The Influence of Japanese Popular Culture on Cepot Visualization in Digital Media

Wayang Golek is one of the most popular traditional performances in West Java. In the show, Wayang Golek presents puppet characters that support the storyline that is being built. As one of the Punakawan characters, Cepot in Wayang Golek received a positive response and became a show icon. Cepot’s popularity does not stop at stage performances but is also expressed in digital media with different visualizations that are influenced by Japanese popular culture. Looking at the types, Japanese popular culture in Indonesia includes comics, fashion, and animation. As a Japanese animation genre, mecha presents fictional robot figures that influence illustrators in designing Cepot illustrations for digital media. The results of the illustration present Cepot’s appearance which is different from his original form by combining the Cepot character in Wayang Golek with a Japanese fictional robot. This study uses qualitative methods with popular culture theory. It concludes that popular culture in these illustrations presents interesting and attractive visualizations and can communicate traditional culture to a broader and global reach. Keywords: Wayang golek, Cepot, Punakawan, Japan, Mecha