Manga and Anime Studies

A different kind of cultural frame: An analysis of panels in American comics and Japanese manga

by Neil Cohn

The growing interest and influence of Japanese manga (“comics”) in America has inspired comparisons between the... more The growing interest and influence of Japanese manga (“comics”) in America has inspired comparisons between the properties of the two cultures’ graphic systems. Various theories have hinted to the existence of structural variation between these cultures’ books, yet little quantitative data has served to support these claims. This study seeks to provide empirical evidence for these cross-cultural theories by examining 300 panels in each of twelve American and twelve Japanese comic books. It examines 1) how they highlight amounts of information, 2) their depiction of subjective viewpoints, and 3) the angle of view taken by their representations.

THERMAE ROMAE : de quoi Lucius est-il la traduction ?

by Alexis D'Hautcourt

draft only/ version provisoire

Manga in Europe : A Short Study of Market and Fandom.

by Ariane Beldi

Bouissou, Jean-Marie, Dolle-Weinkauff, Bernd, Marco Pellitteri, with Ariane Beldi. 2010. “Manga in Europe : A Short Study of Market and Fandom.” In Manga : An Anthology of Global and Cultural Perspectives, Toni Johnson-Woods (ed.), New York : Continuum International Publishing Group.

Nella Patria di Heidi (Translated in Italian by Marco Pellitteri)

by Ariane Beldi

Kappa Magazine. 06/2005

Little boy en Fat Man. De atoombom in de audiovisuele cultuur van Japan en de Verenigde Staten (1945 - 2010)

by Sidney Smeets

De paddenstoelwolk, een oogverblindende flits gevolgd door een alles verwoestende vuurzee: in de twintigste eeuw heeft... more De paddenstoelwolk, een oogverblindende flits gevolgd door een alles verwoestende vuurzee: in de twintigste eeuw heeft de atoombom zowel in de werkelijkheid als in de filmwereld een onuitwisbare indruk achtergelaten. In Little Boy en Fat man onderzoekt Sidney Smeets aan de hand van bekende voorbeelden als Godzilla, Star Trek en Planet Of The Apes - en historische ontwikkelingen zoals bijvoorbeeld de Cubacrisis, Reagans buitenlandse politiek en het einde van de Koude Oorlog - de nucleaire impact van de atoombom op de Amerikaanse en Japanse filmindustrie. Oftewel, een aanrader voor zowel historici als fans van het witte doek!

El lector de manga:¿ un lector orientalista?

by Esther Torres

L'allégorie dans Metropolis, chez Lang et Rintaro

by Stephane Collignon

travail réalisé en 2005 dans le cadre du cours d'esthétique et philosophie du cinéma suivi pendant ma formation en Écritures et Analyses Cinématographiques à l'Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Études et comparaison des figures allégoriques (personnages, structure du récit, décors, etc) développées dans le... more Études et comparaison des figures allégoriques (personnages, structure du récit, décors, etc) développées dans le Metropolis de Fritz Lang et l'adaptation animée japonaise de Rintaro.

Héroes Mecánicos de la cultura Pop (Mechanical heroes in the Pop Culture)

by Carmen Virginia Grisolía

Paper presented in the X Seminario Nacional de Estética “Arte, Ciencia y Tecnología”, Noviembre 2008, Mérida, Venezuela.

¿Quién no ha querido personificar un héroe? ¿O ser recatado por uno? Desde épocas míticas la figura arquetípica del... more ¿Quién no ha querido personificar un héroe? ¿O ser recatado por uno? Desde épocas míticas la figura arquetípica del héroe ha seguido al hombre y a su cultura, evolucionando y adaptándose a las tendencias y avances de la tecnología electrónica-digital. Sin embargo, algunas características del héroe clásico siguen presentes en las figuras contemporáneas. Algunas de ellas resurgen presentándose como parte de la cultura popular, adentrándose e invadiendo los espacios de los mass mediay del ciberespacio. Mazinger Z, el coloso de 35 años de edad del animé japonés, materializa los arquetipos heroicos erigiéndose como un ícono simbólico del pop culture e, incluso, constituyéndose en antecedente temprano de movimientos ciberfílicos y ciberpunks

Race Matters in Amestris: On the Treatment of Disenfranchised Minorities in Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist

by Diana Pho

Working Paper. To be presented at the PCA/ACA National Conference in April 2012. 

One of the most popular anime franchises in Japan and North America is Fullmetal Alchemist, based on the manga written... more One of the most popular anime franchises in Japan and North America is Fullmetal Alchemist, based on the manga written by Hiromu Arakawa. The manga has been produced as two separate series: a 51-episode run that aired from 2003 – 2004 (“FMA”) and a 64-episode reboot titled Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood that aired from 2009 – 2010 (“FMA:B”). While both storylines center on a pair of alchemist brothers in the country of Amestris, politics concerning the treatment of marginalized groups play a crucial role. Moreover, the contrasting attitudes FMA and FMA:B have in how characters of color are represented visually and in terms of character development reveal how Arakawa’s world-building has been re-interpreted to express two dynamically different understandings concerning the sociopolitical agency granted to the racialized other. For this paper, I will analyze how FMA and FMA:B ‘s use of traditional speculative conceits influence their takes on race relations and investigate the dramatic effectiveness of each storyline’s message about discrimination.  In FMA, alternative universes are used as a narrative twist, and racially-motivated atrocities in their world echo historical ones in ours. In the secondary fantasy world of FMA:B, however, the “master race” becomes literalized with the Homunculi, a group of alchemy-created superhumans. Each series’ handling of difference contributes toward a multifaceted global understanding of race as both series engage in the cultural intersection between nationally-targeted forms of entertainment and its consumption by international audiences.

Men Under Pressure: Representations of The 'salaryman' and his Organization In Japanese Manga

by Peter Matanle

Co-authored peer reviewed journal article.

Matanle, P., McCann, L. and Ashmore, D.J. (2008) . Men under pressure: Representations of the 'salaryman' and his organization In Japanese manga, Organization, 15 (5): 639-664.

In this article we analyse representations of the Japanese salaryman and Japanese organization in Japanese manga, or... more In this article we analyse representations of the Japanese salaryman and Japanese organization in Japanese manga, or graphic novels, during the turbulent decades from the mid-1980s to the present day. We argue that manga presents salarymen protagonists in a sympathetic yet not uncritical light, and that it displays support for and criticism of both the Japanese and American organizational models. We describe how these manga offer important critical challenges from the world of popular culture to the direction of change in Japanese business organizations since the 1980s. In addition, we suggest that the manga may also provide salarymen with opportunities for critically re-evaluating their own working situations and for developing methods for surviving and thriving under the pressures of working within contemporary Japanese business organizations.

Hardy Bernal, K. A. (2011). The Lolita Complex: A Japanese Fashion Subculture and its Paradoxes. Auckland: AUT University.

by Kathryn A. Hardy Bernal

Master of Philosophy (MPhil) Thesis, 30 May 2011

My thesis investigates complex issues implied by and connected with the Japanese movement known generally as Gothic... more My thesis investigates complex issues implied by and connected with the Japanese movement known generally as Gothic & Lolita (G&L), focussing specifically on the Lolita fashion-based subculture and psychological motivations behind it. It discusses the transmigration of the movement’s ideas from Eastern to Western to Eastern societies, including differing cultural interpretations of “Lolita” and their implications in terms of the Lolita phenomenon, while examining ideologies in context with conflicting connotations and paradoxes that arise from a label that combines perceptions about “Lolita” with the “Gothic”. It also addresses the “Lolita Complex”, a term that stems from the narrative of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita and is applied to a syndrome affecting older men and their attraction to young girls, and explores its associations with the Lolita subculture. The Lolita Complex, as the title of this thesis, also refers to the problematic complexities connected with and inferred by the movement. This thesis is multi-disciplinary. Although the emphasis is related to Fashion (or Design) History and Theory, my research also spans the fields of Subcultural Theory, Gothic Studies, Gender Studies, Asian Studies and Anthropology. It leans, though, more to the “theoretical” side, while my methodological approach relates closely to Analytic or Psychoanalytic Art History, based on my education and training as an Art and Design theorist. As such, this study is an analysis of the Japanese Lolita subculture. It is my theory or my reading of this cultural phenomenon, supported by evidence to state the overriding argument that the Lolita movement is symbolic of and represents a generation of young women who refuse to enter adulthood and “grow up”.

Images of Resistance in Manga and Anime's Improbable Subjects

by Craig Norris

Norris, Craig 2010, 'Images of Resistance in Manga and Anime's Improbable Subjects', The Journal of the Oriental Society of Australia, vol. 42, pp. 95-114.

An interesting debate is occurring around of the role of popular culture in the context of globalization and... more An interesting debate is occurring around of the role of popular culture in the context of globalization and definitions of national identity. In this article I focus on the notion that there is a distinctive Japanese aesthetic in manga and anime. I compare the Occidentalism of early postwar intellectual Taihei Imamura with the Orientalism of western commentators and fans. These two perspectives share a concern with cultural imperialism and assumptions about media convergence. I wish to try and bring together these two approaches by examining the assumptions of them both through a case study of three texts. The manga Enomoto: New Elements that Shake the World, the Edo period picture scroll Shinnô and the anime short Stink Bomb. I propose that a textual analysis of the Japanese imagery in these texts combined with an understanding of the possibilities fans see in appropriating manga and anime within their local experiences reveals the shifts in globalisation and nationalism that are framing these texts as distinctly Japanese.
I conclude that popular culture can offer an important symbolic strategy for dealing with the impact of globalisation and media convergence. In this context it is possible to see how manga and anime helps some imagine escape routes and forms of resistance to forms of cultural and political domination.

Hybrid Manga: Implications for the Global Knowledge Economy

by Craig Norris

Bainbridge, Jason & Norris, Craig 2010, 'Hybrid Manga: Implications for the Global Knowledge Economy', in Toni Johnson-Woods (ed.), Manga : an anthology of global and cultural perspectives, Continuum, New York, pp. 235-252.

In this chapter we want to look at the transnational movement of manga in terms of its flow. We argue that this flow... more In this chapter we want to look at the transnational movement of manga in terms of its flow. We argue that this flow is in two stages: first, how manga is distributed and received and, secondly, how it is adopted/adapted for a local culture’s needs in light of the cultural and economic understandings this brings to the export of Japanese cultural goods. While we will be providing an overview of the Australian cultural context for manga, as it is American popular culture which continues to dominate the global trade and exchange of popular culture (particularly in Western countries like Australia) understanding how manga became a central part of American popular culture, in terms of its distribution and adaptation, is also a crucial part of understanding how manga is similarly contextualised in Australia.

Madman In the House: Understanding Media Merchandising

by Craig Norris

Bainbridge, J & Norris, C 2007, 'Madman in the House: Understanding media merchandising, the implications for convergence and new knowledge economies', Cultural Studies Association of Australia: Sustaining Culture, <http://unisa.edu.au/com/csaa/onlineproceedings.htm&gt;.

This paper is part of a larger research project looking at the role of Australian media companies in sustaining fan... more This paper is part of a larger research project looking at the role of Australian media companies in sustaining fan and Australian investment in global popular culture. This paper focuses on Madman Entertainment - one of the most successful DVD and merchandise distribution companies in Australia and the leading distributor of anime with over 90% of the market share. The paper provides a brief cultural history of the company, to understand both the localisation of Japanese popular culture and the 'fan' origins of Madman - as well as the implications of Madman in sustaining a healthy anime fan culture in Australia. The paper concludes with an analysis of how Madman has become a part of the globalization of Japanese cultural products and how profiling the company provides some insight into the changing role of fans toward driving innovation and investment in popular culture.

Manga, animation and visual art

by Craig Norris

Norris, C 2009, 'Manga, animation and visual art', in Y Sugimoto (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, pp. 236-260.

Japan has dynamic visual popular culture that now relishes an international presence. Manga books make up about one... more Japan has dynamic visual popular culture that now relishes an international presence. Manga books make up about one quarter of Japan’s publications. The animation industry is vibrant with many successful films and TV programs. These two major interrelated genres have a long history of their own and have vast industrial bases. Some analysts have attributed the prevalence of this kind of visual art to Japanese paintings and calligraphy. Others link it to Japan’s vibrant film culture. This chapter attempts to find common threads that run through various types of visual art in Japan and analyse them in historical and comparative context.

Kóno Fumiyo manga genga-ten (Exhibition of Original Comic Art by Fumiyo Kono)

by Ronald Stewart

International Journal of Comic Art. vol.13 no.1, 2011. pp.737-739

(exhibition review) (exhibition review)

Genbaku manga no ichiban hoshi: Tanikawa Kazuhiko shiryó-ten (Atomic Bomb Comic Art's First Star: Exhibition of collected materials of Kuzuhiko Tanikawa)

by Ronald Stewart

International Journal of Comic Art. vol.13 no.1, 2011. pp.731-737

(exhibition review) (exhibition review)

She Draws Comics: 100 Years of America's Women Cartoonists (Komikkusu o egaku josei-tachi: America no josei aarutisuto-tachi no hyaku-nen ten: shirazaru Amerika josei komikkusu sekai)

by Ronald Stewart

International Journal of Comic Art. vol.13 no.1, 2011. pp.728-731

(exhibition review) (exhibition review)

"Perversely Reading Manga"

by Mary Knighton

Proceedings of the Association for Japanese Literary Studies [PAJLS] 10. Rutgers University Press, 2010: 81-100.

“The Narrativity of Postconvergent Media: No Ghost Just a Shell and Rirkrit Tiravanija’s (ghost reader C.H.).”

by Amy J. Elias

Elias, Amy J. “The Narrativity of Postconvergent Media: No Ghost Just a Shell and Rirkrit Tiravanija’s (ghost reader C.H.).” SubStance (Special Issue: Graphic Narratives and Narrative Theory, eds. David Herman and Jared Gardner.) 40.1 (2011): 182-202.