Check out what Dr Akiko Sugawa-Shimada has published on anime, manga, fandom and cultural practices in 2023. Dr Sugawa-Shimada recent work focuses on the 2.5-dimensional (2.5D) culture, which she defines as performances that generate interrelations between the real, fictional, and cyber worlds. This includes theatrical performances of anime, manga, and games, cosplay, voice actor/character concerts, Vtubers, contents tourism, etc.
Our Platform Lab’s Affiliate Faculty was guest editor of the Mechademia journal, which you will find here:
Mechademia: Second Arc "2.5D Culture''
(Spring, 2023)
She also published an article in the subsequent edition of Mechademia, edited by Platform Lab’s director Dr Marc Steinberg, which you will find here:
“A 2.5D Approach to the Media Mix: The Potentialities of Fans’ Produsage”
Mechademia: Second Arc "Media Mix" (Winter, 2023)
Dr Sugawa-Shimada was also co editor of the book Cultural Approaches to Studio Ghibli Animation, published in 2022 in Japanese by 七月社.