Deus Ex Anime: An Examination of Catholicism in Anime

Abstract

Despite a low population of Catholics, Japan has countless inclusions of Catholicism and Christianity at large within anime. This paper aims to show that Catholicism is not only the Christianity portrayed and utilized in shōnen anime but also that Catholicism is the only Christianity that can fulfill the roles needed by the authors, directors, and animators to tell their stories. It shall do so by placing anime with Catholic themes in historical context with Japanese cinema as well as examine the methods of recontextualization through which the themes transfer from imagination to imagination and across cultural borders. The inclusion of Catholicism in anime also becomes contextualized with other scholars’ work on religion in anime and manga. Through this, the relationship between popular culture and interactions of religion within Japan is reconceptualized and the expressions of anxieties and concerns surrounding modern society becomes visible and open to further research.