University of Western Sydney The Cross-Cultural Appropriation of Manga and Anime in Australia by Craig Jeffrey Norris BA (Hons.) Doctor of Philosophy – Communication and Media 2003 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I declare that this dissertation is my own account of my research and does not incorporate work that has been submitted for another degree at any tertiary institution. I would like to thank Virginia Nightingale and Judith Snodgrass who supervised and encouraged me during the research and writing of this thesis; the care and concern of my family and Momoe Shimomura; my friends and colleagues at the University of Western Sydney (David Kelly, Susan Batho, Daniel Cunningham, Cristina Rocha, Hart Cohen, Yoshiko Howard, Zen Yipu, Selvaraj Velayutham, David Walton, Hiromi Muranaka, and Helen Johnson); my friends who share an enthusiasm for manga and anime and assisted me throughout this thesis (Daniel Baird, Tim Clarke, Michael Hill, Louise Graber, Alistair Gillies, Rebecca Jordan, Melanie and Mark Madronio, Mark Page, Komala Singh, Neil Rae, Jennifer Prough, Iain Sinclair, Amos Wong, and Ron Stewart); the local anime clubs (JAUWS, animeUNSW, SUanime, AJAS, and SAS) for their cooperation in this research; those who provided me with advice and guidance (Anthony Barrell, Drew Bickford, Craig Meathrel, Melanie Eastburn, Francis Maravillas, Masafumi Monden, Lewis Morley, Mandy Thomas, and Alison Tokita); and those who made my time in Japan so memorable and valuable to this research (Stefan and Julian Worrall, Nicolas Dufer, Olivier Fink, Michael Faul, Hiroki Fuchiwaki, Steven Jarvis, Koki Muranaka, Toshi Yanai, and Koichi Iwabuchi). I also thank Danielle Hircock for her editorial assistance. Craig Jeffrey Norris Date of submission: August 2003 ii iii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................II LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... IV SUMMARY................................................................................................................................VIII PREFACE……………………………………………………………………………………. 1 CHAPTER 1 The Imagined Worlds of Anime Fans………………………………………………………. 8 CHAPTER 2 Eyesight Culture: Framing Japan…………………………………………………………… 31 CHAPTER 3 Japanese Aesthetics in Manga and Anime: Forms of Resistance…………………………… 60 CHAPTER 4 Akira and Fan Constructions of Japan and Japaneseness…………………………………… 81 CHAPTER 5 Perfect Blue: Identification and Popular Culture…………………………………………… 106 CHAPTER 6 Transnationalism and Anime………………………………………………………………... 128 CHAPTER 7 Global Identity Projects……………………………………………………………………... 151 AFTERTHOUGHTS………………………………………………………………………... 173 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………… 184 APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………………. 191 Japanese Word List………………………………………………………………………….. 191 Example Interview Transcript………………………………………………………………. 193 iii iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Shape shifting characters: A cursed spring transforms Ranma into his 18 female alter ego in Ranma 1/2. Figure 2. The bath as the site of magical transformation in Ranma 1/2: Ranma, in 20 female guise, bathes to return to a masculine identity. Figure 3. The two Ranma’s depicted side by side: the strong masculinity and weaker 22 femininity of Ranma 1/2. Figure 4. Images from the anime series Oh My Goddess! spray painted onto a van 32 display this Japanese fan’s enthusiasm for manga characters (Ikebukuro, Japan). Figure 5. An advertisement for an anime marathon on the Animax channel, Sky 32 Perfect TV, Japan (August, 2000). Figure 6. A manga teaching road safety and driving skills. 33 Figure 7. Japan’s ambassadors: Tezuka and his most famous manga characters. 44 Figure 8. The Zen picture’s economy of line, here displayed by Sengai’s Hotei 52 picture. The poem reads: “How old are you, dear moon? Thirteen-seven?” Figure 9. Crayon Shin chan’s heta-uma (unskilful-skill) style of manga. 52 Figure 10. The fantastic, macabre, and grotesque transforming monster of 55 Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend (1993) promotes the 1996 anime film festival in Australia. Figure 11. Hokusai’s Warahihanniya (Laughing Mask) woodblock print from his 56 Hyaku Monogatari (1630) series. Figure 12. The anthropomorphised animals of Bishop Toba’s Animal Scrolls (12th 70 Century). iv v Figure 13. The Edo period (1603-1912) Shinnō scroll depicts the humble, yet 72 powerful, fart. Figure 14. Gōsuke’s fart debases the symbol of the Japanese business world: the 73 salary man, in Enomoto (1997). Figure 15. Nobuo's stinking fart and noxious body odour are the “ultimate and 74 stinkiest weapon” in the Stink Bomb episode of Memories (1995). Figure 16. The logo and “manga mania” emblem for the 1996 anime film festival in 85 Australia proudly assert the exotic Japaneseness on offer. Figure 17. The Akira (1988) logo section taken from western theatrical posters 93 shows the powerful juxtaposition of English and Japanese text. Figure 18. The Japanese cover for the Akira manga reveals the use of English text to 94 create an appealing Western association for a Japanese audience. Figure 19. Apocalyptic imagery in Akira’s destruction of Tokyo. 97 Figure 20. Manga Entertainment launched their line of manga-inspired fashion and 98 club wear in 1996. Figure 21. The anime influence on fashion: A Western clubber modelling “manga 99 fashion” is grafted onto Kaneda’s motorbike from Akira. Figure 22. A multicultural view of the future: clubbers wearing manga-inspired 99 fashion are reflected in the visor of the Armitage character from Armitage III (1994-1995). Figure 23. “Manga” clubbers fused with transparent helmets from Bubblegum Crisis 99 (1987-1991). Figure 24. The female manga face for the hi-tech rave event: The manga character 101 designed for the Sydney dance festival 2019 (2002). v vi Figure 25. An advert for the U.S. music magazine BPM shows the fusion of 103 Japanese femininity, the techno-orient, club culture, and anime in the west. Figure 26. The idol group Cham, in Perfect Blue (1997). 110 Figure 27. The enlarged face of Mima looks on as “Mima” murders the 112 photographer. The double images of Mima suggest the transferred and appropriated identities central to Perfect Blue, here included in a theatrical poster. Figure 28. The three Mimas: Mima gazes at her reflection(s)--the idol singer and 113 actress persona, in Perfect Blue. Figure 29. The obsessed fan, Me-mania, gazes appreciatively at Mima during her 114 performance in Cham, Perfect Blue. Figure 30. A character from Perfect Blue selling a magazine featuring Mima’s nude 118 photos. Figure 31. The web page “Mima’s room” created by Me-mania, Perfect Blue. 120 Figure 32. Scott Barnhill (1997) Tommy Fragrance, Print Advertisement. 147 Figure 33. The bishonen character as mascot: a group of Sydney fan artists use 160 promote their bishonen manga and the National Young Writers Festival in Newcastle, 2000. Figure 34. Andrea displays her enthusiasm for the yaoi approach to manga with the 161 yaoi-definition T-shirt she designed and wore to the popular culture convention: Comicfest 2001. Figure 35. Emily’s sketch of Tamahome. 167 Figure 36. The original image of Tamahome Emily based her sketch on, from 167 Fushigi Yugi. vi vii Figure 37. A Happy Place to be: the masculine global that male fans can escape to, 176 in Newtype USA (2002, November). Print Advertisement. Figure 38. The image of the giant robot body of a Mobile Suit Gundam in Newtype 177 USA. Figure 39. Being there: Giant Robots and manga, the new face of Japanese industrial 178 power and might, in Newtype USA. Figure 40. “Comfort Food”: anime culture as pre-digested for you in Newtype USA. 179 Print Advertisement. Figure 41. The “freshness” of the information and images provided by Newtype 180 USA. Print Advertisement. Figure 42. Newtype USA: the mu-kokuseki vehicle for global anime culture. Print 180 Advertisement. vii viii SUMMARY This thesis is an investigation into the cross-cultural appropriation of manga and anime by fans in Australia. I investigate the ways in which fans embark on ‘identity projects’ through manga and anime to construct a space where issues of gender politics, identity, and culture are explored. I argue that a key reason why many Western fans and scholars perceive manga and anime as “different” is its “Japaneseness”. The two key problems I address throughout this thesis are: how can we analyse the significance of the Japanese origins and context of manga and anime, and would the ‘identity projects’ that fans construct be possible without an appreciation of manga and anime’s Japaneseness? I explore these questions in terms of a number of key forms within manga and anime including cyberpunk, bishōnen (beautiful boys), otaku (fans), and anime forms that have had their “Japaneseness” softened. I discuss the way in which these manga and anime forms offer different spaces for fans, scholars, and cultural industries to contest, rework, and reiterate the cultural value of manga and anime. To understand the transnational opportunities and consequences being fostered within the Western appropriation of manga and anime forms, I combine an interdisciplinary approach drawing principally upon a political economy perspective (Iwabuchi, 2002c; Miyoshi, 1996) and cultural/fan readings (Gillespie, 2000; Jenkins, 1992, 2002). I use these approaches with my field research in Japan and Australia to consider the global/local flow of manga and anime, and the construction of national