Writing a Master’s Dissertation: The Road to a Distinction…
©2016 ComixWave
All my tutors tell me the same two things when I explain why I want to do a PhD:
I need to get a distinction. (Okay, that’s a workable goal, especially as this isn’t my first Masters and I REALLY want to do well.)
I need to improve my linguistics. (Reading and translation, no problem; Real life conversation comprehension… Ek…)
This week the rest of my cohort from the academic year of 2021-2 will be handing in their dissertations and I am seriously starting to think about mine. To be honest, I’ve been thinking about it since before I even started the course and I knew I wanted to focus on the movies of director Shinkai Makoto, specifically his most recent productions Kimi no Na wa and Tenki no Ko.
This was partly because both films are tangentially connected but also because both use aspects of Shinto within the narrative framework, which means a lot of non-Japanese viewers were exposed to a very alien spiritual practice via the popularity of the films.
And, oh boy, were they popular! (Yes, I do need to cite that source.)
©2019 ComixWave
This also means I can use this dissertation as a direct jumping-off point and a foundation as I start to seriously put work into my PhD proposal. Anime, Shinto and spirituality are established subjects (though usually focusing on Miyazaki Hayao’s works like My Neighbour, Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke). As a newer director, this means very few people have taken a serious scholarly look at Shinkai Makoto’s works, which both makes my life harder but also gives me options for limitless study and untapped potential.
As I explained in my earlier blog post, musubi (結び) or connection is at the heart of what I’m doing and I always intended this Masters dissertation to connect to my PhD idea, which will focus more closely on how the popularity of Shinto outside of Japan has been buoyed by popular anime and manga series like InuYasha or Sailor Moon. But I also want to visit some of the places portrayed in the films, to walk the streets of Shibuya and visit rural towns in the countryside with ancient jinja.
Initially I also wanted to include Suzume no Tojimari (which is being marketed outside Japan simply as Suzume) but as the film is yet to come out and I’ve only just gotten my hands on the novelisation. I want to finish it and see the film before I decide to use it as a third case study. Given my limit is fifteen thousand words (with 10% over for good measure), I’m very aware space is at a premium and so am focusing on three chapters which will discuss the themes in the two films for now. If needed I will revisit things during my PhD thesis.
Partly due to my autism and bipolar and how my brain works, the title and the central rubric was the first thing I figured out:
Liminality, Nature and Connection: Shinto as a Narrative Force in Shinkai Makoto’s Kimi no Na Wa and Tenki no Ko and its Growing Popularity Outside of Japan.
How have the movies of Shinkai Makoto introduced Shinto to anime fans/viewers outside of Japan?
In all honesty, right now I have no idea how to prove this hypothesis. I am also severely lacking in pre-existing theses as my idea is pretty original for an MA. See above for this being both boon and bane.
I started my own archive back in 2016, with the original novels written by Shinkai Makoto, the storyboards and, purely for aesthetic reasons, the artbooks which go into detail about the backgrounds. Because they are gorgeous. I also have the Collector’s Edition Blu Rays, the manga and lots of magazines which include movie-specific interviews.
The Japanese Blu-Ray releases also include, on top of stickers and a booklet, the shooting scripts for each film. These allow me to double-check dialogue, as well as specific kanji used for terminology and other information.
The other thing I’m working on is my personal archive. Archives are important and are basically places or items which are related to your area of study. I’m a collector of things so getting issues of magazines in which scenes are dissected or interviews are included is a part of my process. I also pay attention to interviews-in-translation and the English releases of the novels by Yen Press, though my personal favourite are the Visual Guides produced for each film and the official storyboards as they offer a lot when it comes to the process of animation.
So this week I’m reading Suzume no Tojimari and trying to think of inventive ways to find more papers, theses and whatnot that I can reference, but I restart university on September 19th so it’s going to be a busy couple of months as we go into Festivus. However I am grateful for the extra time as fifteen thousand words over twelve months is a lot easier than doing it in three.
