THE UNCANNY AND THE JAPANESE GOTHIC IN SATSURIKU NO TENSHI AND KARA NO SHOUJO

Abstract

This paper aims to demonstrate how the Gothic genre has evolved in the Western and the Eastern traditions, and how the many nuances it has acquired over time are reflected in the 21st century Japanese anime, visual novels and horror RPGs. For this purpose, I have structured my argument around three main points of interest, namely: the European origins and subsequent development of the genre; its Eastern (Japanese) ‘Gothic’ counterparts that resurface from pre-modern to modern and postmodern cultural matrices; a study case represented by a Gothic reading of a contemporary Japanese anime and a visual novel.