Yet in Japan it's not a day to celebrate Jesus's birth, as it is in the West rather, Christmas is a time for lovers - a time for first sexual encounters and engagement rings. This I would like to do first by elucidating the philosophy or theology that is being forwarded by Japanese anime and manga artists and second by comparing and contrasting this philosophy or theology with orthodox beliefs.ĭo Angels Practice Voodoo? The Pluralism-Exclusivism-Inclusivism DebateĪs I said, the Japanese celebrate Christmas. Consequently, herein I would like to explore a variety of different anime and manga series which, to be specific now, utilize Christian imagery or themes. One of the most interesting platforms where the Japanese engage in this type of religious transformation or coding-decoding is in anime and manga. While all cultures practice to some degree what Stuart Hall calls 'encoding' (that is, a given culture putting its cultural values into its cultural products) and 'decoding' (that is, the same culture reading its own values into foreign cultural products), the modern Japanese are especially famous for embracing anything and everything foreign - religion not the least of which - and transforming it into something. Whether this event actually happened or not we don't know, but for those who have spent any time in the Land of the Rising Sun this legend certainly has a ring of truth about it. Legend has it that back in 1945, shortly after American troops occupied Japan during World War II, a famous Japanese department store - no doubt eager to capitalize on western traditions during the holiday season - set up a display of a life-size Santa Claus hanging from a cross.

Key Words: Anime, Manga, Christianity, Philosophy, Japanese, Pluralism, Gender, Protestant, Catholic, Angel With particular focus on how Christianity is represented in anime and manga, Barkman first identifies major themes in anime and manga having to do with Christianity (such as pluralism, gender and so on) and second critiques this from a traditional Christian perspective. Abstract: In this paper Barkman begins by arguing that anime and manga are important windows into the worldviews of many people and as such should be taken seriously by religious experts and philosophers interested in cultural criticism.

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