Os personagens centrais desta pesquisa são os otakus, que podem ser descritos como fãs aficionados por mangás e animes, que passam boa parte de seu tempo entretidos com estes elementos (além de alguns outros) da cultura pop japonesa, vínculo este que exerce influência sobre sua visão de mundo e sobre o modo como agem em seu cotidiano. O foco central da pesquisa será a busca pela compreensão da relação existente entre ficção e realidade. Parto da ideia de que a ficção não é um simples produto do contexto sociocultural no qual é produzida: de fato é fruto deste contexto, porém na medida em que apresenta uma leitura, um modo de ver que extrapola os limites da realidade, ela pode ser vista como um agente ativo, transformador, como um agente que estimula a construção de novas percepções sobre o mundo que nos cerca. / The central characters of this research are the otakus, who can be described as fans of mangá and anime, who spend much of their time entertained with these (and some others) elements of Japanese pop culture, a linkage that influences their worldview and the way they act in their daily lives. The central focus of the research is the quest for understanding the relationship between fiction and reality. My assumption is the idea that fiction is not simply a product of the sociocultural context in which it is produced: in fact it is a product of this context, but as it is a way of reading, a way of seeing, which goes beyond the limits of reality, fiction may be thought of as an active agent, transformer, an agent that stimulates the construction of new insights about the world around us.

Os personagens centrais desta pesquisa são os otakus, que podem ser descritos como fãs aficionados por mangás e animes, que passam boa parte de seu tempo entretidos com estes elementos (além de alguns outros) da cultura pop japonesa, vínculo este que exerce influência sobre sua visão de mundo e sobre o modo como agem em seu cotidiano. O foco central da pesquisa será a busca pela compreensão da relação existente entre ficção e realidade. Parto da ideia de que a ficção não é um simples produto do contexto sociocultural no qual é produzida: de fato é fruto deste contexto, porém na medida em que apresenta uma leitura, um modo de ver que extrapola os limites da realidade, ela pode ser vista como um agente ativo, transformador, como um agente que estimula a construção de novas percepções sobre o mundo que nos cerca. / The central characters of this research are the otakus, who can be described as fans of mangá and anime, who spend much of their time entertained with these (and some others) elements of Japanese pop culture, a linkage that influences their worldview and the way they act in their daily lives. The central focus of the research is the quest for understanding the relationship between fiction and reality. My assumption is the idea that fiction is not simply a product of the sociocultural context in which it is produced: in fact it is a product of this context, but as it is a way of reading, a way of seeing, which goes beyond the limits of reality, fiction may be thought of as an active agent, transformer, an agent that stimulates the construction of new insights about the world around us.

Seminario para optar al grado de Licenciado en Comunicación Social

This dissertation traces the circulation and consumption of Japanese anime, or Anime, in Kuwait to examine the changing consciousness of normativity regarding gender and sexuality for audiences and fans. Anime has been distributed and accessible since the 1970s in Kuwait. Nonetheless, with the advent of "New Anime" after the 2000s, the audience has widely accepted characters and protagonists that deviate from the existing representational practices portraying active men and passive women. Drawing from gender and sexualities studies, media and anime studies, Antonio Gramsci's theory of hegemony as well as Raewyn Connell's theory on masculinities, this study critically investigates "hegemonic masculinities" in Kuwaiti society to argue the ways in which the reception and practices of Anime help to erode them. / 博士(アメリカ研究) / Doctor of Philosophy in American Studies / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University

This dissertation is a case study of the dissemination and circulation of Japanese popular cultures in the U.S., specifically focusing on the collective reception practices of individuals who identify as fans of Japanese animation, comic books, and video games. The key questions driving this project are: what difference does it make that young Americans are consuming popular cultures that are 1) international in origin and 2) specifically Japanese in origin? To answer these questions I carried out ethnographic research - such as subject interviews, questionnaires, and participant observation - to understand the significance of young adults' interest in Japanese animation and comic book works (usually referred to as "anime" and "manga," respectively). In response to my ethnographic investigation of U.S. fans' practices and experiences, I argue that many young Americans use their practices of consuming and circulating these international popular cultures to transform their immediate social landscapes, and therefore, their social and national identities as well. I also draw on methodologies from a variety of disciplines, pairing ethnographic fieldwork practices with audience reception and fandom studies, transnational media studies, and book studies approaches in order make connections between the social, cultural, performative, and national dimensions of Japanese popular culture fandom in the U.S. In addition to exploring subjects' relationship to the texts they consume, I also target the embodied spaces and processes by which Japanese popular culture is actually circulated and experienced by local U.S. audience groups. In doing so, I strive to follow the "digital life" Japanese popular culture has taken in its jump to English-language translation world-wide and the significant role fans have played in facilitating unofficial flows of Japanese popular culture through specific translation practices. I examine the scholarly and fandom struggle over ideological questions of the "authenticity" and "Americanization" of adaptations of Japanese media in the North American marketplace, as well as the struggle between fans and official adapters to assert forms of ownership over these representations. Such struggles involve these groups' often conflicting practices of adaptation, translation, and circulation of these cultures. This research adds an important dimension to current scholarship on cultural manifestations of globalization and so-called "Americanization" processes as I show how commodities from outside the U.S. are first received by U.S. audiences and then transformed through this audience's participatory engagement with the production and circulation of these works in the English language. As such, this research engages with key issues of cultural transmission, translation, practices of media localization, transnational flows, and identity formation and fandom.

This thesis is intended to illustrate that monsters, as beings made of pure culture, embody social anxieties and can be deployed as a means of protest. Therefore this thesis examines monsters in Japanese anime, manga, and film that embody the excesses of capitalism. The first chapter examines Spirited Away and how capitalism’s excesses create monsters such as over consumption, greed, and loss of identity through the disintegration of social relationships. The second chapter examines modern onmyoji and why they are different from their ancient counterpart, especially with regards to the commodification of women and the alienation of others. By examining the societal ills that have created monsters we can determine if these representatives of capitalist excess can be managed.

This thesis is intended to illustrate that monsters, as beings made of pure culture, embody social anxieties and can be deployed as a means of protest. Therefore this thesis examines monsters in Japanese anime, manga, and film that embody the excesses of capitalism. The first chapter examines Spirited Away and how capitalism’s excesses create monsters such as over consumption, greed, and loss of identity through the disintegration of social relationships. The second chapter examines modern onmyoji and why they are different from their ancient counterpart, especially with regards to the commodification of women and the alienation of others. By examining the societal ills that have created monsters we can determine if these representatives of capitalist excess can be managed.

Uppsatsen syftar till att undersöka ungdomars reception av fenomenet manga/anime på ett etnografiskt arbetssätt, avgränsat med begreppet ungdomskultur. Fokus ligger på två mangayttringar som närmast berör ungdomar: shōjo för flickor och shōnen för pojkar. Resultatet redovisas i tre olika teman: Estetik/Stil, Makt/Könsroller och Berättelser/Myter,vilka tolkas med hjälp av ett raster på textuell, kontextuell och sociohistorisk nivå.Undersökningen är kvalitativ med sju ungdomar som informanter, och empirin består avfältanteckningar, fotodokumentation och intervjuer.Ungdomarnas fascination av mangaserier kan delvis förklaras med att de ritas i ett utstuderat ”filmiskt” maner, med snabba bildväxlingar och många olika bildvinklar, och delvis med att läsaren kan följa protagonistens utveckling under många år, parallellt med sin egen utveckling till ett vuxnare jag. Kulturyttringen uppmuntrar även till eget medskapande och egenamatörmanga-produktion, vilket medför att många ungdomar publicerar sitt eget material,både i pappersform och på internet. Detta gör fenomenet förhållandevis ohierarkiskt.Manga/anime-traditionen är ofta ironisk och lekfull, motiven i den tidiga sekventiellabildkonsten i Japan hämtades från nöjes- och teatervärlden, men under den flamsiga ytan döljsofta allvarliga resonemang. Berättartraditionen kan uppfattas utifrån tre olika modus: vardagligt, humoristiskt och poetiskt. Ungdomarna kan i postmodernistisk anda ta del av det främmande och egendomliga, men kan också; när de själva vill, stänga av och avskärma sigifrån det.Estetiken betecknas av eklekticism, brottstycken, lekfull inställning till form och konventionoch raserandet av hierarkiska traditionerna. Könsroller utmanas med crossdressing, och demanliga protagonisterna ritas ofta med påfallande feminina anletsdrag. Uppsatsen beskriverdetta med bakgrund av queerteoriska tankegångar, där en given norm ifrågasätts. Läsandet avserietidningar har nästan alltid betraktats nedlåtande, med någon form av moralpanik i sitt kölvatten. Detta kan betraktas som en reaktion mot en pågående modernisering. Resultatet av uppsatsen visar inte på någon större förändring i det traditionella könsrollstänkandet, men en viss omformulering pågår.

Tv-spel är ett fenomen som ständigt expanderar och utvecklas med tiden, även visualiseringsmöjligheterna för denna typ utav interaktiva underhållning uppdateras kontinuerligt, vilket möjliggör att man idag inte måste begränsa sig till att skapa spel i 2D-miljö utan även 3D är möjligt. Oavsett vilka dimensioner man grundar ett spel på så är design och stil något utav det viktigaste i helhetsupplevelsen, inte enbart för att spelet ska stå ut ur mängden men också ge ett individuellt intryck och gynna spelupplevelsen. Information och hänvisningar inom vanligare stilar som exempelvis ”realistisk spelgrafik” går oftast lätt att hitta, men hur är det då med andra stilar som den japanska ”anime stilen”? en vanligt förekommande stil i japansk kultur och tv-spel. Även om denna stil är vanligt förekommande inom tv-spel så saknas det information och hänvisningar hur man kan återskapa denna form av spelgrafik på ett bra vis, kanske för att stilen härstammar från Japan samt språket har varit en faktor i varför det är svårt att finna riktlinjer samt information inom detta område? Denna studie tar upp hur man kan designa en animekaraktär för att sedan bygga upp den i 3D och avslutningsvis rendera karaktären i en spelmotor med anpassad shader. Studien resulterade i en spelapplikation för PC där man kan granska en animekaraktär som renderas i realtid.

Thesis (M.S.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 2006. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2708. Typescript. Abstract precedes thesis as 2 leaves (iii-iv). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 29-30).