From "Japonisants" to "Otaku": The Anime Subculture in Global and Historical Perspective

FAIN: FA-50633-04

Susan J. Napier
Tufts University (Austin, TX 78712-0100)

Over the last decade the rise of Japanese animation (anime) has become a global phenomenon, appearing as a challenging alternative to a perceived American domination of the world of popular culture. Anime has also spanned a rich and complex culture of fandom, both in Japan and throughout the world, whose members often style themselves as "otaku," a Japanese term meaning one who is obsessively addicted to such entertainments as anime or video games. My proposed book examines the anime subculture in Japan and America in comparative and historical terms and suggests that, while having historic roots, the anime subculture may be seen as a genuinely new form of cultural interaction, arising from globalization and advanced technologies, that allows participants a new form of fantasy space in which to construct identity.

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