多元的なアイデンティティと感情の交錯― 「鬼滅の刃」と韓国のマンガ･アニメ受容 ―

Abstract

In recent years, manga and anime have become increasingly popular on a global scale, encouraging consumers to actively participate in fan culture, such as illustration, cosplay, secondary creation of content, which has a little scope to forge relationships with social or political issues. At the same time, however, manga/anime sometimes generates an emotional backlash and conflicts with the political identities of the consumers. The present paper explores the reception of Demon Slayer in Korea as an example of this phenomenon, and aims to clarify what kind of critical discourse and controversy it provoked. In Korea, while Demon Slayer has been a hugely popular Japanese manga/anime work, it aroused considerable controversy and criticism for the fact that the main character's earrings resembled the Rising Sun flag. The media also created a discourse that positioned Demon Slayer as a symbol of Japan's rightward shift. Thus, the reception of this work not only encompassed emotional criticism and enthusiastic consumption, but also a middle ground characterized by various voices of fans expressing conflicts and hesitations about whether to accept or reject the work. With these points in mind, this paper considers Demon Slayer a catalyst, making visible what consumers regard important when it comes to their own identities and their perceptions of society, history, and Japanese popular culture. The paper also clarifies that Demon Slayer was a unique cultural phenomenon in the history of the Korean reception of the products of Japanese popular culture.