On the Existence of “Virtual Characters” in Japan

1 On the existence of “Virtual Characters” in Japan Ryoichi Sato (1M170418) Professor Graham Law Fall Semester 2 Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to discuss the reasons for the development of the “virtual character” culture in Japan and its future development. Virtual character culture has had a major impact on entertainment in modern times, and continues to develop at a rapid pace as a unique culture in Japan. In this thesis, I would like to look back at the beginning and development of Japanese unique “character” culture from the perspective of “anthropomorphism” and discuss how the “virtual characters” at the forefront of this culture will affect our real world in the future. 3 Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction..................................................................................................4 Chapter 2: Definition of “Virtual”..................................................................................5 Chapter 3: Definition of “Character”..........................................................................8 Chapter 4: Relationships between “Japanese characters” and “Animism”...........11 4.1: Japanese “Character” and “Animism”.................................................................11 4.2: “Japanese Animism” and “personification anthropomorphism”...........................15 4.3: “Yuru-Chara” and “Japanese Animism” ..............................................................21 Chapter 5: Virtual Characters......................................................................................24 5.1: About “Hatsune Miku”.........................................................................................24 5.2: About “Virtual YouTuber”....................................................................................24 5.3: Similarities between Hatsune Miku and Virtual YouTuber..................................25 5.4: Advantages of Virtual Characters.........................................................................29 5.5: Differences between Hatsune Miku and Virtual YouTubers................................30 5.6: Differences between Virtual YouTubers and YouTubers......................................32 Chapter 6: The relationship between virtual characters and their fans.....................35 Chapter 7: Virtual Characters and the Future of the Real World..............................40 Works Cited....................................................................................................................42 4 Chapter 1: Introduction Nowadays, “Virtual” is awfully familiar in our daily life. In other words, virtual is eroding to the real world, especially in Japan. For example, various virtual characters appear in concert, various virtual YouTubers upload videos on a daily basis, and various Virtual Reality Games are available. People enjoy a variety of virtual entertainments on a daily basis. And sometimes, some people are attracted to virtual rather than real. The initial goal was to investigate a variety of virtual contents, such as video games, but since the content related to virtual in general would be too broad and complex, this report focuses on ”virtual characters” to narrow down the content. To investigate virtual characters in more detail, I decided to find out the Answers to about two questions. The first question is “why did the existence of virtual characters develop in Japan?”. The second question is “what will happen between the virtual and real boundaries, in futuristic terms?”. From these questions, I would like to think about the relationship between virtual characters and real humans, the current situation, and future changes. 5 Chapter 2: Definition of “Virtual” Before thinking about these questions, it is important to define what virtual is, and what a virtual character is in the first place. Firstly, according to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (n.d.), “Virtual” means “very nearly a particular thing” and “made, done, seen etc. on the Internet or on a computer, rather than in the real world” (para. 1). Also, according to Merriam-Webster (n.d.), “Virtual” means “being such in essence or effect though not formally recognized or admitted”, ”being on or simulated on a computer or computer network”, “of, relating to, or using virtual memory”, and “of, relating to, or being a hypothetical particle, whose existence is inferred from indirect evidence” (para. 1). However, the word "virtual" in English also has meanings such as “gradual”. Therefore, I would like to focus on the meaning of the word as it is used in modern Japan, not as it was originally used in English. When the word “virtual” is used in Japan, it is usually in the sense of “augmented reality” or “virtual reality”. In short, most Japanese use the term “virtual” as an abbreviation for the term "virtual reality", so in this report, virtual is defined as “thing that imitates something existing on the Internet or network”. Therefore, a virtual character can be defined as “a presence on the Internet created by imitating humans and other living things”. In addition, it should be noted that it is basically 6 represented by a 2D or 3D model. However, with this alone, we cannot know exactly what a virtual character is and what is not a virtual character, so it is important to consider in more detail about the definition of virtual character. For example, can the characters that appear in the animations that are broadcast on TV and the animation movies, or appearing in video games be called virtual characters? Certainly, many of them are designed with real humans and creatures as models, and in particular, some characters that appear on animations that are distributed on the internet also satisfy the condition that they are on the internet. However, they cannot be defined as virtual characters. Put simply, they have less impact on the real world. Almost all characters appearing in animation or games, live in one closed world called “story”. The word “story” can be paraphrased as a script. Anyway, they only act as expected by the authors or creators. They are each driven to enliven the story, sometimes killed, or resurrected by creators. Every move they take is a necessity in the story, and seemingly meaningless behavior is basically a hint of the later story. On the other hand, virtual characters are not like that. Many of them behave like real humans. They are mainly working on networks that exist in the real world, not in the created world of anime. Therefore, virtual characters have a stronger influence on the real world than anime characters. Of course, some anime characters can have a big impact 7 on the real world. For example, a funeral of a character in the real world. Popular characters that have appeared in manga or anime and died in their work may have funerals in the real world. The most famous is probably the funeral of “Toru Rikishi” in 1970. Toru Rikishi is a character that appears in the manga, Tomorrow Joe. He was Joe’s biggest rival, and he was a popular character for many fans because of his quietness and coolness, but the heat hidden in his heart. He eventually defeats Joe, and shortly thereafter dies from punches received during the contest, so many fans were shocked by his death. For that reason, on March 24, 1970, his funeral was held at the Kodansha Auditorium. The venue was so authentic that a real monk was called, and a large number of fans took part (Okakura, n.d.). In this way, there have been examples of fictional characters having a great influence on the real world and real humans, and virtual characters are considered to be stronger and have simpler effects on the real world. There is no record at this time that the funeral of the virtual character was held, but it may be done in the future. Simply put, fans want the products that Virtual YouTubers are introducing and the games they are playing. 8 Chapter 3: Definition of “Character” Next, I would like to define the word "character" as well. Generally, a character is a person who appears in anime or games. However, there is a way to use “chara(キャラ)” and “character(キャラクター)” properly in the way of thinking that has developed independently in Japan. This idea was invented by Go Ito in his book Teduka Is Dead. According to him (2005), Nowadays, “character” is generally considered to be “a character in a manga (or anime, etc.)”. In the case of manga, it is almost synonymous with “characters”. In the words of Kazuo Koike, the author of the original manga, “the character stands out” in this sense. On the other hand, a “chara” can be easily understood if we imagine a simple figure such as Hello Kitty (p.88). Many people do not know the settings or stories around Hello Kitty. However, she is loved all over the world and is now a representative “chara” of Japanese “kawaii” culture. On the other hand, “character” is based on "chara", but requires story and background settings. It is generally said that there are more “character” than “chara”. “Characters” appear in various stories with their respective roles, and they cannot exist without that role. It seems that this is closer to the image 9 of a more general character. Given these definition, virtual characters are more like “chara” than “character”. However, this idea cannot be fully affirmed. This is because, in recent years, the line between “character” and “chara” has become blurred. For example, there is a character called “Pikachu”. Originally, this character was one of the many monsters that existed in the game Pokémon. In short, it was

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