This paper focuses on the representation of “transformation” in TV animation produced for children broadcast in Japan. Among the works based on trading card games, which are at the center of contemporary children’s TV animation productions, the depictions of transformation in the pioneering works “ Cardcaptor Sakura” and “ Yu-Gi-Oh!” In previous studies of children’s TV animation, “transformation” has been regarded as a means of entry into adult society, but in both works, “transformation” functions as an expression of the instability of the protagonist’s identity, and it becomes clear that, underlying this, the line between “adult” and “child” is blurred in the values depicted in the works. The underlying cause is the blurring of the line between “adult” and “child” in the sense of values depicted in the works.

This paper focuses on Angelique, the first-ever “romance simulation game for women,” and examines the CD series produced as part of its media mix strategy. The Angelique CD series utilized early practices from other CDs and games, while further developing the concept of auditory content specifically for a female audience. These Angelique CDs employed two approaches: one where the listener was positioned as the game’s protagonist, Angelique, and spoken to accordingly, and the other where the listener was addressed directly as themselves. The former approach made possible the experience of spoken to by characters in the game, using only auditory elements, while the latter enabled such experience without the need for an avatar. Both approaches marked a significant step in establishing the “situation CD aimed at women” genre, which later became a cornerstone of auditory content for women. Viewing Angelique not merely as a game but as a media mix project and analyzing its CD series offers valuable insights into the history of female-oriented auditory content performed by male anime voice actors—a domain in the closely surrounding areas of anime culture.

This study aims to clarify how animation has been featured in Japanese language textbooks and to trace its historical transitions. To this end, I conducted a study of Japanese language textbooks used in elementary, junior high, and high schools from the postwar period to the present. I categorized the 29 extracted animation-related materials into four periods and analyzed the transitions. The first instance of animation content in a Japanese language textbook appeared in 1949, in a middle school textbook as part of a film unit. In the 1980s, animation topics were included in film-related units, featuring works by animation directors. From the 1990s onwards, essays, biographies, and other texts related to animation began to be included, serving to spark students’ interest and curiosity. In the 2010s, animation content began to focus on the differences between media, and today, it is included with the goal of fostering media literacy.