People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

Larbi Ben M’hidi University-Oum El Bouaghi

Faculty of Letters and Languages Department of English

Western and Japanese Mythology in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Anglo-American Studies

By: CHERAIFIA Djihed Supervisor: Miss HADDAD Mordjana

Board of Examiners

Examiner: Miss ACHIRI Samya

JUNE 2016 i

Dedication

To my loved ones, you should always know that you are loved and that you have made this heart happy and innocent again.

To those close to my heart, every time you smile, you melt away my fears and fill my heart with joy.

To those who feel lonely and abandoned by this world because of their “childish” interests, without these interests this work would remain just a random thought in a closed mind.

To those who battle life each day and feel they are growing weak and losing the battles, you might be losing few battles but you are winning the war.

To the younglings who are pressured to think they are growing too old to fulfill their dreams, you can do it, dreams know no age.

To whoever taught me a word, a skill, or an attitude, without all of you I wouldn’t be the person I am today (thank you).

To those who held my hand when I was down and supported me when my feet were bruised, I shall support you and be there for you for the rest of my life.

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Acknowledgments

In the name of Allah, I hereby acknowledge the efforts of my supervisor Miss Haddad

Mordjana for her tremendous efforts, patience and kindness which without, I wouldn’t be able to finish my research. I also thank the jury for their comments and guidance. I also thank my teachers in the department of English who helped me in choosing my topic and refining it. I also give my sincere thanks to my best friend Mohamed and his friend Jo who provided me with all sources I needed to complete this work. I also thank my teachers of primary, middle and high-school who shaped my background knowledge and my critical thinking. I also give special thanks to my high-school teacher Khalaf, my second father, who made me love English and thrive to study it and Miss Shahat and Miss Bouragaa who believed in me and showed me how the field of literature can be really interesting. I also thank all my Otaku Friends and those Otaku of Algeria who helped me finish my online survey which was crucial to my work.

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Abstract

Mythology has always defined the life and culture of people. It survived and it still survives in different shapes of culture especially the popular culture. Anime seems at first like any other means of entertainment, however, it is an important part of the Japanese popular culture that could be a host of different mythological elements. Though it is

Japanese, anime incorporates and draws from both Western and Japanese mythologies. So, this work investigates the elements of Western and Japanese mythologies in a well-known anime entitled Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. This research aims at finding the possible source of ideas this anime is based on and its link with Western and Japanese mythology through the use of Myth Criticism.

Keywords: mythology, Western mythology, Japanese Mythology, anime, Japan, culture,

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

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ﻣﻠﺨﺺ

ﻟﻘﺪ ﺳﺎھﻤﺖ اﻟﻤﯿﺜﻮﻟﻮﺟﺒﺎ ﻓﻲ ﺗﺸﻜﯿﻞ ﺣﯿﺎة و ﺛﻘﺎﻓﺔ اﻟﺸﻌﻮب ﺣﯿﺚ ﻻ ﺗﺰال ﺣﺎﺿﺮة ﻓﻲ اﻟﺜﻘﺎﻓﺔ ﻋﺎﻣﺔ و اﻟﺜﻘﺎﻓﺔ اﻟﺸﻌﺒﯿﺔ ﺧﺎﺻﺔ.

ﻣﻦ أول ﻧﻈﺮة, ﯾﺒﺪو اﻷﻧﻤﻲ ﻛﻤﺠﺮد وﺳﯿﻠﺔ ﻟﻠﺘﺮﻓﯿﮫ و ﻟﻜﻨﮫ أﻛﺜﺮ ﻣﻦ ذﻟﻚ ﺑﺤﯿﺚ أﻧﮫ ﯾﻌﺘﺒﺮ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻌﻨﺎﺻﺮ اﻟﺜﻘﺎﻓﯿﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﯿﺎﺑﺎن

اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺤﺘﻮي ﻋﻠﻰ ﻋﻨﺎﺻﺮ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﯿﺜﻮﻟﻮﺟﯿﺎ وﺟﺰءا ﻻ ﯾﺘﺠﺰء ﻣﻦ اﻟﺜﻘﺎﻓﺔ اﻟﺸﻌﺒﯿﺔ اﻟﯿﺎﺑﺎﻧﯿﺔ. ﺑﺎﻟﺮﻏﻢ أن أﺻﻠﮫ ﯾﺎﺑﺎﻧﻲ, ﻓﺎﻧﮫ

ﯾﻮظﻒ ﻋﻨﺎﺻﺮ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﯿﺜﻮﻟﻮﺟﯿﺎ اﻻﻏﺮﯾﻐﯿﺔ و اﻟﺮوﻣﺎﻧﯿﺔ و اﻟﯿﺎﺑﺎﻧﯿﺔ. ھﺬا اﻟﻌﻤﻞ ﯾﺤﻘﻖ ﻓﻲ وﺟﻮداﻟﻌﻨﺎﺻﺮ اﻟﻤﯿﺜﻮﻟﻮﺟﯿﺔ

اﻟﻐﺮﺑﯿﺔ و اﻟﯿﺎﺑﺎﻧﯿﺔ ﻓﻲ أﻧﯿﻤﻲ ﻣﺸﮭﻮر ﺑﻌﻨﻮان Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

ھﺬا اﻟﺒﺤﺚ ﯾﮭﺪف اﻟﻰ اﯾﺠﺎد ﻣﺼﺪر اﻷﻓﻜﺎر اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﻘﻮم ﻋﻠﯿﮭﺎ ﺑﻨﯿﺔ ھﺬا اﻻﻧﻤﻲ و رﺑﻄﮭﺎ ﺑﺎﻟﻤﯿﺜﻮﻟﻮﺟﯿﺎ اﻟﻐﺮﺑﯿﺔ و اﻟﯿﺎﺑﺎﻧﯿﺔ ﻣﻦ

ﺧﻼل ﺗﻄﺒﯿﻖ ﻧﻈﺮﯾﺔ اﻟﻨﻘﺪ اﻟﻤﯿﺜﻮﻟﻮﺟﻲ

اﻟﻜﻠﻤﺎت اﻟﻤﻔﺘﺎﺣﯿﺔ: اﻟﻤﯿﺜﻮﻟﻮﺟﯿﺎ, اﻟﻤﯿﺜﻮﻟﻮﺟﯿﺎ اﻟﻐﺮﺑﯿﺔ, اﻟﻤﯿﺜﻮﻟﻮﺟﯿﺎ اﻟﯿﺎﺑﺎﻧﯿﺔ, اﻟﯿﺎﺑﺎن, اﻟﺜﻘﺎﻓﺔ,

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

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Table of Contents

Dedication ...... i

Acknowledgments ...... ii

Abstract ...... iii

iv ...... ﻣﻠﺨﺺ

General Introduction ...... 1

Chapter One: Mythology ...... 3

Chapter two: why Anime? ...... 26

Chapter Three: Western and Japanese Mythological Elements in Fullmetal Alchemist

Brotherhood ...... 44

General Conclusion ...... 63

Works Cited ...... 65

Appendix ...... i

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1

General Introduction

Western mythology existed and still exists in different parts of the world and has managed to stay as an undying aspect of many cultures. It can be identified in different mediums even those that seem totally untouched by it such as anime. As a part of Japanese popular culture, anime was never meant to be destined to an audience outside of Japan; however, it is widely spread and followed by many people. Anime fans exist everywhere even here in Algeria and they are working constantly to spread the anime culture or what is known as the Otaku culture, and along with it the Japanese culture as well.

The Japanese animation is initially drawn from many sources such as Japan’s history, culture, and mythology, but it is mixed with Western mythology. Fullmetal

Alchemist Brotherhood is a very successful and internationally famous anime. This anime incorporates elements from both Western and Japanese mythology. So, this research aims at investigating the presence of those elements within this anime.

The reason behind the significant success of anime, is not only economic but also cultural. This work assumes that this success is due to the use of mythology. The success of pop culture products is always turned to the existence of an element that attracts the attention of the consumer who feels identified/targeted by it. This element is called an archetype (Gillespie 58). So, this work will opt for Archetype or Myth Criticism. This theory is mostly used in films or literary works. The application of Myth Criticism requires a certain level of knowledge about mythology. For this reason, Chapter One is entitled

“Mythology”. It will deal with the etymology of mythology then with the Western and the

Japanese mythology. The second chapter, entitled “Why Anime?” explains the significance 2 and importance of anime in culture and economy globally with reference to the Otaku

Community in Algeria. In the last chapter, Western and Japanese mythological elements will be identified in the plot, themes, motifs, symbols, and characters of Fullmetal

Alchemist Brotherhood.

There are many works about mythology and its study all over the world, and much more that are specifically made to discuss anime and its importance in culture and economy. For instance. Michelle M. Houle’s Gods and Goddesses in Greek Mythology and

H. Rose’s A Handbook of Greek Mytholog deal with Greek and Roman mythology and

Nihongi (the Chronicles of Japan) and Kojiki (the Book of Ancient Matters) which are the most authentic sources of Japanese mythology. Works about anime in English include

Gilles Poitras’s The Anime Companion: What’s Japanese about Japanese Animation,

Antonia Levi’s Samurai from Outer Space: Understanding Japanese Animation and

Susan Napier’s Anime from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle: Experiencing

Contemporary Japanese Animation. However, there was a lack of references that combine or analyze mythology in anime. So, this research seems to be the first of its kind because it links Western and Japanese mythology and anime in a single work. It also sheds light on the Otaku culture in Algeria.

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Chapter One: Mythology

Mythology is not just a collection of stories told for the sake of entertainment. It is an important part of the tradition and culture of many nations. The Greco-Roman mythology is one of the well-known mythologies in the world. Also, the Japanese mythology is another culture that seems totally different from the first. Surprisingly, anime, as a part of the Japanese culture, uses both mythologies. So, this chapter will deal with mythology in general, then it will move to the Western and Japanese mythology and what characterizes them in general. This chapter defines mythology and myths and suggests the way in which myth is distinguished from other genres of stories such as legends, folktales, and sagas. A small section, then, is dedicated to talk about the importance of mythology in human culture. This chapter also explores and suggests the approaches and methods used in the interpretation of myth and which of these approaches and methods will be used in this research and how it will be used. Western and Japanese mythology are the focus of this chapter. This is why a small description of both mythologies is needed to explain how it described the process of creation (of humans and divine deities) and how it was interpreted and had been used in early and modern times in literary and non-literary materials.

As a concept, mythology seems hard to define considering that it involves many fields of inquiry and sciences so that each field tries to define it with its own accords. As a word, Mythology is defined in the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 8th edition, as

“ancient myths in general; the ancient myths of a particular culture, society, etc.” or “ideas 4 that many people think are true but that do not exist or are false” and it is derived from the

French word Mythologie (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary). This means that the word mythology may have two meanings, the first one is the collection of myths that belongs to a particular culture or group and the second one is the collection of non-existing or false stories and ideas that are believed to be true by a culture or a group of people. In the field of literature, mythology can simply be defined as “… a body of related myths shared by members of a given people or religion, or sometimes a system of myths evolved by an individual writer, as in the 'personal mythologies' of William Blake and W. B.

Yeats” (Baldick 164). In other words, the literary meaning of mythology refers to a set of myths that are shared by a group of peoples or myths which are invented by some writers.

The word myth comes from the Greek word mythos, which means "word," "speech," "tale,"

"story," (Houle 6) “saying”, “story,” or even “fiction” (Myth) and it may be used to refer to a kind of a story that is traditional and anonymous (Baldick 170). In classical Greek,

“mythos” or myth belongs to a system called “mythology” which is a

…a system of hereditary stories of ancient origin which were once believed to be

true by a particular cultural group, and which served to explain (in terms of the

intentions and actions of deities and other supernatural beings) why the world is as

it is and things happen as they do, to provide a rationale for social customs and

observances, and to establish the sanctions for the rules by which people conduct

their lives (Abrams 170).

The term mythology can also be used to refer to theories of myth1. these theories analyze myths through psychological interpretation, linguistic interpretation, sociological interpretation…etc. In other words, in the modern sense, mythology means

"mythography"2 (Davenport 2) which is -in William Doty’s seminal study, Mythography-

"the study of myths and rituals" (Davenport 2). The word “mythology” in this research will 5 be used to refer to the first meaning where it is a set or a collection of myths rather than the study or the theories of myth i.e. mythology will act as a subject in this research not a study.

So, Myhology is a set of inherited systematic stories3 that belong to the religious and cultural tradition of a certain community4. It explains the origin of life and the creation of human beings and divine deities. It serves as a basis to justify and explain the attitudes, traditions, rituals, taboos, ceremonies and cultural behaviors of that community and it provides a lasting source of new creations, products, and ideas5

Many specialists in the field of mythology insist that for a story to be called a

“myth” it requires some certain characteristics that draw the distinction between it and other kinds of stories such as a legend, folktale and saga

According to what is mentioned earlier, a myth is a story that is uniquely characterized with its tradition and anonymity and yet it is still confused with other kinds of stories such as folktale, legend, and saga. So it is inevitable to wonder why myth, folktale, legend and saga have in common so that these four kinds of stories are confused with each other and what is the difference that exists between them that makes them distinct. A saga is a “long traditional story” about “a series of adventures and brave acts”.

A folktale is a “very old traditional story” from “a particular place” that is passed orally from one generation to another. A legend is a “story from ancient times” about people and events and may and may not be true (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary). So, what is common between these three genres of stories is that all of them are either ancient or old and they are all about old stories which truthfulness is questioned. It means that sagas, folktales and legends have ancient origins and have been preserved through oral or written tradition over time, which is the same case for myths. However, and what seems dissimilar 6 about myth according to how myth was defined earlier, is that a myth’s truthfulness was never questioned by its culture of origin and was taken for granted as absolutely true - enough to be included in the culture’s own religious and spiritual tradition-whereas saga, legend and folktale had apparently been passed as presumably true. In A Glossary in

Literary Terms, the 7th edition, Adams notes” If the protagonist is a human being rather than a supernatural being, the traditional story is usually not called a myth but a legend. If the hereditary story concerns supernatural beings who are not gods, and the story is not part of a systematic mythology, it is usually classified as a folktale” (170).

In Classical Mythology the 7th edition, Mark P.O. Morford and Robert J. Lenardon suggest that the difference between the four genres of stories is that myth is concerned with gods and humankind’s relation with them, saga and legend have roots in historical fact and have an imaginative yet perceptible relationship to history (3) and folktale -which are tales and stories of heroes and adventures- exist mainly to entertain (4). So what makes a myth unique is that it was believed to be true, its protagonist is a super natural being, its plot involves super natural beings, gods, deities and discusses humans-gods relations and interaction, it belongs to a highly structured system called “mythology” (which has deep roots in history) and its function is not mere entertainment but acting as an important part of people’s culture, beliefs and spirituality.

The way of life, faith, common mindset, practices, narratives, and practically a big part of the lives of ancient people of different cultures is related to their myths. The power of myth do not stop at exposing how it was back then in ancient times but stretches to reach the modern life where a huge chunk of a society’s cultural and traditional heritage is taken from its mythology. In his article “Myth and the construction of meaning in mediated culture”, Salomé Sola Morales quotes Malinowski who insists that: “Myth is not an idle 7 fantasy, nor a meaningless outpouring of evanescent dreams, but a very laborious and extremely important cultural force” (36). Indeed, Myth is a powerful cultural force that it is still used in modern societies –whether consciously or unconsciously- to perform different functions that are similar its function in primeval societies such as justifying rites, ceremonies or social and moral rule (Morales 4) and maintaining traditions and cultural norms. Morales adds “…individuals can return to the origins or remember the past to resolve issues of present reality, using symbolic and mythical forms” (36).

The importance of mythology lies within the link between imagination and myth and the role these two play in media which is why Morales insist that “the denial of imaginative and mythical forms has largely limited mere ontological description of the subject and the identifications that subjects and groups do in relation to media” (37). In

Doing Literary Criticism: Helping Students Engage with Challenging Texts, Tim Gillespie explained that the reason mythology is essential to the human culture is its universality and explains that

myths have traditionally served many other crucial cultural functions, not only

explaining the natural world but also using stories to present guidance on proper

ways to behave in society and offering insight into enduring the inevitable

milestones of a lifetime (such as birth, passage through puberty, marriage, and

death) (58).

The importance of mythology comes from its universality, its ability to perform different function in ancient and modern societies and its historical and cultural roots that define the modern world. This means that Mythology is a an imaginative source of stories and ideas, a cultural entity and a cultural force. It opens a window to the past, connects old 8 generations and modern ones and shapes modern societies, and evokes imagination that may reshape the existing culture.

Because of its cultural importance, there were many attempts through history to study mythology, or rather myths, as a raw rich material itself, or as a tool or a gate from which hidden components from past, culture, ancient societies and nature of humanity can be unveiled. This means that mythology was studied and seen through different perspectives and was used to explain many aspects that surround different cultures and humanity in general. In Myth: A Very Short Introduction, Robert A. Segal argues that

“Theories of myth may be as old as myths themselves. Certainly they go back at least to the Presocratics.” (Segal 2)

Indeed, the first attempts to study myth go back to the pre-Socratic times with pre- modern theories such as Euhemerus’ theory (Harris) and the works of Sallustius (Serenus

Sallustius). It continued to the 19th century with theories that claimed a clear separation between science and mythology (O'Connor 19) ,“…focused on the question of origin6”

(Segal 3) and insisted that myth functions as “…either a literal explanation or a symbolic description of that world.” (Segal 3). Academic interest in myth has stretched into the 20th century with many scholars who chose a psychological approach to their interpretations which were inspired by the theories of Sigmund Freud (Myth). The 20th century theories

“…focused on the questions of function and subject matter “ and “…have tended to see myth as almost anything but an outdated counterpart to science, either in subject matter or in function “ (Segal 3) rejecting by this the old tradition of the 19th century. In modern times, and especially with the appearance of new methods and theories to study mythology such as Comparative Mythology and New Mythology and the sociological and anthropological internet in myth, the study of mythology had reached new dimensions and could discover ways that do not only study myths, but make use of them as well and find 9 its traces within different media and materials.. But the focus here is not the history nor the development of the study of mythology but discovering how most of theories and works had tried to interpret mythology and then finding the most suitable method among them for this paper

There are two ways to interpret mythology, the first one when mythology itself is the subject of study and the second when it is a component that exists within a subject of study (or incorporated into a medium such as literature, film, animation, art…etc.). When interpreting Mythology as a subject of study, it is important to highlight two main points; the nature of material that is going to be interpreted and the purpose of its interpretation i.e. how myths are perceived and why it is being interpreted. To understand this idea, the definition of Mythology according to Abrams M. H. in A Glossary of Literally Terms must be brought back into question. Abrams defines Mythology as “…a system of hereditary stories of ancient origin which were once believed to be true by a particular cultural group.…” (Abrams 170). From this definition, it is possible to say that is Mythology has two natures, a narrative nature and a spiritual –or religious and ritual- nature. In other words, mythologists may claim that mythology is a collection of stories that belongs to the narrative tradition of a certain culture or they may claim it is a part of the religious life of a group of people during a certain period of time-or perhaps both.

In the second part of the definition, Abrams adds “…and which served to explain

(in terms of the intentions and actions of deities and other supernatural beings) why the world is as it is and things happen as they do, to provide a rationale for social customs and observances, and to establish the sanctions for the rules by which people conduct their lives” (Abrams 170). This part explains some of the functions of mythology which happen to be co-related to the purposes of its interpretation i.e. these functions-along with other functions as well- are the usual conclusions that mythologists had reached -or are trying to 10 reach- through their works. According to Abrams, the functions of mythology are: explaining the origin of humans and the world that surrounds them (the myth of creation), clarifying natural and “bizarre” events that humans could not understand due to their lack of scientific advancement during ancient times and how one situation lead to another, providing a rationale background for the customs and traditions of a given society and establishing rules and laws that are crucial for the survival of people and maintaing their way of life (Abrams 170).

Joseph Campell also suggests four functions for mythology which he included in his book Occidental Mythology as he argues that "In the long view of the history of mankind, four essential functions of mythology can be discerned”. The first of these functions is that of “eliciting and supporting a sense of awe before the mystery of being."7 (519). The second function of mythology is rendering a “cosmology” which is

“an image of the universe that will support and be supported by this sense of awe before the mystery of the presence and the presence of a mystery."8 (Campell 519). The third function is enforcing the existing social order where the individual is ought to be progressively implemented (Campell 520). The four and last function of mythology is to guide the individual into his own “spiritual enrichment and realization” and push him toward the direction of his own psyche’s realities (Campell 521). It is important to note that these functions of mythology were for the corresponding culture or people where myths were originated. So, knowing what people needed myth for reflects their way of thinking, their beliefs and their life in general.

So, to interpret mythology as a subject of study one must follow two steps. The first step is choosing how to see mythology and the second step is linking it to a single function or to several ones. There are several mythologists who chose to view mythology from its spiritual perspective such as James Frazer who viewed myth as a misinterpretation of 11

“magical rituals” where the function of myth is providing a rationale background for the customs and traditions of a given society and establishing rules and laws that are crucial for the survival of people and maintaing their way of life (Frazer 624). Others recognized mythology’s narrative nature such the British literary critics who, during the 1960’s, were interested in the narrative theory and in myth and saw myth as a narrative form (Sterenberg

174). Then there is Alan Dundes who, in Sacred Narrative, Readings in the Theory of

Myth, admitted that “…myths are not simply beliefs: they are prose narratives” (13) and defined myth as “a sacred narrative”9 that explains how the world and man came to be in their present form (Dundes 1).

So, the questions to ask when dealing with Mythology as a subject of study is

“what is Mythology?” or more specifically “what is the nature of Mythology?” and “what does it serve?” (Or “what is the function of mythology?”). The answer to the first question is that Mythology has two natures, a spiritual –or religious- nature and a narrative nature

(and both natures are equally important). The answer to the second question is that mythology serves many functions which are the explanation10, reassurance11, maintenance12, guidance13 and providing a vast collection of narratives that creates and develops a nation’s narrative tradition.

When mythology is analyzed within, or more likely extracted from, a medium (or a subject of study), there are many ways in which it can be interpreted and most of them are literary ones. It is highly important to understand the nature of the medium that is going to be analyzed before choosing a method of analysis because one method may be suitable for one medium but not for another14. The thesis of the research and the aim of the study must be taken into consideration also because the weaknesses and strengths of a theoretical approach depend on whether it is able to extract what needs to be extracted, to suit a given topic and to help to reach the aim of the study. The method chosen for this research, which 12 happens to be a literary theory, is Myth or Archetype15 Criticism. This theory is suitable to extract myths from any type of medium16 . It is effective and can be used to reach a further understanding of the effect myths has when it exist within that medium and the general meaning of the message. Myth criticism (also known as archetype criticism) is a type of critical theory that sprung from the anthropology of Sir James Frazer and the psychology of Carl Jung (Gillespie 61) and centers around the idea that the effectiveness17 of a literary text (or other mediums or cultural products) depends principally on its “mythic resonance” where the incorporation of mythic elements can be a conscious or an unconscious process

(Gillespie 59) .

Archetypal literary critics believe that there is a “realm of human experience” which is deeper than any “rational or intellectual” thinking and expressed through many myths and fantasy stories (Gillespie 58). This means that, according to myth critics, the effectiveness -or more likely the success- of a work may be due to its incorporation of mythic elements. This incorporation is either a conscious or an unconscious process that is used by countless authors, film makers, animators and artists (in art and comics). An excellent example of this incorporation is Sophocles' Oedipus which presents the fusion of myth and literature. The play of Sophocles was surely his creation but the plot of Oedipus was not his invention because the well-known mythic narrative existed long before he claimed it as tragic drama (Guerin 233). This approach was chosen because it deals primarily with mythology which is the focus of this study, it is suitable when identifying mythological elements within a medium is the aim of the study (in this case the medium is

Anime18). Myth Criticism offers a further understanding of the general message of the chosen product (or the chosen anime for this research which is Fullmetal Alchemist

Brotherhood) and how the existence of mythological elements affects its successfulness.

To apply this approach on the chosen medium, one must ask questions like “What 13 archetypal elements can we find in this literary work? Are there any mythic plots, characters, themes, symbols, or recurring images? How do these archetypal elements contribute to the work as a whole?” (Gillespie 61). However, merely trying to find answers to these questions is not enough because it requires “a certain level of knowledge about mythology” (Gillespie 61). The application of Myth criticism requires a certain level of knowledge and enough information about mythology (mythology in general and whatever mythology that a research will focus on), understanding the nature of the medium to be analyzed and an ability to identify the mythological elements in this medium and the reason it was incorporated into this medium.

There are many mythologies around the world and each continent had its share of mythologies. This research’s main concern is the Western mythology (Greco-Roman mythology) and Japanese mythology. So, a considerable amount of information about

Greco-Roman mythology and Japanese mythology is needed in this research.

The Western mythology is the most known mythology across the world. This is mainly due to prominence of the American school of thought (which was influenced and inspired by Greek philosophical teachings) (Talisse 346), the power of the Greek Empire and Roman Empire in ancient times and the influence of Western mythology on European literature, art, and science. Some of the well-known and most-influential figures of philosophy and science were either Greek or Roman such as Aristotle, Socrates, Plato,

Lucretius, Cicero, Archimedes, Seleucus of Babylon, Lucilius Junior and many more.

Greek and Roman Mythologies are usually so confused with each probably because of the many similarities between them. This is mainly the result of the increasing influence of the

Greek culture on the Roman culture (Nardo 105). Some Gods were given more “duties” such as war planning and strategies to Athena (Minerva in Roman Mythology) to fit into the Roman expansionist ideologies (Nardo 16,105). 14

Greece was a powerful empire, and because of its expansion tendencies ancient

Greek religion (along with Greek mythology) was spread into different parts of the globe.

Greek mythology can be found in different texts and has many sources and has been adapted into many works of literature, art and modern products such as animations, films, cartoons, and series. These Greek myths are conventionally associated with lyric, tragedy,

Hellenistic mythographers and Homer and his famous Iliad and Odyssey.

Lyric involves performance and composition which was all executed either by a single performer or by a group (Nagy 20). Melic poetry was sung and danced by non- professional choruses in the classical period of Athens (Nagy 21). The lyric traditions of the archaic period was an essential part of liberal education for the elites of the classical period (Nagy 22). According to Gregory Nagy, and during the time around 600 BCE

The lyric poetry of Sappho and Alcaeus, taken together, represents the repertoire of

the myths and the rituals of the people of Lesbo . . . at this federal space that the

heroes Agamemnon and Menelaos made a stop after their destruction of Troy; and

it was here, the speaker continues, that these Achaean heroes prayed to Zeus and

Hera and Dionysus (lines 9–10), asking the gods to reveal to them the best way to

sail back home (24).

This means an analysis of lyric poems would extract Greek myths considering that lyric poetry is one of the sources of Greek mythology.

Tragedy was a perfect place where Greek myths were manifested. In fifth century-

BC, Athens provided a unique context for myth-telling in the theatre of Dionysus. Myths were personified in performances at the annual festival of by members of the citizen group.

Heroes and divine deities walked the stage and myths were lived and actualized as present happenings and not just narrated as past events (Buxton 166). Tragic myths offer a safe 15 haven in a world where mortals try to cope with their own tragedies (Buxton 186) and that is why many myths were incorporated into tragedy making it another source for Greek mythology.

Mythographies serve a wide range of purposes. They could serve a scholarly function. They provide readers of archaic and classical poetry with explanations of myths and rituals and offer explanations for place names and an interesting reading material.

Modern scholars have acknowledged a number of Hellenistic writers as mythographers, those writers who collected stories of gods and heroes from different sources and presented them as prose narratives making their works valuable sources that contain most of the

Greek myths (Nagy 266).

Another major source of Greek mythology, and perhaps the most famous one, is the poetry of Homer. In the Classic period of literature, Homer was the most famous poet for his epics and the representative of this genre of literature with the Iliad and the Odyssey

(Nagy 52). Homeric poetry is the primary epic mediator of myth (Nagy 81). Other sources of Greek mythology may include Hesiod’s poetry that is considered a major literary recording of the Greek mythological tradition (Woodard 84) and the plays of Aristophanes.

The Greeks believed that a stream of Ocean (Okeanos) which is a great river, flowing in a circle, bounds the plain of earth. The sky is a vault of a substance made of bronze or iron that resides at a considerable height where, above Mount Olympus, the residence of the gods is (Rose 13).So considering their view and beliefs about the world, the story of creation that ancient Greeks believed doesn’t seem so bizarre. According to the

Greek myth of creation, everything had sprung from nothingness. This nothingness is called “Chaos” 16

In the beginning of time was Chaos “from which the first primitive deities/forces sprang, among them Gaia (Earth) …Tartarus (the deepest region of the Underworld), Nyx

(Night), and Erebus (Darkness).” (Nardo 127). Chaos was not a random disorder or the nothingness we know today but it was“…a great, dark abyss, a black void that stretched to infinity” (Falkner 11). Erebus mated with Nyx (Night) to produce Aether (Atmosphere),

Hemera (Day), Charon (the ghastly boatman who ferried dead souls across the River

Styx19) (Nardo 129) and Eros (love) and After Gaia (the earth) emerged, and without the aid of a male seed, she gave birth to Uranus (the sky) who later became her mate (Nardo

119). Gaia‘s personality had personified the Earth and the Heavens were embodied by the spirit of Uranus. With the help of Uranus, Gaia gave birth to three different types of children; the Hundred-handers20 with the names Cottus, Gyes, and Briareos, the Cyclopes, and the twelve titans21 (Nardo 233). Uranus hid all of his children in the huge body of Gaia because he was jealous of them22 (Rose 17) and because he hated his ugly children23

(Nardo 233). Furious, Gaia conspires with her youngest sons, the titan Cronos against his father Uranus and together (Nardo 233), with the help of her other children, they banished him into the shadowy parts of Tartarus after he was cut by Cronos’ scythe. His body parts fell into the sea and created giants, furies, the Erinyes, Meliai, the nymphs and the goddess of love Aphrodite (Hard 32). Cronos established himself as the new lord of the universe with the other Titans as his subordinates (Hard 33). Afraid of being overthrown by his own children, Cronos ate all of his children except for Zeus whose mother (the titan Rhea) had hidden him and saved him by handing Cronos a rock to shove into his mouth instead

(Nardo 234). As Zeus grew into manhood, he took the throne of his father by slicing him up with his own scythe, freeing his brothers from him then banishing him to the deep parts of Tartarus bounded by Styx, the black river of death, and guarded by the Cyclopes, the

Hundred-handers, and also by a fearsome three-headed watchdog named Cerberus (Nardo 17

235). After a great battle between the gods and the titans who joined the Cyclopes and hundred-handers (Nardo 234), the Olympians gods replaced the titans and ruled the universe as principal gods. The gods were the sisters, the brothers, or the offspring of Zeus the king of gods (Hard 33). According to Hesiod, after the gods had divided up earth and roles among themselves, men were created in a series of five human races, gold, silver, bronze, heroes, and iron (Nardo 237).

The other story of human creation tells the story of the two gods (previously titans)

Prometheus and Epimetheus who were in charge of making humans and animals i.e. mortal creatures. It is said that Epimetheus had given animals all good physical traits such as protective shells, fangs, and fur and left nothing for humans who would become vulnerable if made. So, Prometheus tries to correct his brother’s mistake and makes humans out of clay (that still contains some sparkle of life and some of the unsettled pieces of chaos) and gave them the gift of fire.

There are many examples of the absorption of Greek mythology and classical myths into the western culture and literature. The medieval Italian writer Dante, the

Elizabethan dramatist Shakespeare, and seventeenth-century English poet John Milton, were all fascinated by those myths and used them in their works. Their works contain many elements of classical mythology. The modern literature was also not safe from the classical mythology penetration into its plot, themes, characters and symbols with the

“…Nineteenth century American writer Edgar Allan Poe spoke of “the glory that was

Greece, and the grandeur that was Rome” in his salute to the mythical Helen of Troy. The twentieth century Irishman James Joyce based his acclaimed novel Ulysses on Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey. And American playwright Eugene O’Neill reset the murderous saga of the Greek house of Atreus in a post–Civil War New England setting in his

Mourning Becomes Electra” (Nardo, Greek and Roman Mythology 9). In the same way, 18 classical myths also became rich sources of material for artists, musicians, and filmmakers.

Examples range from “…The Birth of Venus, the classic painting by Italy’s Sandro

Botticelli; to Frenchman Hector Berlioz’s opera, The Trojans; to Lerner and Loewe’s

Broadway musical My Fair Lady (based on the myth of Pygmalion); to the multimillion dollar Hollywood film, Clash of the Titans, about the hero Perseus killing the monster

Medusa” (Nardo 10).

The ancient Greek stories were originated during the period of history lasting roughly from 1100 b. c. to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 b. c. and due to the

Roman growing conquests by this time, Greece was part of the Roman Empire by 146 b. c.

Although the Romans embraced the stories of ancient Greece the gods and key characters took on Roman (Latin) names (Falkner 10). The Romans were fascinated by the Greek mythology and they soon took it as their own even though they changed most of the names of gods and the divine deities and has not adopted the stories of the Greek heroes as

Roman heroes. The difference between Greek mythology and Roman mythology is that gods and divine deities have different names. Some gods were added into Roman mythology such as Bellona the Roman goddess of war (Nardo 80). Other gods were given more importance and value such as Mars (Greek Ares) who was seen as second in importance only to Jupiter (Greek Zeus) in Roman mythology while he was mostly known in Greece as the most humiliated and punished god (Nardo 103). Few characteristics of gods were highlighted more than others such as the focus on Minerva being a warrior before being the goddess of wisdom. Roman mythology also witnessed the inclusion of new stories about gods, Roman heroes and divine deities. The stories of western mythology are most known with their Greek names for gods and heroes such as Zeus,

Hera, Poseidon, and Aphrodite; however, when astronomy is involved, these characters are 19 referred to using their Roman counterparts (Jupiter, Juno, Neptune and Venus) (Falkner

10).

The Japanese mythology may not have the same attention that Western mythology has especially in the west, but it is definitely interesting and worthy of attention. In the modern Japanese society, “the myths aren't as important as they once were, but Japanese tradition goes on—with some typically Japanese modifications. (Levin 54). Archaeologists are still working to discover the origins of human culture in Japan and there is definite evidence of humans existed 30,000 years ago in japan even though there is little information about them (Roberts IX). The Yamato kings or emperors came and they progressively and steadily extended their rule over the Japanese islands through warfare and diplomacy. Shinto was the religion of these kings and it involves worshiping different

Kami24.

The story of creation (or the myth of creation) was introduced and kept through oral tradition during the Yamato rule and became vital to the Shinto religion. These myths were recorded in the Kojiki (Book of Ancient Things) and the Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan, compiled in the eighth century). By the fifth century A.D., there was a frequent contact between Japan and China. The influence of China helped to spread and introduce

Buddhism and other Chinese belief systems, such as Daoism (Roberts XII) which later influenced Shintoism (Needham 175). The Kami are numerous and it is said that there are possibly over 8 million Kami (Roberts XIV); however, there are basic ones which are those that belong to the Japanese mythology which is a combination of Shinto and Buddhism25.

The Kojiki (Book of Ancient Things) and the Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan) are the basic sources for Japanese mythology where the myth of creation is found. The Kojiki (Book of

Ancient Things or Book of Ancient Matters) was prepared in 682 A.D. by a group of officials commissioned by Emperor Temmu but was not completed until 712 A.D (Aston 20 xiii) and the Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan) was completed in 710 A.D eight years after the

Kojiki. (Chamberlain 28).

There are many versions of the myth of creations that are similar but differ in few details. So the one that will be told in this research is the first story found in the Nihongi. In the Nihongi, it is believed that, in the beginning of all things, Heaven and Earth were not separated. They formed an egg-like chaotic mask where the clear, thin and pure essence formed the sky and the heavy, gross element settled and became Earth. Heaven was formed first because what was thin and pure could easily form a united body unlike what was heavy and gross. Divine beings were created between Heaven and Earth and the soil that composed lands floated in a manner that can be described as a” fish coming out of the water”. Between Heaven and Earth there were the first three Kami, Kuni-toko-tashi no mikoto, Kuni-no sashuti and Toyo-kumu no mikoto. The next deities which came to being are Izanagi and Izanami (see appendix page I and ii). The first deities were formed by mutual action of Heavenly and Earthly principles, they were male and female. Izanagi and

Izanami stood on a bridge in heaven and held a spear together wondering why there was no land down there. A small part of the spear , then, broke and formed an island with the name Ono-guru-jima. The two deities descended from heaven and decide to become a husband and wife and together they produced countries (the islands of Japan), other deities, and humans (Aston 1-100).

Japanese mythology still lives today in the Japanese society and culture. It can be found in the names of places, mountains and people, in Japanese literature and art and in modern products of the Japanese pop culture such as anime, manga, illustrated novels and light novels. Even some manners and behaviors of the Japanese may have had a mythological origin and still practiced as a tradition. The most obvious manifestation of ancient Japanese myths are the Shinto temples that can be found in different parts of Japan 21 and still have priests. Also, the Japanese festivals which are celebrated out of habit and traditions while it was before as celebrations for Shinto gods.

So, mythology has many meanings and it could be analyzed as a subject of study or as a component within different mediums. It is an important part of any culture. Western mythology is a well-known mythology and it could exist even in Japanese products such as anime. Japanese mythology is also used in this product. Mythology can act as a window from which, the lives and way of thinking of people in ancient times can be visualized.

22

End-notes to Chapter One

1 Which can be found in the Wallace translation of Blumenberg (Davenport 2).

2 In its classical usage, the term “Mythography” refers to the works of “mythographers” or the compilers of myths. Most recently, it means the study of myths and rituals (Davenport

2).

3 I.e. myths.

4 Which was believed to be true at that time.

5 Such as literary works, films, movies, animations…etc.

6 “Theories that profess to provide the origin of myth claim to know not where and when myth first arose but why and how myth arises wherever and whenever it does “ (Segal 3).

7 Extracting, explaining and supporting a sense of amazement when it comes to the origin of life and the nature of creation, life, divine deities and human beings.

8 Presenting cosmology in a way that guarantees mystery and amazement before the idea of the existence and life and the existence of mystery itself in this life.

9 Meaning that he saw mythology as both spiritual and narrative.

10 Of the world, the origin of human kind and life, the existence of certain rules and traditions and rituals, the way of life and order, the natural disasters, the way of thinking of people at those times, their mindset . . . etc.

11 This is on the psychological level where mythology exists to reassure people that there is a higher power than humans’ that rewards the good, punishes the bad and restore and maintain peace and order. 23

12 Where mythology is used to maintain the current state of social order and way and style of life.

13 Political, social or spiritual guidance where mythology provides stories or components/ideas with its stories that people may use in their daily lives, It acts as a guide through the stories of adventures and as a solution to their problems, It can also act as a guide toward a deep understanding of life and to reach the maximum state of awareness.

14 Such as the film theory or cinema studies which is suitable to analyze a film but might be the best choice to analyze a literary work.

15 “Jung defined as ‘universal images that have existed since the remotest times.’ More specifically, he described an archetype as ‘a figure ... that repeats itself in the course of history wherever creative fantasy is fully manifested.’ It is recognizable by the appearance of nearly identical images and patterns (found in rituals, characters, or entire narratives) that predispose individuals from wholly different cultures and backgrounds to respond in a particular way, regardless of when or where they live” (Dobie 62).

16 Usually it is used in the field of literature and anthropology and to interpret film but it can be used to analyze animation as well and non-literary works…etc. because archetypes exists everywhere and “…appear in our dreams and religious rituals, as well as in our art and literature” (Dobie 63) and are not bound to be found in literature only.

17 When we become caught up in the atmosphere of a compelling book, say myth critics, it is usually because of the mythic elements (Gillespie 59).

18 derived from ‘animation’ and phonetically pronounced ‘ah-neemeh’; originally a blanket term for all animation produced within Japan, but now used in the West to also designate the particular approach to style and content adopted in Japan originally 24

called Japanese animation or Japanimation (coined by Toshiya Ueno then the name was shortened to “anime”) (Kelts)

19 A river in the Underworld

20 Ugly monsters with fifty heads and a hundred hands (Nardo 233)

21 Oceanus and Tethys, who took charge of the sea; Hyperion and Thea, deities of the sun and moon, respectively; Rhea, who would later come to be called “the Great Mother”; and

Cronos (whom the Romans called Saturn) (Nardo 233).

22 Mostly jealous of the titans.

23 the Hundred-handers

24 “The word is usually translated into English as “gods” or “deities,” though the concept is actually more complicated than that. Kami can be divided into two main categories. The first relates to natural phenomena. For example, a mountain or a stream may be thought to have a kami associated with it. A mountain kami might be seen to help a farmer by providing water during the growing season. This kind of spirit or force does not necessarily serve humans, but its favor can be beneficial to them. The opposite is also true—an angry kami can cause great destruction. The second category of kami are ancestral spirits, called ujikami, or clan deities. These spirits can help individuals in the present. However, they do much more than that. The process of honoring one’s ancestors helps unify the extended family that descended from them. Maintaining these bonds strengthens the clan and the entire society. A person is responsible to these spirits for his or her behavior. If aperson does something dishonorable, such as committing a crime or telling a lie, the ancestors are shamed as well.” (Roberts XIII) 25

25 For example, Amaterasu could be seen as the Japanese version of Vairocana, whose name means “sunlike.” Vairocana is the all-powerful, sunlike manifestation of the everlasting Buddha (Roberts XVI) 26

Chapter two: why Anime?

Anime is a significant element of the Japanese culture. It is also an economic export that boosted the economy of japan and integrated it into the global economy. This chapter explains anime and shows its importance. It defines anime, lists all of its sources and explains the most influential source (manga). It shows the importance of anime in culture and economy and how it became so important. It also deals with the Otaku Culture and clarifies the reasons for the popularity of anime across the globe. Chapter Two also talks about the Otaku Culture in Algeria and investigates it using an online survey.

Japanese animation or “Anime”1 (Japanese: アニメ) is a Japanese film/television that often has a science fiction subject (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary). It is a famous type of TV shows/animation that is made in specialized studios in Japan where artists and computer-animators work hand in hand to create products that are highly consumed and highly valued within and outside the borders of japan as symbols or entities of the Japanese pop-culture (Craig 4). In his book The Anime Galaxy: Japanese Animation

As New Media, Herlander Elias argues that anime is not representative of all animation films produced in Japan and that the relevance of Anime depends on “…its popular language and the format it imprints on fictions relying on motion, participation and subjectivity” (65). In “Contemporary Anime in Japanese Pop Culture” Gilles PoItras defines anime as “… (1) anime is simply the word used by the Japanese for all animation, without regard to its nation of origin; and (2) outside of Japan, the common use of the word 27 anime is to refer specifically to Japanese animation” and then insists on using the second definition in his essay (48). PoItras tries to trace the origin of anime and suggests that anime” has no special origin” yet it can be traced back to the “Meiji era”, which spanned the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when “there was a rich flow of technical and artistic knowledge between the Japanese, European, and American cultures.” (PoItras

49).

The stories of anime, however, have an origin –or rather sources- and come from different sources with “Manga”2 being the sources for most of the stories used in anime

(PoItras 61). Other sources may include light novels (Steinberg 244) -such as Baka and

Test- (Bing) , video games (such as Canaan), Japanese literally works (such as Aoi

Bungaku Series), European or American novels/classics (such as Heidi) (Clement), drama

(Blast of Tempest or Zetsuen No Tempest), and in rare cases the animation company i.e. original (Code Cease). The stories of both anime and manga can be based on legend, history, novels, ancient plays and recited tales (PoItras 61) and –what this research is trying to investigate- Mythology.

In the introduction of Japanese Visual Culture: Explorations in the World of

Manga and Anime, Mark W. MacWilliams suggests a number of similarities between manga and anime arguing that they share what he called “a mixed or hybrid nature”. He explains, while paraphrasing the words of David Carrier in The Aesthetics of Comics, that

“they both blend the visual and the verbal into a unified whole, manga via a synthesis of text and images and anime through dialogue in cinematic live action”.

Then he adds that they are both culturally hybrid as a result of the modern Japanese-

Western contact and their Japanese origins while depicting Japan’s “venerable tradition of caricature and sequential” and Western inspiration and influence with the western styles, themes and visual culture. He describes manga and anime as forms of contemporary art 28 which ultimately dissolve the “impermeable line” between high and low art and as a part of a “mixed media”3 where entertainment intermingles with Japan’s increasingly globalized culture industry (MacWilliams 6).

Herlander insists that before talking about the history of Japanese animation, it is important to explain thoroughly the history of Manga considering that “Manga is the designation for Japanese comics preceding the advent of anime.” (Herlander 52). Manga, or Japanese comics, is considered one of the most important parts of the Japanese pop culture and it is closely linked to the Japanese history and culture (Martinez 94). Kinko Ito, in “Manga in Japanese History”, states that the caricature was the first form Manga had sprung from, with the first caricatures of people, animals, and “grossly exaggerated phalli” being found on the backs of planks in the ceiling of the Horyuji temple in 1935. In 1867, the last year of the Tokugawa shogunate, Hokusai manga and other picture books were displayed by the Japanese government at the World exposition in Paris. This was a proof that these popular picture genres were becoming increasingly accepted by the authorities as part of mainstream Japanese culture. With this event, manga was acknowledged as a part of the Japanese culture. Manga kept on developing and expanding its scope adding an

American flavor with the American influence on manga as it was used as a political tool to target masses, by masses for political resistance and by the government which restrained manga through political repression before and during World War II4. It was after World

War II that manga’s popularity reached its highest peak5 with the appearance of new manga magazines and Osamu Tezuka, the famous so-called “God of Manga”. Osamu

Tekuza is considered the founder of modern Japanese manga and whose manga Shin- takarajima (New Treasure Island), published in 1947, astonished young readers and sold more than 400,000 copies. After the Japanese economic boom after the end of the post-war 29 era in japan, New manga such as Tetsuwon Atomu and Swallowing the Earth, new genres such as gekiga, or “drama pictures” and “gag manga” and new weekly magazines such as

Shonen magajin (Boys’ Magazine) came into life announcing the success of manga and its establishment within the Japanese culture and economy. In 1990, a sign that manga had finally become fully respectable came with the Japanese Ministry of education’s prize for manga, which officially recognized it as an artistic and cultural resource of Japan, That same year, the animation studio Nippon Animation started production of Chibi Maruko- chan (Little Miss Maruko). This anime was based on Momoko Sakura’s story of the same title that ran in Ribon, a girls’ comic periodical in 1986. Both Sakura’s manga and its anime version were shown on the Fuji Television Network attracted many fans of various ages. Chibi Maruko-chan became a national sensation and also had strong sales in collectibles and character-related merchandise (Okinko 26-47). So it seems obvious that

Manga has deep roots and connection with the Japanese history, culture and even politics.

It is acknowledged by both Japanese masses and government. This high value of manga and its success may be because of its unique characteristics such as its diversity of themes, targeted audience and genres, its affordability, its easily understood language and its aesthetic combination of images and texts into a new acknowledged type of art6. So, as it was mentioned earlier, manga is considered a primary source for an anime. Meaning that – in most cases- an anime adaptation of a manga (or rather a popular manga) will have almost the same popularity, value and place in the hearts of the Japanese and their culture as its original manga

In “Contemporary Anime in Japanese Pop Culture” Gilles PoItras states7 “The earliest commercial animated works were short works shown in movie theaters in addition to a main feature. The earliest of these was Imokawa Mukuzo genkanban no maki (Mukuzo

Imokawa (the Doorman) by Oten Shimokawa, released in 1917 (PoItras 49). Frederick S. 30

Litten in his research entitled “Some remarks on the first Japanese animation films in

1917” on the other hand argues that “There is widespread agreement in the literature that

Shimokawa’s Genkanban was the first Japanese animation film to be shown in a cinema”

.He argues that the Shimokawa’s article from 1934 may contain some contradicted statements concerning this matter. He later concludes his research after a long analysis of different sources stating that even though the earliest history of the Japanese animation is still unclear, the identity of the pioneers of the Japanese animation is known8 and the first

Japanese animation was certainly Shimokawa’s Dekobō shingachō – Meian no shippai for

Tenkatsu, which opened in early February 1917 and which was most likely made using blackboard animation (Litten 4-11).

In 1945, Momotaro umi no shinpei (Momotaro’s Divine Sea Warriors) was the first animated feature film that was for internal propagandistic purposes9. In 1958, Japan’s second animated feature was released, Hakujaden (The Legend of the White Serpent) and it was a great source of inspiration for those who later joined the Japanese animation industry in the 1960s and 1970s. It was a proof that locally made animated features could be a commercial product. The only full-length animation features in Japanese theaters before the release were from other countries, mainly the United States.

In 1962, and with the rapid spread of this new medium in Japan, animators could sell their works. The first made-for-television series was Otogi manga karenda (Otogi

Manga Calendar)10. In the following year, anime was an established television format after the broadcast of the first half-hour children’s series such as Tetsuwan Atom (Astro

Boy) and Tetsujin 28go (Giganticz) which were also successful in overseas broadcasts.

This early period also established several genres and themes in anime such as

Science fiction and the giant robot theme11. There was a rise in the number of anime aimed 31 at middle school students during the 1970s as a result of the desire of companies to expand the market beyond the grade school kids who had been the major consumers. In the 1980’s, anime started targeting high school and college students who did not stop watching anime as they grew older and, thus, the anime market has expanded. The technology of anime industry had developed in first years of the twenty-first century and coloring techniques were digitalized. Computer-generated anime (CGA) developed considerably and a mix of digitally painted two-dimensional images and three-dimensional computer effects has become an accepted technique for producing anime. Today, anime is becoming more internationally recognized especially with the rapid growth of the video anime market.

Anime became more remarkable after Miyazaki’s Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (Spirited

Away, 2001) won the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear Award in 2002 and the Oscar for

Best Animated Feature Film in 2003 (MacWilliams 50-59)

As a unique product of its own kind, Anime can be viewed in two ways; as a cultural element of the Japanese modern and pop-culture or as a highly demanded product in the international and the Japanese national market12. In Anime from Akira to Princess

Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation, Susan J. Napier explains (in

Chapter One entitled “why anime?”13) the reasons why she chose anime as the focus of her study. She begins by confirming the cultural value of anime in japan and the world by quoting John Treat who notes in his introduction to Contemporary Japan and Popular

Culture:

Culture is to think about the perennial14 problem of value: perennial first because

value is so exasperatingly mercurial15. . .and second because its determination only

deflects us from understanding how cultures high, low and in-between exist in

discursive16 and material relations of exchange, negotiation and conflict with each 32

other.” The “culture” to which anime belongs is at present a “popular” or “mass”

culture in Japan, and in America it exists as a “sub” culture. However, as Treat’s

point about the mercuriality of value suggests, this situation may well change.

Indeed, in Japan over the last decade, anime has been increasingly seen as an

intellectually challenging art form, as the number of scholarly writings on the

subject attest.

Napier then explains that in Japan, anime belongs at present to the “popular” or “mass”

“culture” while in America it exists as a “sub” culture”. However, she adds that the situation may well change (according the Treat’s view) because over the last decade, anime is viewed in Japan as “an intellectually challenging art form”. According to Napier, anime is also a popular cultural form that clearly builds on and shows influence from previous high cultural traditions and “…makes use of worldwide artistic traditions of twentieth century cinema and photography” (Napier 4).

Of course, anime was not always an important part of the Japanese popular culture or the pop culture industry because it was outshined by Japan’s live-action cinema and existed mainly as a cheap child-oriented alternative. However, anime had a long history that lead to its rise as the Japanese film industry declined which, in the fifties and sixties, was one of the greatest in the world. Animation offered an opportunity to gifted young animators at a time when live-action cinema seemed struggle with the increasing dominance of Hollywood on the one hand and the expansion of television viewing on the other. The cultural reasons behind anime’s popularity are more complex. Without doubt, one of the most obvious is its relation with manga and the cultural value manga has and its influence on the Japanese society (which was explained earlier) (Napier 16-17). Another reason is its adaptation by the Japanese society as a default form of entertainment in 33 television (MacWilliams 50). The final reason behind anime’s hold on Japanese culture has to do with its participation in global culture (Napier 17)

During the 1990s, Anime has entered the American vocabulary and it was used as the default word that describes Japanese animation. It even appeared in recent years in a

New York Times crossword puzzle. Anime was the “chief cultural export.” that allowed japan to enter the global cultural economy. Anime products became viral and has spread in different countries such as Korea and Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and Thailand. Even Europe was not safe from this cultural economic penetration where Akira was a top-selling video in the year after its release. In the United States, anime’s popularity has grown immensely especially during the last decade and it has moved from a product consumed only by a sub- cultural anime fan group to at least a marginal position in the mainstream. Because of its uniqueness and difference from Western products, anime clubs continue to attract growing numbers of members. Anime is shown on the Sci-Fi Channel. It is available at such mainstream video venues as Blockbuster Video and has a whole section devoted to it at

Virgin Megastore in London.

The influence of anime goes beyond Japanese exports of actual tapes and videodiscs to include everything from toys to American museums where anime-inspired artists can be found to give a critical comment. The definition of anime includes everything from animations of children’s classics (such as Heidi) to romantic comedies (such as No

Need for Tenchi) to everything that Western audiences are accustomed to seeing in live- action films—romance, comedy, tragedy (Napier 5-6). Anime and anime related industry consists of more than 430 production companies with some of the major studios in Japan such as Studio Ghibli, Gonzo and Toei animation (Hjorth 85). Many of these studios are organized into a trade association known as The Association of Japanese Animations. In 34

2001, anime had 7% market share of the Japanese film market which is above the 4.6% that live-action works accounted for. Anime has to be licensed by companies in other countries in order to be legally released. This was not done until the 1960’s where

American companies took the lead. Licenses are expensive; hundreds of thousands of dollars for one series and tens of thousands for one movie. The anime market was worth around $2.74 billion in 2009 for the United States.

Anime industry raises few concerns about Fansub, the addition of unlicensed and unauthorized subtitled translations of anime series or films. Fansub could be both a good thing for the industry. It can act as a tool of advertisement for the culture of anime outside japan and it can create few problems to the anime industry with millions of copies of anime circulating the internet (Hjorth 83). The Japanese authorities; however, tend to overlook such actions because most of those in the industry see it as a good advertisement and a tool for entering the world of globalization (Wurm).

Manga and anime are now an important part of the global culture industry. These pop cultural exports, along with Japanese fashion, pop music, and TV dramas, are now being widely consumed in Asia, Europe and North America. The Western interest in the otaku (anime fandom) culture is the result of globalization and information capitalism.

For a long time, “globalization” was synonymous with “Americanization”. However, and during the last decade, “Japanimation” is becoming a trend as a dominant cultural and economic force and a part the global flow of Japanese popular culture (MacWilliams 14).

This is can be seen through the wide spread of “divergent areas” such as sushi restaurants, karaoke bars and Hello Kitty merchandise. In 2003, anime was a five-billion-dollar business and “according to the Japan Information Network, Japan’s export market is approaching over 60 billion dollars, with 60 percent of all cartoon shows on TV throughout the world made in Japan” (MacWilliams 15). 35

Manga and anime attract many Japanese and Western fans. This attraction is not the result of its “eastern mystical sense of harmony with nature” but the outcome of what

Jean Marie Bouissou has called its “…aesthetic of excess, conflict, imbalance, and overt sensuality”. Anime is especially appealing because it has the power of expression where people’s hopes and fears and it can be considered as “mediascapes of dreamscapes” that must be explored (MacWilliams 5). Perhaps the most attracted group to the world of anime and manga and the Japanese culture are the members of the anime fandom or what is known as the Otaku.

The word Otaku is a “…polite, almost stiffly formal way of saying ‘you’ in

Japanese. Combining the honorific prefix o- with taku, meaning ‘house,’ it literally translates as ‘your house’. It carries “…connotations of impersonality and detachment”. Its equivalent in English could possibly be referring to someone as “sir,” “ma’am,” or “thee”.

This word had been associated in postwar Japan with the polite language used by housewives to refer to their neighbors and acquaintances. In Japan, This word now is used to refer to “obsessive, introverted young fans of popular culture”. Today, the word is being used regularity by groups of manga, anime, and science fiction fans at least since the

1970’s (Education about Asia 14).

According to Murakami, the term had been firstly used by the staff and the founders of Studio Nue who used it in a parodic manner as a “refined sense of elitism”.

The word, then, was adapted by anime and manga fans especially after being used by characters in the popular 1982 animated series Chōjikū yōsai Macross (Super Dimension

Fortress Macross) -the characters used otaku over more casual forms of “you”-. Others argued that the first use of the word “otaku” was among socially estranged pop culture fans 36 who preferred the term as a form of an informal language to address their fellow anime fans.

In 1989, the arrest of Miyazaki Tsutomu, a serial killer known as the “otaku murderer”, had changed the meaning of the word drastically in the Japanese society and gained a negative meaning. Miyazaki was charged for molesting, murdering, and mutilating four young girls in the suburbs of Tokyo. The police assumed that his actions were due to his addiction to pornographic and pedophilic anime. After his arrest, the

Japanese media associated the term with “vilified obsessive, introverted fans” who are

“dangerous, psychologically disturbed perverts”. This “belief” was confirmed when the leader of a terrorist group called Aum Shinrikyō and few members had interests in science fiction and a particular attraction to apocalyptic manga and anime. Thus, the Otaku culture in japan became associated intensely with “antisocial habits and fantasies both sexually perverted and violent” (Education about Asia 14)

In Japan, The otakus are “the notoriously obsessive fans of manga, anime, video games, and other forms of Japanese popular culture”. Generally referred to as “nerds” or

“geeks”. Otakus are visualized in Japan as “socially maladjusted young men, physically unattractive (usually gawky or overweight), dressed unstylishly (often sporting backpacks and anoraks), and unnaturally fixated on some narrow corner of mass culture”. Otaku are, according to one commentator, “socially inept loners . . . fanatically knowledgeable in one abstruse field, be it Godzilla movies or the history of sumo wrestling”. They are

“chronically shy,” “sickly pale,” and “socially inept, but often brilliant technological shut ins”. An otaku, the journalist Tsuzuki Kyoichi concluded, is “someone who doesn’t look good, who has no girlfriend, who is collecting silly things, and . . . who is into something 37 useless.”. The rise of an otaku identity in Japan has inspired books, films, and art movements that both celebrate and demonize these Otakus (Tsutsui 18)

In March 2008, the Otaku word had been added to the Oxford English Dictionary meaning “Originally in Japan: a person extremely knowledgeable about the minute details of a particular hobby (esp. a solitary or minority hobby); . . . one who is skilled in the use of computer technology and is considered by some to be poor at interacting with others.”

Around the world, anime and manga fans and admirers of the Japanese pop culture proudly embrace the label otaku and emulate the practices of Japan’s intense fanatics (Tsutsui 14).

Over the past twenty-five years, there was a rapid spread of Japanese popular culture— manga and anime, video games, character goods like Hello Kitty—in markets worldwide.

The Otaku culture was the most globally embraced Japanese pop phenomena.

In the 1990s, American anime fans began referring to themselves with pride as

“Otaku”. The term does not hold a negative meaning outside of Japan. It is used to refer to those anime, manga and Japanese culture fans who share their love for japan and its culture and meet and gather in anime conventions such as Otakon or what is known as “the convention of the otaku generation” (Tsutsui 17). In the United States, there is a special interest in the Otaku culture and many works were written about anime such as Susan

Napier’s Anime from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle: Experiencing Contemporary

Japanese Animation, Gilles Poitras’s The Anime Companion: What’s Japanese about

Japanese Animation , and, most recently, Frederik Schodt’s Astro Boy Essays:

Osamu Tezuka. Many Anthologies were also written in English about anime and manga and the Otaku culture such as John Whittier Treat’s Contemporary Japan and Popular

Culture, Timothy Craig’s Japan Pop! Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture, John

Lent’s Illustrating Asia, Timothy Craig and Richard King’s Global Goes Local: 38

Popular Culture in Asia and Steven Brown’s Cinema Anime. American interest in the

Otaku culture and the acknowledgment of its existence appears through Otaku USA, a glossy magazine for followers of many aspects of contemporary Japanese pop culture, and

Otaku Unite!, the documentary that celebrates the American Otaku community (Tsutsui

17).

Otaku communities have spread in other parts of the world including Great Britain,

Russia, South Africa, and South Korea and its members share many common characteristics with their Japanese counterparts—an obsession with the fantasy worlds of anime and manga, a reputation as nerds and outsiders—. The only difference their subcultures have evolved differently. American Otaku, for example, are more interested in

Cosplay (or Costume play) and see it as central to their Otaku identity. The Japanese Otaku see it as merely another activity for the Otaku to do. Another notable difference between the American fandom and the Japanese one is the prevalence of female enthusiasts of manga, anime, and video games. Through the 1990s, it was men who seemed to outnumber women among American Otakus, but fan conventions nowadays suggest the opposite. In

Japan, the general perception of Otaku is of young men, it is said that women have dominated the early years of Comiket and they sustain, both as creators and consumers especially when it comes to the popular genre of yaoi (manga depicting male homosexual relationships). In a global context, the Otaku culture is fluid and its parameters and characteristics are growing increasingly broad and varied (Tsutsui 17).

In Algeria, the existence and the activeness of the Otaku community are questioned and there are no relevant studies that deal with this matter. This is why an online survey had been distributed in Algerian Facebook groups and Chats to get as many Algerian participants as possible to answer the questions of the survey. The questions were directed to the Algerian population. The survey was created through an online survey website called 39

Smart Survey. This website allows the researcher to choose a theme for the survey website page, insert different questions and choose different answering methods for each question.

What is good about this website is that it makes sure that no participant can answer the survey more than once. It also allows the survey creator to see the progress of the survey and get a summary and an analysis of all answers of the participants (see fig.1).The sample was a group of 60 participants who live in different parts of Algeria. Since this survey is aiming to investigate only the existence and the activeness of the Otaku community in

Algeria, there were no questions about the gender and the age of the participants (gender and age are irrelevant criteria in this research).

The first two questions make sure that all participants are Algerian participants from different parts of the country to ensure authenticity and representation of the population. Question 3, 4 and 5 aim to investigate whether Algerians had ever been exposed to anime and to what extent they were exposed and interested. These questions have proved that Algerians, in fact, had been exposed to anime with 96.67% of participants who had watched anime at least once in their life, 78.33% still watching it and 79.63% of them who prefer to watch anime online. Question 7 aims to investigate whether Algerians are affected with the anime culture or not by asking about the favorite anime of the participants. It also sees whether it matches with the previous answers or not. The answers were pleasant with most participants answering with more than 3 favorite anime and some participants mentioning some the recent and ongoing anime that are still aired in Japan such as One piece, Fairytail, One Punch Man and Detective Conan.

70% of the participants who answered Question 8 are familiar with the Otaku community and acknowledge its existence in Algeria. 60% of them admitted that they belong to the Otaku Community in Algeria (by answering Question 9). Again 60% of the participants had admitted doing some of the activity that the Otakus usually engage in at 40 least have witnessed some of these activities in their areas. These activities include

Cosplay (costume play), making a Doujishin (self-made manga), attending an anime convention, reading manga, watching, downloading or buying anime, buying anime related items, and being in an online Otaku community. Other participants added that they have engaged in more activities such as Fanart (drawing anime) and pretending to be an anime character.

Question 12 is aiming to investigate the common tendency of the Algerians when it comes to Cosplay. It appears that (according to the response) what matters to the Algerians when it comes to Cosplay is whether the costume matches the character being cosplayed or not. This is unlike the American Otakus who would be more impressed if the costume is self-made. It is also unlike the Japanese Otakus who think that the most important thing in

Cosplay is the ability to mimic the character being cosplayed (Galbraith).

70% of the participants were never in a manga café or an anime shop and this might be due to the serious lack of manga café and anime shops in Algeria. Most of the well- known manga café and anime shops are found only in Algiers where most of conventions

(such as FIBDA: Festival International De Band Dessiné) are held. It seems that a 65% of the participants are unaware of the existence of Algerians Mangaka (manga artists. This might be due to the lack of media attention concerning this matter.

The last question in the survey (Question 15) attempts to reveal common beliefs held by Algerians about the possible source of ideas of anime. Some of the answers are really interesting. The answers range from reality, history and imagination to legends, mythology, and fairytales. So, this survey confirms the existence and the activeness of the

Otaku community in Algeria. This is why this community must be given attention by the authorities and the Algerian society. The Otaku community in Algeria should be seen with a critical eye and probably be investigated even further from a different perspective. 41

Anime is an interesting product that could gain a lot of value, importance and popularity in the culture and economy of japan. It could enter the hearts of anime fans across the globe. It established Japan as a cultural and economic force that has a major impact and contribution in the global community. This chapter is the answer to the question mentioned in the title “why anime?”. Anime was chosen because of its cultural and economic significance and value inside and outside Japan and because it was not given the attention it deserves in Algeria. It is worthy of attention as a global product that sprung from japan and could penetrate into the lives and culture of the world and even here in

Algeria. What was interesting about the survey explained earlier is that some of the participants had listed Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood among their favorite anime and this shows the popularity of this anime.

42

End Notes to Chapter Two

1 derived from ‘animation’ and phonetically pronounced ‘ah-neemeh’; originally a blanket term for all animation produced within Japan, but now used in the West to also designate the particular approach to style and content adopted in Japan . originally called Japanese animation or Japanimation (coined by Toshiya Ueno then the name was shortened to “anime” (The Art Gallery of New South Wales )

2 Manga: (literally humorous comics) a Japanese comic strips (Oxford Advanced Learner’s

Dictionary). originally meaning irresponsible or irreverent pictures of a sardonic nature; used in 18th century Japan to describe risqué prints and hanging scrolls and further applied to Western style comics with frame sequencing and speech balloons.

The term now specifically relates to the 20th century art form and industry of

Japanese comics. It is sometimes confusingly applied in the West as anime (The Art

Gallery of New South Wales 8)

3 refer to a phenomenon of contemporary markets in which a single corporate conglomerate dominates by producing and distributing a wide variety of media products to its consumers

4 The government forced manga-artists to draw pro-war manga

5 Because of the freedom that was given by the allied forces to manga artists which they didn’t have before or during the war

6 In December 1999, the Japanese education Ministry gave concrete expression of this acceptance by approving the application submitted by Kyoto Seika University (Kyoto,

Japan) to create a School of Cartoon and Comic Art, which began operation in April 2000 43

7 while paraphrasing Fred Patten in Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews,

8 Shimokawa Ōten, Kitayama Seitarō, and Kōuchi Jun’ichi

9 mainly to lift the spirits of Japanese children

10 It was a 312-episode series of three-minute educational clips discussing history

11 Toy sales were a significant barometer of the success of a giant robot show

12 Or maybe it can be viewed as both

13 Which was the inspiration for the title of this chapter

14 Continuing for a very long time, happening over and over.

15 Annoyingly unexpected

16 Moving from one point to another without a certain structure. 44

Chapter Three: Western and Japanese Mythological Elements in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

The third (and last) chapter links western and Japanese mythology with anime through identifying mythological elements in a successful anime that was released in 2009 and found huge success among recipients. This anime is entitled Fullmetal Alchemist

Brotherhood. It is an Anime adaptation of the manga entitled Fullmetal alchemist or

Hagane no Renkinjutsushi by Hiromu Arakawa that premiered on April 5, 2009 on MBS-

TBS, directed by Yusuhiro Irieand and licensed by madman entertainment, Funimation,

Odex, and Manga entertainment (Free Collars Kingdom 476). The original manga concluded at 108 serialized chapters with 27 tankōbon (graphic novel) releases, it has two anime adaptations one in 2003 and one in 2009 and both were translated into English

(Fullmetal Alchemist wiki). The 2009 anime adaptation, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, was translated into English for the North American release (featured list 443) and to many other languages such as French, Portuguese and German. The version of the animation that will be used in this research is the licensed English subbed version of the 2009 anime adaptation entitled Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood that the official website of

Funimation provides (Irieand). This chapter provides an analysis of the plot, themes, motifs and symbols of the anime and suggests its relation with Greco-Roman mythology and the Japanese mythology.

Even though the plot of the anime Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood follows the storyline of the original manga Fullmetal Alchemist (Marshall 96), There are still some 45 differences between it and the manga and the anime adaptation of 2003 entitled Fullmetal

Alchemist. The differences include the omission of some of the content due to its inclusion in the anime of 2003 and time or budget constraints, the introduction of exclusive characters such as the Ice Alchemist (Isaac McDougal), the adjustment in the settings of the first episode and –in general- few minor changes in the plot (Fullmetal Alchemist wiki).

The anime Fullmetal alchemist brotherhood (and the manga Fullmetal alchemist) is set in a fantasy world1 in which alchemy is widely known and practiced (Marshall 96).

In this world, alchemy is considered to be both a science in some areas such as in central

Amestris where it has the attention of the government that set a group of “state alchemists” to serve the country and a magic or a miracle in other areas such as the village of Ishbal and a small village in the desert called Reole in Eastern Amestris. It tells the story of two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, two young alchemists, who committed the forbidden alchemic practice of human transmutation in a failed attempt to bring back their deceased mother to life. One of the brothers, Edward Elric, enlists in the army as a State Alchemists and becomes known as the Fullmetal Alchemist and goes on a trip looking for the

Philosopher’s stone. The Philosopher’s stone is a precious stone that is rumored to have magical powers that may be the solution to the disappearance of Edward’s arm and leg and

Alphonse’ entire body as a side effect (or a sacrifice they were forced to make to an entity called Truth) of their attempt of human transmutation. The brothers face many obstacles in their journey and they discover the truth of the Philosopher’s stone and the high price that is required to make it. They also find out the deep dark secret that surrounds the government of Amestris.

46

From its title, and because Edward Elric, his brother Alphonse Elric, State

Alchemists and many characters of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood practice alchemy constantly throughout the course of the story, it is obvious that one of the major themes of

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is alchemy. Alchemy is a primitive form of chemistry

(Bainbridge 176) whereby the common belief was that “…certain elect humans could be

God's conduit to his earthly creatures2…” (Janacek 9).

The idea of controlling “earthly creatures” itself is directly related to mythology where most of deities and gods from Greco-Roman mythology and Japanese mythology can, in fact, control some of these “earthly creatures” such as the Greek god Poseidon (or

Neptune in Roman Mythology) who controls everything in the sea realm (Nardo, The

Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman Mythology 107) and Kagutsuchi, the

Japanese “kami3” of fire (Coulter 78), who could control the element of fire (Ashkenazi

186). The origin of Alchemy is disputed over ; however, it existed in China during the sixth century (Selin 196) and later “penetrated” into japan and influenced the beginnings of

Shintoism4 (Needham 175) and in Greek writings after the fourth and the fifth century (The

Japan Daily Mail 990). So, alchemy is closely related to both western and Japanese mythology. In fact, there was a common belief among Alchemists that ancient myths acted as some sort of roadmap or a “magical trails” that leads to the needed formulas for gold or silver creation. Meaning that decoding ancient texts and myths unveils “secret recipes” to precious metals such as gold and silver out of common ones (Hollihan 67). There is also a common tendency to use mythological symbols and metaphors as a way to explain some of alchemy’s findings and formulas (Hoke 151). “Newton believed that in the distant past, people knew great truths about nature and the universe. This wisdom was lost over time, but Newton thought it was hidden in Greek myths, which he interpreted as encoded 47 alchemical recipes” (Newman). So, Alchemy is not only related to western and Japanese mythology in terms of historical concurrence but also in terms of content and symbolism.

Another theme in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is war and corruption. This appears through the character King Bradley (a human-based homunculi5 with the name

“Wrath”), his fellow supporters inside the government and other homunculus who created and fueled wars, killed innocent people, blackmailed soldiers and spread and used terror to expand the nation’s borders because of their selfish desires and ambitions under the orders of Father6. The relationship between war and corruption was not clear until the last episodes when Edward realizes that the Fuhrer he admired is actually a homunculi and an enemy of the whole country. He also realizes that all the wars that had happened for

“mysterious reasons” are in fact caused, well-planned and monitored by the Fuhrer himself with the help of the homunculi under direct orders from a mysterious character they call

Father.

The theme of war and corruption is found in many mythologies but it seems to be almost identical to the stories and qualities of Greek god Ares (better known as the Roman god Mars) (Nardo 103) who combines both war and corruption7. Ares enjoys bloodshed and wars (Fiore 96) excessively (Praxiphanes 219) especially those that are caused and fueled by him (Fiore 96). Ares seems to have similar attitudes of Father who is the most corrupted character in the series who secretly enjoys conflicts especially those between the brothers Edward and Al. Ares may not have ulterior motives behind his love for wars and conflicts, or reasons to be corrupted; however, Father, Wrath, the homunculi and the corrupted government officials surely have his qualities and had done many of his mischievous deeds.

48

According to Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, The proper application of the craft of alchemy requires a full understanding of chemistry and ancient alchemical theory. It requires natural talent towards recognizing and manipulating the physical objects with energy. It also needs uncommon levels of intelligence and aptitude. Those with the ability to study and master this craft are called “alchemists” (Alchemy). However, this craft requires another kind of skills which is the ability to manipulate what is known as

“transmutation circles” (see fig. 2). Transmutation circles are one of the most recurring symbols in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and the most important because the power of alchemy lies in them. Transmutation circles are so recurrent and have a close connection with the theme of alchemy. It can be considered as the only motif of this anime. The transmutation circles symbolize the transition between the real world and the spiritual world i.e. the world of alchemy and sometimes the transition between life and death (when a human transmutation circle is activated). Transmutation circles also symbolize the gate of the spirit where from the spiritual energy is released –or rather activated- to be able to perform alchemy.

There are different kinds of transmutation circles in alchemy according to the anime. Perhaps the most important one is the human transmutation circle that combines a group of other symbols as well (see fig. 3). It is important to note that transmutation circles are purely the creation of Hiromu Arakawa, the mangaka of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga (where from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood was adapted). But even though transmutation circles were the creation of Hiromu Arakawa, it heavily relies on many existing alchemical symbols such as the circle, the pentacle, the caduceus, the Ergon,

Mercury symbol, and Saturn symbol.

The circle in alchemy‘s transmutation circles is very important for a very obvious reason (because without it the transmutation circles won’t be “circles”). In alchemy, the 49 circle symbolizes fluidity and eternal experiment (Zell-Ravenheart 146). The Circle has a deep connection with western and Japanese mythology where it symbolizes cyclic regeneration in Greco-Roman mythology such as the reunion of Demeter and her daughter

Persephone then in spring then the departure of Persephone during autumn (Zell-

Ravenheart 15). In Japanese mythology, it has a higher significance as it symbolizes the sun (Levin 5) and it is found in one of the most known Japan’s national symbols which is the red circle in the Japanese national flag.

Perhaps the pentacle8 (see fig. 4) has a deeper connection with western and

Japanese mythology than the circle. The pentacle in alchemy studies is a sign of health, mystic powers, and harmony. In ancient Greece, The ancient Greeks who followed the philosophy of Pythagoras used it to represent the marriage between earth and the heavens and as a formation for health (Ancient Alchemy Signs and Symbols). In Greek and Roman mythology, the pentacle is, without doubt, the symbol of the goddess of love Aphrodite

(Roman Venus) (Criswell 24). In Japanese culture, the pentagram9 is a symbol of magical power, it is a diagram of the "overcoming cycle" of the five elements of life10 (Pentagram).

The pentacle also alludes to the number five which is the number of men The Japanese god

Susanoo had made from Amaterasu's ornament chain (Guru 24) and a number of the generations of earthly gods (Brownlee 26).

The Caduceus (see fig. 5) is a symbol that can be found in a type of transmutation circles. It is considered to be a symbol on its own and can be noticed on the coat of Edward

Elric and the armor of Alphonse Elric, the protagonists of the story. It is also the ancient

Roman symbol of the god Mercury (and the symbol of the Greek God Hermes). It is basically a symbol featuring two wing-topped serpents wrapped around a center rod (Daly

30). It can be also the staff of Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine, featuring a single, wingless serpent wound around a rod (Metevelis 460). The two serpent caduceus is often 50 mistakenly used as a symbol of medicine and pharmacy and is associated with Apollo the

Greek and Roman god of medicine and healing rather than Hermes or Mercury the god of thieves, travelers, commerce and many other things. The Japanese parallel is a Caduceus- like emblem found in the ancient Japanese world with wings symbolizing the upper world

(heaven). The serpents symbolize the cyclic death and renewal and the creation itself. It is also believed to be the origin of the myth of dragon since dragons had always been associated with serpents (Metevelis 128). The wings in Japanese mythology also refer to the wind and to the animating spirit (Metevelis 459).

The Ergon (see fig. 6) is the ancient spiritual symbol for the right eye of the soul.

The alchemists had adopted this symbol’s design from the ancient Egyptian “Eye of Ra”.

In alchemy, Ergon is a symbol for the spiritual world (Ancient Alchemy Signs and

Symbols). In Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, this symbol appears in some of the transmutation circles and it may also refer to the eye that appears when human transmutation circle is activated and behind the gate of truth. The Ergon may also refer to the eye of god or the all-seeing eye which is manifested through the god of light Apollo who travels in the sun chariot and sees everything during his journey and his Delphi which is considered the eye of the future (Grierson 141) and it may refer to the shared eye by the

Graeae (or the Gray Women) without which they cannot see (Bane 142) and the single eye of Cyclopes (Grierson 141). In Japanese mythology, eyes are important symbols because two main deities, Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu, are born from the eyes or Izanagi (Kodansha

293).

The mercury symbol is not so recurrent but it is one of the components of the resurrections transmutation circle (the human transmutation circle) (see fig.7). In alchemy, this symbol represents fluidity, transformation, and intellect. It is a lunar and female metal 51 linked by alchemists with 'cold' energy. As the only common metal liquid at ordinary temperatures, mercury was of great interest to alchemists (Tresidder). In Japanese mythology (which is a combination of Buddhism and Shintoism) (Levin 29), this symbol is the Genie or God Buddha who is situated between the Sun and the Moon. He is the permanent companion of the Sun of Wisdom. In Greek Mythology, Mercury displayed wings in order to express how he assisted the Sun on its sidereal course. It is the name of the Roman god (Greek Hermes) who is the messenger of gods and the fastest among them

(Weor 111). Hermes the Greek messenger god, known as Mercury in the Roman pantheon, represents wisdom, cunning, magic, spiritual illumination, skill with swords and mischief

(Guiley 133).

Human Transmutation circle also contains another symbol, the symbol of Saturn. In

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and in alchemy, this symbol represents lead, a necessary element used in alchemy. The symbol in the human transmutation circle it slightly modified by it has a similar shape of the symbol in alchemy (see fig.8). Alchemists usually give metals the symbols of planets and, in this case, they gave lead the symbol of the planet Saturn (Silberer). Saturn symbolizes partition, definition and ego (Sullivan 24).

“The Saturn symbol is composed of two design elements. The top cross, which is symbolic of the culmination of matter as well as the function of a [sic] intense focus. The second component of the Saturn icon is a crescent an element which it signifies receptivity.”

(Venefica, Saturn Symbol and Meanings).

The symbol itself refer to the Roman god of agriculture with the name Saturn

(Cronus the father of gods and the titans’ king in Greek mythology) (Daly 131). The cross and the crescent shape that form the symbol were used to refer to the scythe of Cronus which he used to cut the organs of his father (Venefica). So, the Saturn symbol which was 52 used to refer to the lead element in the human transmutation circle has direct relation with

Greek and Roman mythology and no apparent relation with Japanese mythology.

In the anime, all the homunculi have a tattoo that is featuring an Ouroburos on a part of their body (see fig.9); Lust have it on the upper sternum, Envy’s Ouroboros is located on the left thigh, Gluttony’s on the tongue, Greed’s on the back of the left hand,

Wrath’s on the left eye, Sloth’s on the back of the left shoulder and Pride’s on the forehead after turning into the true form. “Ouroboros a circular symbol of a snake or dragon devouring its tail, standing finity or wholeness; also written uroboros or [Ouroboros]“

(The Ouroboros Father Project 2). Plato described the first living thing as a self-eating, circular being which is an immortal, mythologically constructed entity i.e. the Ouroborus

(Metzger 314). This symbol in alchemy symbolizes infinity and wholeness. It represents the endless cycle of life and death, assimilation, integration, and immortality (Carmine 92).

The Ouroboros is a symbol that existed in many cultures and mythologies such as the Greek and Roman Culture and mythology and the Japanese mythology. In Greek mythology, it represented Echidna, a half-woman half-serpent monster, whose offspring included several dragons and Cecrops, the culture hero of the Athenians, who had a man's head and chest on a snake's body (Serpents and Snakes). In Japanese mythology, it represents the giant dragon eating its tail that surrounds the area of the world that is threatened by earthquakes and tsunami and can be found in the 19th century medieval

Japanese map11 (see fig.10) (Forbes).

The philosopher’s stone is a major symbol in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and it has been mentioned in many different episodes as being the item everyone in the story seeks. In the anime, the stone was used to overridden the law of equivalent exchange12 where the user can perform alchemical practices without having to sacrifice anything in return. The philosopher’s stone is a stone that alchemists wanted since they began studying 53 alchemy and some say that some alchemists managed to create it. The stone is rumored to have magical powers that allow the alchemist to turn any metal into gold, heal all illnesses

(Barry vii) and create human clones or homunculi (Lötscher 44).

Perhaps it’s not the stone itself that is related to western and Japanese mythology, but its qualities and the fact that it sprung from the chemical and alchemical connections between elements and that it requires a sacrifice to be made13. Such connections are manifested in the creation of Venus (Greek Aphrodite) who is “...depicted as sprung from the sea” (Regardie 96), the Pegasus (the winged horse) who sprung out of the blood of medusa after being decapitated and the serpent in general in Greek mythology14

(Gardiner). The equivalent of the philosopher’s stone in Japanese mythology is the

Cintamani Stone, one of the three treasures of Japan and it is “…a stone believed to have fallen from the skies during the reign of King Lha Tototi Nyentsen in a chest with four other objects.” (Rogers 9).

Perhaps the last symbol in this anime is the gate that appears whenever a human transmutation circle is activated. In Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, the gate appears after activating a human transmutation circle in the attempt to resurrect the dead or to create the philosopher’s stone. The gate appeared to Edward and Al after their attempt to resurrect their mother, to their teacher after her attempt to resurrect her dead baby, to Roy

Mustang after being forced to perform a human sacrifice and to Father after his failed attempt to transcend into a god. The gate in this anime symbolizes the journey from earth to heaven, the journey from reality to unconsciousness, the journey from earth to heaven or the journey from the real world to the world of alchemy and pure knowledge. The gate may also refer to alchemy itself because when Edward’s gate was “sacrificed” to bring back his Brother Alphonse, Edward was no longer was able to use alchemy. 54

The thickness, the shape and the general look of the gate in the anime is similar to that of Rodin's sculpture at Stanford University, California (in which he was inspired by

Dante’s inferno) which features a popular design the gate of the underworld in Greek and

Roman mythology15 (Rodin) (see fig.11). However, in its significance, it is similar to the gates found in the Shinto temples that are said to be the port between the real world and the spiritual one (Schlief 90). The designs on the gate are unique to the person: the design on

Edward’s gate features Robert Fludd’s Sephirothic Tree of life (see fig.12) (Hague 153),

Alphonse’s gate contains a design similar to the illustration of 15th century alchemist

George Ripley’s The Marrow of Alchemy (see fig.13), Roy Mustang’s design is a the advanced tattoo of flame alchemy created by his teacher Berthold Hawkeye (see fig. 14) and Father’s gate is blank which might be because he already know all the truth and possesses all knowledge (because he16 is an entity from the alchemy world where pure knowledge resides).

In Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, the cooperation and the connection between

Edward Elric and Roy Mustang are noticeable and their combination of forces is what shapes the plot of the story. Their connection is manifested mainly in the last episodes where they combined forces to take the Fuhrer down. Roy Mustang, the representation of fire in his story, is the character in charge who is a natural leader whom all characters trust.

Edward Elric, the representation of metal, is the protagonist of the story and the one who makes things happen (by force most of the time and be intelligence few times). He is the talented alchemist and the one everyone can count on. Metal and fire and closely linked in the anime and together they symbolize hope. Mustang is the hope for the nation by seeking to become the Fuhrer, Edward is the hope of people by taking down the antagonist of the story and Winry (a female character in the anime) is the hope of Edward and the one who 55 gave him the will to live, the hope to have a happy life with her, and his mechanic arm and leg.

Metal and fire had been closely linked in the myth of titan Prometheus where he gave humans the gift of fire (Payment 44) which was their hope to survive and both are controlled by Greek god Hephaestus (Roman Vulcan) who gave the gods their weapons and melted metal with fire to create many of the inventions of humans according to the ancient Greeks (Daly). Fire and metal are also closely linked with the Japanese myth of

Kagutsuchi, the Japanese god of fire (and blacksmiths) of fire who could control both element (fire and metal) (Ashkenazi 186).

Who also seem really apparent among the characters of the anime are the homunculi17 with the names Wrath, Envy, Sloth, Lust, Gluttony, Pride and Greed. Wrath is the character behind the conspiracy of Amestris and the chosen leader of the country with the alias “King Bradley”. King Bradley, or Wrath, is a human based Homunculi who rose to power through surviving the injection of the Philosopher’s stone into his veins and killing his comrades. He is a natural leader with remarkable intelligence, great sword skills, an unmeasurable speed, superhuman strength and penetrating eyesight.

He is the typical Heracles from Greek mythology and he possesses the conventional attributes of most of gods and goddesses in Greek and Roman mythology and in Japan. He also has the qualities of Lynkeus, a Greek hero with superhuman strength and superhuman eyesight (Hard 527). Wrath is the equivalent of a god in this anime even though he never strived to become one, or rather a fallen god who serves a greater god with the name

Father. 56

Father is the mastermind behind all conspiracies in the country who began to plan for the fall of Amestris and its people even before it was created. He works behind the shadows and had always wished to become a god. He is the original homunculus with unknown origins and the one who created the homunculi through injecting his emotions and sins into the newly formed homunculi. Father is the first who possessed and used the

Philosopher’s stone and the one who granted himself, and Van Hohenheim (the father of

Edward and Elric) the gift of immortality. He wears a human shell based on the looks of

Hohenheim and he is considered the cause of every distress, deaths, wars and everything that plagued humanity since old times.

Father is a mixture of both Menominakanushi ("All-Father of the Originating Hub") from Japanese mythology (Mizue) and Circe from Greek mythology (Daly 35) by being the first homunculus who created the seven homunculi and performing “magical” tricks on

Edward and Alphonse during their encounter with him.

Among the Homonculi, envy is the closest to humans and their actions. Envy is the embodiment of some of Father's envy and has the ability to shape-shift as a mean of trickery and survival. He can modify its voice to be identical to the person being assumed and he is gifted with superhuman strength. The real form of Envy is a giant lizard-like creature with multiple legs, a long tail and a body that contains a huge number of faces of suppressed souls inside it18. Envy’s personality is as his name states; he is envious of the human race and wishes to become like them even though he keeps on belittling them and insulting their race.

Examples of shape-shifting in Greek (and Roman) mythology is Circe transforming Odysseus’ men into pigs, Apuleius's Lucius becoming a donkey in The

Golden Ass, the shape-shifting god Proteus and Metis the first wife of Zeus who had been 57 eaten by Zeus after transforming into a fly. In Greek mythology, shape-shifting is usual a punishment from gods to morals and other gods and almost every god have the ability to transform and appear to humans and to other gods in any shape they want (Daly). In

Japanese mythology, there are two well-known creatures who can shape-shift. The first creature is known by the name Tanuki (or raccoon-dog) and the second is the fox, or kitsune. Other creatures include the bakeneko, the mujina and the ōbake (a type of yōkai with the ability to shapeshift) (Pettigrove 142).

Sloth is the embodiment of Father’s sloth. He appears in the form of a giant man who is slightly bigger than a normal human. He is characterized by speed, durability, superhuman strength, and stamina. His task since the beginning of the story (which was not revealed until episode 14) is to dig the hole around Amestris that will later become the shape of the giant human transmutation circle. Sloth possesses the conventional attributes of both the Olympian gods and the Japanese gods but his personality is almost identical to that of Hypnosis, the Greek god of sleep, who wanted to sleep and rest more than anything else (Marshall Cavendish Corporation 475).

Lust is the embodiment of Father’s lust and the only Homonculi with a human female looks. Using her looks and her intelligence, Lust plays the roles of the manipulator among the homonculi. Her qualities include claw-like fingernails that can stretch to an unknown length and can cut any substance making her the “ultimate spear” of the homonculi (Fullmetal Alchemist wiki). Lust is the combination of Aphrodite (Venus in

Roman mythology) who is known as the goddess who can seduce any men with her looks

(Daly) and the Kamaitachi, a type of spirits who roam the Kōshin'etsu region and who have long fingernails that can slice through any substance (Roberts 66). Lust is always seen with Gluttony, another homonculi to whom she appears to have a particular closeness. 58

Gluttony is the embodiment of Father’s gluttony and the result of Father’s failed attempt to create his own Gate of Truth. Gluttony always needs a company because, without one, he would practically eat everything in his way. The guidance and company are usually the jobs of Lust (his typical companion who takes care of him and makes sure he follows the orders of Father). The powers of Gluttony are the ability to consume any known material, acid saliva and a remarkable strength that can disarm and give trouble to fighters. The body type and powers such as a keen sense of smell and tremendous strength are almost identical to those of the Cyclops. The Cyclopes are Greek monsters who were born before gods and were easily manipulated and tricked. The similarities between

Gluttony and Cyclops include the unsatisfied desire to eat anything (especially humans), a round body-shape, a keen sense of smell, superhuman strength and a lack of intelligence

(Euripides 11).

Pride was the first homonculi Father created and is the second-in-command after

Father. Pride possesses different abilities such as shadow traveling, controlling darkness, absorbing others physical traits and keeping an eye on everything (considering that his whole body is a shadow full of eyes). Pride is a mixture of Argus, a creature from Greek mythology with eyes all over his body (Daly), Amatsu Mikaboshi, the Japanese god of evil and darkness (Coulter), and Nyx the goddess and personification of night (Daly).

Greed is one of the homunculi created by Father with extraordinary strength and an ability to turn his body into an unbreakable shield. Greed has no equivalent in Japanese mythology but his equivalent in Greek mythology is Achilles, a Greek hero who bathed in the River of Styx and obtained tremendous strength. The similarities between Greed and

Achilles do not lie only in the unpenetrated body and tremendous strength but also in the existence of a sole weak sport. It is said that Achilles survived most of murder attempts 59 thanks to his ultimate shield but he died the second he was hit by an arrow on his heel which was the only place that was not touched by the waters of river Styx (Daly). Greed’s only weakness is his philosopher’s stone which can be found inside his body near his stomach area19.

During their adventure, the Brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric meet Shou

Tucker, a bio-alchemist who has a daughter named Nina and a dog named Alexander. The first meeting is set in episode four and the story ends with a crime where the father turns his four-years-old daughter and her dog Alexander into a Chimera. The Chimera in the anime is a type of hybrid creature that is created using bio-alchemy through the mixture of a human and an animal into one entity. The name Chimera comes from a Greek monster with a body and a head of a lion, a snake as a tail and a second head pf a goat coming out from its back. There are Different versions of Chimera in Greek mythology with slightly different descriptions, such as wings on the back or the back legs of a snake, but most follow the description above. The Chimera is the daughter of Greek the daughter of Greek monster gods Typhon and Echidna (Guru 302).

Episode sixty-two begins with the brothers discussing something that they learned from a book of alchemy about the perfect being. According to that book, the perfect being is the union of the sun and the moon. The moon represents a female and, thus, is a woman and the sun represents a male and it represents a man. This description alludes to the myth of Artemis the Greek goddess of the moon and Apollo the Greek god of the sun (Daly). It is the opposite of the Japanese mythology where Tsukimoyi is a female goddess of the sun and Amaterasu is a male god of the moon (Roberts). The perfect being in this description refers to Menominakanushi ("All-Father of the Originating Hub") from Japanese mythology (Mizue). This means that this description combines the Greek myth of Artemis 60 and Apollo and the Japanese myth of Menominakanushi to fit into the description God in this anime. The union between a woman and a man is also the union between the sun and the moon. When it happens, an eclipse occurs and the Planet’s Gate is opened to “bring down” God and control his abilities.

So, Fullmetal Alchemist is a successful anime that found fame all over the world and its themes, motifs, symbols, characters and plot has a direct and an indirect relation with western and Japanese mythology. It seems that in this anime, the western mythology appears more and this could be due to the incorporation of western themes, settings, names and even religions (the Christian religion in Europe) into Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

( and the inevitability of bringing up some mythological elements along with it). This chapter has provided a deep analysis of some of the themes, motifs, symbols, characters and plot of the anime. The analysis in this chapter focused mostly on the symbols and the imagery that exist in the anime and the roles of the characters rather than their looks or the dialogues between them. What is interesting about this anime is the mythological elements exist within its plot and imagery but are not so obvious nor it affects the general plot of the story. It acts like a support for the creation and not the creation itself. The incorporation of

Greco-Roman mythology into the anime is the natural outcome when the anime uses

European settings and themes and is based on a theme (alchemy) which is closely linked to western mythology (and the Japanese mythology). The incorporation of Japanese myths into the anime could be the result of its Japanese origin where (in Japanese society) “the myths aren't as important as they once were, but Japanese tradition goes on—with some typically Japanese modifications” (Levin 54) i.e. it is still within the culture of Japan so it’s inevitable for the creator of the manga and the anime to use it and be affected by it.

61

End Notes to Chapter Three

1 Which is slightly similar to our world in some respects.

2 Any living creatures, Substances and innate objects that exists in earth and its sky

3 The Japanese word for god.

4 A Japanese Religion and the basis for Japanese Mythology.

5 A human made human being using the art of alchemy.

6 The evil-master mind with a human shell, an unknown nature and tremendous abilities, his only affiliations are to himself.

7 As a result of his human-like unpredictable nature and his history of being on the two sides of a battle at the same time (Nardo)

8 The pentacle is a pentagram inside a circle (See figure 6).

9 Pentacle without the circle.

10 Earth, air, water, wood, metal.

11 Or what is known as the Jishin noben Dragon Map.

12 It is a law in Fullmetal alchemist Brotherhood that states that nothing is born out of nothing, in order to obtain something one must sacrifice or give something that has equivalent value.

13 Which is usually a human sacrifice in the anime.

14 If the serpent bites you, you either survive and heal all your illnesses like the philosopher’s stone does, or u die and be paralyzed as a “stone”. 62

15 Because Dante’s inferno is inspired by Greek and Roman mythology where the protagonist is on a journey in an underworld that is almost identical to the underworld from

Greek mythology (FilmInt 127)

16 In fact, Father is neither male nor female, the “he” pronoun here was used because he wore a shell of a male character (Hohenheim)

17 Usually the “homunculus” and the “homonculli” are used interchangeably to refer to the human-like creatures, in this research the “homonculus” will be used to refer to the original homunculus (Father) and homonculi will be used to the homunculus created by the original homunculus (Wrath, Envy, Pride, Gluttony, Lust, Sloth, Greed)

18 Envy turns into a small fragile creatures with multiple legs, green skin and powerless body.

19 When the stone was taken from the second Greed (Ling Yao) he lost his powers and his strength. 63

General Conclusion

Anime is an important part of the Japanese pop culture. It managed to gain a tremendous popularity and penetrate into the daily life of people from all ages all around the globe. For instance, anime is so popular in Algeria that there is a whole community of

Otakus. This community promotes anime culture through engaging in different activities such as Cosplay, Dojishin, anime conventions and Fanart. In fact, anime is not a simple product for entertainment, it can be academically studied because there are many factors at play to make it so successful. It is a narrative that bases on many sources and ideas which come from another part of culture which is mythology. What is remarkable about anime is that it appropriates both the Japanese mythology and Western mythology. To investigate the presence of Western and Japanese mythology and how it functions in anime, this research tried to answer many questions like the origin of anime and the reason behind its popularity. This research applied Myth or Archetype Criticism on a famous anime entitled

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. According to Myth Criticism, what makes a product successful and effective is its ability to draw attention and attract consumers through its incorporation of archetypes (something that is globally recognized). These archetypes can be anything people can relate to such as universally shared ideas like the constant battle between good and evil or a worldly known story from mythology. For this research, the archetypes that had been identified in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood were mythological elements from Japanese mythology and Western mythology. Since this research had managed to identify various Western and Japanese mythological elements within the plot, themes, motifs, symbols and characters of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, These mythological elements are what made Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood successful. 64

This research can act as an explanation for those who seek to create successful products such as anime in general and this anime in particular. It provides an explanation for one of the possible sources of ideas for anime (which is mythology) and explains how it was used. So, anime -as a successful cultural and economic product- can incorporate mythological elements and use it to attract viewers and gain popularity and success while keeping its original plot intact. Manga and anime creators can use mythology, one that does not even belong to the Japanese culture (Western mythology), in some parts of their creation to further the success of their products while still being creative in other parts of the same creation. It is like rendering a source of ideas into a new product that attracts customers through using archetypes, yet delivers the new message of the creator successfully. Japanese mythology and Western mythology can act as sources of ideas for many who wish to create successful products that may benefit the economy of the country and spread its culture across the world (the way anime did with Japan’s culture and economy). It is not only Japanese and Western mythology that can be used to ensure the successfulness of a product. History, fairytales, legends, sagas and basically any archetype that is widely known and widely recognized can also be incorporated and used. So, there are two requirements for a product of any kind to be successful. The first one is incorporating archetypes into the product and the second is creativity (or originality).

Meaning that the creator must learn the art of combining archetypes and creativity into one products and then, his/her product would be successful and widely consumed. The key is finding which archetype to use. The best possible choice, according to this research, is mythology because of its cultural importance and wide recognition in the modern societies.

65

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76

i

Appendix

(Aston 9) ii

iii

Fig.1: The results of the online survey The Otaku Community in Algeria

1. which country do you live in?

Response Response

Percent Total

1 Open-Ended Question 100.00% 60

1 16/05/16 7:36PM Algeria

ID: 38376618

2 16/05/16 7:37PM Algeria

ID: 38376425

3 16/05/16 7:41PM Algeria

ID: 38376381

4 16/05/16 7:51PM Algeria (seriously ? It's mentioned in Algeria )

ID: 38378258

5 16/05/16 7:57PM Algeria

ID: 38378803

6 16/05/16 7:59PM Algeria

ID: 38377718

7 16/05/16 8:03PM Algeria

ID: 38378008

8 16/05/16 8:14PM Algeria

ID: 38379450

9 16/05/16 8:14PM Algeeia

ID: 38380450

10 16/05/16 8:23PM Algeria

ID: 38380980

11 16/05/16 8:27PM Algeria

ID: 38380870

12 16/05/16 8:29PM Algeria

ID: 38381029

13 16/05/16 8:32PM Algeria

ID: 38378933

14 16/05/16 8:34PM Algeria

ID: 38381904 iv

1. which country do you live in?

Response Response

Percent Total

15 16/05/16 8:36PM El-Jazair

ID: 38382417

16 16/05/16 8:37PM Algeria

ID: 38382276

17 16/05/16 8:44PM Algerie

ID: 38382899

18 16/05/16 8:49PM Algeria

ID: 38379617

19 16/05/16 8:50PM Algeria

ID: 38383134

20 16/05/16 8:55PM Algeria

ID: 38381756

21 16/05/16 8:56PM Algeria

ID: 38383434

22 16/05/16 8:57PM Algeria

ID: 38381664

23 16/05/16 9:00PM Algeria

ID: 38384054

24 16/05/16 9:01PM Algeria

ID: 38383702

25 16/05/16 9:07PM Algeria

ID: 38378482

26 16/05/16 9:11PM I live in Algeria.

ID: 38384930

27 16/05/16 9:14PM Algeria

ID: 38384993

28 16/05/16 9:19PM Algeria

ID: 38385726

29 16/05/16 9:24PM Algeria

ID: 38386038

30 16/05/16 9:28PM Algeria

ID: 38377011

31 16/05/16 9:29PM Algeria

ID: 38386344 v

1. which country do you live in?

Response Response

Percent Total

32 16/05/16 9:30PM Algeria

ID: 38377807

33 16/05/16 9:34PM Algeria

ID: 38383774

34 16/05/16 9:36PM Algeria

ID: 38386331

35 16/05/16 9:37PM Algeria

ID: 38386916

36 16/05/16 9:39PM Algeria

ID: 38381204

37 16/05/16 9:46PM Algeria

ID: 38387069

38 16/05/16 9:50PM Algeria

ID: 38379305

39 16/05/16 9:51PM Algeria

ID: 38388291

40 16/05/16 9:56PM Algeria

ID: 38387633

41 16/05/16 10:11PM Algeria

ID: 38388792

42 16/05/16 10:33PM ALGERIA

ID: 38391251

43 16/05/16 10:50PM Algeria

ID: 38392383

44 16/05/16 10:55PM Algeria

ID: 38392202

45 17/05/16 9:30AM Algeria

ID: 38429032

46 17/05/16 10:12AM ALGERIA

ID: 38434038

47 17/05/16 10:28AM Algeria

ID: 38385502

48 17/05/16 11:04AM Algeria

ID: 38438889 vi

1. which country do you live in?

Response Response

Percent Total

49 17/05/16 11:07AM Algeria

ID: 38439723

50 17/05/16 11:36AM Algeria

ID: 38442113

51 17/05/16 11:49AM Algeria

ID: 38444650

52 17/05/16 11:56AM Algeria

ID: 38444009

53 17/05/16 12:01PM Algeria

ID: 38445464

54 17/05/16 12:44PM Algeria

ID: 38449943

55 17/05/16 1:07PM Algeria

ID: 38453079

56 17/05/16 1:30PM Algeria

ID: 38455194

57 17/05/16 1:42PM Algeria

ID: 38456385

58 17/05/16 2:08PM Algeria

ID: 38459247

59 17/05/16 4:14PM Algeria

ID: 38421964

60 17/05/16 4:58PM Algeria

ID: 38476147

answered 60

skipped 0

2. which part of the country do you live in? (your state)

Response Response

Percent Total

1 Open-Ended Question 100.00% 60 vii

2. which part of the country do you live in? (your state)

Response Response

Percent Total

1 16/05/16 7:36PM Guelma

ID: 38376618

2 16/05/16 7:37PM Annaba

ID: 38376425

3 16/05/16 7:41PM Laghouat

ID: 38376381

4 16/05/16 7:51PM Algiers

ID: 38378258

5 16/05/16 7:57PM Sétif

ID: 38378803

6 16/05/16 7:59PM Annaba

ID: 38377718

7 16/05/16 8:03PM Guelma

ID: 38378008

8 16/05/16 8:14PM Algeries

ID: 38379450

9 16/05/16 8:14PM Tizi ouzou

ID: 38380450

10 16/05/16 8:23PM Oum elbouaghi

ID: 38380980

11 16/05/16 8:27PM guelma

ID: 38380870

12 16/05/16 8:29PM 04 OEB

ID: 38381029

13 16/05/16 8:32PM Skikda

ID: 38378933

14 16/05/16 8:34PM Guelma

ID: 38381904

15 16/05/16 8:36PM kouba

ID: 38382417

16 16/05/16 8:37PM Souk Ahras

ID: 38382276

17 16/05/16 8:44PM Au nord d'Alger

ID: 38382899 viii

2. which part of the country do you live in? (your state)

Response Response

Percent Total

18 16/05/16 8:49PM the east

ID: 38379617

19 16/05/16 8:50PM Oum El Bouaghi

ID: 38383134

20 16/05/16 8:55PM Jijel

ID: 38381756

21 16/05/16 8:56PM Algeries

ID: 38383434

22 16/05/16 8:57PM Constantine

ID: 38381664

23 16/05/16 9:00PM Oum Bouaghi

ID: 38384054

24 16/05/16 9:01PM tipaza

ID: 38383702

25 16/05/16 9:07PM East (guelma)

ID: 38378482

26 16/05/16 9:11PM Algiers

ID: 38384930

27 16/05/16 9:14PM Algiers

ID: 38384993

28 16/05/16 9:19PM Oran

ID: 38385726

29 16/05/16 9:24PM Algiers

ID: 38386038

30 16/05/16 9:28PM oum el bouaghi

ID: 38377011

31 16/05/16 9:29PM algiers

ID: 38386344

32 16/05/16 9:30PM guelma

ID: 38377807

33 16/05/16 9:34PM South

ID: 38383774

34 16/05/16 9:36PM 3asima

ID: 38386331 ix

2. which part of the country do you live in? (your state)

Response Response

Percent Total

35 16/05/16 9:37PM Souk Ahras

ID: 38386916

36 16/05/16 9:39PM Oum El Bouaghi

ID: 38381204

37 16/05/16 9:46PM Constantine

ID: 38387069

38 16/05/16 9:50PM The north part,precisely in Oum El Boughi

ID: 38379305

39 16/05/16 9:51PM oum el bouaghi

ID: 38388291

40 16/05/16 9:56PM Guelma

ID: 38387633

41 16/05/16 10:11PM Batna

ID: 38388792

42 16/05/16 10:33PM LAGHOUAT

ID: 38391251

43 16/05/16 10:50PM algiers

ID: 38392383

44 16/05/16 10:55PM Constantine

ID: 38392202

45 17/05/16 9:30AM Tebessa

ID: 38429032

46 17/05/16 10:12AM OEB

ID: 38434038

47 17/05/16 10:28AM Oum El Bouaghi

ID: 38385502

48 17/05/16 11:04AM guelma

ID: 38438889

49 17/05/16 11:07AM oum el bouaghi

ID: 38439723

50 17/05/16 11:36AM Bejaia

ID: 38442113

51 17/05/16 11:49AM collo

ID: 38444650 x

2. which part of the country do you live in? (your state)

Response Response

Percent Total

52 17/05/16 11:56AM Laghouat

ID: 38444009

53 17/05/16 12:01PM Algiers

ID: 38445464

54 17/05/16 12:44PM Bejaia

ID: 38449943

55 17/05/16 1:07PM Oum Bouaghi

ID: 38453079

56 17/05/16 1:30PM Oum Elbouaghi

ID: 38455194

57 17/05/16 1:42PM Bouira

ID: 38456385

58 17/05/16 2:08PM Batna

ID: 38459247

59 17/05/16 4:14PM Oum bouaghi

ID: 38421964

60 17/05/16 4:58PM constantine

ID: 38476147

answered 60

skipped 0

3. Have you ever watched Anime (Japanese animation)?

Response Response

Percent Total

1 yes 96.67% 58

2 no 1.67% 1

3 no opinion 1.67% 1

Analysis Mean: 1.05 Std. Deviation: 0.28 Satisfaction Rate: 2.5 answered 60

Variance: 0.08 Std. Error: 0.04 skipped 0

xi

4. Do you still watch anime?

Response Response

Percent Total

1 yes 78.33% 47

2 no 21.67% 13

Analysis Mean: 1.22 Std. Deviation: 0.41 Satisfaction Rate: 21.67 answered 60

Variance: 0.17 Std. Error: 0.05 skipped 0

5. if no, at what age did you stop watching anime?

Response Response

Percent Total

1 Open-Ended Question 100.00% 17

1 16/05/16 7:36PM I still watch anime

ID: 38376618

2 16/05/16 7:37PM 0

ID: 38376425

3 16/05/16 7:41PM Yes

ID: 38376381

4 16/05/16 8:03PM At the age of 13

ID: 38378008

5 16/05/16 8:32PM je regarde Toujours les Animes

ID: 38378933

6 16/05/16 8:44PM 18

ID: 38382899

7 16/05/16 8:49PM 18 years old

ID: 38379617

8 16/05/16 8:57PM 18

ID: 38381664

9 16/05/16 9:00PM 15

ID: 38384054

10 16/05/16 9:34PM 16

ID: 38383774 xii

5. if no, at what age did you stop watching anime?

Response Response

Percent Total

11 16/05/16 9:46PM 15

ID: 38387069

12 16/05/16 9:56PM 19

ID: 38387633

13 17/05/16 9:30AM 15

ID: 38429032

14 17/05/16 10:12AM 25

ID: 38434038

15 17/05/16 11:07AM 18

ID: 38439723

16 17/05/16 11:56AM just past year 21years old after a lifetime of watching

ID: 38444009 -they stopped becoming interesting like they were -animes becoming childish and too colorful specially reboots like hunter x hunter & kindacihi return, their original were dark& meant for more adult viewers -animes becoming all copy-paste 12 or 25 episodes with boobs & colorful girls hair & too many sexual hints inside -animes plots are boring nowadays -popular long running animes like naruto and one piece are stretched too thin & rarely anything happen in episode to episode and the filler episodes ggod i hate them, basis making me lost interest in keeping up with them

17 17/05/16 1:07PM 20

ID: 38453079

answered 17

skipped 43

6. If yes, how do you watch anime?

Response Response

Percent Total

1 DVD 3.70% 2

2 TV 16.67% 9

3 ONLINE 79.63% 43

answered 54 xiii

6. If yes, how do you watch anime?

Response Response

Percent Total

Analysis Mean: 2.76 Std. Deviation: 0.51 Satisfaction Rate: 87.96 skipped 6

Variance: 0.26 Std. Error: 0.07

7. What are your favorite anime?

Response Response

Percent Total

1 Open-Ended Question 100.00% 58

1 16/05/16 7:36PM Naruto

ID: 38376618

2 16/05/16 7:37PM Dbz

ID: 38376425 Another Tokyo ghoul Zetsuen no tempesto One piece Death note

3 16/05/16 7:41PM Naruto

ID: 38376381 One piece 7 deadly sins Bleach Death Note Hunter x hunter Tokyo ghoul One punch man Great teacher Onizuka Berserk

4 16/05/16 7:51PM Hellsing ultimate

ID: 38378258

5 16/05/16 7:57PM Bleach

ID: 38378803 FMA death note SNK naruto one punch man death parade ...etc

6 16/05/16 7:59PM Naruto series

ID: 38377718 Dragon ball series Barakamon Mekakucity actors Ao haru ride Tokyo ghoul series xiv

7. What are your favorite anime?

Response Response

Percent Total

Zankyou no terror Anohana Boku dake ga inai machi Digimon tamers

7 16/05/16 8:03PM Pokémon

ID: 38378008

8 16/05/16 8:14PM Shura no Toki

ID: 38379450 Ghost in the Shell Evangelion HxH

9 16/05/16 8:14PM Shingeki no kyojin

ID: 38380450

10 16/05/16 8:23PM One piece

ID: 38380980

11 16/05/16 8:27PM naruto

ID: 38380870 black book death note one piece code geass full Metal Alchemist monster steins gate ergo proxy

12 16/05/16 8:29PM Hard to tell :(

ID: 38381029 Attack On Titan Naruto Shippuden Bleach Fate/Zero Tokyo Ghoul The list goes on...

13 16/05/16 8:32PM - Dragon Ball-Z

ID: 38378933 - Ao no Exorcist - Bleach - One Piece - Naruto Shippuden - Naruto

14 16/05/16 8:34PM Death Note

ID: 38381904 Attacks on titan Naruto

15 16/05/16 8:36PM Inuyasha

ID: 38382417 HXH Lost universe xv

7. What are your favorite anime?

Response Response

Percent Total

16 16/05/16 8:37PM Death Note

ID: 38382276

17 16/05/16 8:44PM One Piece

ID: 38382899 Gintama

18 16/05/16 8:49PM Spies

ID: 38379617

19 16/05/16 8:50PM Peach Girl

ID: 38383134 Attack on titan Erased HunterXHunter Detective Conan And alot others

20 16/05/16 8:55PM lovely complex , kimi ni todoke , noragami ,dragon ball ,gintama, honey and clover

ID: 38381756 , anohana .. and alooooot ("x

21 16/05/16 8:56PM Tokyo ghoul

ID: 38383434 Attack on titan *,* Naruto Owari no seraph Black bultter

22 16/05/16 8:57PM One piece

ID: 38381664

23 16/05/16 9:00PM Akira,ghost in the shell

ID: 38384054

24 16/05/16 9:01PM berserk

ID: 38383702 kuroko no basket ao no exorcits DBZ another one piece hyouka

25 16/05/16 9:07PM Connan; dragon ball z.

ID: 38378482

26 16/05/16 9:11PM Naruto,shigatsu wa kimi no uso

ID: 38384930 Kuroko no basket ,fairy tail ,ao haru ride ,D gray man ,death note and so so many others

27 16/05/16 9:14PM Full metal alchemist brotherhood

ID: 38384993 Kimi ni todoke Kaichou wa maid sama One piece Yumeiro pâtissière Naruto shippuden xvi

7. What are your favorite anime?

Response Response

Percent Total

28 16/05/16 9:24PM Naruto, One piece, DragonBall Z, Fullmetal Alchimist, Fairy Tail, Shingeki no

ID: 38386038 kyojin, Tokyo Ghoul...

29 16/05/16 9:29PM Naruto , FMA..

ID: 38386344

30 16/05/16 9:30PM Fulmetal alchemist brotherhood

ID: 38377807 naruto naruto shippuden one piece berserk tokyo ghoul anohana another onepunch man attack on titans death note

31 16/05/16 9:34PM Conan

ID: 38383774

32 16/05/16 9:36PM don't make me choose between my babies :'(

ID: 38386331

33 16/05/16 9:37PM Heidi

ID: 38386916

34 16/05/16 9:39PM Naruto

ID: 38381204

35 16/05/16 9:46PM Dragon ball

ID: 38387069 Naruto

36 16/05/16 9:50PM Shonen

ID: 38379305

Seinen

Josei

37 16/05/16 9:51PM one piece

ID: 38388291

38 16/05/16 9:56PM Naruto, One Piece and Death Note

ID: 38387633

39 16/05/16 10:11PM Naruto

ID: 38388792 Bleach One piece Fairy tail xvii

7. What are your favorite anime?

Response Response

Percent Total

death note attack on titan steins gate shigatsu wa kimi no uso fullmetal alchemist psycho pass code geass mirai nikki tokyo ghoul angel beats

40 16/05/16 10:33PM ONE PIECE

ID: 38391251 hhhhhh and a lot .....

41 16/05/16 10:50PM Btooom

ID: 38392383

42 16/05/16 10:55PM Maroco

ID: 38392202

43 17/05/16 9:30AM Dragon ball

ID: 38429032 mAROKO Hunter detective conan hazim al ra3d Naroutou death note hello kitty

44 17/05/16 10:12AM Death Note

ID: 38434038

45 17/05/16 10:28AM Inucha

ID: 38385502

46 17/05/16 11:04AM detective conan

ID: 38438889

47 17/05/16 11:07AM tom et jerry marroco

ID: 38439723

48 17/05/16 11:36AM Jojo bizzare adventure

ID: 38442113 Hunter X Hunter Serial experiment lain Berserk Aoi Bunkagu series Shinsekai Yori Gantz GTO YuYu hakusho City hunter Hokuto No ken Monster Hellsing xviii

7. What are your favorite anime?

Response Response

Percent Total

Cowboy bebop Fma Samourai shamploo Kenshin le vagabond Rainbow Saint Seiya

49 17/05/16 11:49AM dragon ball z

ID: 38444650 hunter x hunter bleach death note katekyo hitman reborn

50 17/05/16 11:56AM One Piece

ID: 38444009 Hunter X Hunter

51 17/05/16 12:01PM Shinsekai Yori

ID: 38445464

52 17/05/16 12:44PM Naruto bleach akatsuki no yona magi fairy tail kuroko no basket

ID: 38449943

53 17/05/16 1:07PM Maroko

ID: 38453079

54 17/05/16 1:30PM Noragami

ID: 38455194

55 17/05/16 1:42PM One Piece/Naruto Shippuden/Gakusen Toshi Asterisk /Dragon Ball

ID: 38456385 Super/Hundred/Big order/Koutetsujou no Kabaneri/Netoge no Yome/Sousei no Onmyouji ...... and others new animes,i wait the 3rd saison of Tokyo Ghoul and Attack on tittan XD.

56 17/05/16 2:08PM FMA BH, Jojo's bizzare adventure, Parasyte."if I had to list 3"

ID: 38459247

57 17/05/16 4:14PM maroco

ID: 38421964

58 17/05/16 4:58PM boku no hero academia

ID: 38476147 erased naruto another

answered 58

skipped 2

xix

8. Are you familiar with the Otaku/anime fandom Community? (are you aware of the existence of anime fans in the area you live in?)

Response Response

Percent Total

1 yes 70.00% 42

2 no 28.33% 17

3 Other (please specify): 1.67% 1

Analysis Mean: 1.32 Std. Deviation: 0.5 Satisfaction Rate: 15.83 answered 60

Variance: 0.25 Std. Error: 0.06 skipped 0

Other (please specify): (1)

1 16/05/16 8:29PM I'm familiar with the concept, but there is no fandom in my area :(

ID: 38381029

9. do you belong to the Otaku community? (do you consider yourself an anime fan)

Response Response

Percent Total

1 yes 60.00% 36

2 no 31.67% 19

3 Other (please specify): 8.33% 5

Analysis Mean: 1.48 Std. Deviation: 0.65 Satisfaction Rate: 24.17 answered 60

Variance: 0.42 Std. Error: 0.08 skipped 0

Other (please specify): (5)

1 16/05/16 7:59PM I love anime so much but i don't call myself otaku

ID: 38377718

2 16/05/16 8:44PM Anciennement oui

ID: 38382899

3 16/05/16 9:07PM I love anime but i don't consider myself as an otaku.

ID: 38378482

4 16/05/16 9:50PM Not particularly,it's just for leisure

ID: 38379305 xx

9. do you belong to the Otaku community? (do you consider yourself an anime fan)

Response Response

Percent Total

5 17/05/16 2:08PM I watch anime but I dun call my self an otaku.

ID: 38459247

10. have you ever engaged in/witnessed some anime fandom activities? (Examples below)

Response Response

Percent Total

1 yes 60.00% 36

2 no 40.00% 24

3 Other (please specify): 0.00% 0

Analysis Mean: 1.4 Std. Deviation: 0.49 Satisfaction Rate: 20 answered 60

Variance: 0.24 Std. Error: 0.06 skipped 0

Other (please specify): (0)

No answers found.

Comments: (8)

1 16/05/16 8:32PM une Seul Fois ça était super de voir des Cosplay en vrais je doit dire que les

ID: 38378933 costumes étais bien fais =D

2 16/05/16 8:55PM i read mangas .. i'd love to cosplay but it's difficult in my town ..

ID: 38381756

3 16/05/16 9:11PM Like fibda and expositions and stuff

ID: 38384930

4 16/05/16 9:14PM It was great

ID: 38384993

5 16/05/16 9:19PM jako expo

ID: 38385726

6 16/05/16 9:36PM Fibda, bougie en bulle, asian summer/winter jako etc etc..

ID: 38386331

7 16/05/16 10:33PM my friend watching anime too and when we met we talk about it

ID: 38391251 xxi

10. have you ever engaged in/witnessed some anime fandom activities? (Examples below)

Response Response

Percent Total

8 17/05/16 12:44PM Cosplays shows

ID: 38449943

11. If yes, which activities have you witnessed/engaged in?

Response Response

Percent Total

1 Cosplay (or costume play) 30.00% 12

2 Read manga (Japanese comics) 85.00% 34

3 Dojishin (or self-made manga/comics) 12.50% 5

4 Watching/downloading/buying anime 85.00% 34

5 Buying/downloading manga 62.50% 25

6 Attending an anime convention 30.00% 12

7 Being in an anime online community 57.50% 23

8 Other (please specify): 12.50% 5

Analysis Mean: 15.72 Std. Deviation: 22.67 Satisfaction Rate: 171.07 answered 40

Variance: 513.76 Std. Error: 3.58 skipped 20

Other (please specify): (5)

1 16/05/16 7:37PM Drawing anime

ID: 38376425

2 16/05/16 7:51PM buying goodies

ID: 38378258

3 16/05/16 8:55PM fan art

ID: 38381756

4 16/05/16 9:07PM I'm an anime fan on facebook pages.

ID: 38378482

5 16/05/16 9:30PM pretending to be an anime character and fanart

ID: 38377807

xxii

11. If yes, which activities have you witnessed/engaged in?

Response Response

Percent Total

Comments: (2)

1 16/05/16 9:11PM Ii love that

ID: 38384930

2 16/05/16 9:14PM Really awesome

ID: 38384993

12. If you chose cosplay, which one of these if the most important to you when it comes to cosplaying?

Total Overall Item Score 1 Rank

If the costume matches the one of the cosplayed character (regardless if it is self- 134 1 made or bought)

If the costume is self-made 132 2

If the cosplayers is good at mimicking the behaviors or the character they are 123 3 cosplaying

61 4

answered 45 1 Score is a weighted calculation. Items ranked first are valued higher than the following ranks, the score is a sum of all weighted rank counts. skipped 15

13. Have you ever been into a manga café or an anime shop?

Response Response

Percent Total

1 yes 28.33% 17

2 no 70.00% 42

3 Other (please specify): 1.67% 1

Analysis Mean: 1.73 Std. Deviation: 0.48 Satisfaction Rate: 36.67 answered 60

Variance: 0.23 Std. Error: 0.06 skipped 0

xxiii

13. Have you ever been into a manga café or an anime shop?

Response Response

Percent Total

Other (please specify): (1)

1 16/05/16 9:36PM i know 2 but too far away, so, not enough here :/

ID: 38386331

14. Do you know of the Algerian manga/mangaka (manga artists)

Response Response

Percent Total

1 yes 30.00% 18

2 no 65.00% 39

3 Other (please specify): 5.00% 3

Analysis Mean: 1.75 Std. Deviation: 0.54 Satisfaction Rate: 37.5 answered 60

Variance: 0.29 Std. Error: 0.07 skipped 0

Other (please specify): (3)

1 16/05/16 8:29PM Is there any Algerian Mangakas ?

ID: 38381029

2 16/05/16 8:55PM a little bit

ID: 38381756

3 17/05/16 11:49AM i know a mangaka bit i forgot his name :(

ID: 38444650

15. Where do you think the ideas of anime/manga come from? (If possible, justify your answer)

Response Response

Percent Total

1 Open-Ended Question 100.00% 60

1 16/05/16 7:36PM Animations which gives drawing images ability to move maybe

ID: 38376618 xxiv

15. Where do you think the ideas of anime/manga come from? (If possible, justify your answer)

Response Response

Percent Total

2 16/05/16 7:37PM well i think it comes from humans' wild imagination i think they can come from

ID: 38376425 personal experiences an idea that someone wanna show to the world in the caraziest way ever ...they can b from a social problem .. different cultures and traditions ...different religions ...they can even come from someone's dreams and nightmares ...i think anime are deep wven if they seem fictional ,wild and hard to believe they all have a hidden msg that we should understand or try to understand so that we can appreciate the true value of what we'r watching ...anime are deep.

3 16/05/16 7:41PM Probably old stories, pure imagination, true events, history and mythologies

ID: 38376381

4 16/05/16 7:51PM From trying to copy walt Disney film while incorporating some Japanese spirit in it

ID: 38378258

5 16/05/16 7:57PM Japan because the first mangaka was japanese so

ID: 38378803

6 16/05/16 7:59PM The ideas could come from dreams or beliefs the mangakas had in the past or still

ID: 38377718 do....they could also come from wishes, they wish they could live in this kind of world..as well as past experiences if it's a social life anime or shoujo maybe

7 16/05/16 8:03PM Is japenese term that can be translated as comic

ID: 38378008

8 16/05/16 8:14PM Weired question... .-.

ID: 38379450

9 16/05/16 8:14PM It's an art and art is the mirror of life, so ideas come from life

ID: 38380450

10 16/05/16 8:23PM Japan my beloved source of anime

ID: 38380980

11 16/05/16 8:27PM don't know

ID: 38380870

12 16/05/16 8:29PM The most common source Mangakas use is Relegioun.

ID: 38381029 Most (99% ) of anime prowess are based on divine characteristcs ( Yata Miror, Kusanagi Sword, Izanami, Izanagi), some vary from myth, and sometimes, the Mangakas use pure imagination ( Sci-Fi animes )

13 16/05/16 8:32PM Les Histoire des Anime d'ou elle Vienne c'est une Bonne Question ce que je Sais

ID: 38378933 c'est qu'il faut Etre trés ouvert d'esprie avoir une imagination pour faire Des Animes Surtout la L'art Du dialogue un Manga Sans Dialogue action et combat est pas un Manga D'une De Sont nom

14 16/05/16 8:34PM Japanese culture

ID: 38381904

15 16/05/16 8:36PM a pure imagination thought or a cruel reality

ID: 38382417 xxv

15. Where do you think the ideas of anime/manga come from? (If possible, justify your answer)

Response Response

Percent Total

16 16/05/16 8:37PM Dreams , imagination

ID: 38382276

17 16/05/16 8:44PM ça vient du Japon ._.

ID: 38382899 Sinon ça sera sympas d'ouvrir plus de cafés et magasin pour acheter et lire des mangas.

18 16/05/16 8:49PM I dont know

ID: 38379617

19 16/05/16 8:50PM Imagination, the mangaka drawing his dreams and fantasies

ID: 38383134

20 16/05/16 8:55PM i think it's from the old japanese illustrations ..

ID: 38381756

21 16/05/16 8:56PM I think the ideas comes from the writer's imagination and it depends on the way

ID: 38383434 they think.

22 16/05/16 8:57PM May be from reality with some fiction, that makes a great combination.

ID: 38381664

23 16/05/16 9:00PM No

ID: 38384054

24 16/05/16 9:01PM japan

ID: 38383702 i dont know why its jst the country wher animes are considred like movies and have somm respecte

25 16/05/16 9:07PM I think most of them come from imagination as the most important source and also

ID: 38378482 legends or myths.

26 16/05/16 9:11PM From creations and great minds and also from the creativity of ppl

ID: 38384930 Japanese ppl to be specific

27 16/05/16 9:14PM Japan obviously because thats where mangas came from

ID: 38384993

28 16/05/16 9:19PM Japan coz Japan is the start

ID: 38385726

29 16/05/16 9:24PM Japan of course... the first mangaka was Osamu Tezuka with his manga Astro Boy

ID: 38386038

30 16/05/16 9:28PM no idea they are so creative u cant tell what is next for them

ID: 38377011

31 16/05/16 9:29PM Japan

ID: 38386344 xxvi

15. Where do you think the ideas of anime/manga come from? (If possible, justify your answer)

Response Response

Percent Total

32 16/05/16 9:30PM mythology, classical mythology and japanese mythology, legends imagination,

ID: 38377807 reality, real events, culture, history and literally anything

33 16/05/16 9:34PM From imagination

ID: 38383774

34 16/05/16 9:36PM well... wikipedia is my friend xD

ID: 38386331 lol just kiddin', you know anime is a japanese "cartoons" if it said so, nippon country YAY and from who, i remamber in a video that said "mangas" are verrrryy old, but not like these we read nowwdays, and the first animated amine were.. hmm.. well.. let's say "jirayatique" :3

35 16/05/16 9:37PM they came from imagination

ID: 38386916

36 16/05/16 9:39PM Japan

ID: 38381204

37 16/05/16 9:46PM Sorry!

ID: 38387069 I have no idea.

38 16/05/16 9:50PM The idea of anime started in japan,precisely during the world war 2

ID: 38379305

39 16/05/16 9:51PM one piece is one piece it's awsome oda is like ... wow

ID: 38388291

40 16/05/16 9:56PM Japan, because everybody knows it's from Japan.

ID: 38387633

41 16/05/16 10:11PM well i think a good anime or manga is always centered on a relatable idea or the

ID: 38388792 kind of idea that leave an influence on the spectator so the source of such ideas is the mirror of the author's mind so if the author has a wild and clever imagination he will translate everything into ideas for stories

42 16/05/16 10:33PM wEll i hope it will work

ID: 38391251

43 16/05/16 10:50PM I don't know XD

ID: 38392383

44 16/05/16 10:55PM Japon

ID: 38392202

45 17/05/16 9:30AM THEY surely come from myths, legends and imagination.

ID: 38429032 xxvii

15. Where do you think the ideas of anime/manga come from? (If possible, justify your answer)

Response Response

Percent Total

46 17/05/16 10:12AM in the case of Death Note, it came absolutely from some japanese fairy tales and

ID: 38434038 local myths certainely. it actuallly reflects what they believe in , in a way or in another.

47 17/05/16 10:28AM related to the Japaneses culture and tradition sisnce all the anime were that

ID: 38385502 kimono or Japanese school uniform

48 17/05/16 11:04AM history and culture

ID: 38438889

49 17/05/16 11:07AM i have no idea

ID: 38439723

50 17/05/16 11:36AM it comes from the idea of wenstern comic books and also relate to the japanse

ID: 38442113 feodal era where samourais used to draw real stories with panels using ink.

51 17/05/16 11:49AM watching anime of course

ID: 38444650

52 17/05/16 11:56AM i have no clue

ID: 38444009

53 17/05/16 12:01PM Ideas come from Books, Movies, Games and even from others anime and manga

ID: 38445464 or Real Life.

54 17/05/16 12:44PM Dépends on the subject like manga speaking about real life

ID: 38449943

55 17/05/16 1:07PM I don't know

ID: 38453079

56 17/05/16 1:30PM Back in Japan, after World War II, a young aspiring artist named Osamu Tezuka

ID: 38455194 became a cartoonist and released his first work Shintakarajima Later on, other artists came to take some of the spotlight such as Akira Toriyama, Rumiko Takashi, Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and many others. Miyazaki, who works for Studio Ghibli is one of the most famous and most respected anime artists of today. Some of Miyazaki's works are Kiki's Delivery Service, Heidi, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and his recent masterpiece Princess Mononoke.

57 17/05/16 1:42PM From Japan

ID: 38456385

58 17/05/16 2:08PM Shower thoughts.

ID: 38459247

59 17/05/16 4:14PM from the other anime

ID: 38421964 xxviii

15. Where do you think the ideas of anime/manga come from? (If possible, justify your answer)

Response Response

Percent Total

60 17/05/16 4:58PM idk but whoever thought about it , god bless you <3

ID: 38476147

answered 60

skipped 0

xxix

Fig. 2: some transmutation circles from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

xxx

1-the binding transmutation circle found in Alphonse’ armor (Fullmetal Alchemist wiki) 2-used by Alphonse Elric when he was a child (NicWat10) 3-this circle is used by the ice alchemist (haudankaivajasi) 4-the transmutation circle used to create homunculi and to create the Philosopher’s stone (oss) 5-this circle was used by Armstrong Alex Louis (PosterMasterChef) 6-used by Mustang to create flames (Howze) 7-this circle was used by Alphonse (Dragon) 8-it was used by General Basque (fma-episode) 9-the circle was used by the homunculi to force Roy Mustang to open the gate of truth (NicWat10) 10-the Tattoo of Scar, a type of eastern alchemy (lavaliere) 11-the transmutation circle used to paralyze homunculi (Rong) 12-the last transmutation circle used by Edward in the end of the series before he loses his alchemy (fma-episode) Fig. 3 : Human transmutation circle

(oss)

xxxi

Fig. 4: the pentacle In Fullmetal alchemist brotherhood (Rong) in alchemy (Wright)

Figure 5: the caduceus In Fullmetal alchemist brotherhood (Rong)

Hermes symbol (Young) asklepios symbol (Atsma)

xxxii

Fig. 6: the Ergon In Fullmetal alchemist brotherhood (oss) in alchemy (Belcastro)

Fig. 7: Mercury symbol In Fullmetal alchemist brotherhood (oss) in alchemy (Venefica)

f

Fig.8: the Saturn symbol In Fullmetal alchemist brotherhood (oss) in alchemy (rsc)

xxxiii

Fig. 9: Ouroborous (Fullmetal Alchemist wiki)

Fig. 10: Jishin NoBen Dragon Map (theatlantic)

xxxiv

Fig.11: the gate of truth (Taylor & Francis group)

Fig. 12: Edward’s Gate (amaluxherba)

xxxv

Fig.13: Alphonse’s Gate (Jeferson)

Fig.14 : Roy Mustag’s Gate