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The story
BABYMETAL will appear on a limited-edition variant cover for the US-released Marvel comic ‘Marvel Zombies: War Zone.’ The project grew out of the band’s 2025 collaboration providing a song for the anime series ‘Marvel Zombies,’ and a limited quantity will also go on sale in Japan starting September 7 via the online store ‘A!SMART.’ The news sparked a comparison debate on a 5ch thread over just how well-known BABYMETAL really is overseas, with posters citing supposed AI-calculated recognition rates and comparing the band’s latest album chart rankings against BABYMONSTER’s — opinions were split.
9/2 (Wed) 13:26
BABYMETAL, currently in the middle of a roughly month-long North American tour, has been confirmed to appear on a limited variant cover celebrating the release of the US Marvel comic ‘Marvel Zombies: War Zone (2026) #1.’ BABYMETAL now joins the lineup of rare collectible items in which world-class athletes and entertainers appear alongside Marvel’s iconic characters in official comic works.
BABYMETAL provided the song ‘from me to u feat. Poppy’ as the trailer theme for the animated series ‘Marvel Zombies’ in 2025, and this limited variant cover was created drawing inspiration from BABYMETAL’s ongoing collaboration with ‘Marvel Zombies.’ Produced in limited quantities, it goes on sale in Japan starting Monday, September 7 at 18:00 via the online store ‘A!SMART.’
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Recognition rate outside Japan (%)
Madonna — 98-100
Justin Bieber — 95-100
BTS — 90-95
Ryuichi Sakamoto — 20-35
YOASOBI — 15-20
Utada Hikaru — 10-15
BABYMETAL — 10
ONE OK ROCK — 5
J-pop's overall name recognition is basically all in the same ballpark anyway, so there's no point getting hung up on it. Apparently it drops even further once you exclude Asia.
There's no way more than 10% of the entire world's population recognizes Utada Hikaru.
What a garbage AI that is.
But BTS-branded canned coffee is being dumped for 30 yen…
BABYMETAL ★★☆☆☆
Latest album chart rankings
◽BABYMETAL — full album 'METAL FORTH' (fixed bonus edition)
US #9
UK #17
Germany #7
◽BABYMONSTER — 3rd mini album (random bonus edition)
US — did not chart
UK — did not chart
Germany #41
Well… there you go.
Sounds like the sample is Asians, especially the ones who are into celebrity/entertainment stuff.
Puffy was the real deal.
Nope, still 28, 26, and 23.
Back when I was a 'koubou' (5ch slang for a high schooler) living in the US, I used to read Heavy Metal magazine. Guess it's all just what you're used to, lol.
The anime adaptation was about to happen around 2016, but it fell through when one member dropped out due to health issues.
As for dolls, they've got Funko Pops.
https://hstorage.jp/dl/2vZFsnT4KbFH.png
https://hstorage.jp/dl/HhfFkbFuT3af.png
Well, they're popular in Europe, Latin America, and Oceania too, you know.
Background and Key Points of the Debate
Marvel’s limited celebrity variant covers are a series in which world-famous athletes and artists appear alongside comic characters, and BABYMETAL was brought on board thanks to their tie-in from providing a song for the 2025 anime ‘Marvel Zombies.’ What split the thread was how to measure ‘fame overseas.’ The AI-estimated recognition rates one side presented came with no clear methodology or sourcing, making them little more than a rough guide at best. The other side fired back with the first-week chart rankings of the latest albums in the US, UK, and Germany, but those are also just short-term figures that don’t necessarily prove long-term name recognition. Readers should note that neither set of numbers is official survey data — and the exchange itself devolved more into an emotional back-and-forth than a real debate over data validity.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “BABYMETAL Appears on Marvel Comic Cover — Dream Team-Up with Iron Man and Other Popular Characters, ‘The Best Surprise for Us’“.
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