Paratopia: anime, school clubs, and the aims of education

Abstract

Over the past twenty years, in the worlds of popular media revolving around manga, anime, light novels, and games, there has been an explosion of interest in extracurricular activities (bukatsu) taking place within school clubs (katsudō kurabu or katsudō sakkuru). The rise and explosion of school clubs in popular culture has occurred alongside a wave of heated debates about Japanese education that culminated in a series of education reforms, commonly discussed and implemented under the rubric of yutori kyōiku or ‘relaxed education’. To open a dialogue between Japanese popular culture and education, this essay examines the aims of Japanese education from two perspectives: the perspective of the history and sociology of education (the discourses, debates, and policies that have shaped curricular and extracurricular activities), and the perspective of popular culture, with an emphasis on extracurricular activities related to school clubs as they are explored in anime or Japanese animation. It considers how the historical formation of ideals for Japanese education, the global rise of schooled society, and the legacy of sports and culture clubs have shaped the poetics of school realism in anime and have contributed to its global appeal. This essay thus shows how the boom of culture clubs in anime serves to resituate and redirect the social and historical ideals of Japanese education.