Elisha Ager

Thesis title: An investigation of folklore representation in anime and how the visuals and narrative suggest nostalgia.

Biography

Qualifications

BA (Hons) Japanese Studies - Oxford Brookes University (OBU)

MSc Japanese Society and Culture - University of Edinburgh

Research summary

Investigating visual semiotics and worldbuilding in anime & film to consider how nostalgia can be seen through yokai characters. 

Keywords: Nostalgia, Yokai Studies (妖怪学), Folklore Studies (民俗学), Semiotics, Worldbuilding, Anime, Edo Japan, Kimono, 

Current research interests

Visual signifiers that suggest themes of nostalgia in the yokai seen in anime. Frameworks for research include: Visual semiotics, worldbuilding, character design, anime studies, and media studies. Yokai studies (boundaries, other, otherworld, transformation, shintoism, buddhism, emaki) Restorative/Reflective Nostalgia, Cultural nostalgia, Collective Memory (presented in yokai, and in anime)

Past research interests

How yokai theories are presented in anime and incorporated into the story. Keywords: Boundary Theory (境界), Other (異人), Otherworld (異界), Transformation (化ける), Nostalgia (懐かしい記憶)
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