Fukunaga 2006 FL literacy development using Anime ... - Oncourse

206 

© 2006 INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION (pp. 206–222) doi:10.1598/JAAL.50.3.5 

“Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy 

development through Japanese popular culture 

Animation and other popular culture texts 

motivate and teach students about 

language, society, and culture. 

I remember reading about that, thinking 

“Man! That’s not fair! I wanna play these 

too!” So, all of this is important because 

it eventually led to this idea that I got to 

around the seventh grade. I got this idea 

if I study Japanese and learn to read 

Japanese I can buy these imported video 

games, because, you know, you can import 

these video games and then I can play them even 

if, even if they haven’t been translated into English. 

(Sean, 21-year-old male Japanese major) 

This excerpt is from an interview with Sean (all student 

names are pseudonyms), a U.S. college undergraduate. 

Sean described how he found that there 

were a lot more video games available in Japanese 

because they were imported from Japan. Sean’s experiences 

with Japanese video games brought him 

to anime (Japanese animation), and motivated him 

to learn Japanese. Strictly speaking, anime is a word 

for Japanese animated films and TV programs. 

Some definitions include subcultures of anime 

such as Japanese video games and Japanese music. 

Interest in Japanese popular culture such as 

anime, manga (Japanese graphic novels), and 

video games is growing rapidly among youth in 

the United States (Gee, 2003; Napier, 2001). The 

front page of The Wall Street Journal on August 5, 

2004, featured an article titled “Learning Japanese, 

once about resumes, is now about cool” (Parker, 

Natsuki Fukunaga 

Fukunaga teaches at 

Marshall University and may 

be contacted at Department 

of Modern Languages, 

Smith Hall 751, Marshall 

University, One John 

Marshall Drive, Huntington, 

WV 25755, USA. E-mail 

andersonn@marshall.edu. 

2004). The author interviewed Japanese instructors 

and Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) students 

in the southern United States and reported 

how the availability of Japanese popu- 

lar culture has changed Japaneselanguage 

students in the United States. 

Learning Japanese used to be “a smart 

choice for ambitious, business-minded 

college students” (Parker, p. A1) and is 

now about “cool pop culture, through 

comics, street fashion and animated 

movies called anime” (Parker, p. A2). 

Moreover, Manes (2005), a Japanese teacher in 

Philadelphia, pointed out that JFL students have 

become younger in the past 10 years. JFL learners 

used to be businesspeople, lawyers, and doctors 

who “had a lot of knowledge about Japanese culture,” 

although they “retained a certain detached 

attitude toward it” (Manes, p. 1). Young students 

who are now attracted to Japanese by the country’s 

popular culture were “absorbing Japanese 

language and customs directly with their eyes and 

ears” (Manes, p. 2). The National Survey of K–12 

Foreign Language Education (Rhodes & Branaman, 

1999) showed that Japanese-language learners are 

the fastest growing group among students of less 

commonly taught languages in the United States. 

It is clear that popular culture has affected the demographics 

of JFL learners (Fukunaga, 2000). 

These students’ involvement with Japanese popular 

culture also affects their Japanese literacy development 

and their social activities. Motivated by 

the growing interest in anime I found among my 

students, I began searching for literature on popular 

culture and language learning. 

JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY 50:3 NOVEMBER 2006

“Those anime students”: Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture 

I conducted an interview study in 2003 with 

three anime fans, Emily, Ted, and Sean. This article 

looks at their multiliteracies and the sociocultural 

context of foreign language literacy development. 

Although these “anime students” were college-level 

JFL learners at South University (pseudonym), 

they mostly talked about their experiences with 

anime in their adolescence. Building on previous 

studies of anime and popular culture (Fukunaga, 

2000; Napier, 2001), I will discuss the findings 

from my data, connecting them to sociocultural 

perspectives of language learning (Gee, 2002) and 

to the studies of new literacies and multiliteracies 

(Collins & Blot, 2003; New London Group, 1996). 

Anime in the framework of 

multiliteracies 

In contrast to the singular literacy, multiliteracies 

and new literacies are wider concepts that include 

texts, language, situated meaning, technology, 

popular culture, power, identity, and critical 

stance (Collins & Blot, 2003; Gee, 1996). New 

forms of communication such as those spawned 

by the Internet have become vital information 

sources for U.S. anime fans (Fukunaga, 2000). 

However, individual students have different relationships 

with anime and its community. Two of 

Gee’s (2002) concepts are useful for understanding 

these theories in relation to anime: shapeshifting 

portfolio people and affinity groups. My 

interviews with JFL learners provided some examples 

relevant to these concepts. 

Shape-shifting portfolio people 

Gee’s (2002) concept provides a useful framework 

to understand anime as a product of multiliteracies. 

Gee described millennials, who were born between 

1982 and 1998, as youth who shape 

themselves according to “class-based customized 

standardization” (italics in original) to become 

“shape-shifting portfolio people” (Gee, pp. 

62–63). The word portfolio does not necessarily 

mean a collection of documents; rather, it is used 

as a metaphor for the invisible skills needed for 

success. Gee used the expression to describe youth 

who collect skills in order to access a variety of resources 

and to be successful in capitalist society. 

These youth continue to revise their portfolios 

with new experiences in order to make themselves 

available for different tasks in different times. In 

the New Capitalism, “the capitalism of our current 

technologically driven, knowledge-based 

global economy” (Gee, 2001, p. 100), class is defined 

not only by the amount of money one has 

but also by the nature of one’s experiences, skills, 

and achievements. For example, millennials “customize 

themselves” (Gee, 2002, p. 63) to gain entrance 

to elite schools. 

Young, Dillon, and Moje (2002) criticized 

Gee’s description of shape-shifting portfolio millennials 

for being “too generalized and too global” 

(p. 129). One of the examples that Young et al. described 

is of a middle class youth who resisted being 

labeled as a “successful candidate” so he did 

not shape-shift his portfolio. Anime students’ 

goals are not transferable to mainstream success 

either. For anime students, gaining Japanese linguistic 

and cultural knowledge is one way to build 

their portfolios by exploring authentic Japanese 

popular culture. What happens once these anime 

students lose their interest in Japanese popular 

culture? Will they shape-shift their portfolio according 

to “shifting” goals? I explore these questions 

in later sections. While there is a need to be 

cautious about overgeneralization, the idea of a 

“shape-shifting portfolio” remains a helpful description 

of anime students’ literacy activities. 

Affinity group 

Knowledge of Japanese language is one way for 

anime fans to shape-shift their portfolios. 

Computer skills and access to the Internet also 

add to anime fans’ portfolios in the anime community. 

Gee’s concept of the “affinity group” 

(2002) is a form of portfolio building that incorporates 

sociocultural aspects of students’ literacy 

JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY 50:3 NOVEMBER 2006 207

practices through out-of-class activities. An affinity 

group is 

a group wherein people form affiliations with each 

other, often at a distance (that is, not necessarily faceto-face), 

primarily through shared practices or a common 

endeavor (which entails shared practices), and 

only secondarily through shared culture, gender, ethnicity, 

or face-to-face relationships. (Gee, p. 65) 

Gee explained this concept citing the example of 

Almon, an immigrant boy in Lam’s study (2000), 

who successfully learned language within an 

affinity group. Almon worried about his future 

career because, even after living in the United 

States for five years, he felt his English skills 

would never be good enough. However, his attitude 

toward English dramatically changed when 

he began discussing Japanese pop music with 

people from different countries through the 

Internet. Not only did Almon improve his written 

English skills, but also through his connection 

with this particular virtual community, he 

gained self-confidence. 

Such literacy practices may also occur 

through out-of-class activities. Chandler-Olcott 

and Mahar (2003a, 2003b) looked at two female 

students’ informal “fanfictions” (fanfics) that included 

anime characters, and were surprised at 

the students’ talent as writers. Those fanfic writings 

looked very different from their classroom 

essays. Chandler-Olcott and Mahar suggested 

that teachers should be aware of literacy learning 

that is not valued in school settings. 

Different writings such as fanfics can be used to 

get to know students’ “hidden” literacy skills, 

because the girls in this study admitted that 

they spent “far more time and energy” (2003a, 

p. 561) on their fanfics than they did on school 

assignments. The two girls in Chandler-Olcott 

and Mahar’s (2003a) study are like the students 

I studied who found “joy” in their anime-related 

literacy practices. Teachers may be surprised 

that some students who are not successful with 

classroom practices may be actively learning 

with out-of-school practices (Chandler-Olcott 

208 


& Mahar, 2003b; Lam, 2000). Like the students 

in Chandler-Olcott and Mahar’s and Lam’s 

studies, anime students use a tool (in this case, 

Japanese) to acquire agency within an affinity 

group. 

Students’ literacy practices have expanded 

dramatically in the Internet era. The Internet 

enables students to access many cultures and 

languages. Because of this, it is difficult for classroom 

teachers to imagine what kind of out-ofclass 

activities are connected with the students’ 

literacy development. Although there are increasing 

numbers of studies on Japanese popular culture 

in relation to first language (English) literacy 

development in the areas of multiliteracies and 

the new literacy studies (Chandler-Olcott & 

Mahar, 2003a, 2003b; He, 2003; Lam, 2000), little 

information is available to understand popular 

culture’s effects on JFL literacy development. 

What, then, is anime “good for”? What 

draws students to it? The purpose of this study 

was to identify JFL students’ perspectives on anime 

and to explore how three students made use 

of their anime knowledge while learning 

Japanese. Data for this study came from photographs 

taken by participants, individual interviews, 

and participants’ reflection papers about 

the interviews. I supplemented these data with a 

previous survey and interview study (Fukunaga, 

2000) on U.S. anime fans’ perspectives of 

Japanese popular culture. 

The current study contributes to several 

areas of educational instruction. In the fields of 

first- and second-language (L1 and L2) literacy 

studies, this study helps teachers to understand 

the cultural context of anime and its value for 

students as an out-of-class L2 learning tool. This 

study also gives students and teachers a better 

sense of the effect and scope of popular culture, 

especially that originating in “other” cultures. In 

addition, this study provides sociocultural perspectives 

on learning from interdisciplinary 

studies including L1 and L2 literacy, multiliteracies, 

cultural studies, media literacy, and critical 

pedagogy. 



Setting and participants 

Ta b l e 1 

Students’ background information 

Name Age Sex Major Japanese study Interests 

Emily 21 F Instructional Took 3 semesters Anime Club, manga, fantasy, 

Technology and stopped the Internet, science fiction, 

in Education collection of anime products 

(toys, cards) 

Ted 21 M Japanese In the 4th semester Anime Club, video games, 

of study collection of anime series, 

the Internet 

Sean 21 M Japanese Went straight into Anime Club, manga, 

the highest level Japanese films, video games, 

(8th semester) of Japanese book reading circle, 

Japanese class BBS (Bulletin Board System), 

the Internet 

In order to understand JFL students’ perspectives 

of anime and Japanese literacy development 

through anime, I conducted an interpretive, qualitative 

interview study. Emily, Ted, and Sean were 

chosen as participants in this study by purposeful 

sampling. The criteria for selection were (1) students 

who were at least intermediate level in 

Japanese, (2) students who were not taking 

Japanese classes from me when I conducted the 

study, and (3) students who had a particular interest 

in anime and Japanese popular culture. 

Emily, Ted, and Sean are Caucasian, were born in 

the United States, and are native speakers of 

English. The participants’ background information 

is described in Table 1. 

Emily, Ted, and Sean started watching anime 

when they were in high school. Thus, watching 

anime was a part of their youth culture. Emily 

and Ted regularly attend the Anime Club meetings 

at South University. Anime Club is a student 

organization for people who enjoy watching anime 

and playing Japanese video games. Anime 

Club members gather at a theater on campus 

to watch six 30-minute anime programs on 

Mondays from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. For three 

hours, the people at the meeting listen to 

Japanese while they watch anime with English 

subtitles. Ted told me, “True anime fans only 

watch anime with English subtitles. Many people 

begin watching dubbed versions of anime on 

Cartoon Network on TV and most of them eventually 

move away from dubbed anime [because] 

they are not authentic.” Most anime programs 

last for 30 minutes and have an opening theme 

song and an ending song. Several members of 

Anime Club attend weekly leadership meetings 

on Wednesdays. Emily and Ted attend both meetings 

regularly while Sean occasionally attends 

Monday meetings. 

Data collection and analysis 

I used a data collection method that Allen and 

Labbo (2001) and Allen et al. (2002) used in their 

project PhOLKS (Photographs of Local 

Knowledge Sources). This method provides a 

view of students’ out-of-school lives. Students 

were asked to photograph important objects in 

their homes and neighborhoods. This project allowed 

teachers to “extend the classroom community 

to include children’s home communities, to 

build reciprocal relationships with families” 


(Allen et al., p. 314). However, the photographs 

that participants took were not the main focus of 

my study. Rather, they served as a stimulus for the 

interview. They also helped to create a common 

ground for conversation about Japanese popular 

culture texts. 

One week prior to their individual interviews, 

the students took photographs of things 

related to Japanese popular culture and language 

learning that they considered important in their 

everyday lives. Each student participated in a 

two-hour, open-ended, audiotaped interview 

and told stories about the objects. Following are 

some examples of interview questions: How did 

you become interested in anime? How does anime 

affect your Japanese learning? How does anime 

affect your social relationships? After the 

interview, students wrote a one-page reflection. 

To corroborate my initial interpretations, I asked 

each student to meet for a follow-up interview 

that lasted for about one hour. I transcribed 

each interview, showed the transcript to each 

student, and got some feedback. I analyzed the 

interview transcriptions, photographs, and written 

responses using the ethnographic content 

analytical method (Altheide, 1987; LeCompte, 

2000). I created categories and subcategories focusing 

on the insider’s perspective of this cultural 

group. To ensure internal reliability, I used 

triangulation (Glesne, 1999) with the three data 

collection methods. I also used ongoing and final 

member checks for validity to make sure I 

represented the participants and their ideas accurately. 

My analysis is shaped by my status as both 

an insider and outsider in the anime community. 

As a native Japanese, I have my own conception 

of anime because of its strong presence in 

Japanese popular culture; however, I am not a 

fan who claims to know everything about anime. 

I question whether JFL students have the 

same concept of anime as Japanese natives. 

Many Japanese people grow up with anime as a 

part of everyday life. Throughout this study, I 

have been careful not to assume anything is 

210 


“normal” just because I experienced it. Rather, 

my goal is to understand JFL students’ perspectives 

on anime. I began wondering about anime 

students’ perspectives and their activities outside 

of the classroom while I was teaching Japanese 

at South University, observing students and 

communicating with them in class. Anime students 

reminded me of my own experience of 

learning English as a second language through 

popular culture such as Hollywood movies and 

the Beatles. I was curious to see what parts of 

anime U.S. students are interested in and why 

such students are fascinated with it. I avoided 

including students who were in my Japanese 

classes as participants in this study so that I did 

not need to worry about participants acting as 

“good students,” intentionally or not. 

Findings: Anime and foreign 

language literacy learning 

My findings fell into four categories: overview of 

participants’ activities with Japanese popular culture, 

uniqueness of anime, advantages for JFL literacy 

development, and individual differences. I 

found that anime played different roles for each 

student. 

Overview of participants’ activities 

with Japanese popular culture 

Emily, Sean, and Ted described the aspects of anime 

in which they were engaged. I noticed that 

their use of the word anime was not limited to 

animated films and TV programs; rather, it included 

subcultures around anime. In this larger 

concept of anime, there were subcultures of manga, 

video games, anime music, and anime-related 

activities (see Figure 1). In Figure 1, the solid lines 

indicate strong and direct connections between 

each subculture of anime while the dotted lines 

indicate that some parts may or may not have a 

direct connection to anime. 



Figure 1 

JFL students’ perspectives of anime and its subcultures 

Manga: 

comics, 

Dojinshi 

Anime products: 

stationery, toys, 

T-shirts 

Anime (Japanese animation) 

To JFL students, anime includes TV programs, 

animated films, DVDs, and videos. One 

anime subculture, manga, includes comics and 

dojinshi or zines, small hand-made booklets 

written by anime fans that parody manga or anime. 

Many Japanese and English dojinshi are 

available on the Internet. The “fanfics” in 

Chandler-Olcott and Mahar’s study (2003a, 

2003b) can be considered a type of dojinshi. Sean 

and Ted entered the world of anime through 

playing video games from Japan, in particular, 

role-playing games, which have many characteristics 

of anime. Sean describes the connection 

between anime and video games this way: 

“Japanese video games like Nintendo games and 

Japanese anime are closely connected. Often 

video games are based upon on anime, and anime 

is based upon video games.” In the interview 

and in his written responses, Ted tried to form a 

theory about the relationships among anime 

fans, video game fans, and computer enthusiasts. 

TV programs, 

animated films, 

DVDs, videos 

Anime activity: 

Anime Club, online bulletin board 

services, the Internet, amime 

conventions, cos-play 

Anime music: 

soundtrack, 

Seiyu (cast) 

Games: 

video games, 

computer games 

J-pop, 

J-rock 

First, Ted showed me a photograph of his computer 

and audio equipment (see Figure 2) and 

explained how important technology is for him. 

Ted described his theory as follows: “People 

who are interested in anime also enjoy playing 

video games, and people who like computers often 

enjoy anime and video games.” Emily and 

Sean talked about similar situations involving 

anime fans, video game fans, and computer enthusiasts. 

In fact, all three participants fit this theory 

because they enjoy activities with anime, 

video games, and computers. Anime fans in the 

United States get most of their information from 

the Internet, which presupposes a certain level of 

computer skill. Emily did not talk much about 

video games, although she did mention that her 

boyfriend plays Japanese video games. 

Anime-related activities are important for 

Emily and Ted. Anime clubs and anime conventions, 

in particular, help to create communities. 


Anime conventions provide a means to see how 

anime consists of subcultures such as manga, anime 

products, music, costumes, video games, and 

animation itself. For Emily, anime products such 

as stationery, toys, cards, and posters were part of 

the subculture. All the participants talked about 

the strong connection between watching anime 

and listening to anime theme songs. Emily shared 

some CDs of music that was used as opening and 

ending theme songs of anime. This is consistent 

with previous interviews I conducted in which 

participants noted that anime fans began listening 

to Japanese pop or rock music once they 

learned some Japanese songs from anime. 

Uniqueness of anime 

All the participants pointed out that the uniqueness 

of anime, which differs from U.S. animation, 

attracts anime fans in the United States. Table 2 

presents an outline of the differences between 

212 


Figure 2 

Ted’s computer and audio equipment 

anime and U.S. animation from the three U.S. 

college students’ perspectives. 

Emily, Ted, and Sean expressed that the distinctive 

art style of anime, exemplified in drawings 

of characters with “big eyes,” is one of the 

unique qualities of anime. The participants also 

noted that the humor in anime differed from 

what they were used to with U.S. animation. 

When Sean first read Ranma 1/2 in translated 

Japanese manga comics (see Figure 3), he found 

himself loving it. 

Just because, it was...it was funny, but it wasn’t just 

funny. It had this really quirky sense of humor. I don’t 

even know how to describe it, but it was just this almost 

oddball sensibility that you just don’t find...in 

American comics. (Sean’s interview transcript) 

Soon after Sean read the first manga in English, 

he began watching anime. 



Ta b l e 2 

Differences between anime and U.S. animation 

Anime (Japanese animation) American animation 

• Variety of issues, no censoring • Limited variety, strict censoring 

• Distinctive art style • Controlled contents 

• Quirky sense of humor • Sitcom style 

• Detailed and continuous story line • Childish stories 

• Deep, involved relationships 

• Stronger character development 

• High-quality voices 

• Creativity 

• Popular music 

The participants in this study agreed that 

the story lines in anime are detailed, complicated, 

and continuous. Emily commented, “If the 

character dies, he doesn’t come back on the next 

show!” A participant in my previous study 

(Fukunaga, 2000) also mentioned the narrative 

style of anime as an attraction because of the 

range of issues in the stories. The most frequently 

emphasized point across the three students 

in the current study was that anime covers so 

many different themes, such as fantasy, everyday 

Japanese life, cooking, action, adventure, martial 

art, sports, romantic drama, comedy, and samesex 

relationships. Because U.S. television networks 

are subject to regulation and censorship, 

the content of anime sometimes is changed. This 

causes some problems for U.S. anime fans and 

frustration with the “American” version of anime. 

For example, in the first season of Sailor 

Moon, there were two male characters who had a 

relationship. According to Sean, one of them was 

very feminine looking, so “they turned him into 

her. They gave him a woman voice actor and it 

looked like a woman, and you couldn’t tell a difference 

unless” you watched the original anime. 

Sean said, “I remember my shock when I found 

out about that. I was like, no way!” The deceptive 

treatment of particular parts of anime in the 

American versions made Sean begin comparing 

original anime with the dubbed versions. 

Advantages for JFL literacy 

development 

Repetitive watching of anime provides multiple advantages 

for learning Japanese. My data suggest 

three linguistic aspects to the advantages: word 

recognition, listening and pronunciation, and 

awareness of various Japanese linguistic features. In 

the interviews, students used some Japanese words 

that describe anime-related concepts such as otaku 

(anime geeks), hentai (pervert), shōnen (boys), and 

shōjo (girls). Hentai refers to a genre of anime that 

includes pornography. Proper nouns such as characters’ 

names (Michiru) and names of places 

(Harajuku), and ways to address people such as 

sensei (teacher), okāsan (mom), and onēchan (my 

big sister), are also common words learned through 

anime (Fukunaga, 2000). Ted shared his experience 

of playing video games from Japan and noticing 

the Japanese names of the characters: “Even though 

it is all in English it has all Japanese people’s names, 

so you can have a child who recognizes that these 

aren’t American names.” 

Emily, Ted, and Sean hear Japanese conversation 

at a natural speed in anime. In one of 

Emily and Ted’s favorites, Kareshi kanojo no jijō 

(His and Her Circumstances), the introduction of 

each 30-minute show and the opening and ending 

theme songs stay the same. As students watch 


several episodes, they naturally get used to hearing 

the characters’ fast Japanese speech. Emily 

owns a couple of Japanese music CDs because she 

liked the theme songs of some anime shows, so 

she looked up the artists and bought the CDs on 

the Internet. People at Anime Club meetings sing 

the theme songs in Japanese even though most of 

these students do not take formal Japanese lessons 

(Fukunaga, 2000). 

After watching many anime shows in 

Japanese with English subtitles, Ted, Emily, and 

Sean told me that they became aware of several 

Japanese linguistic aspects such as male and female 

speech endings, tone of voice, formal and 

plain forms of speech, slang, and good or bad 

214 


Figure 3 

Sean’s manga collection 

translation. Because most of the narratives in anime 

are conversational, students are exposed to 

slang and plain forms of speech that are not 

taught at the beginning level of Japanese classes. 

In Kareshi kanojo no jijō the change in speech is 

obvious because the main female character, 

Yukino, is an honor student at her middle school 

where she uses “proper” manners and polite 

speech, while she acts quite differently at home. 

Thus, viewers get some ideas of different speech 

types and mannerisms in Japanese society. All 

three participants also expressed their feelings 

about good and bad translations of anime. Emily 

and Ted have made their own “fansubs,” anime 

videos subtitled in English by anime fans. Before 

DVDs and high-speed Internet were available, 



Figure 4 

Cycle of anime students’ JFL learning 

Anime 

Pre-exposed and reinforced by linguistic and 

cultural knowledge 

anime fans watched videos owned by local anime 

clubs that were not yet “officially” released in the 

United States with fansubs. Watching many fansubs 

made participants sensitive to and critical of 

how the language was translated. 

Another important advantage that learners 

found from watching anime was increased 

Japanese cultural knowledge of nonverbal gestures, 

mannerisms, social settings and rules, families, 

meals, and homes. From Kareshi kanojo no 

jijō, Emily explained that she learned about 

Japanese school settings, juken jigoku (examination 

hell), ijime (bullying), and katei houmon 

(teacher’s home visit). Ted mentioned that some 

of his friends started playing Go, a Japanese 

board game that uses black and white stones, after 

watching Hikaru no go (Hikaru’s Go). There 

are countless examples of mannerisms in Japan 

such as bowing, using chopsticks, and taking 

shoes off at the genkan (entrance of the house). 

Ted and Sean told me how they developed visual 

images of how streets look in Japan with vending 

Japanese class 

Learn and pratice grammar, 

writing system, speaking, 

and culture notes 

machines and konbini (24-hour convenience 

stores). Emily explained, 

In anime, you pick up the words, then go to class, you 

learn what the words mean, and go back to anime, 

...to see them in context.... So basically, just like, you 

keep going back, the more you learn and more you 

can apply to anime. 

As a result of my findings, I developed a cycle of 

anime watching and Japanese learning often experienced 

by anime fans (see Figure 4). 

Anime students have been exposed to many 

aspects of the language and culture of Japan 

through anime and its subcultures before they 

start taking Japanese courses. In Japanese class, 

anime students put their prior knowledge to use 

while they gain new knowledge of vocabulary, 

grammar, writing systems, and culture. When 

these students go back to anime, they find themselves 

recognizing more words than before and 

reviewing things they learned in the past. As students 

continue this cycle of practice, they become 


aware of how Japanese expressions are translated. 

Thus, watching anime becomes a reinforcement 

of Japanese knowledge. Some anime students 

might extend this cycle by digging into subcultures 

such as Japanese music, manga, and video 

games. 

Individual differences 

Each participant in this study had a different relationship 

with Japanese popular culture and language 

learning. Emily told stories of how she 

began watching anime with her best friend in 

high school while showing me a photo of her collection 

of Sailor Moon toys (see Figure 5). This 

photo symbolizes her relationship with the friend 

with whom she collected anime toys. In contrast 

to these happy memories, Emily also told some 

stories of her fear of not being understood by 

other students in her college dormitory. In her reflection 

paper on the interview conversation, 

Emily expressed her uncomfortable feelings: 

My friends before I met the anime club people were 

just the people who were there—my roommate, and 

neighbors on my dorm hall. They were nice enough 

most of the time but we didn’t share many interests 

at all and they thought I was weird because I liked 

anime. 

Emily had been looked down upon and ridiculed 

by others for being “strange” and “weird” because 

she watches “cartoons” and reads a lot of fantasy 

novels, including some manga. On the other 

hand, Emily often used the words weird and 

strange in positive ways when she explained the 

content of some anime shows during the interview. 

Emily also used these words to describe her 

anime friends and herself. She suggested that it 

was good for “anime friends” to be weird and 

even to use the word to describe one another because 

they all knew they were weird. Emily used 

the word weird several times in her interview. 

216 


I mean these people are weird and very accepting 

people because they know they are weird and you 

know...you know...and [because] everyone has the interest 

that people outside of the interest think it’s 

weird, you have more of the connection to each other. 

Because...they don’t see you as weird for liking that 

stuff. (Emily’s written response) 

The word weird in this case empowers Emily and 

her anime friends. The word weird has different 

meanings depending on who uses it to describe 

whom. That Emily takes an active role in calling 

herself weird implies that she is aware of her 

agency, instead of being passive about being 

viewed as weird by others. It seems as though 

Emily has been searching for some alternatives in 

her life and she found one by constructing herself 

through social activities within an anime community. 

Ted has a clear vision of how Japanese will 

be part of his future. He wants to be a translator 

of anime and video games, so he takes Japanese 

classes and East Asian literature classes seriously. 

To answer my question about whether or not anime 

influenced his future, Ted explained, “I think 

it definitely impacted, I guess, where I think my 

career is going. Because I liked anime so much so 

I decided to translate to English.” 

Sean started playing Japanese video games 

when he was in fourth grade, and he decided to 

study Japanese to be able to play the original 

Japanese games when he was in seventh grade. 

Then, when he started watching anime, he realized 

that there were many shows not imported to 

the United States, so he started taking private 

Japanese lessons from a Japanese woman. 

It’s really funny but in the meanwhile, I really got interested 

in Japanese itself and I kind of lost interest in 

the video games. So it was like that video games were a 

stepping stone into the study of Japanese language 

and culture, so...but I still get kind of nostalgic when I 

think back on it now.... (Sean’s interview transcript) 

Sean told me enthusiastically about traditional 

and historical Japanese cultural events in which 

he participated. In a way, Sean is shape-shifting 

his portfolio as a Japanese learner (Gee, 1996). 



He does not limit himself to being a “Japanese 

video game fan” or “anime fan.” Instead, he actively 

searches for new interests. 

Popular culture and multiple 

literacies 

Figure 5 

Emily’s Sailor Moon toy collection 

In discussing this study, I offer a new perspective 

about how anime students engage with a new 

language by connecting my findings to the pedagogy 

of multiliteracies (Lankshear & Knobel, 

2003; New London Group, 1996), focusing on 

contextualized literacy practice, identity, cultural 

diversity, and critical dimensions of literacy. The 

most significant advantage that anime offers to 

JFL students is in the contextual and multiple 

meanings of text. Foreign language learning in 

the United States often lacks a cultural context. 

Therefore, some learners only gain surface knowledge 

of language and culture and keep “a certain 

detached attitude” toward the target language and 

culture (Manes, 2005, p. 1). Anime students compensate 

for this situation by becoming members 

of the anime community. The findings of this 

study include multiple advantages that anime offers 

to linguistic and cultural aspects of JFL literacy 

development. Because they are accustomed to 

listening to Japanese speech, some anime students 

in my classes have excellent pronunciation, and 

they have also been exposed to multiple Japanese 

social contexts. As a part of the final oral exam, 

my JFL students performed minidramas in small 

groups. I can sometimes spot “secret” anime students 

in my classroom by listening to their 

Japanese speech in these minidramas. 

One challenge for JFL teachers is how to 

incorporate colloquial speech with class work. 

Most JFL textbooks introduce polite speech in 

beginning Japanese classes. In Japan, students are 

supposed to use polite speech with teachers. 


Naturally, JFL teachers use polite speech in classroom 

settings. However, JFL students point out 

that none of their Japanese friends talk like that 

among themselves. Anime students are used to 

hearing different speech styles in Japanese according 

to different situations. In classroombased 

minidrama performances, it is clear that 

some anime students are comfortable with different 

speech styles. These anime students also seem 

to have less anxiety about studying Japanese. 

Japanese is rated among the most difficult languages 

to learn for English native speakers. To 

have less anxiety helps students enjoy learning 

Japanese. 

Anime students are very aware of the national 

origins of anime. Kubota (2002) questioned 

the way culture should be taught in 

foreign language classrooms, criticizing the 

“static” knowledge of culture taught in language 

classrooms and calling for recognition of “the diversity 

and dynamic nature of language and culture” 

(p. 26). Taking this into account, I consider 

anime students to be active learners who gather 

information about Japan from multiple sources 

through media. What foreign language teachers 

should do is help all students to be active learners. 

These anime students actively expand their 

knowledge, inspired by anime. For example, one 

female anime student refers to herself as boku,a 

term commonly used by boys and men, in my 

Japanese class. She explains, “I know that some 

anime female characters call themselves boku instead 

of watashi. I think it suits me [because] I 

am a tomboy.” I was impressed by what this particular 

student brought to my JFL classroom. 

Another example of anime students’ multiple 

viewpoints is gendered language usage. While 

many JFL texts represent fixed use of gendered 

languages—for example, males use da while female 

use wa for speech endings (Siegal & 

Okamoto, 1996)—anime students are aware of 

the shifting nature of these gendered languages 

depending on social situations. This type of student 

becomes a constant reminder to get away 

from teaching “static” knowledge of language and 

culture. 

218 


My findings reiterate the importance of the 

learner’s identity and community of practice 

(Chandler-Olcott & Mahar, 2003a, 2003b). A 

problem in many educational settings is that 

teachers do not have insider knowledge of anime. 

A study of anime fans shows that they recognize 

the lack of social legitimacy for anime (Napier, 

2001). For example, some anime fans express 

their dilemma of enjoying anime and animerelated 

activity but being viewed as “weird” by 

others, including family members, friends, and 

teachers. In Napier’s words, “[b]ecause the object 

of their interest is not an American pop culture 

icon, they may therefore feel more marginalized 

than fans of American cultural products” (p. 

244). The three JFL students showed concerns 

about how they were perceived by nonfans, but 

the anime community’s support enabled Emily 

to be empowered by the word weird. This act reminded 

me of the use of the word queer in Queer 

Theory: The word is used pejoratively by those 

outside the affinity group, but those inside the 

group embrace it as a way of identifying with 

one another and empowering themselves (Butler, 

1993). Emily seems to have been empowering 

herself through building relationships with anime 

fans. 

This critical nature is not limited to anime—indeed, 

many popular culture texts address 

it. Themes that are taboo in certain cultures can 

be discussed in popular culture as a creative 

medium. Anime creates space for new discussion 

topics among non-Japanese consumers. This 

openness within popular culture is important to 

understanding U.S. college students’ interaction 

with this medium. In a postmodern society, we 

are exposed to a huge amount of information. As 

the “American” version of Sailor Moon suggests, 

what we see is not necessarily true. An essential 

skill to develop is that of questioning what we 

see. This needs to be applied to every media, including 

anime. While anime offers advantages in 

terms of cultural and linguistic knowledge about 

Japan, it is fictional. It is dangerous to take 

knowledge of something only from one source. 



We need to encourage students and ourselves to 

see things from multiple sources and aspects. 

What happens if anime students lose interest 

in anime? I was once asked, “Don’t you think 

students’ interest in popular culture is just a part 

of adolescence? They will soon forget about it.” I 

answered, “Yes for some students and no for others.” 

I believe that the three participants in this 

particular study are good examples of these multiple 

positions. All three students began studying 

Japanese motivated by their interest in anime and 

its subcultures. However, anime played different 

roles for each student. For Emily, anime was a 

social activity. Thus, Emily stopped studying JFL 

after establishing her agency in the anime community. 

For Ted, studying JFL and his anime activities 

were connected to his desire to become a 

translator. Most likely, Ted will continue to study 

JFL unless he changes his mind about a career. 

From a Japanese teacher’s view, Sean seems to be 

the most successful learner who is flexible enough 

to shape-shift his portfolio as he passes through 

different stages of life. 

Sean is the closest to using anime as part of 

his portfolio in Gee’s sense. In the time since the 

data collection, Sean received a competitive scholarship 

for study abroad, spent one year as an exchange 

student in Japan, and expanded his 

perspectives of that country. Now he has come 

back and is searching for a graduate school, hoping 

to be a Japan expert in areas of history, traditional 

and contemporary culture and society, 

linguistics, literature, and martial arts. 

Whether these students continue studying 

Japanese or not, their personal connections with 

the target language and culture is a shared attitude 

among them. All three participants simply wanted 

to explore new worlds. These anime students engaged 

with the new language and culture in unique 

ways to meet their own needs and desires to know 

about other people, languages, societies, and the 

world. The new version of Japanese enthusiast— 

the anime student—provides a new way of thinking 

about how students engage with language and 

suggests a more idealistic view of the process. 

Implications for teachers 

I have four suggestions for teachers that follow 

directly from the findings of this study and my 

ongoing work as a Japanese teacher and anime researcher. 

1. Get to know the tools 

Knowledge of anime students’ activities can help 

teachers think about alternative ways to teach literacy 

in a multiliteracies framework. It may also 

help teachers appreciate students’ love of popular 

culture. The participants in this study cited their 

frequent use of the Internet for anime-related activities. 

Chandler-Olcott and Mahar’s (2003b) 

study also reminded us of “the need to consider 

how those tools are specifically used as part of 

membership in particular communities of practice” 

(p. 381). It goes without saying that the 

Internet is becoming a necessary tool for adolescents 

to gather information and construct their 

social identities by participating in online activities 

as members of certain affinity groups. As Ted 

suggested, some people prefer communicating 

with others on the Internet rather than through 

face-to-face interaction. We may be able to find 

students’ potential literacy skills and their multiple 

identities by paying attention to their activities 

with popular culture texts and the Internet. 

2. Appreciate authentic aspects of 

other cultures 

Appreciating authentic aspects of other cultures 

is a better way to see language in context. In the 

1960s, Japanese cultural aspects in anime had to 

be taken out or modified to appeal to viewers in 

the United States. Current anime fans enjoy 

watching both types of anime, the new hybrid 

type and anime based on authentic Japanese culture 

with some twists such as Hikaru no go 

(Hikaru’s Go). Instead of changing “other” cultural 

norms into “American” norms, anime fans 

have begun to respect Japanese culture and language. 

Some of the students who liked watching 


Hikaru no go formed a Go club and met weekly. It 

was a surprise to me that U.S. students took up 

the challenging and complicated game. Another 

example is from an anime and manga series 

called Fruit Basket, from which one of my students 

learned the zodiac in Japanese. 

Popular culture texts such as anime are a 

hook to draw students’ attention, and teachers 

can use them to help students expand their multicultural 

awareness. I suggest using anime that inspires 

discussions on aspects of Japanese culture 

as well as global issues. To discuss war and peace 

issues with elementary students, I suggest using 

Hotaru no haka (Graveyard of the Fireflies; Studio 

Ghibli & Takahata, 1988). For middle school students 

and older, Kaze no tani no Naushika 

(Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind; Takahata & 

Miyazaki, 1984) will provoke discussions related 

to war and environmental issues. In JFL classrooms, 

students can experience Japanese familybased 

humor while they listen to kansai-ben 

(Kansai dialect) in Houhokekyo Tonari no 

Yamada-kun (My Neighbors the Yamadas; Suzuki, 

Ishii, & Takahata, 1999). 

K–12 teachers can invite Japanese teachers 

or native informants from local colleges and 

communities into classrooms in order to provide 

knowledge of Japanese language and culture beyond 

popular culture. Every year around March, I 

visit a local elementary school and talk about 

Japanese culture to second graders as a part of social 

studies classes about Japan. If teachers cannot 

find any Japanese informants in their area, they 

can contact the embassy or consulate of Japan. 

For example, the Japan Information Center in the 

consulate in Atlanta, Georgia, offers a school-visit 

service for educators and students called Japan 

Caravan (www.japanatlanta.org/caravan.html). 

3. Have a critical discussion 

The pedagogy of multiliteracies suggests the importance 

of developing a critical stance for both 

teachers and students. I suggest teachers should 

hold critical discussions throughout the school 

220 


year. Critical awareness is one way to encourage 

students to be active learners instead of passive 

learners. Questioning what they view is the beginning 

of critical awareness. “Please don’t believe my 

stories about Japan without questioning,” I tell my 

students. I try to present multiple voices from 

Japan. I have at least two native informants visit 

my classes and ask their opinions when we talk 

about culture. I intentionally select native informants 

from different areas of Japan, backgrounds, 

majors, age groups, and genders if possible. 

Hayao Miyazaki’s well-known anime film, 

Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro; Studio 

Ghibli & Miyazaki, 1988), introduces many 

Japanese cultural aspects and Japanese children’s 

perspectives. A few years ago, a JFL teacher posted 

a question on a JFL teachers’ listserv asking 

whether she should skip one part of the movie 

with U.S. elementary students. The part she was 

referring to was a scene of two little girls taking a 

bath with their father. Because I am familiar with 

Japanese hot springs and public baths, I viewed 

this particular scene of a parent and small children 

taking a bath together as a symbol of a happy 

Japanese family. However, this practice differs from 

U.S. cultural norms. I think it could be an opportunity 

for classroom discussion. Seeing the full film 

shows how peaceful and family oriented it is. 

Judging different cultural representations according 

to other cultural norms is not the best way to 

expand students’ multicultural perspectives. 

4. Be aware of the power of popular 

culture 

Because some students shift their identities in a 

particular community, it is dangerous for teachers 

to judge popular culture based on their own assumptions. 

For a long time, popular culture has 

been looked down upon in the education field. 

Some teachers believe that reading comics is for 

children who have not reached the level of reading 

“real” books (Marsh & Millard, 2000). I once 

heard the following comment from a teacher 

educator who was my classmate in a graduate 



course: “Oh, Pokemon. It contains too much 

fighting and violence for me.” I responded, 

“Really? I thought that show was more about the 

importance of friendship and fairness. Have you 

watched the show?” She said, “No. I never watch 

that kind of stuff.” I am not a big Pokemon fan, 

but I sensed a strong bias from this particular 

teacher against something about which she knew 

little. Sometimes some forms of popular culture, 

such as Pokemon cards, are banned in classroom 

settings and students might feel that teachers 

therefore reject their identities. Teachers can encourage 

students to share their insider knowledge 

of a particular form of popular culture and spend 

some time learning from students. 

Foreign language teachers need to encourage 

students to share their interests in the target 

language such as anime, music, and websites. The 

two girls in Chandler-Olcott and Mahar’s study 

(2003a, 2003b) are like these JFL students—they 

are aware of agency in their out-of-classroom literacy 

practices. Listening to students’ voices is 

one way to help students be active learners without 

taking the joy away from them. Being aware 

of students’ multiple identities will help teachers 

to rethink their fixed ideas on particular students. 

I believe that a JFL teacher’s job is to introduce 

multiple aspects of Japan. For serious anime 

fans like Ted, there is a tendency to believe that 

anime is the best thing that Japan offers. I know 

four JFL students who were big anime fans, but 

who did not talk about anime at all after coming 

back from one-year exchange programs. Anime 

students’ joy in learning is noteworthy. However, 

there is a hidden danger in having limited knowledge 

of Japan from anime alone. Teachers can 

give every student opportunities to widen his or 

her perspectives, so that students can explore and 

expand their knowledge of Japan. 

The potential of popular culture’s power is 

not limited to anime. For instance, the current 

trend of Hanryu (“Korean style”) in Japan was 

sparked by the broadcast of a South Korean TV 

drama. Many Japanese people began studying 

Korean and visiting South Korea, motivated by this 

particular drama. This is something governmentlevel 

relations could never have foreseen or created. 

It is not possible to predict the effect popular 

culture may have on a general audience. These 

trends might change the current notion of globalization 

as “Americanization,” such as having 

McDonald’s restaurants everywhere or placing 

too much emphasis on learning English in non- 

English speaking countries. Popular culture enables 

“other” cultural globalization. Young adults 

in the United States learning Japanese motivated 

by anime and its subcultures and Japanese audiences 

of a South Korean TV drama studying 

Korean indicate the beginning of an alternative 

version of globalization and multiculturalism. 

When people have a strong interest in popular 

culture originating in other cultures, they have 

the potential to develop a critical stance, foreign 

language skills, and cultural knowledge. This potential 

is a special feature of “other” popular culture, 

in addition to what popular culture in one’s 

own society can offer. 

These are some suggestions for both teachers 

and students to shape-shift, to have current 

knowledge of a different society through its popular 

culture. I am not suggesting that all teachers 

need to be experts in foreign popular culture. Nor 

am I suggesting that every anime fan should 

study Japanese as a foreign language, or that every 

anime student would be a successful JFL learner. 

Rather, I am exploring the potential influence 

that popular culture, especially popular culture 

from “other” societies, can have on developing 

multiple literacies. It is important to be aware 

that students’ communities of practice can provide 

a different kind of learning. By listening, 

watching students carefully, and asking questions, 

teachers might be able to bridge the generation 

gap between themselves and their young students. 

Teachers of adolescents and young adults 

need to be aware of students’ out-of-class activities 

in order to avoid preparing students for the 

future with yesterday’s skills (Lankshear & 

Knobel, 2003). 


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