理解布袋戲中的文化差異: 以《東離劍遊紀》的日本觀眾接收分析為例 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學國際傳播英語碩士學位學程 International Master’s Program in International Communication Studies College of Communication National Chengchi University. 碩士論文 Master’s Thesis. 理解布袋戲中的文化差異:. 學. ‧ 國. 立. 政治大. 以《東離劍遊紀》的日本觀眾接收分析為例. ‧. Perceiving Cultural Differences in Glove Puppetry: A Case Study on. sit. y. Nat. io. n. al. er. Audience Reception of Thunderbolt Fantasy in Japan. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Student: 林宜樺 Kelly Yi-hua Lin Advisor: 陳儒修教授 Prof. Ru-shou Chen. 中華民國 107 年 6 月 June 2018. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(2) Acknowledgement. I would first like to express my gratitude to my thesis advisor Prof. Ru-shou Chen (陳儒修) of the Communication College at National Chengchi University. Prof. Chen was patient and knowledgeable. I’ve learned a lot from him while working on this thesis. I also appreciated his encouragement and assistance whenever I ran into a trouble spot or had a question about my research and writing. I was so lucky to have Prof. Chen as my thesis advisor.. I would also like to thank the experts who were involved in the validation survey for this research project: Prof. Teri J. Silvio (司黛蕊) and Prof. Hui-wen Liu (劉慧雯) of the experts. 政治大 who participated. Without their passionate participation and input, the validation survey could 立 not have been successfully conducted.. ‧ 國. 學 ‧. I would also like to thank those friends who I met while working on this Thesis: Honta San (陸抗), Nakamura San (風馬), Ichikawa San (桐乃) and Miss Kuo (椎名逆). Also, I. y. Nat. want to thank to my friend Mimura (三村) for helping me so much on the Japanese. sit. n. al. er. io. translation. Without all of your help, I would not be able to complete the most important part in this research.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Finally, I must express my very profound gratitude to my family and to my friends, professors and teachers in IMICS, in NCCU, in English Department at FJU and in high school for providing me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement throughout my years of study and through the process of researching and writing this thesis. This accomplishment would not have been possible without them. Thank you all. Author Kelly Yi-hua Lin August, 2018. i. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(3) 摘要本研究旨在瞭解日本觀眾如何觀看跨國合製台日布袋戲-東離劍遊紀。布袋戲是極具象徵性的台灣民俗藝術。其中霹靂布袋戲的劇集系列在台灣本土產製影音娛樂中頗負盛名。目前在台灣有約百萬名的觀眾。台灣方在製作東離劍遊紀的過程中提供木偶及操偶技術。日本方面則負責音樂、聲優(配音)、劇本與角色武器造型設計。在本劇中，由於大量加入日本元素，整體而言是以布袋戲日本化的方式呈現。同時在本研究中也將了解日本與台灣的關係對台灣文化與觀眾造成的影響及現象。並探討台灣文化與日本元素結合後，以台灣本土民俗藝術為基底的作品能否成功在日本市場創造熱潮。本研究將以文化擬仿、文化折扣、全球在地化等理論，檢視此次台灣布袋戲的日本化策略。並深度訪談觀看東離的日本觀眾以及參考引述有觀看東離的日本網友評論，以了解在日本觀眾眼中，東離劇中呈現的文化差異是何樣貌。. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 關鍵字: 台灣布袋戲、日本、東離劍遊紀、文化差異、接收分析 ii. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(4) Abstract This research aims at understanding how Japanese audiences perceive glove puppetry by examining the Taiwan-Japan co-production Thunderbolt Fantasy. Glove puppetry is a folk art of Taiwan. Pili (霹靂, pīlì) glove puppetry serials are one of the most popular forms of video entertainment produced domestically in Taiwan. Overall, there is an audience of around one million in Taiwan watching Pili puppetry serials. During the process of producing Thunderbolt Fantasy, the Taiwan-based Pili company provided the puppets and puppeteering technique, while the music, character voices, script and character and weapon design were created by Japanese staff. A great number of Japanese elements were added and thus localized Taiwanese glove puppetry into Japanese culture. In the meanwhile, this research will discuss the historical tie between Taiwan and Japan and its impact on Taiwanese culture and audiences. The research will also probe into whether this transnational co-production based on Taiwanese folk art and combined with Japanese elements can create a buzz in the Japanese market. Theories such as cultural mimicry, cultural discount, and glocalization will be applied to this study’s examination of the Japanese localization strategy in this puppetry co-production.. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. ‧. This research will conduct in-depth interviews and cite netizens’ comments regarding local Japanese audiences of Thunderbolt Fantasy in order to understand the cultural. Nat. n. al. er. io. sit. y. differences reflected in audience perception.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Key Words: Taiwanese Glove Puppetry, Japan, Thunderbolt Fantasy, Cultural Difference, Audience Reception iii. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(5) Table of Contents Acknowledgement .................................................................................................................... i 摘要............................................................................................................................................ ii Abstract ...................................................................................................................................iii Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... iv. 政治大. List of figures ......................................................................................................................... vii. 立. List of tables ............................................................................................................................. x. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1. sit. y. Nat. Research Motivation .................................................................................................. 1. 1.2. Research Background ................................................................................................ 3. io. 1.1. n. al. er. 1.. engchi. v. 1.2.1. Influence of Japanese Kominka Policy in Taiwan ................................................. 3. 1.2.2. The hari craze in Taiwan........................................................................................ 5. 1.2.3. ACG market in Japan ............................................................................................. 6. 1.3 2.. Ch. i n U. Research Goals & Research Questions ...................................................................... 8. Literature Review ............................................................................................................. 10. iv. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(6) 2.1. Historical Development of Taiwanese Glove Puppetry........................................... 10. 2.2. Pili Puppetry (Pili International Multimedia Company) .......................................... 18. 2.3. Transnational Culture Export and Its Related Theories ........................................... 26. 3.. Research Method .............................................................................................................. 29 3.1. Individual interviewing ............................................................................................ 29. 3.2. Research Setting and Procedure............................................................................... 30. 政治大 Analysis on Japanese (Netizens’) 立 Audiences’ Reviews of Thunderbolt Fantasy ............ 33. 學. ‧ 國. 4.. In-depth Interview of Japanese TBF Audiences............................................................... 56. 5.. Impression on TBF .................................................................................................. 62. 5.2. Features of Taiwanese Glove Puppetry ...................................................................68. 5.3. Cultural Elements in TBF ........................................................................................ 77. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. 6.. ‧. 5.1. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Research Findings, Discussions and Limitations ............................................................. 96. References .............................................................................................................................. 104 Appendix ................................................................................................................................ 111 1.. Trends in Japanese Animation Market ...................................................................... 111. 2.. Japanese Netizens’ Reviews on Amazon JP TBF BD Sale Merchandise Pages ....... 112. 3.. Japanese and Taiwanese Elements in Thunderbolt Fantasy ...................................... 125 v. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(7) Abstracts of the Interviews on Japanese TBF Audiences .......................................... 137. 立. 政治大. 學 ‧. ‧ 國 io. sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. 4.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. vi. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(8) List of figures Figure 1. Kominka Puppets.................................................................................................. 13 Figure 2. Anti-Communist and anti-Soviet Puppets ............................................................ 15 Figure 3. Poster of Legend of the Sacred Stone................................................................... 19 Figure 4. Say [PI – LI] ......................................................................................................... 20 Figure 5. Poster of Wulin Warriors...................................................................................... 21. 政治大 Figure 6. Poster of Butterfly Lovers .................................................................................... 22 立. ‧ 國. 學. Figure 7. TBF Twitter Posts ................................................................................................ 33. ‧. Figure 8. Replies of Japanese Netizens at 5ch ..................................................................... 35. sit. y. Nat. Figure 9. TBF BD Vol.1 ...................................................................................................... 36. n. al. er. io. Figure 10. TBF BD Vol.2 .................................................................................................... 37. i n U. v. Figure 11. TBF BD Vol.3 .................................................................................................... 37. Ch. engchi. Figure 12. TBF BD Vol.4 .................................................................................................... 38 Figure 13. Bunraku 文楽 ..................................................................................................... 44 Figure 14. Marionette........................................................................................................... 44 Figure 15. TBF Poster (Japanese Ver.) ................................................................................ 64 Figure 16. Nihgyougeki Sangokushi 人形劇三国志......................................................... 66 Figure 17. A Chinese Ghost Story ....................................................................................... 67. vii. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(9) Figure 18. Kumamon くまモン& Funassyi ふなっしー ................................................... 71 Figure 19. Setsu Mu Sho vs. Shu Un Sho ............................................................................ 77 Figure 20. Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva and Umbrella .............................................................. 80 Figure 21. Torii, Stone Lantern, Karesansui ........................................................................ 80 Figure 22. Red Lantern and Sitting up Talking with Each Other ........................................ 80 Figure 23. Shimenawa ......................................................................................................... 81. 政治大. Figure 24. Black Melon Seeds ............................................................................................. 83. 立. Figure 25. Clay Oven Roll ................................................................................................... 83. ‧ 國. 學. Figure 26. Dishes in Inn ....................................................................................................... 84. ‧. Figure 27. Shang Bu Huan ................................................................................................... 87. sit. y. Nat. Figure 28. Japanese Kimono ................................................................................................ 87. er. io. Figure 29. Takarazuka Revue .............................................................................................. 89. al. n. v i n Ch Figure 30. Setsu Mu Sho 2D................................................................................................89 engchi U Figure 31. Setsu Mu Sho 3D ................................................................................................ 89 Figure 32. Dan Fei 2D ......................................................................................................... 90 Figure 33. Dan Fei 3D ......................................................................................................... 90 Figure 34. Japanese Style Ball-Shaped Doll ........................................................................ 91 Figure 35. Wide Band Collar ............................................................................................... 91 Figure 36. Ken Gai ............................................................................................................... 92 viii. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(10) Figure 37. Oh-Oku 大奥 ..................................................................................................... 92 Figure 38. Shin Hakkenden 新八犬伝.............................................................................. 117 Figure 39. Bring Bring Story プリンプリン物語 ........................................................... 120. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. ix. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(11) List of tables Table 1 Basic Information of the Interviewees ................................................................. 57 Table 2 Trends in Japanese Animation Market (2016 version) ...................................... 111 Table 3 「雨傘の義理」“Code of Umbrellas” ............................................................... 125 Table 4 「襲来！玄鬼宗」“Attack of the Xuan Gui Zong!”.......................................... 126 Table 5 「夜魔の森の女」“The Woman in Night Devil Forest” ................................... 127. 政治大 Table 6 「迴靈笛のゆくえ」“The Whereabouts of the Soul Echo Flute”..................... 129 立. ‧ 國. 學. Table 7 「剣鬼、殺無生」‘The Sword Devil, Sha Wu Sheng” ..................................... 130. ‧. Table 8 「七人同舟」“Seven Comrades” ....................................................................... 131. sit. y. Nat. Table 9 「魔脊山」“Demon Spine Mountains” .............................................................. 132. n. al. er. io. Table 10 「掠風竊塵」“The Enigmatic Gale” ................................................................ 132. i n U. v. Table 11 「剣の神髄」“The Essence of a Sword” ......................................................... 133. Ch. engchi. Table 12 「盗賊の矜恃」“A Thief's Pride”.................................................................... 134 Table 13 「誇り高き命」“A Proud Life” ....................................................................... 134 Table 14 「切れざる刃」“A Blade That Doesn't Cut” .................................................. 135 Table 15 「新たなる使命」“A New Duty” ................................................................... 136. x. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(12) Lin1. 1.. Introduction. 1.1 Research Motivation Glove puppetry is a strong component of my childhood memories. I can still remember the images from those old-time TV glove puppetry shows. When my mom watched it, I sat next to her and enjoyed our time together. Day by day, watching TV glove puppetry especially Pili serials, became both my hobby and habit. Even now, if I have time, I’ll check out the latest. 治政 news and watch clips of Pili serials. I have watched Pili glove 大puppetry serials more than 立 ‧ 國. 學. twenty years. Moreover, I have purchased lots of products with Pili’s character images on them such as purse, toy figures and so forth and attended official activities. The latest one. ‧. was Pili puppetry celebrating the 30th anniversary and was announced winning the Guinness. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. world record for longest running puppet show with over 2000 episodes, well over 150,000. v. n. minutes, and over 2200 hours on the occasion.1 I am totally fascinated by the excitement of. Ch. engchi. i n U. the fighting scenes and the elegant conversations between characters. Also, the charming characters, great music and splendid voice acting are all my favorite elements of the experience of watching glove puppetry.. 1. Detailed information for Pili Glove puppetry winning the Guinness world record for longest running puppet. show: https://www.reddit.com/r/ThunderboltFantasy/comments/8g91h6/pili_just_celebrated_its_30th_anniversary_and _got/ Retrieved on May 1, 2018.. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(13) Lin2. In recent years, I’ve noticed that Pili glove puppetry craves expansion to overseas markets, especially to Western countries. However, such expansion didn’t work well. In China, due to sharing the same cultural roots as Taiwan, Pili glove puppetry seemed to be wildly popular and widely accepted by Chinese audiences. But what about Japanese audiences? Japanese culture is essentially different from Taiwanese culture, though Taiwan and Japan share a complex and special historical connection.. 政治大. To achieve the goal of this fascinating folk art of Taiwan to enter overseas markets, the. 立. Pili company faces many obstacles to overcome, with the very being cultural differences. As. ‧ 國. 學. a fan of Taiwanese glove puppetry, I do hope it can be seen and enjoyed by the world.. ‧. Through this opportunity of co-producing Thunderbolt Fantasy2 (TBF) with Japanese. sit. y. Nat. companies, I wonder how Japanese audiences perceive the transnational co-production,. al. er. io. Thunderbolt Fantasy that blends the traditional art form of Taiwan with Japanese elements.. n. v i n Cexploring Therefore, I would like to embark on h e n gtheccultural h i Udifferences in Thunderbolt Fantasy perceived by Japanese audiences as my thesis topic.. 2. Thunderbolt Fantasy is a cross-cultural glove puppetry TV production made by companies of Taiwan and. Japan. The staff includes Pili company (Taiwan), Nitro+ (Japan) and GSC (Japan). The storyline of Thunderbolt. Fantasy is similar to the classical RPG (Role-Playing Game) type. It was about a group of people venturing to attain a sword and protect a princess (護印師(goinshi) actually). (Janus, 2016). DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(14) Lin3. 1.2 Research Background 1.2.1 Influence of Japanese Kominka Policy in Taiwan Taiwan has many cultural traditions that are influenced by regime changes. Specifically, during the period of Japanese colonization in Taiwan, Taiwanese folk arts transformed into those of new types. These new forms of folk art have been passed down culturally, along with the strong impact of colonial power. Glove puppetry (budaixi, 布袋戲) is one of those folk arts.. 立. 政治大. Back in the period of Japanese Colonization, in order to survive, glove puppetry had to. ‧ 國. 學. conform to Kominka Policy3. The puppets combined Taiwanese and Japanese styles, and the. ‧. stories were based on Japanese legends. The scripts were written in Taiwanese and Japanese.. sit. y. Nat. Forms of Taiwanese Glove puppetry have changed from regime to regime. In recent. al. er. io. decades, Pili Puppetry is one of the renowned glove puppetry troupes in Taiwan. Domestic. n. v i n C ofh around one million fans of Pili puppetry make up a group e n g c h i U people. Pili Puppetry’s domestic revenue from e-commerce increased to NTD eighty million dollars in 2012 (“Pili’s Estimated EPS Contribution Next Year,” 2013). In addition, in early Pili serials, the plots and scripts adopted a great many Japanese elements such as ninja and samurai characters. Japanese music was adopted as well. Even in more recent serials, Japanese characters and adapted. 3. Kominka (皇民化), which literally means to become Japanese in form, style or character, will have more. explanation later parts.. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(15) Lin4. Japanese legends still appear from time to time. In 2000, the Pili company launched its first glove puppetry movie “The Legend of The. Sacred Stone” (聖石傳說). It did well at the box office. In coming years, the movie was dubbed in Japanese and Mandarin Chinese and was released in Japan and China (PILI Chronology, 2017). Pili then planned to expand to overseas markets due to the success of this puppetry movie. It had previously cooperated with an American company, and then turned to. 政治大. cooperate with companies in neighboring countries of China and Japan.. 立. Huang (2011), a researcher of transnational consumption, states that the co-production. ‧ 國. 學. of the TV program injecting Japanese components reveals an unconventional form of. sit. Nat. attractive to local consumers (p.12).. y. ‧. localization. It incorporates foreign influences to exoticize programs and is thus more. al. er. io. This localization strategy of cross-cultural productions is “not only exploited by. n. v i n C hby transnational enterprises Japanese companies, but also borrowed and Taiwanese engchi U. businesses alike,” stated Huang (p.12). Pili Puppetry adopts this localization strategy in its transnational co-production Thunderbolt Fantasy with Japan enterprises. In Thunderbolt. Fantasy, it is noteworthy that Taiwanese glove puppetry dresses up as a Japanese production with a local Japanese script, narration, setting, dialogue, music and styling. Only the puppets and puppeteering techniques are based in Taiwan. Thunderbolt Fantasy aired in 2016 which earned compliments from audiences all over the world who watched TBF through online. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(16) Lin5. video streaming platforms such as iQIYI, Crunchyroll and so on and especially earned highly compliments from Japanese audiences.. 1.2.2. The hari craze in Taiwan. A great number of Japanese cultural products are accessible to Taiwanese audiences due to geo-cultural and historical factors. As Otmazgin stated,. 政治大. Japanese comic books are routinely translated into the local. 立. languages of South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, and Taiwan, and. ‧ 國. 學. they dominate East Asia’s comic book market. The Japanese. ‧. animated characters Hello Kitty, Ampan Man, and Poke’mon are. sit. y. Nat. ubiquitous, depicted on licensed and unlicensed toys and stationary. al. er. io. items in the markets of any typical Asian city. Japanese animation,. n. v i n C hpopular in its field.U(2008) usually dubbed, is the most engchi. In fact, children in Taiwan mostly watch imported Japanese manga and cartoons in their early childhood. This watching habit somehow influences Taiwanese audience’s preference for Japanese products. However, in contrast it is hard to find opportunities to watch Taiwanrelated programs and to find Taiwanese products in Japan. In addition to manga and animations, Japanese “trendy dramas” are influential to the TV industry in Taiwan. As Ko (2004) states, “Originating in Japan, the so-called trendy dramas. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(17) Lin6. or (idol-dramas) have created a craze for commodities in its neighboring countries” (as cited in Huang (2011)). This phenomenon has been vividly captured by a buzz phrase Japanesemania (hari 哈日). (p.3) Thus, due to hari, Japanese products are among the most popular for Taiwanese customers. According to Huang (2011), owing to the popularity of Japanese media products, the Taiwanese television industry started to copy trendy dramas, thus producing domestic. 政治大. dramas. In particular, the contents of idol-dramas oftentimes infuse Japanese elements. The. 立. most memorable example of a Taiwanese idol-drama is the 2001 production Meteor Garden.. ‧ 國. 學. All elements including storyline and cast resemble Japanese trendy dramas. The story of. ‧. Meteor Garden is adapted from a Japanese comic book. Furthermore, the Taiwanese version. al. er. io. set in Japanese-style houses (p.11-12).. sit. y. Nat. also keeps the original Japanese character names from the manga and most of the scenes are. n. v i n C hof a Taiwanese product Meteor Garden was a rare example e n g c h i U which originated from Japan,. but became popular in Taiwan first and was then noticed by Japanese audiences. Thus,. Thunderbolt Fantasy as a Taiwanese production which infuses Japanese elements has its potential to be attractive to Japanese audiences.. 1.2.3. ACG market in Japan. Based on the 2016 Anime Industry Report of The Association of Japanese Animations. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(18) Lin7. (AJA): The market size was 1.825 trillion yen, increasing by 12.0% year over last year, reflecting the continued rise in the sales of Internet distribution rights to China (up 78.7% over last year) and remarkable growth of Live Entertainment market (up 68.4% over last year). (Masuda, Hikawa, Sudo, Rikukawa, Mori, & Hasegawa, 2017). 立. 政治大. In terms of the domestic Japanese ACG (Animation, Comics and Game) market size, the. ‧ 國. 學. chart, “Japanese animation market trends in a broad sense”, shows that the total sum of the. ‧. 2015 Japan ACG market is 1.2427 trillion yen. According to the data, it records the positive. al. er. io. Sudo, Rikukawa, Mori, & Hasegawa, 2017).4. sit. y. Nat. growth of the ACG market for six consecutive years from 2010 to 2015 (Masuda, Hikawa,. n. v i n Cthe The Pili company wants to enter U by cooperating with h eJapanese h i market n g cACG. renowned Japanese ACG celebrities and companies. However, it seems that Japanese. 4. The Domestic (Japan) ACG Market size of 2015 includes TV (domestic TV revenues), Movie (domestic. theatrical animation box office revenues), Video (domestic videogram animation revenues (DVD, etc. media)), Internet Distribution (domestic online animation revenues), Merchandising (domestic animation‐related merchandise revenues), Music (domestic animation‐related music revenues), Pachinko and Pachinko‐slot machine (estimated shipment value of animation character‐themed Pachinko and Pachinko‐ slot machines) & Live Entertainment (animation‐related live‐performance, event, exhibition, and cafe revenues). The chart is in appendix.. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(19) Lin8. audiences and overseas markets are already sufficient to support the whole ACG market. Is there any room for glove puppetry co-production in the Japanese ACG market?. 1.3 Research Goals & Research Questions This research will focus on how local Japanese audiences perceive glove puppetry by using the transnational glove puppetry co-production Thunderbolt Fantasy as an example.. 政治大. With a complex historical tie to Japan, Taiwanese culture and people have been influenced by. 立. Japanese culture. Glove puppetry is one of the Taiwanese folk arts that was once injected. ‧ 國. 學. with Japanese elements during Japanese colonization of Taiwan. Even now, this Japanese. ‧. influence is still deeply rooted in some glove puppetry performances.. sit. y. Nat. Also, Taiwanese people are crazy for Japanese products due to the influence of Taiwan’s. al. er. io. geo-cultural ties with Japan. Even now, Japanese products such as manga, cartoons and TV. n. v i n dramas are still popular in Taiwan. C However, find examples of Taiwanese h e nitgischard h ito U cultural products that are sold to Japan and become a hit.. After Thunderbolt Fantasy aired in Japan, it actually grabbed attention of Japanese audiences. This positive reception could be a chance for more Taiwanese products to enter the Japanese market. However, it is known that Japanese market, especially the ACG market, is the most productive cultural export in the world and attracts domestic and millions overseas fans to consume its cultural products. Therefore, it is important to understand how. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(20) Lin9. Japanese audiences perceive TBF and if is there any possibility for TBF to become as popular as those local ACG in the Japanese market. This research mainly focuses on the reflections of local TBF Japanese audiences, thus, there will be no Taiwanese TBF audiences’ reviews and reflections in this research. As for the research method, in-depth interviews with local Japanese audiences, using the aid of pictures of characters, costumes, food and other images featured in Thunderbolt Fantasy. 政治大. (TBF) will be conducted. At the same time, the comments of Japanese TBF audiences from. 立. Japanese websites will also be taken as references. After gathering all responses from local. ‧ 國. 學. Japanese interviewees and netizens, the analysis of the results will be conducted accordingly.. How do Japanese audiences perceive the transnational glove puppetry co-. al. v i n It seems that ThunderboltC Fantasy grabbed Japanese audiences’ h e nsuccessfully gchi U n. 2.. er. io. production Thunderbolt Fantasy?. sit. y. Nat. 1.. ‧. The main research questions are described as below:. attention. However, are local Japanese audiences fond of this transnational coproduction? 3.. If eliminating the renowned Japanese celebrities and enterprises, will it still be easier to promote the glove puppetry productions in Japan?. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(21) Lin10. 2. Literature Review 2.1 Historical Development of Taiwanese Glove Puppetry Glove puppetry reached its maturity during the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1600-1800).5 With the emigration from China to Taiwan in the mid-Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1850)6, the puppet shows were brought to Taiwan from Fujian Province, which is the birthplace of the Taiwanese or Minnan dialect (閩南語) (E-PILI Networks, 2007).. 治政 Puppetry is a form of theater and performance. It involves 大 the manipulation of the 立 ‧ 國. 學. puppets, which are usually human or animal figures, by the puppeteer. Puppeteers use their hands, arms and devices such as rods or strings to move the head, limbs, mouth and eyes of. ‧. puppets. At the same time, the puppeteer often performs the voice of the puppet characters.. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. The movements of the puppets and puppeteers are synchronous. Overall, puppet. v. n. performances are mainly used for storytelling. Various puppets are composed of different. Ch. engchi. i n U. materials according to their intended use and performance forms. There are various types of puppets around the world such as finger puppets, shadow puppets, marionettes as well as hand puppets. Glove Puppetry, Hand Puppet Shows, Palm Shows, or Budaixi, which literally translates to cloth bag puppets, all refers to the performing artistry using puppets with a hollowed. 5. Reference: Website of Puppet King: http://www.puppetking.com.tw Retrieved on November 22, 2017.. 6. Reference: Website of Puppet King.. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(22) Lin11. wooden head, palms, feet and with bodies made up of cloth costumes. The puppeteer puts one hand into the glove costumes of puppet with a rod sometimes used for assistance while performing. In terms of the language of glove puppetry, Taiwanese is often and mainly used. The prominent feature of glove puppetry is the “showing up poem” (出場詩). The showing up poem occurs when a main character goes on stage, and he or she will recite a monologue with four lines of five or seven syllables each, usually taken from ancient Chinese poems or. 政治大. created by script writers based on the characters’ images. Oftentimes, the showing up poems. 立. are composed in southern Fujianese or Taiwanese.. ‧ 國. 學. According to the Yunlin Palm Puppets Museum, the scripts of glove puppetry in the past. ‧. were based on novels, historical stories and anecdotes. The three main categories of scripts. sit. y. Nat. were legal cases (Gong An Xi, 公案戲), historical stories (GuTseXi, 古冊戲) and. al. er. io. swordsman fighting (Jian Xia Xi, 劍俠戲). After the 1930s, GuTseXi is no longer attractive. n. v i n to audiences. Puppeteers then turnedCtohperform the popular e n g c h i U stories taken from wuxia (武俠). novels and swordsman novels. Swordsman novels include characters from Buddhism (佛教人物) and Daoism (道教人物), and follow amazing plots of sword-shapes beaming from the mouth, toe kian gung in Taiwanese (吐劍光), sword-flying, hui kian in Taiwanese (飛劍) and fantastic spells.7 In addition, there are two performing types of conventional Taiwanese glove puppetry:. 7. Reference: Website of Yunlin Palm Puppets Museum (雲林布袋戲館): http://tour.yunlin.gov.tw/huwei/form/index-1.asp?id=132&btn=5.. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(23) Lin12. outdoor performances, Ye Tai Xi (野台戲) and indoor performances, Nei Tai Xi (內台戲). Performing glove puppetry outdoors often uses traditional small glove puppets. It was once commonly seen in rural areas in Taiwan in the past but is rarely seen nowadays. Audiences often gathered and sat in the square of a temple, watching the puppetry play. The performances mainly served the purpose of greeting or thanking deities. Performing glove puppetry indoors has become a trend later due to the mutable policies of different regimes in modern Taiwan.. 立. 政治大. According to the Puppetry Art Center of Taipei, traditional glove puppetry had various. ‧ 國. 學. faces in different time periods of modern Taiwan. During Japanese colonization, due to. ‧. Japan’s strong cultural impact, Kominka Puppets (皇民化戲偶) combined the Taiwanese and. sit. y. Nat. Japanese styles. In terms of the stories and plots of the puppetry performances, they were. al. er. io. borrowed from Japanese legends. Scripts were written in Japanese and Taiwanese.8. n. v i n Ch Back in the time of Japanese colonization, of Taiwan, Seizo U e n ginc1937, h i Governor-general. Kobayashi (小林躋造) proposed to govern Taiwan under three principles: Kominka (皇民化), which literally means to become Japanese in form, style or character; Industrialization; and Taiwan becoming the base for southward expansion. As for the first principal Kominka, it asked the colonial people to adopt Japanese ways of life. For instance, under Japanese colonization, Taiwanese people had to learn and speak Japanese, wear kimono, adopt. 8. Reference: Puppetry Art center of Taipei (台北偶戲館).. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(24) Lin13. Japanese names and so forth. Two years later, the next Governor-general of Taiwan, Hasegawa Kiyoshi (長谷川清) endeavored to promote the Kominka movement. Thus, he established a branch called the Entertainment Committee (娛樂委員會) under KominHokokai (皇民奉公會), aiming at turning all Taiwanese traditional folk dramas into those of a Japanese form. Specifically after the outbreak of Pacific War, the Japanese regime was eager to transform Taiwan’s national identity of Han Chinese to that of Japanese. Thus,. 政治大. the Japanese government banned all performances of Chinese language dramas. A member of. 立. the Entertainment Committee, Huang, De-shi (黃得時), who was fond of glove puppetry, was. ‧ 國. 學. extremely concerned about the banning of puppet show performances. In order to legalize. ‧. glove puppetry as “official entertainment,” KominHokokai transformed all elements. sit. y. Nat. including the subject, script, music, narration (口白) and costume of traditional glove. n. al. er. io. puppetry to those of Japanese style.9. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Figure 1. Kominka Puppets (Japanese Style (Kominka) Puppets, 2012). 9. Reference: Puppetry Art Center of Taipei.. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(25) Lin14. The military forces of the Republic of China under the Kuomintang (KMT) arrived in Taiwan after the war in 1945, folk temple activities in Taiwan were revived. Owing to the great demand for temple affairs, it led to not only the revival of old puppetry troupes, but also the emergence of large numbers of the new ones. In 1947, the February 28 Incident (228 事件)10 broke out. The officials of The Governor Office of Taiwan Province (台灣省行政長官公署) were thus sensitive to rallies by the public. In order to prevent any spying activities by. 政治大. Communists, outdoor performances of glove puppetry were strictly limited for more than one. 立. year. Under this situation, a great deal of puppetry troupes began to perform in theaters and. ‧ 國. 學. have tickets sold. These events are for Taiwanese glove puppetry to gradually transit from. ‧. outdoors to indoors.11. sit. y. Nat. Since the 1950s, Taiwan had been in politically sensitive situation. It was easy for. al. er. io. puppetry performances to gather crowds. Thus, it was regulated under specific management. n. v i n C h to survive; therefore, and restrictions. Puppetry troupes wished e n g c h i U they all catered to the policy, starting performing Anti-Communist and anti-Soviet shows (反共抗俄). The subjects of the palm shows were usually something related to Wu-xia (武俠), love affairs and family ethics but had nothing to do with social reality. In terms of the Anti-Communist and anti-Soviet puppets (反共抗俄戲偶), the art form began to reveal political ideology with the puppets 10. An anti-government uprising that was violently suppressed by the Kuomingtang-led Republic of China. government, which killed thousands of civilians beginning on February 28, 1947. 11. Reference: Puppetry Art Center of Taipei; Website of Yunlin Puppets Palm Museum.. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(26) Lin15. dressing modern suits and having modern hairstyles. At that time, the government promoted anti-communist puppet shows, which usually performed twenty minutes before the main show in order to stabilize national affairs in Taiwan.12. 政治大. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Figure 2. Anti-Communist and anti-Soviet Puppets (Anti-Communist and anti-Soviet. y. Nat. er. io. al. sit. Puppets, 2012). v. n. Most of the scripts of Anti-Communist and anti-Soviet puppet show were adapted from. Ch. engchi. i n U. Taiwanese Opera, Ge Zai Xi (歌仔戲) and adopted from the dramas based on AntiCommunist and anti-Soviet stories. However, these subjects were not completely suitable for performances of glove puppetry and audiences didn’t like the performance of these topics. Thus, when facing the public’s unenthusiastic reception of Anti-Communist and anti-Soviet themed performances, glove puppetry troupes didn’t perform such types of puppet shows. 12. Reference: Puppetry Art Center of Taipei.. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(27) Lin16. anymore.13 During the 1950s to 1980s, Jin Gung glove puppetry (金光布袋戲), which retained the improved features of Kominka puppets, appeared. After the military forces of the Republic of China under the Kuomintang came to Taiwan, the plots of glove puppetry performances mainly followed Jian Xia Xi, the swordsman fighting. Owing to inadequate sources of Wuxia novels, a supervisor of puppet shows was hired to arrange and wrote the story himself.14 In. 政治大. addition, in order to adapt to the indoor performing places and serial form of storytelling, Jin. 立. Gung puppets were usually two to three times larger than traditional puppets.15. ‧ 國. 學. The carving of puppet heads was not restricted to the regulations of traditional style.. ‧. With freedom of creation, the carvers produced versatile and specific puppet heads.. sit. y. Nat. Oftentimes the puppets would be decorated with sequins, and bright five-colored strips of. al. er. io. cloth served as background while the puppets were on stage. These colorful background. n. v i n C hprotective power ofUthe characters; therefore, the strips also represented the magical and engchi puppets were called “Jin Gung” (Golden Light) Puppets accordingly.16. Taiwanese glove puppetry entered a new era in 1962. Indoor glove puppetry developed into a new form which aired glove puppet shows on TV. One unsuccessful example is a. 13. Reference: Website of Yunlin Puppets Palm Museum.. 14. Only men are allowed to join glove puppetry troupe in the past.. 15. Reference: Website of Yunlin Puppets Palm Museum.. 16. Reference: Puppetry Art Center of Taipei.. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(28) Lin17. Chinese-dubbed glove puppet show performed by puppet master Li, Tian-lu (李天祿) and broadcasted at Taiwan Television, TTV (台視) but the show was not popular because of the Mandarin Chinese dubbing. Success came in 1970, when puppet master Huang, Jun-xiong (黃俊雄) performed a Taiwanese-dubbed glove puppet show, The Scholar Swordsman, Yun-. zhou Da Ru Xia (雲州大儒俠) which caused a sensation throughout Taiwan with its special sound effects, film techniques and popular Western and Japanese songs.17. 政治大. The craze for Huang’s glove puppetry led to a policy enacted by The Government. 立. Information Office (新聞局) in 1974 requiring the television station to ban the performance. ‧ 國. 學. of Taiwanese-dubbed glove puppet shows because of “interfering the daily routine of all. ‧. walks of life.” Eventually, in 1982, the ban of Television glove puppetry was lifted due to. sit. y. Nat. public opinion, and then took turns broadcasting at 3 television networks. These broadcasts. al. er. io. also achieved high ratings over the next 7-8 years. After the 1980s, Television glove puppetry. n. v i n C haudience groups once moved to cable TV and developed new e n g c h i U again by combining the latest computer technologies and filmmaking techniques. The most popular puppeteers of. Television glove puppetry were Huang, Jun-xiong and his two sons Huang, Wen-tze (黃文擇) and Huang, Wen-yao (黃文耀). Huang, Wen-tze (黃文擇) became renowned for his Pili Glove Puppetry Troupe (霹靂布袋戲團).18. 17. Reference: Website of Yunlin Puppets Palm Museum. 18. Reference: Website of Yunlin Puppets Palm Museum. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(29) Lin18. 2.2 Pili Puppetry (Pili International Multimedia Company) Pili International Multimedia Company (Pili Guoji Duomeiti Gongsi 霹靂國際多媒體公司) produces the digital video puppetry serials. According to Silvio (2011), the serials “are one of the most popular video entertainment produced domestically in Taiwan, and they have also attracted cult followings in Japan and China.” (p.150) The narratives of Pili glove puppetry are basically the “Chinese popular swordsman, or. 政治大. wuxia, genre, with added elements from Chinese, Japanese and Western Mythology, fantasy. 立. and science fiction.” (Silvio, 2011, p.150) Since glove puppetry is a genre brought to Taiwan. ‧ 國. 學. from Fujian, China, this origin location thus influences the setting of the world of Pili and its. ‧. language use. Glove puppetry is performed in the Hoklo (Minnan) dialect (p.148-149). Sivio. sit. y. Nat. (2011) further illustrated that “the Pili world is set in a magical Chinese past, where the. al. er. io. characters quote the classics and uphold the principles of Taoism, Buddhism, and. n. v i n Confucianism” (p.150). Moreover, C theh core feature of PiliU e n g c h i serials is that it “combines the centuries-old folk art of southern Chinese hand-puppetry (budaixi 布袋戲) with computergenerated special effects and the editing style of action cinema” (Silvio, 2011, p. 148). Pili puppetry has many channels for its products. For example, it cooperated with video rental stores in 1991. In 1995, it established its own satellite TV station. In 2009, it started its cooperation with convenience stores: Family Mart and then 7-11. Afterwards, its products turned into DVDs and audiences are able to purchase its products in more convenient ways.. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(30) Lin19. (PILI Chronology, 2017) According to one news article in Apple Daily, there are around one million people watching Pili puppetry serials in Taiwan. In addition, the domestic revenue of e-commerce of the serials increased to NTD eighty million dollars last year (“Pili’s Estimated EPS Contribution Next Year,” 2013). In 2000, the Pili company launched its first glove puppetry movie “The Legend of The. Sacred Stone” (聖石傳說), which did well at the box office. In coming years, the movie was. 政治大. dubbed in Japanese and Mandarin Chinese and released in Japan and China (PILI. 立. Chronology, 2017).. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Figure 3. Poster of Legend of the Sacred Stone (Legend of the Sacred Stone, 2002) Pili puppetry began its campaign to expand abroad after the release of this movie. As Silvio (2007) points out, the image appeared on a full-page advertisement (Figure 2) for music videos of theme songs, and the astrological charts of puppet protagonists appeared on March/April 1999 issue of the official Pili fan club magazine, and although the chart “has. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(31) Lin20. nothing to do with the content of the serials themselves; yet I think it perfectly encapsulates the connections between remediation and the construction of local modes of globalization” (p.305). With the leading character, Zu Huanzhen (素還真) reflected in the alien’s left eye, the image can be interpreted as “a symbolic fantasy of globalization.” (p.305). The extraterrestrial alien uses the “v” hand gesture, which Taiwanese commonly use to represent pure Otherness, and implies Taiwanese version of Americanness as well. Through the. 政治大. advertisement, it is obvious that the Pili company endeavors to “make the alien ‘ours’” with a. 立. friendly alien warmly regarding the puppet Su Huanzhen. (p.307). ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Figure 4. Say [PI – LI] (Silvio, 2007, p.306) The Pili company then planned to approach the American market in 2001. According to the official announcement on E-PILI network, “Pili Warriors Speaking English, Challenging America TV Wulin on Feb. 4” (霹靂戰士說英文二月四日挑戰美國電視武林), the adapted Pili series, Zheng Wang Ji (爭王記) translated into “Wulin Warriors—Legend of the Seven. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(32) Lin21. Stars” premiered on the weekend animation show “Toonami” of Cartoon Network in America (“Pili Warriors Speaking English,” 2006).. 立. 政治大. Figure 5. Poster of Wulin Warriors (Wulin Warriors—Legend of the Seven Stars, 2006). ‧ 國. 學. In 2001, the Pili company authorized the movie “Legends of the Sacred Stone” and 500. ‧. hours of the TV series to Distant Horizon, a wholly owned subsidiary of the South African. sit. y. Nat. based diversified entertainment and media company, to produce the Pili products. al. er. io. internationally excluding Asia. Distant Horizon believed that the value and potential of PILI. n. v i n C hstars and unique puppeteering puppet series including famous puppet techniques with special engchi U effects were the same as those of Japanese animations. Distant Horizon cooperated with Cartoon Network.19 After conducting polls and working on the translation for more than four years, the original Pili series were adapted for an audience of American teenagers. These series were thus repackaged by editing, dubbing, replacing the background music and turning. 19. An American basic cable and satellite television channel; it is a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting System, a. subsidiary of Time Warner.. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(33) Lin22. the often complicated and rich in culture-depth dialogue into understandable animations. The Pili puppet theatre invested in more than seven times the royalties of the original TV series. (“Pili Warriors Speaking English,” 2006) Distant Horizon changed Vincent Huang’s narration in which he’s in charge of all characters’ voices in Pili series, into the dubbing by many English-speaking voice actors. Moreover, a great number of the characters’ personalities were adjusted due to the abstruse. 政治大. plots of the original series. At the same time, the background music was changed to Hip-Hop. 立. style which was fashionable among American teens. However, due to the huge cultural. ‧ 國. 學. differences between Eastern and Western countries, it was hard to attract the American. ‧. audience’s attention (“PILI Warriors Speaking English,” 2006).. Nat. io. sit. y. A few years later, the Pili company decided to enter the international market again, but. er. this time chose a neighboring country, China. In 2011, Pili puppetry cooperated with. al. n. v i n Hanzhou FanFan Comic Culture & C ArthCompany and produced e n g c h i U the puppet animation Butterfly lovers (梁祝之西湖蝶夢) (PILI Chronology, 2017).. Figure 6. Poster of Butterfly Lovers (Butterfly Lovers, 2011). DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(34) Lin23. Furthermore, according to Chang (2014), the Pili company signed authorization agreements with the top ten most-visited video streaming platforms including iQIYI (愛奇藝), Youku Toudo (優酷土豆), Tencent (騰訊), PPTV in China in 2013 (“Pili Company Listed at Over-the-Counter (OTC) Market,” 2014). Before signing contracts with legal video platforms, Pili puppetry had already reached more than one million digital video viewers per episode in China. The audience in China was approximately the same size of that of Taiwan.. 政治大. Pili puppetry saw the market potential in China and thus expected to increase its revenue. 立. there in the future (“Pili’s Estimated EPS Contribution Next Year,” 2013).. ‧ 國. 學. In recent years, Pili puppetry began to cooperate with Japanese companies. According to. ‧. Janus’ interview, it mentions how the vice president of Pili puppetry, Huang Liang-xun (黃亮. sit. y. Nat. 勛), son of Chris Huang (黃強華) seized the chance to cooperate with Japanese famous. al. er. io. anime script writer うろぶちげん,Gen Urobuchi20 (虛淵玄), who wrote a few well-known. n. v i n Ch Japanese animations such as 魔法少女まどか☆マギカ U Magi Madoka Magica, 魔 e n g c h i (Puella 法少女小圓) and Fate/Zero. In 2014, Gen Urobuchi came to Taiwan for the Taipei International Comics & Animation Festival (TICA). Occasionally during the festival, he. visited the exhibition of Pili puppetry, Pili Fantasy World of Puppet Art (霹靂奇幻武俠世界布袋戲藝術大展), and was astonished by the Pili puppetry art form. He brought a set of. 20. Gen Urobuchi is known by fans as “Urobutcher,” because of his best-known trait – killing and “butchering”. his beloved characters in shocking ways and often leaves audiences crying in a pool of despair. (“Gen Urobuchi,” n.d.). DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(35) Lin24. DVDs back to Japan and posted how he felt after he watched the DVDs on Twitter. As soon as Huang Liang-xun learned of Gen Urobuchi’s passion toward Pili puppetry series, he contacted Gen Urobuchi again to discuss the possibility of future cooperation. Eventually, Gen Urobuchi decided to cooperate with the Pili company and convinced his peers in Nitro plus (Nitro+)21 to be partners in this transnational project (Janus, 2016). The Japanese collaborators formed a group called “Thunderbolt. 政治大. Fantasy (東離劍遊紀サンダーボルトファンタジー) Project” as. 立. soon as the transnational cooperation was decided. In the. ‧ 國. 學. Thunderbolt Fantasy Project, three companies were involved: PILI. al. sit. io. As the official website of Thunderbolt Fantasy noted,. er. Nat. (GSC)22 (Janus, 2016).. y. ‧. MULTIMEDIA INC, Nitro+ and GOOD SMILE COMPANY. n. v i n The staff included GenC Urobuchi, Pili company, Nitro+ and GSC. heng chi U Gen Urobuchi is the supervisor and script writer. Pili puppetry is responsible for puppeteering and filming. Both Pili and Nitro+ are in charge of character and weapon designs. GSC is the style consultant. Other staff included famous Japanese musicians, such as Japanese. 21. Nitro+ (Nitro plus) is a computer game company that Gen Urobuchi belongs to.. 22. GSC (Good Smile Company) is a toy, accessory and figure planning, manufacturing and production. company.. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(36) Lin25. singer, 西川貴教 (Nishikawa Takanori) and Japanese CV (character voices) actors such as 鳥海浩輔 (Toriumi Kōsuke), 関智一, 諏訪部順一 (Junichi Suwabe), 中原麻衣 (Nakahara Mai), 鈴村健一 and so forth. As for Taiwanese version of Thunderbolt Fantasy, Huang Hui-feng (黃匯峰), the son of Vincent Huang is in charge of most of the voice acting (“Thunderbolt Fantasy,” 2016).. 政治大. As for the dubbing of Thunderbolt Fantasy, there are three different versions including. 立. Chinese and Japanese language dubbings. This paper will focus on Japanese version.. ‧ 國. 學. In Janus’ interview of Huang Liang-xun, Huang claimed that Gen Urobuchi wanted to. ‧. write a story derived from an original Pili series and which the whole story had already been. sit. y. Nat. finished from the beginning. However, the original stories of Pili are usually too complicated. al. er. io. to understand for first-time viewers to understand. Therefore, Gen Urobuchi decided to create. n. v i n C h by a JapaneseU a brand new story which could be accepted e n g c h i audience, because most Japanese. were unfamiliar with Taiwanese glove puppetry. Thus, the storyline of Thunderbolt Fantasy basically followed the classical RPG (Role-Playing Game) type. It was about a group of people venturing to attain a sword and protect a princess (Janus, 2016). In July, 2016, the first season of Thunderbolt Fantasy premiered on a few channels including TV and video streaming platforms in Japan and Taiwan. It was thirteen episodes total and was broadcasted once a week. Afterwards, a DVD and Blu-ray disc were produced.. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(37) Lin26. 2.3 Transnational Culture Export and Its Related Theories According to Huang (2011), cultural transparency, cultural difference and hybridization are the three main factors for selling cultural products across national borders though they are seemingly contradictory (p.3). In addition, related theories such as culturally odorless products, cultural discount and colonial/cultural mimicry are relevant to this topic as well. For the first factor, cultural transparency, Olson (1999) states that “cultural exports. 政治大. targeting the global market are rarely culturally specific so that they allow worldwide. 立. audiences to ‘project [into them] indigenous values, beliefs, rites, and rituals’” (as cited in. ‧ 國. 學. Huang, 2011). It has something in common with the concept of “Culturally Odorless. ‧. Products” claimed by Dr. Koichi Iwabuchi. He claims that “Japanese cultural products, which. sit. y. Nat. are mainly sold to overseas, can be regarded as “Culturally Odorless Products”. The most. al. er. io. significant feature of these “odorless” products is that the audience and consumers won’t be. n. v i n able to sense anything related to theC origins of the products (Iwabuchi, 1998). Both cultural hen gchi U. transparency and Culturally Odorless Products convey the idea of selling products overseas by not marketing them as anything specific. The second factor concerns cultural difference. Here Huang gives out a more specific word, local distinctiveness, which is “often presented in symbolic forms of national heritage, can also become attractive to consumers elsewhere.” Moreover, as Crane (2002) claims, “they are transformed to become meaningful to foreigners through a variety of cultural. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(38) Lin27. devices, such as the reframing of historic sites and the re-creation of national items.” (Crane as cited in Huang, 2011) Last strategy which Huang argues is that of glocalization (or global localization) which leads to hybridization. According to the definition by Roland Robertson (1995), glocalization becomes an important term in business jargon and is closely tied to the business. 政治大. term ‘micro-marketing’, which is “the tailoring and advertising of. 立. goods and services on a global or near-global basis to increasingly. ‧ 國. 學. differentiated local and particular markets” (p.28) (Robertson as. ‧. cited in Huang, 2011). As Kraidy (2005) stated that glocalization. sit. y. Nat. helps foreign marketers to connect their commodities with local. al. er. io. communities (Kraidy as cited in Huang, 2011). In the meanwhile, a. n. v i n C hideas and practicesUand this results in country might copy foreign engchi hybridization of national culture. (Huang, 2011, p.4). In addition, the phenomenon of cultural discount can occur in transnational marketing. In 1991, Colin Hoskins and Stuart McFadyen stated in the Canadian Journal of Communication, which they referred to the concept of cultural discount: The term ‘cultural discount’ has been coined to capture the notion that a particular program (or feature film) rooted in one culture, and. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(39) Lin28. thus attractive in that environment, will have diminished appeal elsewhere as viewers find it difficult to identify with the styles, values, beliefs, institutions and behaviour patterns being portrayed (Hoskins and McFadyen, 1991). Moreover, based on the specific historical tie between Taiwan and Japan, colonial (or cultural) mimicry can occur. According to Homi Bhabha (1984), “mimicry emerges as one of. 政治大. the most elusive and effective strategies of colonial power and knowledge.” To Homi. 立. Bhabha, colonial mimicry is “the desire for a reformed, recognizable Other, as a subject of a. ‧ 國. 學. difference that is almost the same, but not quite” (p.126).. ‧. Darden (2015) states that “Colonial discourse necessitates that the colonized mimic the. sit. y. Nat. colonizer by adopting the cultural habits, assumptions, and values of the colonizer” (p.64-65).. n. al. er. io. However, the result of a “blurred copy” of the colonizer can be quite threatening as Bhabha noted. Bhabha (1994) assumes that. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Mimicry can never be a mere duplication, a mere imitation, because aspects of the colonized culture will always transform the colonizers culture into something new. Therefore, the “semi-mirroring” of the colonizing culture by the colonized contain elements of mimicry and mockery so that mimicry is at once a difference, a resemblance, and a menace (Bhabha as cited in Darden, 2015).. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(40) Lin29. 3. Research Method This research aims at understanding the perception of local Japanese audiences of the Taiwan and Japan puppetry co-production Thunderbolt Fantasy (TBF). Therefore, interviewees in this research will be local Japanese audience members who have already finished the first season of Thunderbolt Fantasy and thus conduct in-depth interviews on them, while providing specific images taken from the program, and will also cite comments from Japanese netizens.. 政治大. 學. ‧ 國. 立. 3.1 Individual interviewing. ‧. According to Gaskell (2000), a research interview is not a one-way process but an. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. interaction or cooperative venture. With ideas and meaning exchanged between interviewers. v. n. and interviewees, different perceptions and realities are thus developed and explored. A few. Ch. engchi. i n U. elements constitute the in-depth interview: One is that “it is a one-to-one conversation, a dyadic interaction” (p.45). Another is that “it lasts for over an hour and is between two previously unacquainted people” (p.45). The other is an unusual role relationship: “one person, the interviewer, is expected to ask the questions; the other, the interviewee, is expected to respond to them” (p.45). Moreover, the choice of the topic is on the interviewer, and “the interviewee may or may not have given it serious consideration beforehand.” (p.45). DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(41) Lin30. Gaskell also pointed out that the interviewees might not trust the interviewer due to the unfamiliar situation, so that it might “limit answers to what presumed to be relevant and informative” ((Grice, 1975) as cited in Gaskell, 2000). In order to counter this common tendency, the interviewers should “establish a relationship of trust and confidence, so-called rapport.” To achieve an interview by developing rapport, “interviewer’s form of questions, verbal and non-verbal reinforcement, and being relaxed and unselfconscious” are the key. 政治大. factors. Most important of all, “in the successful depth interview the personal worldview of. 立. the interviewee is explored in detail” (p.45-46).. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 3.2 Research Setting and Procedure. sit. y. Nat. Thunderbolt Fantasy successfully infuses Japanese culture into Taiwanese culture. As. al. er. io. the main focus of this thesis, in order to understand how Japanese TBF audiences perceive. n. v i n C h all intervieweesUin this research will be local this transnational puppetry coproduction, engchi Japanese citizens.. In addition, in this research, whether interviewees have been to Taiwan and whether or not they have watched Pili puppetry serials are not conditions of selecting interviewees. Some interviewees have watched Pili puppetry serials before watching Thunderbolt Fantasy but others haven’t. Some of them have been to Taiwan. Moreover, some of the interviewees. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(42) Lin31. know Chinese but some don’t. In addition, most of the respondents watched Thunderbolt. Fantasy on TV but one watched Thunderbolt Fantasy at online video streaming platforms. The interview questions are based on the elements appeared in Thunderbolt Fantasy. These elements including food, relationships, settings and character designs and so forth are selected because they might be associated with Japanese culture and even more they can serve as intermediate in order to probe into further thoughts and feelings of Japanese audiences about Thunderbolt Fantasy.. 立. 政治大. The research process will conduct individual interviews with pictures taken from. ‧ 國. 學. Thunderbolt Fantasy. Specifically, due to the language barrier that I can’t speak or fully. ‧. understand Japanese, a Taiwanese viewer of Thunderbolt Fantasy will be my interpreter. sit. y. Nat. during whole interview process, except for with one interviewee who can speak Chinese. al. er. io. fluently. Before start conducting the interviews, I will request all interviewees to authorize. n. v i n C hto use code nameUto state their opinions in this the use of their photos and their consent engchi Thesis. Overall, the interview process will consist of the following: First of all, I will introduce myself to the interviewee. Secondly, I will illustrate the idea of conducting this research. Third, I will start recording the interview conversation. Last, I will let the respondents understand that there is no right answer to these. questions; therefore, the interviewees can have a carefree conversation during the interview.. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(43) Lin32. Each interview will take approximately half an hour to one hour, depending on the replies of the interviewees. I will ask each interviewee questions based on pictures of Thunderbolt Fantasy. At the end of the interview, I will show my gratitude to the interviewees. After conducting individual interviews with my local Japanese interviewees, I will reorganize their responses according to different subjects or questions; however, their. 政治大. opinions might be paradoxical, conflicted or agreed with each other.. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(44) Lin33. 4. Analysis on Japanese (Netizens’) Audiences’ Reviews of Thunderbolt. Fantasy In the beginning, I tried to search online for Japanese audiences’ comments of Thunderbolt. Fantasy. I visited the official Twitter of Thunderbolt Fantasy, whereas, there were few audiences’ comments.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Figure 7. TBF Twitter Posts (Thunderbolt Fantasy, 2016). DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(45) Lin34. Due to few comments on Thunderbolt Fantasy official Twitter, I decided to look for other sources. However, my Japanese was poor so that I asked my Japanese friend to help me search other comments of Japanese audiences toward Thunderbolt Fantasy. I hope he could help me find more valuable comments and reviews. After searching online, he found some audiences showed insight on reviewing Thunderbolt Fantasy at Amazon JP Thunderbolt. Fantasy Blu-ray Disc sale merchandise pages rather than trivial opinions on online forums.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(46) Lin35. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學 y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. Figure 8. Replies of Japanese Netizens at 5ch (5 ちゃんねる, 2016). v. n. Hence, the sources of Japanese netizens’ comments of Thunderbolt Fantasy in the. Ch. engchi. i n U. upcoming paragraphs were acquired from Amazon JP Thunderbolt Fantasy Blu-ray Disc sale merchandise pages – volume 1 to volume 4. Essentially, the main criterion of selecting audiences’ comments and reviews was the discussion related to the glove puppetry performing styling and the specific observation and thoughts of Japanese Thunderbolt. Fantasy audiences. The irrelevant information such as commenting on the content of BD was excluded. In the meanwhile, the selected comments and reviews for analysis were also. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(47) Lin36. referred to other netizens’ voting – under each comment there was a question asking whether other website visitors found the specific comment was helpful to them or not.23 Most of the selected audiences’ comments were also those most voted. After the selection, the reviews were mostly based on volume 1. Indeed, the comments varied in different volume.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學 er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. v. n. Figure 9. TBF BD Vol.1 (Thunderbolt Fantasy Blu-ray Volume 1, 2016). 23. Ch. engchi. i n U. For more details, please see the print screen comments of Japanese TBF audiences in appendix. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(48) Lin37. Figure 10. TBF BD Vol.2 (Thunderbolt Fantasy Blu-ray Volume 2, 2016). 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Figure 11. TBF BD Vol.3 (Thunderbolt Fantasy Blu-ray Volume 3, 2016). DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(49) Lin38. Figure 12. TBF BD Vol.4 (Thunderbolt Fantasy Blu-ray Volume 4, 2016) In BD volume1 released on September 7, 2016, there were twenty two netizens’ comments in total. In BD volume 2 released on October 5, 2016, there were eight comments. In BD volume 3 released on November 2, 2016, there were only two comments. Last, in BD. 治政 volume 4 released on December 7, 2016, there were five comments. 大 According to the website 立 ‧ 國. 學. information, the positive comments were much more than those negative ones. In addition,. why did most audiences leave their comments in volume 1 rather than other volumes? I. ‧. guessed it was because BD volume 1 was the first released among all related products. Thus,. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. it must be most accessible by the netizens who have watched Thunderbolt Fantasy at Amazon. v. n. JP. Once the audiences finished watching the TV series of Thunderbolt Fantasy and wanted. Ch. engchi. i n U. to purchase its related product, it was naturally for them to find this webpage and leave comments if they would love to at the same time. In the following paragraphs, these selected Japanese netizens’ comments will be further analyzed and discussed in this chapter. Based on their comments, most Japanese netizens rated 5 star for Thunderbolt Fantasy. They are fond of this transnational glove puppetry coproduction for many reasons yet some negative opinions are stated in the meanwhile.. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(50) Lin39. According to the comments at Amazon JP, Japanese TBF audiences praises and are amazed by the performance of glove puppetry in Thunderbolt Fantasy.. (5 star) This Puppet Show Is Cool Flak18 2016/9/8 …If this work is an anime or it only applies CG (computer graphics). 政治大. in the work, I don’t think it is special anyway. It is because this is a. 立. puppet show so that it makes me feel like I am watching a live. ‧ 國. 學. musical in the theater… I don’t know the script writer, Gen. ‧. Urobuchi but I am astonished by the performance of puppets.24. Nat. al. er. io. sit. y. (Flak18, 2016). n. v i n (5 star) Beautiful FusionC with U Modern Technique h eTraditional n g c hArti and スター・ス・クリー・ム. 2016/7/11. …It is also stunning that blood splash when puppets explode, split up or head be chopped off. I just cannot help but spit take while watching these scenes. It can perform in this way because it is puppetry work. Also, the bloodiness shown in this work can be. 24. The original text of comment is in appendix. The following will be the same.. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(51) Lin40. regarded as one of its features. (スター・ス・クリー・ム, 2016). (5 star) Memorable and Brand-New Worldview 商売は情報！. 2016/8/13. “…It is valuable to have such “dynamic” work. Motions of glove puppets are brand new. It is impossible to find these movements on anime CG or a real. 政治大. person.” (商売は情報！, 2016). 立. ‧ 國. 學. According to 商売は情報！, he or she mentions that “Dynamic” shown by glove. ‧. puppets in Thunderbolt Fantasy is completely different from the presentation of anime and. sit. y. Nat. live drama. Based on my understanding, it relies heavily on how veteran puppeteers. al. er. io. manipulate the puppets and thus the puppets can move deftly and have life-like actions. In my. n. v i n CBunraku opinion, Japanese puppets especially U with that of traditional h e n giscquite h i similar 25. Taiwanese glove puppetry but with slight differences. Compared with the Taiwanese new style glove puppetry show such as Pili’s serials, the actions of puppets in Japanese puppet. 25. Bunraku puppets (文楽) are about one-half life size and each is operated by three performers: a principal. operator and two assistants. Strings are not used, but rather the puppeteers co-operate to maneuver the limbs, eyelids, eyeballs, eyebrows and mouths of the puppets, thereby producing life-like actions and facial expressions. The puppeteers are in full view of the audience, but are dressed in black to symbolize that they are to be taken as "invisible". The story is narrated by a single person, who also speaks the voice of all the puppets. (“Bunraku,” n.d.). DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(52) Lin41. shows are obviously slower and not so versatile. Therefore, Japanese netizens are amazed by the glove puppets’ performances in Thunderbolt Fantasy because they haven’t seen the puppets performed in a way beyond their imaginations. Even more, puppets are peculiar objects which can act like human and can convey the charisma of life and it can be felt via watching puppet shows. Puppet has a solid existence that anime character doesn’t have while watching the works. Thus, this might regarded as one. 政治大. of the reasons why Japanese audiences find Thunderbolt Fantasy attractive and interesting to. 立. them.. ‧ 國. 學. The versatile limbs movements and actions of glove puppetry surprise the Japanese. ‧. audiences. While Japanese netizens praise the life-like actions which glove puppets act out in. sit. y. Nat. Thunderbolt Fantasy, a netizen まーしあ reflects on the performance of Bunraku and. n. al. er. io. marionette and directly points out that it is impossible for these types of puppets to perform. Ch. as the gloves puppets do in Thunderbolt Fantasy.. engchi. i n U. v. (5 star) Beautiful Fusion with Traditional Art and Modern Technique スター・ス・クリー・ム. 2016/7/11. “…Puppets are beautiful and can do any action swiftly. It makes me feel luxurious…” (スター・ス・クリー・ム, 2016). DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.

(53) Lin42. (5 star) This Puppet Show Is Cool Flak18 2016/9/8 “Although the performance of puppets are a bit exaggerated, it suits them to a tee… I enjoy the fight scene where the male protagonist wields the sword in episode 1. I have never seen this kind of sword fighting in previous puppet dramas.” (Flak18, 2016). 立. 政治大. 楽しいは 2016/9/12. 學. ‧ 國. (5 star) I Demand Local (Classic) Voice Acting of Glove Puppetry. ‧. “…Analog (not presenting in digital) Puppets can do all kinds of motions. Nat. er. io. sit. y. and it is stunning.” (楽しいは, 2016). al. n. v i n C hwith CG and Puppet (5 star) Fusion e n g c h i U Show まーしあ 2016/8/21. …First of all, I think the puppets are way too beautiful. Also, the staff creates powerful pictures by the bloodiness made by wielding puppets without hesitation. It is impossible for Bunraku to be presented in this way. I don’t think the puppeteers of Bunraku will. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.IMICS.012.2018.F05.