Kyararevisited: The pre-narrative character-state of Japanese character theory

Abstract

This article proposes to take a closer look at a variety of contemporary Japanese “character” franchises which cannot be accounted for if the entities in question are primarily understood with reference to diegetic worlds or stories. Rather, virtual idols like Hatsune Miku, fictional mascots like Kumamon, or notorious product placement figures such as Hello Kitty all seem to circulate mostly on non-narrative artifacts such as clothes, office supplies, or decontextualized artworks, and within mediated performances such as stage musicals, cosplay, or public appearances in full-body suits. They are nevertheless quite typical for the Japanese “media mix” franchising model, designed to allow for user-level reshuffling and reenactment. Such “characters without stories,” or kyara, are thus best understood as “mediated performers,” as fictional actors that can take on any fictional role attributed to them within the participatory cultures and collective creations of fan manga (dōjinshi), fan artworks, or even cosplay. Theorists such as Itō (2005) or Azuma (2009) therefore differentiate sharply between kyarakutā und kyara, the latter being a pre- or meta-narrative “nodal point” for diverging games of make-believe. Kyara can just as easily be enacted and performed as they can be brought back into narrative (kyarakutā) contexts. The following article relates and contrast these notions to international (“Western”) character theories and argues for their relevance beyond “exotic” Japanese contexts.

Gotta face ‘em all: Pokémon, Japanese animated characters, and the emergence of playful visual animism

“…Many authors have highlighted the massive presence of animated characters (or kyara, see Occhi 2010, Wilde 2019, Sutera 2016 in Japanese society. 'Kyara' is a generic term which includes anthropomorphic franchise mascots, characters from manga and anime, as well as human figures used for brands or communication (imeeji kyara).…”

Transmedia characters: Theory and analysis

“…As Lukas Wilde (2018aWilde ( , 2018bWilde ( , 2019aWilde ( , 2019b has recently reconstructed in significantly greater detail, however, the Japanese discourse in fact offers a sophisticated terminological and conceptual apparatus to think through some of the issues connected to the representation of characters across media. Drawing on influential Japanese cultural theorists such as Azuma Hiroki (2001, Itō Gō (2005; see also Itō et al 2007), and Odagiri Hiroshi (2010), Wilde distinguishes between the kyarakutā (character) as "a fictitious being represented to exist within a diegetic domain (storyworld)" (2019a: 4-5) and the kyara as "a stylized or simplified visual figuration that can be easily reproduced and consumed outside of its original narrative context" (2019a: 5).…”