Locality in Japanese Animation: Transboundary Interactions between the Animation Tamayura and Takehara City in Hiroshima, Japan

Abstract

This study explores the locality of Japanese animation in the context of the interaction between contemporary Japanese society and animations. It focuses on the TV animation series Tamayura (たまゆら), which illustrates the emotional growth of high school girls in Takehara City in Hiroshima Prefecture. The study illustrates why and how Japanese animations have sought locality since the 1990s according to two aspects: the penetration of animation into the real world and the penetration of the real world into animation. It concludes that locality can function as a “database” to allow the audience to have transboundary interactions between the virtual and real worlds.