Honors tokyo 2017
A Guide to Getting Lost in Tokyo
In my last research update on 8/30, almost two weeks ago, I was going to try to find specific anime advertisements around the city, or look for street art or graffiti that used anime to convey certain messages. However, after exploring much of Tokyo, including the anime capital of Akihabara and the nearby hub of Ikebukuro, I have come to realize that there is a lot less anime on the streets than I expected. In the second week, I adventured around Western Japan and walked around Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka, Miyajima Island, and Nara, and got the same result: my thought that there would be billboards covered in anime is a blatant misperception. So far, I’ve been trying to figure out where my misperceptions came from; have I seen any anime that have advertised an image of Japan as anime-land? I can’t think of any specifically right now, but I also have realized now that especially overseas, each country/area is only known for a couple things. After visiting Shin-Okubo, a city in Tokyo prefecture known for its ‘Koreatown’, I saw that the only things there were Kpop idol merchandise, and beauty products, which are the two main things Korea is known for overseas. As for Japan, it’s known for sakura (cherry blossoms), and anime, mostly amongst younger generations. I want to research more into how these images of each country are made; does Japan intentionally propagate such an image of sakura and anime for itself? I’m also interested in how Japanese anime targets certain demographics to advertise and sell to its mostly young viewers. I’ve already gathered that they build on the assumption that everyone is homosexual and cisgender, but I also want to look at racial and ethnic qualities. What kind of image does anime spread about mixed-race or ‘ha-fus’, or foreign nationals in Japan?
Because my time in Japan is unfortunately coming to an end, however, I’m not certain how many of these questions I can find answers to before I leave. However, now that I’ve found a direction to dive into that’s more specific than simply “anime media’s influences on the younger generations”, I hope to keep these questions in mind and one day return to answer them.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
|