Författare, forskare och lärare har länge lyft fram skönlitteraturs förmåga att låta läsare förstå sina egna liv och erfara andras till en grad utan motsvarighet bland pedagogiska och didaktiska redskap. Vad gäller verk som simultant kan imponera med litterär kvalité och värdegrundsfrämjande potential kan få konkurrera med Oima Yoshitokis manga Koe no katachi (sv. (En) Tyst Röst), ett påstående som denna uppsats syftar att bevisa. Genom att analysera mangan i förhållande till skolans vädegrund, gymnasiesvenskämnets kunskapskrav, samt forskning om didaktisk potential, litterär kompetens, mobbningsbekämpning och diskriminering framhäver denna studie hur väl mangan lämpar sig i gymnasiesvenskarbete. Resultaten visar att Koe no katachi kan utmana elever på sätt likvärdiga med mer konventionell litteratur (epik, lyrik och dramatik), att den har god didaktisk potential, och att den överensstämmer väl med forskares tankar om verk som utvecklar elevers litterära kompetens. Mangan ger god inblick i mobbning och diskriminring som fenomen (med specifikt fokus på diskriminering utifrån funktionsvariation, kön och könsöverskridande identiteter och uttryck), och innehåller viktiga budskap om medmänsklighet och förståelse. Slutsatsen är således att mangan skulle fungera utmärkt både för gängse skönlitteraturundervisning och värdegrundsfrämjande klassrumsarbeten, men att mangas fallande status och svåråtkomlighet i Sverige likväl gör gymnasieanvändning av den opraktisk i dagsläget.

Healing style (zhiyu xi 治愈系 ) media refers to the various products and services labelled with a promise to comfort consumers, and the media category has gradually become viewed as a way to cope with the omnipresent stress and anxiety of modern life. However, there are widespread criticisms of healing style media regarding creating the illusion of comfort for temporary relaxation to avoid facing and addressing the problems that cause discomfort. To counter such biased accusations this thesis examines two types of Chinese healing style media, fiction and anime, to address two main research questions: 1) Whether and how Chinese healing style media respond to the problems people face in real life? 2) How do Chinese healing style media present healing? The textual analyses of the novel Rushan, Gushu and Me reveal that Chinese healing style literature is not creating the illusion of comfort but focuses on the emotional relationship crisis suffered by Chinese people and offers practical solutions with four main steps that integrate the theory and practice of psychotherapy. In the presentation of healing, Chinese healing style writers are inclined to utilize some typical healing elements like character settings that resonate with most people and adequate sensory descriptions. Interpretations combined with screenshots of the anime film The Legend of Hei reinforce the argument that Chinese healing style is not just a comforting fictional world but very concerned with the living space and environmental crises caused by rapid urbanization and emphasizes the importance of reliable intimate relationships in coping with the crises in modern life. In The Legend of Hei, the use of healing elements like natural scenery and colors, resonant characters, delicious foods and positive attitudes all contribute to presenting healing and cater to the psychological needs of the target viewers. Through critically analyzing Chinese healing style fiction and anime, this thesis affirms that they are not escaping but actively presenting the collective crises and providing solutions. This study defends the rationality and effectiveness of Chinese healing style media as one of the many ways to cope with numerous pressures of modern life, thus contributing to a more comprehensive understanding and more appropriate application of Chinese healing style media. / Graduate

"The Prism" is a magical-girl-themed fantasy light novel series about four best friends who finally graduated junior high school. Miya, Teresa, Liana, and Destiny are anxious to start their new high school lives (for better or worse) in their rough, monotone, and corrupt urban town of Quaint Village. Their plans are interrupted, however, by the opening of a brand new private school. Then, for the first time ever, all four girls end up in the same program. They're ready to make great memories together and spend much more time with each other. Unbeknownst to them, their new school is nothing like the academically inclined programs they always had. They are no longer students carrying books, homework, and planners, scribbling and speed reading. They become soldiers, traveling subconsciously to another world. Their duty is to help Vita Mundi's Vice Sovereign and her family protect their people from criminals and life-sentence-serving convicts called Umbrans. In only a month, this tight posse goes from being a quartet of normal students in Quaint Village, to lady soldiers fighting and risking themselves for a parallel world. They will train under the mentorship of the Vice Sovereign and her family, steadily growing stronger in body, mind, heart, and spirit as they face harder and more powerful enemies.

Depuis la fin des années 90, la plupart des animes n'arrivent en Europe qu'en DVD, alors qu'ils ont occupé largement les programmes pour enfants, il y a 30 ans. Rompant avec le circuit marketing habituel qui impose un passage à la télévision avant d'être distribués sur le marché de la vidéo, les animes édités en DVD illustrent une forme de " démédiation " des séries TV. De rendez-vous télévisuels, ils sont "re-conditionnés" en œuvres vendues directement au public pour qu'il les collectionne. Cette thèse étudie la manière dont les amateurs d'animes acceptent d'entrer dans cette logique de collection. L'hypothèse suivie a été celle de la ciné-vidéophilie qui postule une convergence entre des pratiques autrefois distinctes de cinéphiles et de vidéophiles. Cette recherche combine les études de réception et la sociologie des usages, permettant d'éclairer sous cet angle spécifique le développement des stratégies transmédia à l'œuvre dans les industries du divertissement audiovisuel.

This thesis ethnographically examines the globalising of the Japanese animation (anime) business in the context of the creative industries, of Japan's politico-economic position in Asia, and of brokerage. Influencing the world's entertainment, creators, and youth culture, anime is one of the crucial lenses through which one can examine Japan's presence in the world. Despite the prevalent assumption that anime is globally popular, this thesis highlights the precarious performance of the anime business overseas, and examines it through an entrepreneurial anime business project trying to bridge the Japanese anime business into the Indian market. The ethnography of the project centres on its founding entrepreneur, focusing on how he tried to ally with insiders in the Japanese anime sector and the Indian market. The thesis's 12-month fieldwork accompanied his business in Japan (Tokyo) and India (Delhi), revealing a perspective of the entrepreneur as a broker who intermediates between the discrepant positions of his stakeholders to keep his business afloat. It also highlights the two most critical discrepancies: the dichotomies of art versus commerce (one of the central topics in creative industries studies) and the 'Japanese' versus 'Indian' ways of doing business (one of the prominent topics in Japan's political economy vis-à-vis the Asian region). The ethnography found the entrepreneur's liminal dual agency in bridging, blurring and reorienting the dichotomies was a driving force carrying his business forward. This thesis counterbalances previous anthropological studies on the creative industries (including anime) that tend to advocate the centrality of creators and fans, by focusing on the businessperson in a creative project. It also suggests that the broker is a crucial point of reference when examining how to create workable compromises between art and commerce, and allowing Japanese and Asian businesspeople to get along. The thesis also enhances our understanding of entrepreneurship by revealing most of its function as brokerage.

This study took place at Florida International University (FIU), a large public research university in Miami, Florida and one of largest Hispanic serving institutions in the United States. The purpose of this study was to explore the motivations of non-Japanese undergraduate students for taking a beginners’ Japanese language course. In-depth one-hour semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants before the fall semester of 2014 (Phase I) and 10 after the semester (Phase II). Two major themes emerged from the inductive analysis of the data: attraction to Japanese culture and utility of using the Japanese language. Sub-themes for attraction to Japanese culture were anime and manga, martial arts and various types of games. Sub-themes for utility of using the Japanese language were study abroad and employment which both require residing in Japan. In particular to Phase II, three other themes emerged: a sense of community, openness to others, and investment of time. The findings were analyzed through the lens of L2 motivational-self system. L2 is a foreign language that is not the native language of the speaker. The L2 motivational self-system supports the idea that the images of a possible future-self as a successful learner in L2 acquisition which directs a language learner to have motivating behavior The researcher saw significant changes in participants’ motivational level during qualitative comparative analysis of Phase I and II, especially for those who had and/or gained possible future L2 ideal-self during L2 learning experience. The findings might be used by policy makers or curriculum developers for Japanese language education to refine, enhance or strengthen the competency-goals for Japanese instructions. Moreover, the findings suggested that by creating a personally relevant and inspiring vision of possible-future ideal L2 self, the students will be inherently motivated, which then allows the instructors to be more productive and effective in their teaching.

El propósito de esta investigación es analizar la representación de la idea de justicia en los animes shonen transmitidos en el Perú durante la década de los 90. Para ello, se retoman los debates sobre las capacidades del anime como producto artístico y cultural y la influencia de series animadas transmitidas por televisión desde las disciplinas de comunicación, ciencias sociales, educación, psicología y artes. Para la profundización teórica, se revisaron estudios referentes al anime, como el de Cobos (2010) sobre la globalización de la animación japonesa y su incursión en Latinoamérica; y análisis de personajes shonen, como el de Sasada (2011) sobre el altruismo en la serie One Piece. Sobre el tema de la justicia, se revisaron textos que analizan la teoría de justicia desarrollada por John Rawls en 1971, como el de Caballero (2006), Echeverry y Jaramillo (2006), Castilla (2007), Hoyos (2008), Gaiada (2008), Osorio (2010) y Plata y Urbina (2011). Finalmente, en coherencia con los objetivos del estudio, se propone un diseño metodológico cualitativo, orientado a la realización de un análisis de contenido de dos animes shonen, de los cuales se escogieron nueve capítulos de cada uno para ser observados. Con ello, se espera observar que los animes shonen de la década de los 90 que fueron televisados en el Perú, transmitían ideas de justicia a sus jóvenes espectadores a través de los protagonistas y la narrativa propuesta en esas series. / The purpose of this research is to analyze the representation of the idea of ​​justice in shonen anime broadcast in Peru during the 1990s. To do this, the debates on the capabilities of anime as an artistic and cultural product and the influence of animated series transmitted by television from the disciplines of communication, social sciences, education, psychology and the arts are retaken. For theoretical deepening, anime studies were reviewed, such as that of Cobos (2010) on the globalization of Japanese animation and its foray into Latin America; and shonen character analysis, such as Sasada (2011) on altruism in the One Piece series. From a perspective of my discipline, texts such as that of Baccaro and Guzman (2013), which expose the languages ​​of cinema, and Chalko (2014), which delve into the design and importance of sound for audiovisual language, were reviewed. Finally, in coherence with the objectives of the study, a qualitative methodological design is proposed, aimed at conducting a content analysis of five shonen anime, from which nine chapters of each were chosen to be observed, and in-depth interviews twenty men who were adolescents between 1995 and 2000 (from 37 to 42 years at present). This will allow finding the expected result. / Trabajo de investigación

Ce mémoire tente de mettre en valeur la pertinence des séries d’animation japonaise dans l’étude de l’identité nippone. À travers un processus interactif de création entre producteurs, sponsors et consommateurs, les anime, et la culture qui les caractérise, permettent en effet d’explorer les dynamiques de construction identitaire entre le Japon des discours nationalistes et l’Étranger qui en apparaît comme la contrepartie. Les anime deviennent ainsi un outil de négociation culturelle. Plus précisément, ce travail porte sur les dynamiques de production et création en place depuis les années 1990, moment à partir duquel l’audience internationale a commencé à prendre de l’importance dans un milieu qui ne considérait jusqu’alors presque exclusivement que le public japonais. C’est aussi une période d’expansion pour l’industrie anime qui devient en quelque sorte une fierté pour le Japon et un étendard de son identité. Face à ce potentiel nationaliste et politique des anime comme promoteurs de la culture japonaise commence à se poser la question de leurs représentations. C’est notamment sur l’idée d’un contraste entre représentations hégémoniques et minoritaires que ce mémoire s’attarde. Il dévoile alors des conceptions hiérarchisées de l’Étranger. En même temps, il témoigne d’une évolution du positionnement japonais vis-à-vis de l'altérité au cours des dernières décennies. / This master thesis attempts to highlight the relevance of Japanese animation series in the study of Japanese identity. Indeed, through an interactive process of creation between producers, sponsors and consumers, anime, and the culture surrounding the medium, makes it possible to explore the dynamics of identity construction between Japan, as painted by nationalistic discourses, and the Foreign, which appears as its counterpart. Anime thus becomes a tool for cultural negotiation. More specifically, this work considers the dynamics of production and creation established since the 1990s, when the international audience started to become significant in a field which, previously, considered almost exclusively its Japanese audience. The 1990s also are a time of expansion for the anime industry which then becomes, to a certain extent, a source of pride for Japan and a banner of its identity. In view of the nationalistic and political potential of anime, as promoters of Japanese culture, the issue of their representations starts to arise. It is particularly on the idea of a contrast between hegemonic and minority representations that this thesis focuses. It consequently sheds light on hierarchical conceptions of the Foreign. Simultaneously, it testifies to an evolution of Japan’s position regarding otherness over the last decades.

Con la creciente y constante globalización, la popularidad del manga y del anime ha incrementado en esto últimos años de manera abismal. El anime es la animación japonesa, enfatizando las expresiones faciales de los personajes. A pesar de que varios académicos han usado tanto el manga como el anime como fuente de información para sus diversas investigaciones, tal parece que no se ha hecho mucho para examinar las fases del viaje del héroe. Es por ello que el objetivo de este trabajo es identificar cómo se manifiestan los 12 pasos del héroe en el anime Shingeki no Kyoyin, más concretamente de Eren Jäeger y Reiner Braun, protagonistas de esta historia. Para realizar esto, se basará en la teoría del viaje del héroe propuesta por Christopher Vogler (1992), los 12 pasos que esta estructura contiene, revisando unas 10 escenas donde ambos personajes sean el eje central de la situación y, finalmente, haciendo uso del instrumento en cuestión, el cual es la guía de análisis de contenido. / With the growing and constant globalization, the popularity of manga and anime has increased dramatically in recent years. The anime is Japanese animation, emphasizing the facial expressions of the characters. Although various scholars have used both manga and anime as sources of information for their various investigations, it appears that not much has been done to examine the phases of the hero's journey. That is why the objective of this work is to identify how the 12 steps of the hero are manifested in the anime Shingeki no Kyoyin, more specifically by Eren Jäeger and Reiner Braun, protagonists of his story. To do this, it will be based on the theory of the hero's journey proposed by Christopher Vogler (1992), the 12 steps that this structure contains, reviewing about 10 scenes where both characters are the central axis of the situation and, finally, making use of the instrument in question, which is the content analysis guide. / Trabajo de investigación

This research asks the question of why the anime Zombie Land Saga has been hailed as positive and progressive transgender representation by international fans. I examine a famous episode in which the character Lily Hoshikawa comes out as transgender in terms of its themes of gender dysphoria and identity. After considering the changing understanding about these concepts in Japan as a result of Gender Identity Disorder, those two themes are suggested as key to popularity. The impact of the “wrong body” narrative created by GID on transgender culture in Japan is considered through personal accounts and commentary on recent changes. I conclude that dysphoria and gender identity are key to understanding the story’s reception among fans, and that it makes subtle but meaningful deviations from the narrative created by adherence to a Gender Identity Disorder paradigm.