O mangá como tradição e contemporaneidade: o caso de Mushishi

Abstract

The research presented here aims to analyze the manga Mushishi, by Yuki Urushibara (1999-2008), in regard to tradition and contemporaneity as a representation of a history and a people. To reach such goals, a historical survey based on the evolution of postwar Japan and its worldwide conquest through pop culture entertainment initiates thought, based on the contemporaneous context of Agamben (2009) followed later by an analysis comparative analysis between western comics and Japanese manga, in order to establish a basis for the exchange of influences between the two, which also leads to illustrate market issues and the principles of consumer acceptance of media. The analysis regarding the points of identity and place of the social being is made from the theories of Nietzche (1983-2011) and Rolnik (1993), which put in question the human being as social agent and actor of his own world, as well as the application of the concepts of catharsis and self-recognition of Aristotle (2008), which, after applied to the work in question, reveals how the manga, exemplified by Mushishi, can be faithful portraits of a people or a time.