anime analysis
Arthurian legend
Category=DSBB
Category=X
cross-cultural adaptation
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eq_biography-true-stories
eq_fiction
eq_graphic-novels-manga
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eq_isMigrated=2
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eq_non-fiction
forthcoming
Japanese popular culture
manga studies
medieval Europe
Middle Ages in media
Norse mythology
reception studies
samurai culture
transnational medievalism
Viking representation
Product details
- ISBN 9781843848196
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 01 Sep 2026
- Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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Examines how the Middle Ages is reimagined in Japanese manga and related media, from berserkr and Bushidō baseball to Arthurian knights and Valkyries.
While the modern fascination with the Middle Ages has long been observed and discussed in medieval and medievalism studies, the medium of Japanese manga has only recently begun to attract scholarly attention as a rich repertoire of (neo)medievalist imaginative worlds. Given Japan's geographical, cultural, and historical distance from medieval Europe, this phenomenon raises several questions. What allure does the era hold for Japanese pop culture creators - and why? And in what ways are the Middle Ages reimagined to resonate with different audiences?
This volume addresses these questions through close readings of a selection of globally popular and influential manga and related media, including Vinland Saga, Berserk, ONE PIECE, Attack on Titan, and Fate. Beginning with manga inspired by Old Norse-Icelandic materials, the essays then move on to examine those incorporating medieval(ist) motifs in a broader sense and those merging medieval(ist) Europe with the so-called "medieval" Japan. In doing so, this volume not only examines how individual stories or elements from the Middle Ages are adopted and adapted within Japanese manga media, but also contextualises them within the reception history of the Middle Ages in Japan, highlighting its far-reaching impact on Japan's perception of its own past.
The introduction and chapter 7 are available as Open Access under the Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-ND.
MINJIE SU is a Marie Curie Research Fellow at the Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies at the University of Oslo.
