Saturday, May 03, 2008
Hi guys,
To all the closet anime/manga fans out there who are reading or lurking around my blog, I would like to ask for your advice on my Masters thesis research proposal. =)
For my thesis, I intend to study fantasy manga texts that have apocalyptic narratives, but at present I only have 2 texts in mind and I need another one (the 2 texts I have picked so far are Angel Sanctuary and Kami-Kaze). I was thinking of D-Gray Man but the problem with that text is that it's still incomplete at this moment. So I would greatly appreciate it if you guys can suggest another completed manga series for me to write about which fulfills at least some of the criteria below:
- Has to be under the 'fantasy' genre (not sci-fi) and set in an alternative universe unlike our own (in other words, it should not be set in a 'realistic' Tokyo etc.)
- Has to have an apocalyptic narrative
- Can be shoujo or shounen or even adult
- Functions as a site for the articulation of contemporary cultural values, hopes and anxieties, Japanese or otherwise (eg. fears about the irresponsible use of science and technology, feminist thinking on gender and sexuality etc.)
- Engages in the postmodern practices of bricolage, intertexuality, rewriting of old stories, hybridity, cultural translation and/or syncretism
- Negotiates Japan's place in a globalized world and Japan's attempts at 'internationalization' (kokusaika)
- Is not a traditional liberal humanist text (eg. modernist, postmodern, metafictional, existentialist, determinist etc.)
Your help is greatly appreciated. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu~
kaoru said at 7:26 PM
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