JAPN 313: Manga, Anime, and Modern Japan
MLO 2: Culture
Course Description:
Manga, Anime & Modern Japan, Reality of an Illusion. This class uses Japanese manga cartoons and Anime movies as modern mirrors that reflect the Japanese experience of rapid economic and social transformation over the past 150 years. From ancient Japanese styles of visual expression, this course traces how popular visual texts such as Manga and Anime sketch out a parallel world linked both historically and culturally to the imagined community of the Japanese nation-state. Taught in English.
Course Reflective Narrative:
JAPN 313: Manga, Anime, and Modern Japan taught about Japan’s experience of rapid economic growth and social reform over the past two centuries. By examining the different art styles, themes, characters, and genres of Japanese visual art, both past and present, we developed an understanding of the historical and cultural links between Japan and Japan’s imagined ideal nation-state.
This class taught me how anime and manga can provide a surprisingly insightful view into Japanese culture. As an art form, both manga and anime are very unique aspects of Japanese culture. They can be dark and grim, are bright and colorful. The characters often are drawn in a very unrealistic manner, yet are not unpleasant to look at. Similarly, they provide a rich reflection of Japan’s values as a society. The characters are almost always drawn to look like Westerners, with light colored skin, large eyes, and blonde hair. The themes are equally insightful, reflecting aspects of Japan’s society such as gender roles, foreign relations, and socially accepted mannerisms. Manga and anime genres are even separated to reflect some of these themes, such as Shounen manga being for boys and Shoujo manga being for girls.
When I signed up for this class I was expecting to just learn about the origins of manga and anime, and how they relate to modern Japan. I took away much more than that, however. The midterm was particularly helpful in ensuring I was understanding the complexities of how manga and anime relate to and reflect Japanese culture and society. I wrote a short essay explaining the details of what shoujo manga is and how it has changed over the years in relation to content and intended audience. I also compared Japan’s manga to the U.S.’s comics, highlighting both the differences in art styles and the differences in content. The quizzes were also beneficial in reflecting upon what we were covering in the class. For one such quiz I wrote about how best to explain to someone what manga is and how it is unique to Japan.
After having taken this class, manga and anime has become more than just entertainment. It has become a way to deepen my understanding of Japan’s culture and society.
Evidence:
Course Description:
Manga, Anime & Modern Japan, Reality of an Illusion. This class uses Japanese manga cartoons and Anime movies as modern mirrors that reflect the Japanese experience of rapid economic and social transformation over the past 150 years. From ancient Japanese styles of visual expression, this course traces how popular visual texts such as Manga and Anime sketch out a parallel world linked both historically and culturally to the imagined community of the Japanese nation-state. Taught in English.
Course Reflective Narrative:
JAPN 313: Manga, Anime, and Modern Japan taught about Japan’s experience of rapid economic growth and social reform over the past two centuries. By examining the different art styles, themes, characters, and genres of Japanese visual art, both past and present, we developed an understanding of the historical and cultural links between Japan and Japan’s imagined ideal nation-state.
This class taught me how anime and manga can provide a surprisingly insightful view into Japanese culture. As an art form, both manga and anime are very unique aspects of Japanese culture. They can be dark and grim, are bright and colorful. The characters often are drawn in a very unrealistic manner, yet are not unpleasant to look at. Similarly, they provide a rich reflection of Japan’s values as a society. The characters are almost always drawn to look like Westerners, with light colored skin, large eyes, and blonde hair. The themes are equally insightful, reflecting aspects of Japan’s society such as gender roles, foreign relations, and socially accepted mannerisms. Manga and anime genres are even separated to reflect some of these themes, such as Shounen manga being for boys and Shoujo manga being for girls.
When I signed up for this class I was expecting to just learn about the origins of manga and anime, and how they relate to modern Japan. I took away much more than that, however. The midterm was particularly helpful in ensuring I was understanding the complexities of how manga and anime relate to and reflect Japanese culture and society. I wrote a short essay explaining the details of what shoujo manga is and how it has changed over the years in relation to content and intended audience. I also compared Japan’s manga to the U.S.’s comics, highlighting both the differences in art styles and the differences in content. The quizzes were also beneficial in reflecting upon what we were covering in the class. For one such quiz I wrote about how best to explain to someone what manga is and how it is unique to Japan.
After having taken this class, manga and anime has become more than just entertainment. It has become a way to deepen my understanding of Japan’s culture and society.
Evidence:
japn_313_midterm.pdf | |
File Size: | 33 kb |
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japn_313_reading_quiz.pdf | |
File Size: | 16 kb |
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