Supernatural monsters and neo-Victorian detectives
Capitalism, rationality and affect in Japanese girls' comics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2179070 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Waiyee Loh |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 464-480 |
| Publication date | 2016-07-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Postcolonial Writing (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1744-9855 • E-ISSN: 1744-9863 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17449855.2016.1228265 |
| OpenAlex | W2529927541 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 12 |
Detective fiction was introduced to Japanese readers in the 19th century, together with the idea that the rationality detectives embody is an ideal for Japan to emulate. This article examines Yuki Kaori’s Count Cain series, a neo-Victorian Japanese girls’ comic (shōjo manga) that references the Sherlock Holmes stories and the wider genre of the detective mystery. The Count Cain series both supports and challenges the idealization of western rationality. It raises doubts about the ability of western rationality to resolve the social disorder engendered by the development of industrial capitalism and mass consumer culture in Japan since the early 20th century. The text thereby articulates a contradictory desire to both emulate the west and assert Japaneseness, which has characterized Japan’s encounter with the west since the 19th century
Aesthetics · Affect (linguistics · Art · Capitalism · Comics · Epistemology · Ideal (ethics · Idealization · Literature · Media studies · Political science · Popular culture · Rationality · Sociology · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Japanese History and Culture · Gender Studies · History · Law · Philosophy
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |