A Study of Fan Culture: Adolescent Experiences with Animé/manga Doujinshi and Cosplay in Taiwan Author(s): Jin-Shiow Chen Source: Visual Arts Research, Vol. 33, No. 1 (2007), pp. 14-24 Published by: University of Illinois Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20715430 Accessed: 26-09-2017 02:50 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms University of Illinois Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Visual Arts Research This content downloaded from 140.127.170.112 on Tue, 26 Sep 2017 02:50:31 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms A Study of Fan Culture: Adolescent Experiences with Anim?/manga Doujinshi and Cosplay in Taiwan Jin-Shiow Chen National Chiayi University, Taiwan Abstract 1992, p.2). For instance, the hip-hop sub culture or the anim?/manga1 fan culture is Fan culture has become a significant arena for associated with violence, drugs, and exotic communication studies, but art educators and obscenity, and so causes a great deal of researchers haven't paid enough attention to social anxiety and moral panic in society it. Such research is important because anim?/ manga fandom, as a subculture, has an enor (Kinsella, 2000; Njubi, 2001). mous influence on youngsters. This study is an According to Jenkins (1992a), fans may exploration of youth anim?/manga fan culture not be the "cultural dupes, social misfits, from the viewpoints of six adolescents who are and mindless consumers" that they have anim?/manga fan artists. The focus is on the been labeled (p. 23). Rather, fans are able participants' experiences, opinions, and val to digest the media texts that they con ues in making manga doujinshi (self-published sume so as to produce their own artworks comic fanzines), cosplaying (costume play), and and be creative on their own terms (Jen participating in fan activities. This study has the kins, 1992a, 1992b). This phenomenon potential for understanding youth anim?/manga can apparently be seen at anim? conven fans, their fan art and subculture, and ultimately, for providing insights to allow art educators to tions, at which anim?/manga fan arts like bridge the gap between mainstream school cul manga doujinshi2 and cosplay3 are cel tures and adolescent subcultures. ebrated and circulated. These two forms of anim?/manga art are mostly the products Introduction: Re-viewing Fan Culture of anim?/manga fans' responses to their favorite manga or anim? texts. Fan culture, the body of people who are Originating in Japan, anim?/manga fans of pop culture, has been an active and fandom has grown into an important so widespread feature in postmodern society, cial and cultural phenomenon there and but the diversity of its genres and dynam throughout Asia, especially in Taiwan, Ko ics of its forms make it difficult to paint an rea, Hong Kong, and mainland China. Even accurate picture of fan culture as a whole the United States has been caught up in (Bacon-Smith, 1992). Fandom, in fact, is this cultural wave (Wilson & Toku, 2004). a multicultural territory, where each fan Some art educators and researchers have community subscribes to its own unique been fascinated by anim?/manga's unique media substances, values, and contexts. fan culture, featuring millions of visual im Young people have their own fan cultures, ages, fictional characters, and broad spec as a part of youth subculture in general, trum of signs and signification invented and many of them are little known or com by and circulated among young people pletely unknown to most of us. Although (Chen, 2003a; 2003b; Wilson, 2003; Toku, numerous youth fan activities have be 2004; Wilson & Toku, 2004). Anim?/manga come increasingly public, they are still per is so powerful that its influence can even ceived as "a psychological symptom of a seen in children at early ages. Through a presumed social dysfunction" and one who series of research studies (1998; 2001; becomes involved in them is perceived as 2006), Toku explored the strong influence "an image of the pathological fan" (Jenson, of manga over Japanese children's graph 14 VISUAL ARTS RESEARCH ? 2007 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois This content downloaded from 140.127.170.112 on Tue, 26 Sep 2017 02:50:31 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms ic narratives. Wilson and Toku (2004) put yond imitating characters with costumes, it into perspective: "Art educators need to most fans insist that a cosplayer should understand what's happening in Asia, how speak in the character's words, act in the it's spreading to the West, and its implica character's ways, think the character's tions for art and visual cultural pedagogy" thoughts, and assume the anim?/manga (p. 94). This paper attempts to understand character's soul. In other words, they are why anim?/manga fans are so passionate expected to attempt to bring their favorite about this mass-mediated artwork. It also anim?/manga characters into life. looks for meanings that dedicated young Cosplay is an opportunity for anim?/ fans may have found participating in this manga fans to dress up for playing their subculture. favorite characters from such sources as animation, mangas, video games, science The Research Site: Anim?/Manga fiction stories, and fantasy. According to Fan Culture in Taiwan Santoso (1998), "In the U.S. and in Europe, cosplay is solely restricted to costuming of In the last decade, Taiwan's anim?/manga Japanese characters from anim?, manga fan culture has rapidly grown and changed and gaming" (p. 1). However, in Taiwan, from an unacceptable small undercurrent cosplay includes playing characters from of society to a popular social state (Chen, three sources: (a) Japanese anim?, man 2003a). Such a dramatic development did ga, and video games, (b) Japanese visual not happen at once but was accelerated rock bands,4 and (c) Taiwanese traditional gradually, yet speedily, by the fast-growing puppetry. The sophistication of the costum industry of Japanese anim? and manga. ing is amazing. It is if these simulated ani For years, about 95% of anim?/comics m?/manga characters have actually come sales in Taiwan have been translations of to life. Such performance is not simply the Japanese anim?/manga, and this Japa result of many hours of hard work on cos nese dominance continues today and will tuming but also the result of anim? fans' in probably remain in the near future. Put dif fatuation with their favorite characters, an ferently, Taiwan's anim?/manga fan culture infatuation that drives them to play these has to do mainly with Japanese anim? and fantasy characters so well (Chen, 2003b). manga, and even fans' sociocultural activi ties conform with those of Japanese culture. Research Concerns Such Japanese influence became appar ent when the anim?/manga conventions, Anim?/manga fans have been forming a Comiket and Comic Market were introduced culture of their own specific type, in which in Taiwan in 1997. In Taiwan, these anim?/ a ComicWorld convention is the most in manga conventions are called ComicWorld tensive sociocultural event. This has an or Doujinshi Sales Convention. ComicWorld enormously influential effect on young has paved a new avenue for doujinshi hob sters as this subcultural phenomenon byists to display, exchange, and sell their propagates itself quickly among adoles self-published fanzines and manga-related cents in Taiwan. Why and how does this products (Chen, 2003b). subculture attract Taiwanese adolescents Like Japanese Comiket or American an to actively participate? Why do adolescent im? conventions, the convention in Taiwan fans attend and interact with each other in consists of a doujinshi sale and a cosplay the ComicWorld? Why do adolescents val in two different sections. For many fans, ue their experiences in doujinshi making cosplay is the soul of an anim?/manga and cosplay? This study was conducted to convention and a most important opportu answer these questions. The cultural phe nity to transform their fantasies into reality nomena of anim?/manga fan culture were by playing and dressing up in costumes of explored from the viewpoints and experi their favorite anim?/manga characters. Be ences of six adolescents. A Study of Fan Culture 15 This content downloaded from 140.127.170.112 on Tue, 26 Sep 2017 02:50:31 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Methodology sis for setting up categories with respect to the anim?/manga fans' experiences in par Data Collection ticipating in cosplay and doujinshi drawing, and social interactions at the anim? con This study focuses on the study of the ventions. Based on these categories, ty cultural phenomenon of anim? conven tions in Taiwan. I selected two ComicWorld pologies and themes were developed from coding and sorting data. conventions as observation targets. One was held in July and the other in August of 2001. Both of them were held in Taipei, Findings and Descriptions the capital of Taiwan. These two conven In this section, I describe the findings of tions were the largest of the year because this study concerning the following: (a) they were held during the summer school participants' reasons for participating in break when many adolescents were able to attend. drawing doujinshi and in cosplay, ( b) par ticipants' preferences for fan art, and (c) I took the opportunity to talk to some participants' learning from participating in doujinshi artists and cosplayers whose the creation of anim?/manga fan activities.