Manga Experience and Narrative Identity: Dialogical Constructionof Narrative Identity with Manga Experiences as a Resource

Abstract

　In this paper, we discuss the relationship between the identity of audiences

and their experiences of manga. Firstly, from a theoretical perspective, we discuss

the outcomes and problems of the constructivist view of audience research.

Secondly, we point out that the notion of narrative identity and the idea of

media as a resource is effective. In addition, we argue that the process of positioning

manga experiences as an element of audience’s narratives while they

talk about their life stories is effective. We analyzed the data by using the life

story method of dialogical constructionism. As a result of our analysis, we found

following findings: first, in the narration of manga experience related to identity,

manga experience was positioned in a certain role in an individual’s life story.

Secondly, the construction of the identity using the manga experience as a

resource was not done by an individual alone, but was carried out in participation

with others. Thirdly, the characteristics of manga as media were involved

in the construction of the narratives, specifically the fact that characters in

shonen manga are often shown in their growth into adults, that shojo manga

often includes transgender characters and that manga is made up of“ pictures

and words” so that it is easy to share and has a high level of communicability.

In contemporary society, media such as comics occupy an important position as

a resource for audience’s identities, and an accumulation of research on the subject

is required in the future.