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unjapanologistReading notes on Slightly Out of Character: Shonen Epics, Doujinshi and Japanese Concepts of Masculinity by Megan Harrell.
Overall, this paper offers some very interesting ideas, and I would love to read a longer and more in-depth description of Harrell's research. A longer analysis of the six dojinshi samples described would be particularly relevant. Relatively early in the article, Harrell correctly observes that in the case of female characters, it is the way they deal with the situations they are placed in rather than their assorted 'super powers' or big-ass weapons that determines whether or not we are dealing with a character that doesn't fit the mold of 'traditional' femininity. She subsequently asserts that, while female characters' behaviour is often not as 'subversive' as it might seem at first glance, the behaviour of male characters in dojinshi can be characterized as a very clear departure from real-life Japanese gender norms. From the (limited) amount of research I've done on dojinshi, I feel inclined to support that idea. The descriptions of the sample dojinshi, however, seem too short to offer real support for Harrell's conclusion on the gendered behaviour of male dojinshi characters.
The space constraints of the paper format force the author to omit other pieces of information that some may consider vital for a solid argumentation. I have some reservations about the methodology, for instance; it is not made clear why the two shonen epics described can be considered representative of shonen epics in general, and while the dojinshi are said to have been selected from a larger sample of thirty books, which is good, the selection criteria used in this process are not clearly described. This is not to say that the conclusions drawn are necessarily suspect in any way; the sampling merely makes it difficult for the reader to judge the representativity of the samples used, which is a shame.
Lack of space to offer this kind of 'background' info is one of the major reasons why I absolutely want to include some kind of online component even when writing in the traditional paper format. If in-depth information about the methodology and samples used is not offered in some fashion, the reader has no way of replicating the author's analysis in a meaningful way.
Harrell's analysis of the masculinities depicted in djs is short but thought-provoking. I particularly like the answer it suggests to the question of why events from the narrative canon of the original appear to be incorporated in dojinshi so rarely (at least in comparison with fanfics. Caveat -I can't confirm this impression by an analysis of a large number of sample djs and fics just yet). Harrell points out that dojinshi narratives tend to relocate male characters to a 'private' sphere so that the focus can be placed on interpersonal relationships rather than interactions between the characters and the 'world' described in the source work. I'll definitely be thinking more on this.
Now, highlights and comments. These were made using Diigo on Google's html version of the pdf, which screws up formatting of the Diigo annotations something fierce, as I only discovered at the very end. Ack. Apologies for this not being quite as readable as it could be. All lines beginning with * are direct quotes from Megan Harrell's article. All lines beginning with o are comments by me on the preceding line.
* both the authors and target audience of doujinshi are primarily female, while the entire commercial manga market is dominated by shōnen manga, written by and for men
o I really need to find some numbers to back this up. comment by Nele Noppe
* Though the views on masculinity presented by the shōnen epics differs greatly from the ideals expressed by fanwork doujin, epic manga and their doujin counterparts have both agreed to disagree with the societal ideals of masculinity and, in doing so, convey the desire felt by both women and men to change Japanese society’s status quo for masculinity.
* The salaryman has become an icon representing Japanese masculinity in contemporary times, despite the fact that the majority of Japanese men have never fit the salaryman model, instead being employed at small firms or as blue collar workers. And though this salaryman mode of masculinity is by far still the accepted norm, some departure from it can be seen in the masculinity promulgated by the popular shōnen manga, which are themselves necessarily informed to some degree by escapism.
* the Japanese concept of femininity has expanded, to at least accommodate if perhaps not encourage the adoption of activities and traits that were once exclusively masculine.
* the Japanese concept of masculinity did not expand alongside that of femininity,
o What about the so-called herbivorous young men said to be so numerous? Are they an invention by the media? comment by Nele Noppe
* Thus, the concept of masculinity which heavily depends on simply being ‘not feminine’ could not help but be threatened by a broadened interpretation of ‘feminine’. Societal tension has resulted from this seeming inability of the Japanese model of masculinity to adapt.
o It should be mentioned here that 'feminine' tends to be interpreted as negative in Western society as well. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that masculinities across the globe have not incorporated 'feminine' characteristics to a meaningful degree, because an injection of the 'feminine' is thought to change the masculine in a way that is societally unacceptable. comment by Nele Noppe
* It thus becomes difficult for Japanese masculinity to expand by assimilating features of femininity, because the relatively low value and negative connotations which are assigned to those features carry a stigma that threatens to compromise the value and legitimacy of masculinity, and thus detract from ‘what it means to be a man.’
o Ah look, there you go :) Still no mention of this not just being something 'Japanese', though. comment by Nele Noppe
* the commercialized production of manga placed many constraints on manga artists; pressure to produce quickly and regularly in order to fill weekly publishing demands, for instance, and restrictions on the number of pages they were allotted for each installment.
o The constraints commercial manga publishing places on the story itself gets mentioned quite a lot, but this is the first time I hear the physical properties of commercial manga being mentioned as something that is significally restrictive enough to maybe push someone towards dojinshi publishing instead. Should look into this. comment by Nele Noppe
* The composition of the subculture changed as growth accelerated in the eighties, as the doujin movement began to be comprised more heavily of amateurs and casual authors just starting out in doujin rather than high-talent artists taking up doujin as an alternative to commercial manga, with the result that far fewer doujin artists were crossing into professional status. This coincided with the rise to prominence of the genre of fan-works, or doujin based on a pre-existing published storyline of some sort.
o Important to keep in mind! comment by Nele Noppe
* Fan-work doujinshi also do not rely solely on Japanese works for their inspiration, as stories drawn from western titles such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, also became wildly popular.
o Anybody ever looked at to what degree this actually happens? I've seen a lot of HP and LotR, but other non-Japanese fandoms seem to garner very little dojinshi attention (Star Wars etc) comment by Nele Noppe
* Echoing the atmosphere in Japanese society, both the two shōnen epics and the source manga for the doujin being analyzed here strongly project traditional gendered behavior and roles for their male characters (protector, provider, authoritative, pillar) and for their female characters (vulnerable, tentative/unsure, submissive…), while at the same time subverting the societal concept of masculinity in several ways.
o Two manga titles analyzed -can they be considered sorta kinda representative of 'shonen epics' in general? comment by Nele Noppe
o I should add here that I've become very wary of the concept of analyzing a handful of works and drawing these kind of broad conclusions from them. I've read a few articles treating fan stories that I'm very familiar with in this way, and the conclusions drawn all too often make very little sense. comment by Nele Noppe
* In fact, many (if not most) of the female characters in the manga examined possessed uncharacteristic strengths and capability, such as masterful fighting ability, super-powers, and genius-level skill in their fields; however, with the exception of a very few overtly masculine typed women, the presence of these traits is strongly mitigated by the feminine personality traits of the character, and the situations and scenarios into which she is placed, in order to effect a traditionally feminine character.
o Amen. Super powers do not a 'strong' female character make, the interactions she has with the other characters do that (or fail to). comment by Nele Noppe
* In other words, the manga and doujin analyzed all strongly maintained traditionally feminine personalities for their female characters; what was altered was the gendered behavior of the male characters, altered to be less traditionally masculine.
o Are these alterations limited to outward signs, or are the interactions of male characters with other characters also indicative of a portrayal that is 'less traditionally masculine'? Reading on... comment by Nele Noppe
* Doujinshi generally contain much more radical revisions of socially acceptable masculinity than the liberties taken by shōnen epics.
* or being seen as a device to create humor
o I'm not sure that being presented as comic relief necessarily makes an instance of subversion of traditional masculinity less significant (or 'serious'). There is so much more humor in manga and dojinshi than in Western comics or fanfics. Even the most dramatic narrative is most often punctuated by humorous panels. These are not thought to detract from the drama of a story. That something is presented as humorous does not have to imply that it is considered more 'absurd' that the rest of the story by the story's author. comment by Nele Noppe
* The effectiveness of its use in comedy stems from the fact that it is in such obvious conflict with the reader’s preconceived notions of acceptable gendered behavior that it becomes absurd
o True, but I don't think this necessarily detracts from my above point. Hmmm, need to have a more in-depth look at Japanese concepts of humor. comment by Nele Noppe
* One Piece
o On an entirely non-academic note: coooool. Big One Piece fan here. Full disclosure -I'm the translator for the Dutch edition of OP. Scrabbling for my scholarly objectivity now, I can easily see my own likes and dislikes getting in the way of a discussion of OP characters. comment by Nele Noppe
* YuYu Hakusho
o Know of it, read a couple of fanfics about Kurama and Hiei many years ago, but not familiar with the series otherwise. comment by Nele Noppe
* Loyalty 19 , for example, is a trait which is strongly associated with masculinity in Japanese society.
* Other values of shōnen masculinity which aren’t obvious in the salaryman motif include great physical strength:
* though it must be noted that it is not accompanied by valuing of aggression, a fact which is corroborated by the rating of the adjective aggressive
* Another facet of shōnen masculinity is a certain amount of recklessness and a willingness to ‘take on the world,’
* The recklessness of the shōnen male is typically employed in the pursuit or defense of the iron-clad convictions or quasi-chivalrous personal code which is universally possessed by the heroes of the genre, and always contains an aspect of the shōnen hero as protector.
* Shōnen masculinity diverges from the societal ideal of masculinity again on the issue of emotional expression.
o Definitely agree with this aspect of shonen masculinity being different from 'real-world' masculinity. I've got some doubts about the aspects mentioned earlier, but this one, yeah. comment by Nele Noppe
* Shōnen males are also allowed to show a nurturing nature, which most commonly manifests itself in a ‘big brother’ sort of context, with overtones of the position of protector in general.
* However overtly nurturing behavior, which is associated with femininity, and behavior which strays out of the brother/mentor mold is rare in shōnen and as such is usually milked for laughs, such as the earlier example of Kuwabara’s affection for his pet kitten.
* Displaying fear and its associated vulnerability is far less forgivable for the shōnen male than either tears or nurturing behavior and is rarely displayed by a central male character in shōnen material, to the point that it can be considered a real taboo of the genre.
o Interesting... comment by Nele Noppe
* and allowing displaying vulnerability, fear, and
o This seems to contradict the assertion that displaying fear is a sort of "taboo for the genre". comment by Nele Noppe
* The shōnen model of masculinity is built on the foundation of the Japan’s societal ideal of masculinity, the salaryman model, but is significantly different.
* In large part, shōnen masculinity emphasizes an individuality which is, in real life, more attainable for Japanese women.
o Is this individuality "more attainable" for RL Japanese women, or is it just thought to be more attainable? Isn't it more of an ideal? There's tons of marketing that praises products as somehow connected with the discovery of self ('atarashii jibun') -so much that the phrases used start to sound incredibly hollow. Would there be so much desire for things that affirm 'jibun' if 'jibun' were really so attainable IRL? comment by Nele Noppe
* The narratives in fanwork doujin are, like the narratives of the manga they are based on, colored by a certain degree of escapism, in this case from a female perspective. These fanworks, themselves based on shōnen manga, offer us a second view at ideals of an evolving Japanese masculinity from the perspective of the women who primarily author them.
* Others were eliminated because they focused too heavily on humor or were too pornographic in nature to be of value to this study.
o Rather interesting criteria for exclusion. I'd say ideas of masculinity are expressed in any kind of narrative, including those that are purely humorous or relentlessly pornographic. comment by Nele Noppe
* uses a video game, Suikoden, as the source material, and the other four are based off of the popular shōnen manga I examined
o Why include the Suikoden dj? Why not only OP and YYH dj? comment by Nele Noppe
* PG to M
o Maybe a good idea to either not use ratings systems in own work. Everyone understands these differently. comment by Nele Noppe
* Each of the stories analyzed presented, to differing degrees, some form of an alternate masculinity
* Generally tending not to borrow too heavily from events in canon, doujinshi stories are largely set in either domestic settings, or in situations of highly casual and mundane interactions between the characters
o Confirmed in my research comment by Nele Noppe
* In every case it is clear that the story is first and foremost about the relationship, and not really about any canon events that may be occurring at the same time
* This shift of focus from interaction with ‘the world’ and the forces within it to interaction within ‘the relationship,’ represents a shift from the very shōnen perspective of the manga canon to a far more shōjo perspective in the doujinshi, and is the chief device by which doujin compose their ideal of masculinity.
* The predominantly female authors of doujinshi have relocated the characters from their male-authored shonen epics to the private sphere, a traditionally female setting
* A similar rejection of accepted norms of masculinity occurs when the (male) doujin characters are viewed in their own homosocial context, while maintaining the other feminine aspects of the doujin narrative, resulting in a colonization by femininity of the male-only space rather than relocating the men to a feminine-oriented space.
o So, two different main strategies for portraying masculinities in a different light. I wonder if there's a difference in portrayal when male characters are placed in a 'home' space, versus when femininity is injected into a 'traditionally' male-only space? comment by Nele Noppe
* The composition of the subculture changed as growth accelerated in the eighties, as the doujin movement began to be comprised more heavily of amateurs and casual authors just starting out in doujin rather than high-talent artists taking up doujin as an alternative to commercial manga, with the result that far fewer doujin artists were crossing into professional status. This coincided with the rise to prominence of the genre of fan-works, or doujin based on a pre-existing published storyline of some sort.
* This subculture of doujinshi and the people who produce them contains many parallels to the mainstream culture, but exists clearly outside of its boundaries, both legal and cultural, also being distinguished from the commercial industry in terms of demographics: both the authors and target audience of doujinshi are primarily female, while the entire commercial manga market is dominated by shōnen manga, written by and for men.
o There's a grain of truth in both, but this is wording it far too strongly. comment by Nele Noppe
* In general, manga for boys and men dominates the Japanese comic market, collectively holding over 70% of current circulation.
o Okay, the opening makes more sense now that there are some numbers. comment by Nele Noppe
* The expansion of the manga industry in the 1960s created ideal conditions for the creation of the world of doujinshi.
o The whole paragraph is a bit long to quote, but seems to imply (in conjunction with the article's opening statement that the dojinshi world is a mainly female space) that dojinshi first evolved as medium for female expression that found no outlet in the mainstream manga industry with its many rigid rules. Quoting Angel Sanctuary's Yuki Kaori suggests that this characterization of the dojinshi world is still relevant today. comment by Nele Noppe
* The worlds of narrative created by the commercial manga industry and the independent authors and artists of the doujin movement provide rich opportunity to explore the implications of alternative gender concepts as the risk of being stigmatized is dramatically lower than the risk entailed in testing such alternatives in real life.
o Just occurred to me -must look if there's research about comics as a male space vs. fic as a female space. comment by Nele Noppe
Overall, this paper offers some very interesting ideas, and I would love to read a longer and more in-depth description of Harrell's research. A longer analysis of the six dojinshi samples described would be particularly relevant. Relatively early in the article, Harrell correctly observes that in the case of female characters, it is the way they deal with the situations they are placed in rather than their assorted 'super powers' or big-ass weapons that determines whether or not we are dealing with a character that doesn't fit the mold of 'traditional' femininity. She subsequently asserts that, while female characters' behaviour is often not as 'subversive' as it might seem at first glance, the behaviour of male characters in dojinshi can be characterized as a very clear departure from real-life Japanese gender norms. From the (limited) amount of research I've done on dojinshi, I feel inclined to support that idea. The descriptions of the sample dojinshi, however, seem too short to offer real support for Harrell's conclusion on the gendered behaviour of male dojinshi characters.
The space constraints of the paper format force the author to omit other pieces of information that some may consider vital for a solid argumentation. I have some reservations about the methodology, for instance; it is not made clear why the two shonen epics described can be considered representative of shonen epics in general, and while the dojinshi are said to have been selected from a larger sample of thirty books, which is good, the selection criteria used in this process are not clearly described. This is not to say that the conclusions drawn are necessarily suspect in any way; the sampling merely makes it difficult for the reader to judge the representativity of the samples used, which is a shame.
Lack of space to offer this kind of 'background' info is one of the major reasons why I absolutely want to include some kind of online component even when writing in the traditional paper format. If in-depth information about the methodology and samples used is not offered in some fashion, the reader has no way of replicating the author's analysis in a meaningful way.
Harrell's analysis of the masculinities depicted in djs is short but thought-provoking. I particularly like the answer it suggests to the question of why events from the narrative canon of the original appear to be incorporated in dojinshi so rarely (at least in comparison with fanfics. Caveat -I can't confirm this impression by an analysis of a large number of sample djs and fics just yet). Harrell points out that dojinshi narratives tend to relocate male characters to a 'private' sphere so that the focus can be placed on interpersonal relationships rather than interactions between the characters and the 'world' described in the source work. I'll definitely be thinking more on this.
Now, highlights and comments. These were made using Diigo on Google's html version of the pdf, which screws up formatting of the Diigo annotations something fierce, as I only discovered at the very end. Ack. Apologies for this not being quite as readable as it could be. All lines beginning with * are direct quotes from Megan Harrell's article. All lines beginning with o are comments by me on the preceding line.
* both the authors and target audience of doujinshi are primarily female, while the entire commercial manga market is dominated by shōnen manga, written by and for men
o I really need to find some numbers to back this up. comment by Nele Noppe
* Though the views on masculinity presented by the shōnen epics differs greatly from the ideals expressed by fanwork doujin, epic manga and their doujin counterparts have both agreed to disagree with the societal ideals of masculinity and, in doing so, convey the desire felt by both women and men to change Japanese society’s status quo for masculinity.
* The salaryman has become an icon representing Japanese masculinity in contemporary times, despite the fact that the majority of Japanese men have never fit the salaryman model, instead being employed at small firms or as blue collar workers. And though this salaryman mode of masculinity is by far still the accepted norm, some departure from it can be seen in the masculinity promulgated by the popular shōnen manga, which are themselves necessarily informed to some degree by escapism.
* the Japanese concept of femininity has expanded, to at least accommodate if perhaps not encourage the adoption of activities and traits that were once exclusively masculine.
* the Japanese concept of masculinity did not expand alongside that of femininity,
o What about the so-called herbivorous young men said to be so numerous? Are they an invention by the media? comment by Nele Noppe
* Thus, the concept of masculinity which heavily depends on simply being ‘not feminine’ could not help but be threatened by a broadened interpretation of ‘feminine’. Societal tension has resulted from this seeming inability of the Japanese model of masculinity to adapt.
o It should be mentioned here that 'feminine' tends to be interpreted as negative in Western society as well. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that masculinities across the globe have not incorporated 'feminine' characteristics to a meaningful degree, because an injection of the 'feminine' is thought to change the masculine in a way that is societally unacceptable. comment by Nele Noppe
* It thus becomes difficult for Japanese masculinity to expand by assimilating features of femininity, because the relatively low value and negative connotations which are assigned to those features carry a stigma that threatens to compromise the value and legitimacy of masculinity, and thus detract from ‘what it means to be a man.’
o Ah look, there you go :) Still no mention of this not just being something 'Japanese', though. comment by Nele Noppe
* the commercialized production of manga placed many constraints on manga artists; pressure to produce quickly and regularly in order to fill weekly publishing demands, for instance, and restrictions on the number of pages they were allotted for each installment.
o The constraints commercial manga publishing places on the story itself gets mentioned quite a lot, but this is the first time I hear the physical properties of commercial manga being mentioned as something that is significally restrictive enough to maybe push someone towards dojinshi publishing instead. Should look into this. comment by Nele Noppe
* The composition of the subculture changed as growth accelerated in the eighties, as the doujin movement began to be comprised more heavily of amateurs and casual authors just starting out in doujin rather than high-talent artists taking up doujin as an alternative to commercial manga, with the result that far fewer doujin artists were crossing into professional status. This coincided with the rise to prominence of the genre of fan-works, or doujin based on a pre-existing published storyline of some sort.
o Important to keep in mind! comment by Nele Noppe
* Fan-work doujinshi also do not rely solely on Japanese works for their inspiration, as stories drawn from western titles such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, also became wildly popular.
o Anybody ever looked at to what degree this actually happens? I've seen a lot of HP and LotR, but other non-Japanese fandoms seem to garner very little dojinshi attention (Star Wars etc) comment by Nele Noppe
* Echoing the atmosphere in Japanese society, both the two shōnen epics and the source manga for the doujin being analyzed here strongly project traditional gendered behavior and roles for their male characters (protector, provider, authoritative, pillar) and for their female characters (vulnerable, tentative/unsure, submissive…), while at the same time subverting the societal concept of masculinity in several ways.
o Two manga titles analyzed -can they be considered sorta kinda representative of 'shonen epics' in general? comment by Nele Noppe
o I should add here that I've become very wary of the concept of analyzing a handful of works and drawing these kind of broad conclusions from them. I've read a few articles treating fan stories that I'm very familiar with in this way, and the conclusions drawn all too often make very little sense. comment by Nele Noppe
* In fact, many (if not most) of the female characters in the manga examined possessed uncharacteristic strengths and capability, such as masterful fighting ability, super-powers, and genius-level skill in their fields; however, with the exception of a very few overtly masculine typed women, the presence of these traits is strongly mitigated by the feminine personality traits of the character, and the situations and scenarios into which she is placed, in order to effect a traditionally feminine character.
o Amen. Super powers do not a 'strong' female character make, the interactions she has with the other characters do that (or fail to). comment by Nele Noppe
* In other words, the manga and doujin analyzed all strongly maintained traditionally feminine personalities for their female characters; what was altered was the gendered behavior of the male characters, altered to be less traditionally masculine.
o Are these alterations limited to outward signs, or are the interactions of male characters with other characters also indicative of a portrayal that is 'less traditionally masculine'? Reading on... comment by Nele Noppe
* Doujinshi generally contain much more radical revisions of socially acceptable masculinity than the liberties taken by shōnen epics.
* or being seen as a device to create humor
o I'm not sure that being presented as comic relief necessarily makes an instance of subversion of traditional masculinity less significant (or 'serious'). There is so much more humor in manga and dojinshi than in Western comics or fanfics. Even the most dramatic narrative is most often punctuated by humorous panels. These are not thought to detract from the drama of a story. That something is presented as humorous does not have to imply that it is considered more 'absurd' that the rest of the story by the story's author. comment by Nele Noppe
* The effectiveness of its use in comedy stems from the fact that it is in such obvious conflict with the reader’s preconceived notions of acceptable gendered behavior that it becomes absurd
o True, but I don't think this necessarily detracts from my above point. Hmmm, need to have a more in-depth look at Japanese concepts of humor. comment by Nele Noppe
* One Piece
o On an entirely non-academic note: coooool. Big One Piece fan here. Full disclosure -I'm the translator for the Dutch edition of OP. Scrabbling for my scholarly objectivity now, I can easily see my own likes and dislikes getting in the way of a discussion of OP characters. comment by Nele Noppe
* YuYu Hakusho
o Know of it, read a couple of fanfics about Kurama and Hiei many years ago, but not familiar with the series otherwise. comment by Nele Noppe
* Loyalty 19 , for example, is a trait which is strongly associated with masculinity in Japanese society.
* Other values of shōnen masculinity which aren’t obvious in the salaryman motif include great physical strength:
* though it must be noted that it is not accompanied by valuing of aggression, a fact which is corroborated by the rating of the adjective aggressive
* Another facet of shōnen masculinity is a certain amount of recklessness and a willingness to ‘take on the world,’
* The recklessness of the shōnen male is typically employed in the pursuit or defense of the iron-clad convictions or quasi-chivalrous personal code which is universally possessed by the heroes of the genre, and always contains an aspect of the shōnen hero as protector.
* Shōnen masculinity diverges from the societal ideal of masculinity again on the issue of emotional expression.
o Definitely agree with this aspect of shonen masculinity being different from 'real-world' masculinity. I've got some doubts about the aspects mentioned earlier, but this one, yeah. comment by Nele Noppe
* Shōnen males are also allowed to show a nurturing nature, which most commonly manifests itself in a ‘big brother’ sort of context, with overtones of the position of protector in general.
* However overtly nurturing behavior, which is associated with femininity, and behavior which strays out of the brother/mentor mold is rare in shōnen and as such is usually milked for laughs, such as the earlier example of Kuwabara’s affection for his pet kitten.
* Displaying fear and its associated vulnerability is far less forgivable for the shōnen male than either tears or nurturing behavior and is rarely displayed by a central male character in shōnen material, to the point that it can be considered a real taboo of the genre.
o Interesting... comment by Nele Noppe
* and allowing displaying vulnerability, fear, and
o This seems to contradict the assertion that displaying fear is a sort of "taboo for the genre". comment by Nele Noppe
* The shōnen model of masculinity is built on the foundation of the Japan’s societal ideal of masculinity, the salaryman model, but is significantly different.
* In large part, shōnen masculinity emphasizes an individuality which is, in real life, more attainable for Japanese women.
o Is this individuality "more attainable" for RL Japanese women, or is it just thought to be more attainable? Isn't it more of an ideal? There's tons of marketing that praises products as somehow connected with the discovery of self ('atarashii jibun') -so much that the phrases used start to sound incredibly hollow. Would there be so much desire for things that affirm 'jibun' if 'jibun' were really so attainable IRL? comment by Nele Noppe
* The narratives in fanwork doujin are, like the narratives of the manga they are based on, colored by a certain degree of escapism, in this case from a female perspective. These fanworks, themselves based on shōnen manga, offer us a second view at ideals of an evolving Japanese masculinity from the perspective of the women who primarily author them.
* Others were eliminated because they focused too heavily on humor or were too pornographic in nature to be of value to this study.
o Rather interesting criteria for exclusion. I'd say ideas of masculinity are expressed in any kind of narrative, including those that are purely humorous or relentlessly pornographic. comment by Nele Noppe
* uses a video game, Suikoden, as the source material, and the other four are based off of the popular shōnen manga I examined
o Why include the Suikoden dj? Why not only OP and YYH dj? comment by Nele Noppe
* PG to M
o Maybe a good idea to either not use ratings systems in own work. Everyone understands these differently. comment by Nele Noppe
* Each of the stories analyzed presented, to differing degrees, some form of an alternate masculinity
* Generally tending not to borrow too heavily from events in canon, doujinshi stories are largely set in either domestic settings, or in situations of highly casual and mundane interactions between the characters
o Confirmed in my research comment by Nele Noppe
* In every case it is clear that the story is first and foremost about the relationship, and not really about any canon events that may be occurring at the same time
* This shift of focus from interaction with ‘the world’ and the forces within it to interaction within ‘the relationship,’ represents a shift from the very shōnen perspective of the manga canon to a far more shōjo perspective in the doujinshi, and is the chief device by which doujin compose their ideal of masculinity.
* The predominantly female authors of doujinshi have relocated the characters from their male-authored shonen epics to the private sphere, a traditionally female setting
* A similar rejection of accepted norms of masculinity occurs when the (male) doujin characters are viewed in their own homosocial context, while maintaining the other feminine aspects of the doujin narrative, resulting in a colonization by femininity of the male-only space rather than relocating the men to a feminine-oriented space.
o So, two different main strategies for portraying masculinities in a different light. I wonder if there's a difference in portrayal when male characters are placed in a 'home' space, versus when femininity is injected into a 'traditionally' male-only space? comment by Nele Noppe
* The composition of the subculture changed as growth accelerated in the eighties, as the doujin movement began to be comprised more heavily of amateurs and casual authors just starting out in doujin rather than high-talent artists taking up doujin as an alternative to commercial manga, with the result that far fewer doujin artists were crossing into professional status. This coincided with the rise to prominence of the genre of fan-works, or doujin based on a pre-existing published storyline of some sort.
* This subculture of doujinshi and the people who produce them contains many parallels to the mainstream culture, but exists clearly outside of its boundaries, both legal and cultural, also being distinguished from the commercial industry in terms of demographics: both the authors and target audience of doujinshi are primarily female, while the entire commercial manga market is dominated by shōnen manga, written by and for men.
o There's a grain of truth in both, but this is wording it far too strongly. comment by Nele Noppe
* In general, manga for boys and men dominates the Japanese comic market, collectively holding over 70% of current circulation.
o Okay, the opening makes more sense now that there are some numbers. comment by Nele Noppe
* The expansion of the manga industry in the 1960s created ideal conditions for the creation of the world of doujinshi.
o The whole paragraph is a bit long to quote, but seems to imply (in conjunction with the article's opening statement that the dojinshi world is a mainly female space) that dojinshi first evolved as medium for female expression that found no outlet in the mainstream manga industry with its many rigid rules. Quoting Angel Sanctuary's Yuki Kaori suggests that this characterization of the dojinshi world is still relevant today. comment by Nele Noppe
* The worlds of narrative created by the commercial manga industry and the independent authors and artists of the doujin movement provide rich opportunity to explore the implications of alternative gender concepts as the risk of being stigmatized is dramatically lower than the risk entailed in testing such alternatives in real life.
o Just occurred to me -must look if there's research about comics as a male space vs. fic as a female space. comment by Nele Noppe
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