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Plastic Narratives: Kaiyodo and the Evolution of Database Consumption

James Williams-2014-05-22-D-Scholarship@Pitt (University of Pittsburgh)

TL;DRAbstract

This thesis looks at Azuma Hiroki’s Database Consumption Model, laid out in the 2001 book Otaku: Japan’s Database Animals, to examine the role of non-narrative goods in the otaku marketplace. While Otaku focuses on narrative goods such as video games and anime, we can better understand post-modern consumption patterns in the otaku subculture by also looking at the non-narrative goods which comprise a large percentage of the otaku marketplace. First, we will briefly review the Database Consumption model and compare and contrast it with other theoretical work on post-modern consumption. Second, we will compare the history of toy company Kaiyodo with Azuma’s three Eras of post-war narrative consumption. Third, we will examine the role of Database Consumption in Kaiyodo’s “Revoltech” toy line.

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This thesis looks at Azuma Hiroki’s Database Consumption Model, laid out in the 2001 book Otaku: Japan’s Database Animals, to examine the role of non-narrative goods in the otaku marketplace. While Otaku focuses on narrative goods such as video games and anime, we can better understand post-modern consumption patterns in the otaku subculture by also looking at the non-narrative goods which comprise a large percentage of the otaku marketplace. First, we will briefly review the Database Consumption model and compare and contrast it with other theoretical work on post-modern consumption. Second, we will compare the history of toy company Kaiyodo with Azuma’s three Eras of post-war narrative consumption. Third, we will examine the role of Database Consumption in Kaiyodo’s “Revoltech” toy line.

Keywords

NarrativeConsumption (sociology)DatabaseSubculture (biology)HistoryMedia studiesSociologyLiterature

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