From sequel to series: the effects of ‘Medium-Jumping’ on narrative in Umizaru (2004–2012)

Abstract

Serialised filmmaking methods have been generally determined to fall in two types of narratology: those that promote narrative development between instalments (‘sequel’) and those that resist development (‘series’). However, contemporary Japanese franchises have frequently unfolded across film and television, demonstrating alternative forms of storytelling that make semantic definition more problematic. This article investigates the serial practices in Umizaru – a popular Japanese action series adapted from a manga by the Fuji Television Network that unfolded across four films and a televised drama. Analysis reveals how this ‘medium-jumping’ transmedia journey enables a fluctuating interplay between two narrative scenarios or ‘tracks’ that opposingly promote and constrain serialised development across the films, effectively shifting them between ‘sequel’ and ‘series’ formats. Elaborating on Jenkins’ definition of ‘transmedia storytelling’ and Cattrysse’s interpretation of ‘cultural proximity’, ultimately, this article argues that the serial processes in Fuji’s Umizaru cycle are best understood according to a range of generic, discursive and intertextual associations tied to the mediums hosting the series at a given time, and the ‘proximity’ between transmedia movements.