York University

Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics

AP/JP 3600 3.00   Japanese Popular Culture: manga and anime
Fall 2022

Lectures: Wednesdays 11:30 A.M.-2:30 P.M.

Class Location: this course will be offered in person in the Health, Nursing and Environmental
Studies Building (HNE), B17
Instructor: Cary S. Takagaki
Telephone: the instructor will not be checking voice mail during the pandemic. Communication
will be through e-mail
E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected]
Office & Office hours: due to safety concerns, there will be no in-person office hours. However,
the instructor will be available on ZOOM from 2:30-3:30 Mondays & Wednesdays, and can also
be contacted by e-mail. The Zoom invite link for office hours is available on the course website
in eClass

Land Acknowledgment
York University recognizes that many Indigenous Nations have longstanding relationships with
the territories upon which York University campuses are located that precede the establishment
of York University. York University acknowledges its presence on the traditional territory of
many Indigenous Nations. The area known as Tkaronto has been care taken by the Anishinabek
Nation, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Huron-Wendat. It is now home to many First
Nation, Inuit, and Métis communities. We acknowledge the current treaty holders, the
Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. This territory is subject of the Dish with One Spoon
Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement to peaceably share and care for the Great Lakes region
(LA&PS Land Acknowledgement).

Course Description:
This course examines manga and anime, two of the most popular and influential genres
of popular Japanese culture not only in Japan, but also in Asia and the West. These mediums are
studied in a historical context with respect to their origins and development as commercial
industries and cultural commodities.

Prerequisites: AP/JP 2700 6.00 or permission of instructor

Course Requirements:
—written assignment, approximately 2 pages, due Wednesday September 28, 2022
(10%)
—a summary of one of the supplementary readings, approximately 2 pages, due any time
before Wednesday October 26, 2022 (10%)
—class presentation: all students are required to give an oral presentation on an anime or
manga of their choice (15%) and submit a written summary & analysis (approximately 2 pages)
of the work they have chosen (10%).
—class participation and attendance: students are expected to be familiar with all the
supplementary readings for each class and be able to respond to questions about them and
contribute to discussions as to the relevance of the readings in the context of the week’s theme
(10%). Interaction with instructors and other students, as well as the disciplines acquired from
attending lectures and facing deadlines, are part of the university experience Accordingly, this
component of your final grade is to encourage you to adhere to a regular schedule and to meet
and interact with your peers.
—essay outline and bibliography (2 pages), due any day before November 16, 2022
(10%)
—research essay: approximately 15 pages, due, November 30, 2022 (35%)

NOTE: All written assignments are to be submitted as Word documents to the course website in
eClass and they must also be submitted to Turnitin.com. The assignments are also subject to an
oral review before marks are assigned. Students must keep a copy of their assignments and
essay, as well as notes and drafts, for their own records, and be prepared to submit them if
requested.
NOTE: The point of these written assignments is to help students develop skills in being able to
express themselves in a clear and concise manner. This involves knowing how and where to find,
and critically evaluate, resource material and then organize that material into persuasive
arguments.
Since this is an academic setting it is expected that all written assignments meet a
minimum standard of literacy (i.e., grammar, spelling, and writing style). Keep in mind that
writing skills are different than oral skills. Accordingly, those who are not familiar with writing
essays, or those whose native language is other than English, are expected to avail themselves of
the various writing skills facilities available on or off campus. For more information about the
various resources available to students at the York University campus, visit the following
website:
http://www.yorku.ca/laps/writ/
See also, the “Demystifying Academic Writing” program:
https://yfile.news.yorku.ca/2022/08/26/demystifying-academic-writing-workshop-now-
available/?utm_source=YFile+-+Master+Subscriber+List&utm_campaign=21f675e7cd-
EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_08_26_06_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3ba936d492-
21f675e7cd-577126502

Students are often frustrated by the emphasis placed on grammar, writing style, etc., in
these written assignments. However, be aware that good writing skills are not only an integral
facet of academia, but also have practical applications in everyday life as they can give you
significant advantages in everything from filling out job applications to expressing yourself on
social media.

Penalties:
It is customary in a university setting to impose penalties for late submission of written
assignments in order to be “fair” to those students who have made the effort to submit material
on time. Accordingly, late assignments will be penalized 2% per day unless prior arrangements
have been made with the instructor or a valid medical excuse is provided.

Supplementary Readings:
 There is no required textbook for this course. However, there are several supplementary
readings, which will be available either on the course website or through the York University
library catalogue.

Course Website:
This course uses a website to make lecture outlines available to the student. However,
this is only a guide to taking notes, and not a substitute. Copyright concerns will restrict the
lecture material available on the website. The website is also used to provide information on
assignments, the essay, etc. Students are strongly urged to check it on a regular basis.
The website can be accessed through:
https://eclass.yorku.ca/eclass/my/

Academic Honesty
The following is from the York University 2022-2023 calendar:

Senate Policy on Academic Honesty

The Policy on Academic Honesty is an affirmation and clarification for members of the University of the general
obligation to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty. As a clear sense of academic honesty and
responsibility is fundamental to good scholarship, the policy recognizes the general responsibility of all faculty
members to foster acceptable standards of academic conduct and of the student to be mindful of and abide by such
standards.

Academic honesty requires that persons do not falsely claim credit for the ideas, writing or other intellectual
property of others, either by presenting such works as their own or through impersonation. Similarly, academic
honesty requires that persons do not cheat (attempt to gain an improper advantage in an academic evaluation), nor
attempt or actually alter, suppress, falsify or fabricate any research data or results, official academic record,
application or document.

Suspected breaches of academic honesty will be investigated and charges shall be laid if reasonable and probable
grounds exist. A student who is charged with a breach of academic honesty shall be presumed innocent until, based
upon clear and compelling evidence, a committee determines the student has violated the academic honesty
standards of the university. A finding of academic misconduct will lead to the range of penalties described in the
guidelines which accompany this policy. In some cases the University regulations on non-academic discipline may
apply. A lack of familiarity with the Senate Policy and Guidelines on Academic Honesty on the part of a student
does not constitute a defence against their application. Some academic offences constitute offences under the
Criminal Code of Canada; a student charged under University regulations may also be subject to criminal charges.
Charges may also be laid against York University students for matters which arise at other educational institutions.

Information about guidelines and procedures related to this policy can be obtained from the University Secretariat
website (secretariat-policies.info.yorku.ca).

As a student it is your responsibility to ensure the integrity of your work and to

understand what constitutes an academic offence. If you have any concerns that you may be
crossing the line, always ask your instructor.
Plagiarism will be dealt with strictly in accordance to university guidelines. It is
incumbent on the part of the student to understand the nature of plagiarism and to understand the
consequences of this offence.

Note:
All students are expected to familiarize themselves with the following information, available in
the 2022-2023 Academic Calendar:
 Ethics Review Process for research involving human participants
 Course requirement accommodation for students with disabilities, including physical,
medical, systemic, learning and psychiatric disabilities
 Student Conduct Standards
 Religious Observance Accommodation

Course Schedule
The following is a tentative schedule of lecture topics. The interests of the class may result in
certain topics receiving more, or less, attention. Therefore, the topics may not necessarily be
covered on the dates assigned to them.

WEEK 1: Wednesday September 7, 2022

—administrative matters; objectives of the course
—why anime/manga?

WEEK 2: Wednesday September 14, 2022

—local/global identity: the “odour” of anime and manga
SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS:
—Iwabuchi Koichi. “Taking ‘Japanization,’ Seriously, Cultural globalization
reconsidered,” in Recentering Globalization: Popular Culture and Japanese Transnationalism
(Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2002), pp. 23-50 [THIS BOOK CAN BE ACCESSED
ONLINE THROUGH THE YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARY CATALOGUE]
—Pellitteri, Marco, “Odorless Cultures, Fragrant Cultures, and Perfumed Cultures,”
“Two Complex Products with a Japanese Market,” “Differences in Perception?,” “The Odor of
Anime, Western or Japanese” in Perper, Timothy and Martha Cornog, eds., Mangatopia, Essays
on Manga and Anime in the Modern World (Santa Barbara, Ca.: Libraries Unlimited, 2011), pp.
215-219 [THIS EXCERPT IS AVAILABLE ON THE COURSE WEBSITE]
—Drazen, Patrick. “Reading Right to Left: The Surprisingly Broad Appeal of Manga and
Anime: or, ‘Wait a Minute’,” in Perper, Timothy and Martha Cornog, eds., Mangatopia, Essays
on Manga and Anime in the Modern World (Santa Barbara, Ca.: Libraries Unlimited, 2011), pp.
135-147 [THIS EXCERPT IS AVAILABLE ON THE COURSE WEBSITE]
—Levi, Antonia. “The Sweet Smell of Japan: Anime, manga, and Japan in North
America,” Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, vol. 23, issue 1 (2013), pp. 3-18 [THIS
ARTICLE CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
CATALOGUE]
— Lu, Amy Shirong. “What Race Do they Represent and Does Mine Have Anything to
do With It?” Animation, vol. 4, issue 2 (2009), pp. 169-190 [THIS ARTICLE CAN BE
ACCESSED THROUGH THE YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARY CATALOGUE]
Davis, Jason, Barber, Christie, and Bryce, Mio. “Why Do They Look White?” In, Steiff,
Joseph and Adam Barkman. Manga and Philosophy (Chicago: Open Court Publishing, 2010),
pp. 283-295 [THIS EXCERPT IS AVAILABLE ON THE COURSE WEBSITE]
—Brienza, Casey E. “Books not Comics, Publishing Fields, Globalization, and Japanese
Manga in the United States,” Publishing Research Quarterly, vol. 25, issue 2 (June 2009), pp.
101-117 [THIS ARTICLE CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE YORK UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY CATALOGUE]
— Lu, Amy Shirong. “The Many Faces of Internationalization in Japanese Anime,”
Animation, vol. 3, issue 2 (2008), pp. 169-187 [THIS ARTICLE CAN BE ACCESSED
THROUGH THE YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARY CATALOGUE]

WEEK 3: Wednesday September 21, 2022

—manga & anime: historical background
SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS:
—Poitras, Gilles, “Contemporary Anime in Japanese Pop Culture,” in MacWilliams,
Mark W., ed. Japanese Visual Culture (Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 2008), pp. 48-67 [THIS
BOOK CAN BE ACCESSED ONLINE THROUGH THE YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
CATALOGUE]
— Ito Kinko. “A History of Manga in the Context of Japanese Culture and Society,”
Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 38, issue 3 (February 2005), pp. 456-475 [THIS ARTICLE
CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARY CATALOGUE]
—Natsume Fusanosuke. “Where is Tezuka, a Theory of Manga Expression,”
Mechademia, vol. 1 (2013), pp. 89-107 [THIS ARTICLE CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH
THE YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARY CATALOGUE]
—Wong, Wendy Siuyi, “Globalizing Manga: From Japan to Hong Kong and Beyond,” in
Mechademia, vol. 1 (2006), pp. 23-45 [THIS ARTICLE CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH
THE YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARY CATALOGUE]

WEEK 4: Wednesday September 28, 2022

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT DUE
—reading manga; manga genres
SUPPLEMENTARY READING:
—Cohn, Neil, “Japanese Visual Language: The Structure of Manga,” in Johnson-Woods,
Toni, ed. Manga, an Anthology of Global and Cultural Perspectives (New York: Continuum,
2010), pp. 187-203 [THIS EXCERPT IS AVAILABLE ON THE COURSE WEBSITE]

WEEK 5: Wednesday October 5, 2022

―manga genres
SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS:
—Frenchy Lunning, “Under the Ruffles, Shōjo and Morphology of Power,” in
Mechademia, vol. 6 (2011), pp. 3-19 [THIS ARTICLE CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE
YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARY CATALOGUE]
—Deborah Shamoon, “Revolutionary Romance, The Rose of Versailles and the
Transformation of Shojo Manga,” Mechademia, vol. 2 (2007), pp. 3-17 [THIS ARTICLE CAN
BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARY CATALOGUE]

SATURDAY OCTOBER 8- FRIDAY 14, 2022: FALL READING DAYS: NO CLASSES

WEEK 6: Wednesday October 19, 2022

—anime: Akira
SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS:
 —Bolton, Christopher, “From Ground Zero to Degree Zero: Akira from Origin to
Oblivion,” in Mechademia, vol. 9 (2014), pp. 295-315 [THIS ARTICLE CAN BE ACCESSED
THROUGH THE YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARY CATALOGUE]
—Ueno Toshiya, “Kurenai no metalsuits: ‘Anime to wa nanika/What is animation?’” in
Mechademia, vol. 1 (2006), pp. 11-118 [THIS ARTICLE CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH
THE YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARY CATALOGUE]

WEEK 7: Wednesday October 26, 2022

LAST DAY TO SUBMIT A SUPPLEMENTARY READING
—Miyazaki Hayao/Studio Ghibli
SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS:
—Napier, Susan J., “Matter Out of Place, Carnival, Containment and Recovery in
Miyazaki’s ‘Spirited Away’,” in Journal of Japanese Studies, vol. 32, no. 2 (Summer 2006), pp.
287-310 [THIS ARTICLE CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE YORK UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY CATALOGUE]
—Yoshioka Shiro, “Heart of Japaneseness: History and Nostalgia in Hayao Miyazaki’s
Spirited Away,” in MacWilliams, Mark, W. ed. Japanese Visual Culture, Explorations in the
World of Manga and Anime (Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2008), pp. 256-273 [THIS
BOOK CAN BE ACCESSED ONLINE THROUGH THE YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
CATALOGUE]

WEEK 8: Wednesday November 2, 2022

—Miyazaki Hayao/Studio Ghibli, cont’d

WEEK 9: Wednesday November 9, 2022

—the horror genre
SUPPLEMENTARY READING:
—Dumas, Raechel. “Open Wounds: Situating the Monstrous Feminine in Contemporary Japan,”
in The Monstrous-Feminine in Contemporary Japanese Popular Culture (Cham,
Switzerland : Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), pp. 1-20 [THIS EXCERPT IS AVAILABLE ON THE
COURSE WEBSITE]
—Pandey, Rajyashree. “The Pre in the Postmodern: The Horror Manga of Hino Hideshi,”
Japanese Studies, vol. 21, no. 3 (2001), pp. 262-274 [THIS ARTICLE CAN BE ACCESSED
THROUGH THE YORK LIBRARY CATALOGUE]

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2022: LAST DAY TO DROP THIS COURSE WITHOUT
ACADEMIC PENALTY

WEEK 10: Wednesday November 16, 2022

LAST DAY TO SUBMIT ESSAY OUTLINE AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
—the apocalypse genre
Broderick, Mick. “Anime’s Apocalypse: Neon Genesis Evangelion as Millennarian
Mecha.” In, Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context, issue 7 (March
2002) [THIS ARTICLE CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE YORK UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY CATALOGUE]
 Napier, Susan J. “Waiting for the End of the World: Apocalyptic Identity,” in Napier,
Susan J. Anime from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle Updated Edition (New York: Palgrave,
2005), pp. 249-274 [THIS EXCERPT IS AVAILABLE ON THE COURSE WEBSITE]

WEEK 11: Wednesday November 23, 2022

—fandom
SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS:
—“Understanding Fans and Fan culture,” in Brenner, Robin E., Understanding Manga
and Anime (Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2007), pp. 193-216 [THIS EXCERPT IS
AVAILABLE ON THE COURSE WEBSITE]
—“The Fifth Look: Western Audiences and Japanese Animation,” in Napier, Susan J.
Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke (New York: Palgrave, 2000), pp. 239-256 [THIS
EXCERPT IS AVAILABLE ON THE COURSE WEBSITE]

WEEK 12: Wednesday November 30, 2022

ESSAY DUE
—presentations