2016/11/18 by Katharine Buljan · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Japanese History and Culture #Asian Culture and Media Studies #Chinese history and philosophy
paper · doi:10.4324/9781315582283-15
openalex publication_date 2016/11/18 · openalex created_date 2018/10/05 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Japanese animation (anime) has struck a chord with many members of the audience in the West although the cultural/linguistic/religious/spiritual context it belongs to differs from that of the Western world. This interest started around the 1960s, although anime’s earliest showing in the West dates back to several decades earlier (Buljan and Cusack 2015). Western acionados’ enthusiasm for anime manifests in various ways. This chapter focuses on three activities: dressing and posing as favourite anime characters (cosplay ritual); visiting places used as sites in anime (anime pilgrimage); and forming anime-based religions (Haruhiism).