980s. [39]
There is nostalgia for the 1980s music of Men Without Hats [40] and Mini Pop Kids; [41] and for 1980s food brands such as President's Choice cookies. [42] There are 1980s retro markets. [43]
There is more nostalgia for the 1980s than for any other decade. [44] There is nostalgia for 1980s Italo pop [45] and the 1980s music of artists such as Nena and the Scorpions. Deutschland 83 (2015) is a nostalgia television programme about the 1980s. [44]
There is nostalgia for The Ramayan . [46]
There are collectors of 1980s pop music cassette tapes. [47] There is nostalgia for 1980s Indonesian disco music; [48] and for 1980s films such as Gengsi Dong, Ratu Ilmu Hitam and Catatan Si Boy. [49]
In Japan, 1980s nostalgia is part of the broader phenomenon of "Shōwa nostalgia" and "Shōwa retro". [50] There is nostalgia for 1980s television programmes such as Takeshi's Castle [51] and The Best Ten ; [52] for 1980s city pop, [53] new music [54] and kayōkyoku music; [52] for the 1980s music of artists such as Mariya Takeuchi, [54] Yōko Oginome, [55] Meiko Nakahara, Saki Kubota, [54] Akina Nakamori, Seiko Matsuda, [56] [57] Hiroko Yakushimaru [58] and Wink; [59] for 1980s arcade games such as Pac-Man and Galaga; [60] for 1980s computer consoles such as Famicom; [61] for 1980s hairstyles such as the Seiko-chan cut; [62] for 1980s floral pattern tableware; [63] for 1980s vending machines; [64] for 1980s analogue technology such as disposable cameras [7] and cassette tapes; [65] and for 1980s second hand goods. [66] Extremely Inappropriate! (2024) is a nostalgia television programme about the 1980s. [67] Musicians ClariS (2023) and NewJeans (2024) have performed cover versions of 1980s songs that imitate the stage routines of Wink and Seiko Matsuda. [59] [68]
In 2017, the Yōko Oginome song "Dancing Hero (Eat You Up)" (1985) reached number 2 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart. [69] In 2021, the Mariya Takeuchi song "Plastic Love" (1985) reached number 5 on the Oricon Singles Chart. [70]
There is nostalgia for 1980s music [71] [72] such as the 1980s OPM music of the Boyfriends, Hagibis, Sampaguita and VST & Company. [73]
There is nostalgia for the television programmes, music and fashion of the 1980s. [9] [74] There is nostalgia for 1980s technology such as cassette tapes. [75] Reply 1988 (2015) is a nostalgia television series about the 1980s. [76] [77]
There is nostalgia for the 1980s music of Factory, Magnum Bonum and Noice. [78] [79]
In 2024, there was more nostalgia among people under thirty for the 1980s than for any other decade. [80] There is nostalgia for the 1980s music of OMD, [81] [82] David Bowie, Duran Duran, Bananarama, George Michael, Boy George, [80] Level 42 and Bucks Fizz; and for Frankie Say Relax T-shirts, New Romantics, Smash Hits, Filofax, spandex, fluffy dice, [83] Blake's 7 , [84] V , [85] Max Headroom, [86] [87] [88] Woolworths Pic n Mix, [80] rave, [89] shell suits, [90] 1980s jewellery, [91] and 1980s Christmases. [92] Now 80s is a 1980s nostalgia music television channel. [93] Ashes to Ashes (2008) is a nostalgia television programme about the 1980s. [94] The Here and Now Tour is a 1980s nostalgia concert tour. [95] There are 1980s nostalgia cruises, [96] [97] websites [83] and museum exhibitions. [98] I Love the '80s (2001), Sounds of the Eighties (1996) and Match of the Eighties (1997) are 1980s nostalgia documentaries. 1980s music was rebroadcast in the music archive programme Top of the Pops 2 (1994), and 1980s episodes of Top of the Pops were repeated on BBC 4 from 2015 to 2020. [99]
The Kate Bush song "Running Up That Hill" (1985) reached number 1 on the UK singles chart in 2022 as a result of being included in the fourth series of Stranger Things . [100] In 2017, 1980s music was more popular than that of other decades. [101] 1980s retro albums include Goldfrapp's Head First (2010) and Duran Duran's Future Past (2021). [102] [103]
Briscoe said that 1980s nostalgia frequently views the 1980s through an American lens that does not accurately reflect 1980s Britain. [104]
There is nostalgia for 1980s music, fashion, [105] hairstyles [106] and childhood; [107] [108] and for the New York of the early 1980s. [109] Nostalgia television programmes about the 1980s include That '80s Show (2002), Everybody Hates Chris (2005), The Americans (2013), The Goldbergs (2013), Halt and Catch Fire (2014), Stranger Things (2016) [13] and Paper Girls (2022). [110] Nostalgia films about the 1980s include Donnie Darko (2001), The Squid and the Whale (2005), Watchmen (2009), Adventureland (2009), Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) [13] and Totally Killer (2023). [111] The films Pixels (2015) [13] and Ready Player One (2018) are expressions of 1980s nostalgia. [112] The film Drive (2011) is an expression of 1980s retro. [113] [114] 1980s nostalgia documentaries include I Love the '80s (2002) [115] and The Greatest Night in Pop (2024). [116] The 1980s nostalgia boom includes remakes and reboots of, and sequels to, films and television programmes released in the 1980s. [13]
The Metallica song "Master of Puppets" (1986) charted in 2022, as a result of being included in Stranger Things. [117] In 2021, 1980s music was more popular than that of other decades. [118]
Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the past, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. It has been argued that there is a nostalgia cycle in popular culture.
Kayōkyoku is a Japanese pop music genre, which became a base of modern J-pop. The Japan Times described kayōkyoku as "standard Japanese pop" or "Shōwa-era pop".
Mitsuoka Motor (光岡自動車) is a small Japanese automobile company. It is noted for building cars with unconventional styling, some of which are modern while most others are retro-styled to imitate the look of American, European and particularly British cars of the 1950s and 1960s. Mitsuoka Motors is also the principal distributor of the retro-classic TD2000 roadster in Japan.
A shōtengai (商店街) is a style of Japanese commercial district, typically in the form of a local market street that is closed to car traffic. Local shōtengai cater to the needs of nearby residents with a diverse mix of small specialty shops and few large retailers. In many older neighborhoods, these streets serve as cultural gathering spaces, holding seasonal festivals, processions, and other events throughout the year.
The FNS Music Festival is an annual music show held among the Fuji Network System and Fuji Television since 1974. The program originated as a song contest to celebrate Fuji TV's 15th anniversary. It is commonly known as FNS, however it has no official short name.
D4 Enterprise Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game publisher currently specializing in content delivery services like Project EGG, EGGY and PicoPico over the Internet. The company has also collaborated with Nintendo to re-release Neo Geo, MSX and arcade titles for the Wii, and MSX titles for the Wii U, as part of the Virtual Console services on both consoles.
Sunset on Third Street is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ryōhei Saigan. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's seinen mangaBig Comic Original since 1974, with its chapters collected in 71 tankōbon volumes as of June 2024.
Gen Hoshino is a Japanese singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and writer.
City pop is a loosely defined form of Japanese pop music that emerged in the late 1970s and peaked in popularity during the 1980s. It was originally termed as an offshoot of Japan's Western-influenced "new music", but came to include a wide range of styles – including funk, disco, R&B, AOR, soft rock, and boogie – that were associated with the country's nascent economic boom and leisure class. It was also identified with new technologies such as the Walkman, cars with built-in cassette decks and FM stereos, and various electronic musical instruments.
"Plastic Love" is a song by the Japanese singer Mariya Takeuchi from her 1984 album Variety. Written by Takeuchi and arranged by Tatsuro Yamashita, the song was released as the album's third single on March 25, 1985. "Plastic Love" is a city pop song; its upbeat arrangement contrasts with melancholic lyrics that describe a woman who embraces a hollow, hedonistic lifestyle after being scorned by a lover. Upon its initial release as a single, the song was a moderate success in Japan, peaking at number 86 on the Oricon Singles Chart and selling around 10,000 copies.
Japan has left an influence on Korean culture. Many influences came from the Japanese occupation and annexation of Korea in the 20th century, from 1910 to 1945. During the occupation, the Japanese sought to assimilate Koreans into the Japanese empire by changing laws, policies, religious teachings, and education to influence the Korean population. In addition, Korean nationalism continued to rise after the Japanese colonial rule ended and played a large part in the rapid economic development of South Korea.
Daiko Nagato is a Japanese musical producer, musical arranger, writer and composer. He's mostly known as the founder of music company B Zone, which provided million-seller hits during the 1990s and provided more than 80 theme songs for anime television series Detective Conan. He was the recording producer for artists such as Boøwy, Loudness, TUBE, B'z, ZARD, WANDS, Maki Ohguro, DEEN, T-BOLAN, Mai Kuraki, Garnet Crow, Rina Aiuchi and Sard Underground. His brother, Shuusuke Nagato (長戸秀介) is also musical producer, guitarist, writer and founder of the music company Rey's in.
Jung Kyung-ho, better known as Night Tempo, is a South Korean future funk producer known for his Showa Groove series of remixes of 1980's Japanese city pop.
Nostalgia consumption is a social and cultural trend that could be described as the act of consuming goods that elicit memories from the past, being associated with the feeling of nostalgia.
Satellite Young is a Japanese synthwave band founded by Emi Kusano and BelleMaison Sekine in 2013. Their music and style are influenced by classic J-pop artists such as Pink Lady, Minako Honda, Chisato Moritaka, Yoko Minamino, Yū Hayami, and Seiko Matsuda, as well as synthwave and new-age artists such as Jan Hammer, Cusco, and Tangerine Dream.
"Mayonaka no Door (Stay with Me)" (Japanese: 真夜中のドア〜Stay with Me, Hepburn: Mayonaka no Doa~Stay with Me, lit. 'Midnight's Door~Stay with Me') is the debut single by Japanese singer Miki Matsubara, released on November 5, 1979. The song saw a resurgence in popularity in 2020, 41 years after its original release.
Sayuri Kume, also known as Saki Kubota, is a Japanese singer-songwriter whose song Ihojin (1979) sold more than 1.4 million copies and reached number 1 in the Japanese singles chart. The song was used in the "Silk Road" television commercial for Sanyo.
Ihojin is a song written and composed by Saki Kubota, and first performed by her. The song was first released as a single on 1 October 1979. That recording sold more than 1.4 million copies and reached number 1 in the Japanese singles chart. The song was used in the "Silk Road" television commercial for Sanyo.
Takeda Tetsuya no Shōwa wa kagayaiteita is a Japanese television series broadcast since 2013. It is broadcast on BS TV Tokyo, which is a subsidiary of TV Tokyo Holdings.
Shōwa nostalgia includes nostalgia for certain aspects of the postwar Shōwa era. Shōwa retro (昭和レトロ) is retro related to the Shōwa era. The Shōwa retro boom (昭和レトロブーム) includes increased popularity and sales of Shōwa retro goods and services.. The beginnings of periods of increased nostalgia have been dated to 1974, 1986, 2005, 2012 and 2017.