TO THE STRAY DOGS: A CASE STUDY ON MULTIMEDIA VIRTUOSITY AND JAPANESE LITERARY TRIBUTE IN KAFKA ASAGIRI AND SANGO HARUKAWA`S BUNGOU STRAY DOGS (2013-2024)
Date
2024-10-04
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
In “Contemporary Japanese Literature,” Prem Motwani states, “[The] Japanese literary scene is among the most active anywhere in the world today, with numerous coterie journals and first rate literary magazines and the highest number of publications per head in the world” (415). This status comes from a large, worldly shared cumulative context, making a “panoramic view” (Motwani 415) of Japanese literary history essential to understanding the current global literary canon. Yet, outside of East Asia, Japanese literature is very rarely recognized within Western academic settings, as there are multiple cultural and stylistic gaps lost in translation that discourage non-Japanese readers curious about the medium. By contrast, manga and anime — Japanese graphic novels and animation, together called animanga — are generally more available in the international market due to their entertainment and commercial value. For example, since 2013 Kafka Asagiri and Sango Harukawa’s animanga series Bungou Stray Dogs (BSD) has gained widespread attention and an ever-growing fanbase. Though seeming to be a standard shounen (action-filled plot) series, BSD differs through its literary inspirations and nuances, which use more contemporary multimedia speculative elements that draw new audiences into the otherwise traditional world of Japanese literary history. This unconventional nearness to the “original” sources invites not only a general appreciation for the works’ authors and literary history, but also a necessary acknowledgement of their inherent value in the global literary sphere.
Description
Keywords
animanga studies, Bungou Stray Dogs, Kafka Asagiri, Sango Harukawa, adaptation theory, virtuosity, multimedia, Japanese literature
Citation
Degree
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department
English
Program
English