Kajian Transformasi Visual Desain Karakter Eevee pada Game Pokémon Series Generasi I-V

Pokémon game series is a representation of the media culture that offers a world of simulation by creating signs through storyline, gameplay, environment, as well as game characters, so that it becomes a part of digital culture. The design of Pokémon character, in this case is Eevee, is able to generate its fans curiosity and addiction resulted from the application of Manga-matrix method, color theory and morphological-forced-connections technique through the visual transformation of character design itself. This study is a qualitative research that conducted through the application of Manga-matrix principle including internal and external factors on the characters, similarity analysis or the relation among the theories connected to visual element and the interpretation of character meaning, and the combination of character design theories as the reflection of the Satoshi Tajiri as well as Japanese society’s ideology or thinking pattern in cultural implementation. The analysis shows that Eevee’s changing form still contains similarity with its existence of additional elements creates variety of forms in Eevee’s character visualization. Those Eevee’s form variety becomes the essence of the creation of the character as the media that introduces the visual transformation of character design in a game, in this matter is the Pokémon game series

High School Students\u27 Reading Experiences with Graphic Novels, Comics, and Manga

This qualitative study explored high school students’ reading experiences with graphic novels. Historically, comics and graphic novels were not recognized by the mainstream as a respectable form of literature, thereby prompting the medium exclusion from school curricula (Lewkowich, 2019b; Versaci, 2001). However, graphic novels are now gaining popularity and becoming a preferred reading choice for students (Carter, 2007; Lewkowich, 2019b). Rooted in transactional theory of reading and sociocultural theories of meaning making, this case study examined how students made meaning from reading graphic novels, comics, and manga within an English language arts classroom setting. Data collection included recorded conversations during independent reading and semi-structured interviews. Data analysis involved multiple coding cycles to develop themes describing the roles of semiotics, transactional reading, sociocultural contexts, and joy in students’ reading experiences. I found that students took advantage of their access to technology in a STEM setting to pursue the books that brought them joy. Reading graphic novels humanized their reading identities within a STEM high school setting. By focusing on students’ perspectives of reading graphic novels, the study added to the ongoing conversation about high school students making their own reading choices and the importance and relevance of graphic novels in the English language arts curriculum

Oddkins vignettes: A case study of Human-Robot Kinship in Science-Fiction manga through Kazuo Umezu’s I Am Shingo

This thesis argues that manga as a medium is a remarkably appropriate way of exploring the continuous thread of Haraway’s theorization of kinship and filiations without blood relating. Manga, per its formal characteristics, has an inherent intricacy, drawing from words, illustration and cinema to create a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. To demonstrate this, we explore a case study of science-fiction manga (I Am Shingo) through the lens of Donna J. Haraway’s body of work. More specifically, it uses the concept of “ oddkins ”, borrowing from Haraway’s Cyborg theory and her Companion Species theory, to articulate these rich, loaded relationships. Additionally, we invoke Haraway’s later works, where the focus is not only on hybridity and heterogeneity, but on the links that develop within the different beings inhabiting a common space and their inevitable interactions. This thesis is constructed around one case study, looking at Kazuo Umezu’s I Am Shingo (1982). Through this tale of a robotic offspring trying to reunite its star-crossed lover parents, we explore examples of oddkins as Shingo encounters allies from various walks of life and interfaces with them. Addionally, we will discuss the benefits Haraway’s body of work can have on manga studies

Sequential Art, Graphic Novels, and Comics

The first global distribution of a paper prepared for the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Graphic Novels Special Interest Group of the International Reading Association,the Executive Board of the New Jersey Reading Association, and the Legislative and Professional Standards Committee of the NJRA

The Kingdom’s Shōnen Heart: Transcultural Character Design and the JRPG

Taken by themselves, neither Disney nor Square Enix appears particularly successful at transcultural expression, although both are certainly marketing juggernauts in transmedia franchise operations (Smoodin, 1994; Consalvo, 2013). Disney may be understood in terms of American postwar cultural imperialism, while Square Enix is deeply rooted in conventions of Japanese storytelling. But together, somehow the two achieve a synergy in Kingdom Hearts (2002), coalescing in the figure of Sora, its youthful protagonist. This article performs a close reading of Sora’s visual character design, a transcultural melding of Walt Disney’s own Mickey Mouse and the shōnen figure of earlier Nomura Tetsuya creations. While gameplay dynamics point to a new action-adventure style for Square Enix, the shōnen characteristics of Sora’s appearance combine with his sense of loss and yearning to position the game in the JRPG genre.     Transculturality of the non-player characters (NPCs) in Kingdom Hearts is then considered. These character designs remain static, anchored to their original reference texts. Where the Disney characters fit their settings in an uncomplicated way, providing escapism and nostalgia for the player, Square characters seem to be chosen for their complexity. The use of then-recent Final Fantasy X characters Tidus and Wakka in Destiny Islands is contrasted against the use of darker, brooding characters from older Final Fantasy titles encountered later in the game. Just as loss and yearning define Sora’s shōnen character, the sense of loss manifested by Cloud, Aerith and Leon connect the player to the real-world context of the global late 1990s, speaking to Japanese anxiety following the Hanshin earthquake and Aum Shinrikyo attacks of 1995, and to the despair of ‘Generation X’ following Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994 (Funabashi and Kushner, 2015; Brabazon, 2005). Meanwhile, the deep economic recession of Japan’s ‘lost decade’ (1991-2001) connected perfectly to the post-9/11 unease in America at the time of the game’s release. Overall, I argue that the game’s success stems from its transcultural emphasis on loss and yearning, which fit not only the JRPG genre but also the sense of anxiety pervading both Japan and America at the time

Apologetics and Popular Culture Phenomena: A Critique of Ted Turnau\u27s Method Concerning Anime

Limited work has been performed in the field of Christian apologetics and popular culture, much less the intersection between anime and Christian apologetics. One scholar who has attempted to broach this gap has been Ted Turnau, who has developed a five-step diagnostic method for apologetically engaging popular culture phenomena. However, his method contains key flaws. Using the work of Thomas Lamarre, a scholar in the field of anime studies, a central contention will be made: that the material and technology of anime have processes that affect how viewers inhabit and orient themselves in the world, which in turn influences their formative practices and habits. This idea is neglected by Turnau, which hurts his overall argumentation. Three lines of derivative critique shall be launched against Turnau - his cognitive approach to narrative, overemphasizing the form of anime versus its function, and lack of attention paid to audience reception

Media Ecologies

In this chapter, we frame the media ecologies that contextualize the youth practices we describe in later chapters. By drawing from case studies that are delimited by locality, institutions, networked sites, and interest groups (see appendices), we have been able to map the contours of the varied social, technical, and cultural contexts that structure youth media engagement. This chapter introduces three genres of participation with new media that have emerged as overarching descriptive frameworks for understanding how youth new media practices are defi ned in relation and in opposition to one another. The genres of participation—hanging out, messing around, and geeking out—refl ect and are intertwined with young people’s practices, learning, and identity formation within these varied and dynamic media ecologies