What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to analyze how contemporary Japanese animation reflects and shapes cultural identities through various themes and narratives.

November 1, 2001

Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: experiencing contemporary Japanese animation

Key Points

The aim is to analyze how contemporary Japanese animation reflects and shapes cultural identities through various themes and narratives.
Dividing the exploration into thematic parts: Identity, Technology, Fantasy, and History.
Discussing key works like Akira, Ghost in the Shell, and Princess Mononoke.
Analyzing the intersection between anime and both global and local cultural identities.
Anime presents a complex relationship between individual identities and broader societal narratives.
Themes of technological and fantastical bodies showcase changing perceptions of self in modern society.
Anime serves as a medium for critiquing and reinterpreting historical narratives and collective memories.

Abstract

Part one - Introduction: why anime? anime and global/local identity. Part two - Body, metamorphosis, identity: Akira and Ranma 1/2 - the monstrous adolescent controlling bodies - the body in pornographic anime ghosts and machines - the technological body doll parts - technology and the body in Ghost in the Shell. Part three - Magical girls and fantasy worlds: the enchantment of estrangement - the Shojo in the world of Miyazaki Hayao carnival and conservatism in romantic comedy. Part four - Remaking master narratives - anime confronts history: no more words - Barefoot Gen, Grave of Fireflies, and Victim's History Princess Mononoke - fantasy, the feminine, and the myth of Progress waiting for the end of the world - apocalyptic identity elegies conclusion - a fragmented mirror. Appendix - the fifth look - Western audiences and Japanese animation.

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Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: experiencing contemporary Japanese animation

Key Points

Abstract

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