University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Loneliness in Japanese media: empathizing with hidden outcasts in a stagnant society

(USC Thesis Other)

Loneliness in Japanese media: empathizing with hidden outcasts in a stagnant society

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content

Loneliness in Japanese Media:
Empathizing with Hidden Outcasts in a Stagnant Society

by

Jasmine Chang

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC DORNSIFE COLLEGE OF LETTERS, ARTS, AND SCIENCES
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(EAST ASIAN AREA STUDIES)

August 2023

Copyright 2023 Jasmine Chang

ii

Table of Contents
Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................ii
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Chapter 1: Masks...........................................................................................................................11
Chapter 2: Hiding ..........................................................................................................................22
Chapter 3: Death ...........................................................................................................................30
Chapter 4: Descent.........................................................................................................................42
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................55
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................62

iii

Abstract
Loneliness has become an increasingly prevalent issue in Japanese society with relatively
little success despite government efforts to address the issue. The primary goal of this research
paper is to study how loneliness is portrayed in a large sample of various media that centralize
loneliness in Japanese society and what the psychological consequences are from the perspective
of a nation where ostracization is intensified due to a rigid social structure. This issue is not
limited to Japan by any means; however, it is arguably perpetuated and worsened in the nation
because of constricting societal norms, making it worth researching for future application in a
broader context. Through analyzing various Japanese media, I aim to deduce how the themes and
patterns found in these depictions reflect the nuances of contemporary social issues in Japanese
society. It is imperative that more media addressing the topic of social isolation be brought to the
mainstream to help break the current pervasive and stigmatic outlook and normalize mental
health discussion in the near future.

1

Introduction
Loneliness is a palpable sensation that is ever present but difficult to describe. While
there have been countless definitions given in an attempt to portray this experience, none has
been typified as accurate since it is an intensely subjective psychological state of mind and varies
in intensity for each individual. In her 2021 book titled The Anatomy of Loneliness: Suicide,
Social Connection, and the Search for Relational Meaning in Contemporary Japan,
anthropology professor Chikako Ozawa-de Silva states what I believe to be the most apt
description of this analysis: “feelings of dissatisfaction that arise with regard to relationships to
others or to the environment.”
1
The author argues that “loneliness is actually a social issue” in
contemporary civilization and is common enough to be considered a “growing health
epidemic.”
2
She believes this to be the result of the systemic structure of modern societies
leading to a “lonely society” that intrinsically “makes people feel uncared for, unseen, and
unimportant.”
3
It is of utmost importance to name and define these concepts to better raise global
recognition of them. Otherwise, a society rife with solitary and ostracized people desperately
seeking companionship may lead to higher suicide rates and mental health disorders, which often
indicates a failing civilization. In this paper, I will predominantly analyze Japan because of the
way its unique cultural values arguably exacerbate the issue of social isolation and thus
epitomize the notions of a lonely society and nation.
As Japanese psychologist Saitō Tamaki succinctly proposes in his 1998 book titled
Hikikomori: Adolescence Without End, “withdrawal is a universal phenomenon, but the
particular form in which [it] manifests itself in Japan does have to do with Japanese or perhaps

1
Chikako Ozawa-de Silva, The Anatomy of Loneliness: Suicide, Social Connection, and the Search for
Relational Meaning in Contemporary Japan (Oakland: University of California Press, 2021), 16.
2
Ozawa-de Silva, The Anatomy of Loneliness, 2.
3
Ibid., 5.

2

even East Asian culture more broadly.”
4
Isolation is not specific to Japan; however, it is
undeniable that the nation has silently amassed a multitude of hidden outcasts and has frequently
received global attention in an effort to combat this growing crisis. Underneath the polite and
organized exterior resides a deep-seated sense of melancholy and weariness from years of
economic stagnation. The rigid notions of adhering to commonly upheld cultural standards and
hiding psychosomatic vulnerability for fear of being shamed by the community has had a
devastating influence on the collective psyche of Japanese citizens.
According to Saitō, “the contemporary educational system is a big part of the problem,
especially policies that place students in intense competition with one another while maintaining
the outward illusion that the students are all supposed to be equal.”
5
He believes that the origin of
the malaise in contemporary Japanese society lies in its education system and schools since it is
often where people are first taught social norms and is a common reason they withdraw
themselves due to being hurt by such cases as bullying or academic failure. It is here where
Japanese citizens are taught the intrinsic values of conformity, endurance, and discipline.
Students are exposed to the extreme pressures of society at an early age, thrust into a never
ending competition and studying to strive for the most prestigious opportunity available to them.
It typically begins with cram schools then transitions into colleges and professional companies.
Even after graduating school and swearing loyalty to a company, citizens are encouraged to work
long, grueling hours and to endure stressful conditions. Although the model standard of working
at an esteemed company was beneficial during Japan’s economic rise to dominance in the 80s, it
has since then fallen out of favor as the economy stagnated and modern changes led to

4
Saitō Tamaki, translator’s introduction to Hikikomori: Adolescence Without End, trans. Jeffrey Angles
(Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2013), xiv.
5
Ibid.

3

companies hiring more temporary workers instead of relying on a permanent workforce. With
little freedom in life and a burdensome variety of expectations placed upon each individual, it is
no surprise that suicide is a legitimate concern to the nation.
Cultural anthropologist Anne Allison’s research indicates that Japan’s suicide rate has
“[spiraled] to a troubling rate (of thirty-two thousand to thirty-three thousand deaths per year) in
1998, [and] has stayed high ever since, with the highest demographics being middle-aged men
and youth.”
6
Similarly, Ozawa-de Silva points out that a pivotal moment occurred in 1998 when
the suicide rate jumped by 47% from the previous year with an estimated 32,863 deaths.
7
In
2003, this number reportedly rose to 34,427, and the nation’s suicide rate “stood at 27 per
100,000” compared to the United States’ rate of 10.8.
8
In Japanese associate professor Junko
Kitanaka words, “[more] than 30,000 victims have been recorded annually for ten consecutive
years.”
9
According to the official Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) website, the latest statistic for Japan was 14.6 per 100,000 in 2019.
10
These observations
suggest that the highest suicide rates correspond with the aftermath of the economic crisis, and
have gradually stagnated to a relatively consistent amount in the following decades.
Ever since the economic bubble dissipated in the early 1990s, Japanese people’s trust in
their government and contentment in life have steadily waned as they come to the realization that
there has still yet to be significant changes in how the society is structured. They are stuck in a

6
Anne Allison, “Lonely Death: Possibilities for a Not-Yet Sociality,” in Living and Dying in the
Contemporary World: A Compendium, ed. Veena Das and Clara Han (Oakland: University of California Press,
2016), 664, https://www-jstor-org.libproxy1.usc.edu/stable/10.1525/j.ctv1xxwdf.46.
7
Ozawa-de Silva, The Anatomy of Loneliness, 53.
8
Ibid.
9
Junko Kitanaka, “Questioning the Suicide of Resolve: Medico-legal Disputes Regarding ‘Overwork
Suicide’ in Twentieth-Century Japan,” in Histories of Suicide: International Perspectives on Self-Destruction in the
Modern World, ed. John Weaver and David Wright (Toronto: University of Toronto Press Incorporated, 2009), 258,
https://www-jstor-org.libproxy2.usc.edu/stable/10.3138/9781442688247.15.
10
OECD (2023), Suicide rates (indicator). doi: 10.1787/a82f3459-en (Accessed on 11 June 2023).

4

set path of working hard to become proficient in a certain field, finding a decent job for their
talent, and having children with a married partner to begin the cycle anew. Failure to abide by
this notion leads to ostracization and shame as those without jobs or who have dropped out of
school are often ridiculed by the community. A large number of social outcasts today are the
consequence of the collapse of Japan’s economic prosperity shortly after its rapid growth in the
1980s. This period, referred to as the Lost Decade, denotes a time of extreme hardship and
uncertainty as “long-term economic stagnation and concurrent increase in irregular employment
(part-time and temporary work) affected not just the middle-aged, but also the younger
generations who grew up in the post-bubble economy.”
11
It appears the repercussions of this
period have immensely impacted Japanese society as a ripple effect occurred following the
abrupt systemic changes.
Allison notes, “...the guarantee of lifetime security and employment for those who
succeed at school…and are loyal and hardworking at their jobs…had been swiftly
destabilized.”
12
Following this absence of stability, the futures of individuals searching for
employment became uncertain. Thus, eventually leading to an Employment Ice Age where
applicants in the 1990s were seldom able to find employment and lost their window of
opportunity to work at an esteemed corporation forever. These unfortunate graduates, deemed
the Lost Generation, were then condemned to temporary low-paying jobs. As a result, there was
an abundance of people unable to find employment or who felt alienated by society, tending to
live with their parents and hide themselves out of shame.

11
Ozawa-de Silva, The Anatomy of Loneliness, 4.
12
Anne Allison, “Millennial Japan: Intimate Alienation and New Age Intimacies,” in Millennial Monsters:
Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006), 75, https://www-jstor-
org.libproxy2.usc.edu/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1ppk4p.8.

5

Allison analyzes the extent of this economic and cultural crisis further in the book Living
and Dying in the Contemporary World: A Compendium, arguing that “it is both the genesis and
degeneration of the postwar ‘family-corporate system’ that conditions the very specific form of
social precarity experienced by Japan and the Japanese today.”
13
The incongruous shift in the
social structure during this time potentially magnified the consensus of loneliness that is
increasingly felt in the present by casting aside multitudes of workers in rapid succession and
barring young graduates from corporate opportunities. Allison observes that “those who [were]
unproductive in an era of increasing socio-economic precarity [risked] being abandoned as
waste.”
14
Furthermore, failure to maintain the traditional stability once familiar to them – such as
through employment and marriage – has created an influx of youths “[lingering] as children in a
social limbo where they feel disposable and discounted.”
15
The lasting consequences of this has
led to an atmosphere of widespread sense of unease and uncertainty afflicting the nation.
While the deterioration of relationality continues and loyalty regarding family and
corporations diminishes, there is an increasingly apathetic resignation toward living and dying
alone, resulting in a zeitgeist in which loneliness and death are accepted as natural. Allison cites
the Japanese national broadcasting network (NHK) and identifies it as a “relation-less society”
(muen shakai) “where being isolated or disconnected from others has become chronic.”
16
The
affective mental impact that the economic stagnation had on the populace has become
progressively apparent alongside the palpable sense of disconnect from society. Coinciding with
this change is a surge in various negative phenomena that Allison denotes as “symptomatic of a

13
Allison, “Lonely Death: Possibilities for a Not-Yet Sociality,” 665.
14
Ibid., 666.
15
Ibid.
16
Ibid., 664.

6

state of social life today of increased loneliness and disconnectivity…”
17
In the author’s words,
“these behaviors— of disassociation, somehow, to some degree, and for some longevity, from
the world of other humans—signal a shift of the social as it has been organized in Japan’s recent
past...”
18

Recently documented examples of this include the peculiar manifestations hitherto
known as hikikomori and NEET (not in education, employment, or training). Hikikomori and
NEETs are now frequently used in the Japanese language today and have even garnered
stereotypical portrayals based on their sheer prevalence. Increasingly more people have
associated themselves with the two concepts since then and the issue has gained enough traction
to warrant government concern in the form of appointed Minister of Loneliness Tetsushi
Sakamoto and higher budget spending on mental health care. Despite this, the number of social
recluses is currently estimated to be in the millions and is gradually rising each year. Allison’s
findings from 2016 – when the scholarly novel she contributed to was published – approximates
that there are “as many as one million [hikikomori] in Japan today.”
19
NEET, meanwhile,
maintains “estimates of 2.5 million in Japan today.”
20
It is difficult to determine the exact
number of hikikomori and NEET due to their elusive nature and the general stigma surrounding
the terms, causing people to be ashamed to associate themselves with them. No matter how much
money and time is spent on addressing the problem, arguably nothing will change if the core
issue lies within the community itself.

17
Ibid.
18
Ibid.
19
Ibid.
20
Ibid.

7

In Ozawa-de Silva’s Anatomy of Loneliness, the author cites the Dalai Lama who asserts
that “focusing too much on material well-being, while neglecting the more human, emotional,
and social dimensions of well-being, is leading to increasing problems of anxiety, loneliness, and
loss of meaning.”
21
This may be widely applicable to modern society more globally, but I believe
it to be especially accurate for Japan. Based on video interviews of the socially marginalized and
Ozawa-de Silva’s documented accounts of suicidal youths online in Japan, it is apparent that “for
many young Japanese, meaning in life is tied to the ‘need to be needed.’”
22
The current method
for climbing the social ladder is arguably flawed as it judges people’s worth almost entirely on
their academic merit and offers a miniscule amount of time to sufficiently hunt for jobs after
graduation. This can feel dehumanizing as the citizens are treated as commodities rather than
human beings of varying interests and talents. It has led to an entire generation of adolescents
who have given up on life and either attempt to end their life or isolate themselves from the
world completely.
Companionship is necessary to reintegrate the socially withdrawn into society, but it is
difficult to establish meaningful connections with them without truly understanding their plight.
Even if one is regularly surrounded by friends, family, and colleagues, they may still feel lonely
since people’s perception of them still lacks empathy. Thus, these outcasts seek comfort through
methods such as suicide websites: a recent development where individuals form a virtual
community to proclaim their suicidal thoughts without fear of shame or judgment and to receive
validation for their sentiments. As shown in Ozawa-de Silva’s analysis of online suicide website
users, it can be far more harmful to simply tell a suicidal victim not to die for various reasons

21
Ozawa-de Silva, The Anatomy of Loneliness, 5.
22
Ibid., 216.

8

because it separates them and heavily implies that they are defective or wrong. On the other
hand, accepting that they feel this way and even supporting their decision can be reassuring as it
seems as if “their experiences [are] being authorized as legitimate.”
23

Isolation is often relegated to horror or drama in Japanese media. While these genres
have their own audiences, they may deter a number of viewers who are adverse to negative
forms of storytelling as they are often hard to watch for some. This becomes readily apparent in
the difference in popularity and reception to the works portraying loneliness in a relatively darker
setting and denouement compared to those that end in successful reintegration into society. To
spread the message to the greatest number of people possible, a lighthearted work with serious
undertones may be a formulaic component to reach the mainstream. A viral work revolving
around the impact of loneliness could shed light on the need for social change in both Japan and
the world if it is successful enough. I advocate for even more stories portraying the painful
reality of lonely individuals in Japan’s alienating society in the hopes that it may spark the
beginnings of social reform. Arguably, the people perpetuating the rigid notions of occupational
tradition must be exposed to media depicting the harmful consequences they can have on the
human psyche in order to raise awareness of how these beliefs silently erode the nation.
I believe that the most effective way of spreading awareness and understanding of the
existence of a ‘lonely and relation-less society’ is through the media. It is imperative that social
recluses be properly understood and empathized with on a global scale to not only tell a story but
to also offer social critique to a wide audience. By allowing the audience to experience social
isolation vicariously through the main character, they may become more inclined to social
change upon realizing the protagonist’s pain. Over the years, Japan has become a mainstay in

23
Ibid., 198.

9

global entertainment and visual media through creating a plethora of popular fictional franchises.
Thus, I will analyze various Japanese media in order to determine what patterns there are and
what these shared connections may imply.
Throughout the paper, I will compare differing scholarly definitions of loneliness and
perspectives on solitary social phenomena to the sample of media I review to see if there are any
correlations. I will begin the study by delving into the portrayal of masks in Mamoru Hosoda’s
2021 animated film Belle. The next theme to be discussed is that of hiding from society, which is
best exemplified by Hiroko Oyamada’s 2014 novel The Hole. The paper will subsequently
consider the differing depictions of lonely deaths in Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 2001 Japanese horror
film Pulse (Kairo) and Junji Ito’s 2004 horror manga Billions Alone. Afterwards, I will discuss
the idea of isolation inevitably leading to tragedy and mental decay, as shown in Inio Asano’s
infamous 2007 manga series Goodnight Punpun. I will conclude the thesis by delving into what
the subject matter prevalent in each of the media implies about the pernicious effects of current
Japanese societal values.
The factors currently giving rise to the growing crisis of loneliness in Japan have changed
significantly since around the 1990s. Looking at works made in the past 30 years or so may be
useful in identifying the primary issues conducive to this recent affective dilemma. The rise in
reclusive social phenomena and deaths largely associated with loneliness is indicative of a
feeling of hopelessness for the future after the companies started dropping their supposedly
lifetime employment. The loss of the promise of financial security and other socioeconomic
factors that permeated the Lost Decade is noted by psychologists such as Saitō to give rise to the
social phenomenon of hikikomori and NEETs when coupled with problems in the operations of

10

the individual family and a systemic failure to provide enough resources for the psychological
care of its citizens.
24

In this thesis, I will explore the ways in which loneliness and social withdrawal are
portrayed in contemporary Japanese media to examine the themes alongside the stories they tell.
By doing so, I aim to discern how this small sample of work reflects the cultural issues prevalent
in modern Japan that contribute to its crisis as a burgeoning lonely society. The importance of
observing these themes is to see if they may be applicable to Japanese culture as social critique
of an issue that is pervading the nation as well as the world at large.

24
Saitō, Hikikomori: Adolescence Without End, xvi.

11

Chapter 1: Masks
Masks are an essential aspect of Japanese culture, both metaphorically and aesthetically.
They are typically perceived as symbolic tools used to assimilate into society while hiding one’s
true feelings and imperfections. In the modern era, they are necessary to properly integrate and
are representative of a polite and obedient persona that belies an opposing sentiment. Because of
the intense pressure to conform to hierarchical standards, Japanese citizens are expected to
endure a strict work environment from their superiors. Outwardly showing disinterest or disdain
in response to one’s associates is generally shunned by the populace.
Although the phenomenon of hiding emotions out of regard for others is not exclusive to
Japan, it is heavily imposed by Japanese cultural values. Japanese psychoanalyst Takeo Doi
highlights how the concept of masks has manifested as an essential aspect of the nation’s identity
in the form of tatemae and honne. In his 1985 book titled The Anatomy of Self, the author opines:
In short, tatemae always implies the existence of a group of people in its background who
assent to it. In contrast, honne refers to the fact that the individuals who belong to the
group, even while they consent to the tatemae, each have their own motives and opinions
that are distinct from it, and that they hold these in its background.
25

Their interconnection is comparable to another concept that he discusses called omote and ura,
which refer to the face and mind respectively. He believes that “while tatemae appears in omote,
honne is concealed in ura,” and that they coexist in a “mutually constituting relationship.”
26

Essentially, they each play an equally important role for one to properly assimilate into Japanese
culture. The everyday usage of these concepts exemplify the importance of masks in Japanese

25
Takeo Doi, The Anatomy of Self: The Individual Versus Society, trans. Mark A. Harbison (New York:
Kodansha USA Inc, 1988), 36.
26
Ibid., 37.

12

society. The dichotomy between the two arguably contributes to the rise of loneliness amongst
the community because it inherently forces people to suppress their emotions to avoid
confrontation and judgment. As a consequence, it can be a struggle to form close connections
due to a lack of motivation to divulge one’s actual emotions or beliefs to others, especially if
they go against the perceived norm.
Tatemae reflects the mannerisms and appearance one uses towards others whereas honne
transcribes one’s genuine thoughts and feelings. Having one without the other will likely lead to
ostracization, as suggested in Takeo’s analysis of Natsume Sōseki’s Botchan and Mori Ōgai’s
Abe Ichizoku (The Abe Family). A person who exclusively showcases honne will be ridiculed for
not being complacent to societal rules and deemed childish. On the other hand, one who strictly
has tatemae may repel others from wanting to form connections due to their rigid demeanor as a
conformist. It is ideal to have a delicate balance between the two to best be considered as
“normal.” The author observes that, in relation to Japan specifically, “to be Japanese is to be
aware of the fact that things have an omote and an ura, and a person is not considered to be an
adult until he or she has grasped this distinction.”
27
As such, it appears that a mask formed from
the basic premise of tatemae or omote is necessary for anyone to participate in Japanese society.
The expectation of enduring the hierarchical structure and customs to prosper bolsters the need
for hiding one’s true self beneath it. If emotional repression and secrecy are essential parts of
survival in such an environment, then it is natural to assume that being exposed is akin to a
figurative death.
Naturally, the idea of concealing oneself to become a part of society in spite of the severe
mental repercussions is a conflict eagerly explored by Japanese creators. In his 2021 movie

27
Ibid., 33.

13

Belle, esteemed animated film director Mamoru Hosoda closely evaluates the concept of faces
and false personas, epitomizing the self-destructive nature of this cultural phenomenon. The plot
revolves around a young teenager named Suzu Naito, who finds joy in expressing herself by
singing in an online community referred to as “U.” Despite being relatively ostracized in real
life, she becomes confident and popular when under the guise of her beautiful online persona
known as Belle. The movie takes noticeable creative liberties with bringing to life these colorful
interpretations of every member, having scenes in the virtual world act as if they were actually
happening in its own realm. Though these digital manifestations parallel the emotions and
actions of the characters in reality, they are sometimes depicted as living entities themselves to
show how the cast is vicariously experiencing “U” through them. In a metaphorical sense, these
personalized portrayals are the physical embodiment of everyone’s masks: the facade they feel
that they must present to others to hide their true identities. The protagonist revels in the comfort
of veiled secrecy at first and quakes in fear at the idea of being exposed as the ordinary student
that she is to the entire world. Over the course of the film, however, she eventually learns to
accept her true image. The finale shows how the fear associated with unmasking is instead turned
into courage as she unites the entire online community using one final heartfelt song.
The film begins with immersing the viewer in the virtual world of “U,” an online
community of around 5 billion users consisting entirely of individualized personas named “AS.”
An enticing voice beckons the viewer, promising security and secrecy by saying “Come, it’s time
to start another life.”
28
We are then introduced to the enchanting woman named Belle, an alluring

28
Belle, directed by Mamoru Hosoda (Studio Chizu, 2021), 0:03:30,
https://www.max.com/movies/78c442ff-3421-4f41-991b-9bc1002d9a0d.

14

pink-haired singer. In “U,” she is a popstar Internet sensation; in reality, she is a plain short-
haired Japanese girl named Suzu.
Suzu lives a seemingly humble life, and she often traverses a beautiful and lush village
that appears almost abandoned. Her loneliness is palpable as she sits in the train alone with a
pensive look on her countenance. The bus transit is being discontinued and there are just a few
other people on the entire train. After a brief glimpse at her quiet abode at home, the audience is
then shown her interactions at school, where she also suffers the tedious routine of a typical
student. Her friend Hiro notably points out that in comparison to the popular student named
Ruka, who is pretty and talented, Suzu is “so ignored that people forget [she exists].”
29
It is made
apparent that the main character is a complete outcast in the real world and uses “U” as an escape
from the monotony of everyday life.
The tone of the movie shifts as the protagonist’s past is revealed. Initially, she had a great
childhood with a loving mother and father, but one rainy day a child is stuck on the river bank
during a raging flood. Suzu’s mother goes to rescue the child and sacrifices her own life to save
theirs in return. In doing so, however, her own child is left behind. Her relationship with her
father is noticeably strained due to the sudden severance with the parent she was most close to.
Suzu cries out in despair at her misfortune and wonders why she is all alone. Later on, at a
student karaoke night, her body language is visibly tense amidst the cheerful crowd of girls.
Although she is skilled at singing, she is uncomfortable with doing so in front of others. She then
screams out in agony and leaves after receiving intense peer pressure to sing, shocking the
others. Afterwards, she attempts to sing out in the open with no one around, but the snow makes
her choke. It is clear that she struggles to project her voice with confidence as a result of her

29
Belle, 0:06:23.

15

traumatic history, and she vomits over the bridge from anxiety. It is only when she is in “U” as
another person that she is able to sing capably.
Later that evening, she creates her account in “U” and expresses herself through singing
to her heart’s content. Her voice attracts the attention from those around her, yet they start
judging her appearance and song immediately, even telling her to stop. Nevertheless, her bold
action is recorded and goes viral overnight, which earns her millions of new followers. Belle
becomes controversial with half of the people liking her music while others merely criticize it.
As a result, a flustered Suzu revels in her secret alternate ego and becomes happier in real life
due to her success online. Back in the real world, she continues to struggle to connect with
others, hiding when singing in her choir and running away when her childhood friend Shinobu
holds her hand in public.
The audience is subsequently transported back into “U” during one of her virtual
performances. All of a sudden, chaos ensues as a draconic monster revealed to be the Dragon
turns the stadium into a battlefield. He is stated to be a hideous being that lives in “U,” holding
terrific power at the cost of the entire community’s contempt. His disheveled and bruised
appearance is accompanied by a vicious fighting style, as shown when he defeats the realm’s
defense system known as the Justices. The leader, Justin, refers to the monster as Beast and
threatens to use his light weapon to unveil his true identity in front of everyone.
The dichotomy between Suzu and the Beast is that the former takes action to appease
others while the latter does so to garner scorn. She and Hiro attempt to uncover more information
about the monster by analyzing his past opponents. One man they observe has bruise tattoos on
him similar to the beast. He is a model artist but he refuses to talk to them. Another woman they
track down posts stock photos of families and lies about her life online, posting the saying “I’ve

16

been hurt.” The final suspect is a professional baseball player who is rumored to be hiding a
violent side and is wearing a gentlemanly mask. They then look towards the news and notice two
boys being interviewed, with one of them saying the beast is his hero. The brown haired boy
looks listless while the other one in black is solemnly looking down. The setting returns to the
virtual world where Belle secretly tries to hunt down the Beast. She follows a Sea Angel AS to a
mysterious castle and encounters him, attempting to connect to him by song. Though they are
attracted to each other, the Beast is hurt by past experiences with terrible people and isolates
himself physically and emotionally.
Belle gets captured and interrogated by Justin, the supposed hero of “U.” He threatens to
unveil her by reversing the process of biometric scanning to project her real self. Interestingly,
being exposed is likened to death to the online inhabitants who thrive in secrecy. Justin
condescends to her, believing that she is nothing underneath the beautiful mask and that her fame
will dissipate the instant she loses it. The monster’s lair is soon discovered, with the threat of him
being unveiled. Despite everyone’s warnings, Suzu believes she cannot abandon the Beast. She
thinks back to the rude female suspect that fabricated her entire life online and wonders if the
monster is hurting just like her by projecting his insecurities and recoiling from inquisitive minds
because of his loneliness. Suzu scours the internet to find the monster’s true identity and
manages to do so when the brown-haired boy from the news interview sings the song she
performed for the Beast in private. On the livestream he records, it is revealed that the forlorn
boy alongside him from earlier is the actual identity of the Beast. The bruises he has are because
of the abusive father relentlessly tormenting the two brothers.
Kei, as the child in black is referred to, has grown bitter due to hearing people saying that
they will help him but never actually accomplish any meaningful change. He yells at the cast to

17

leave him to his fate and ends the stream. Suzu realizes that the only way to reach him at this
point is to sing to him as herself instead of Belle. When she hesitates in confronting her greatest
fear, Shinobu observes:
Though you didn’t mean to do it, you revealed him to the entire world. So if you keep on
wearing a mask, how do you expect to actually help him? And how are you supposed to
connect with him if you won’t even show him your true self?
30

His insight highlights how technology can be used as a means of deception, thus inadvertently
leading to a disconnect amongst the general populace. Although it is easy to interact with other
members of “U,” the users can freely fabricate details about their lives since the entire point of
its conception is to ensure social contact in secrecy. The movie showcases the subtle undertones
of mistrust within connections forged online due to the fact that it is difficult to determine
whether anyone is being truthful at any moment.
At this moment, Shinobu understands that Kei has no reason to trust her because she –
though genuinely concerned for his wellbeing – has chosen to solely present herself as Belle, a
stranger whom he has hardly just met. Her reluctance to reveal her similarly traumatic past
indirectly displays her lack of confidence in anyone online to accept her for who she actually is.
She expresses her true self when singing by using music as a conduit to form emotional bonds,
whereas Kei acts belligerent and fights to release his pent-up frustrations. Their experiences
mirror each other in the sense that they both vie for attention from their peers and become
subject to controversy internationally. It is the empathy Suzu feels for Kei’s suffering that fuels
her unwavering dedication to connect with him. In doing so, she finally understands why her
mother sacrificed herself to save a child, and she resolves to do the same.

30
Ibid., 1:31:02.

18

Her acceptance of the past allows her to move forward to focus on the present, instilling in
her the confidence needed to perform as her true self in front of the whole world. Encouraged by
her friends, she sings to the crowd unveiled and is impartial to their judgment. Despite initially
receiving jeers from anonymous naysayers, Suzu’s voice soon sways the majority and they begin
to sing along with her in turn. The song gradually unifies everyone present. In partaking of this
momentous bonding, the virtual community forms a heartfelt connection with each other - an
authenticity they were often deprived of unbeknownst to most. The final part recounts Suzu and
her friends working together to discover where the two boys reside in real life. Upon uncovering
the location based on the clues in the background of their past livestream, she journeys alone to
rescue them since the police are unable to legally enter the homes of residents until 48 hours
later. In the end, her efforts surprisingly prove successful as the father succumbs to remorse. The
film ends on a happy note with Suzu surrounded by a plethora of genuine companions and the
two boys spared from abuse at last.
Hosoda’s work employs a multi-faceted approach to the relatively modern phenomena of
social media-related loneliness using literal portrayals of masks. “U” is a futuristic interpretation
of the Internet where the conception of accounts are given corporeal forms. Interestingly, the
avatars are highly personalized to reflect the inner self of the user based on their “biometric
data,” which incorporates both appearance and personal information. Belle gains the image of an
alluring idol, as she is the personification of Suzu’s kind personality and hidden talent. Kei, on
the other hand, sees himself as a martyr to the physical abuse that he and his brother endure, thus
translating into a wicked and wounded monster. “U” is essentially an augmented virtual
landscape for people to socialize and congregate from all over the world. Under the guise of
anonymity, people are given the opportunity to completely escape their reality through adopting

19

an entirely different front. The virtual environment provides comfort to outcasts by serving as an
outlet for them to reveal their inner selves without consequence. The downside of this secrecy,
however, is that lies and rumors resulting from the deluge of unmoderated information can easily
spread online. It is difficult to discern one’s sincerity since anyone can falsify their livelihood
and present themselves as separate from what they are in actuality. Furthermore, virtual models
often show a heavily filtered version of the person – an ideal rendering solely consisting of the
attributes the user wants to display. As such, there is still a sense of detachment in spite of the
ease of access to social contact. The rampant duplicity constitutes a realm of deceit and
judgment, making it unlikely to form a genuine connection.
In a sense, the AS can be interpreted as virtual manifestations of an individual’s honne,
with “U” serving as a refuge to whoever seeks to dissociate from reality for a variety of reasons.
The irony is that the abundance of those projecting their innermost aspects of themselves
essentially reverses the roles of honne and tatemae in the film. The emotionally repressed side
constrained by societal norms rises to the forefront, and the mask that is used to blend into actual
society becomes the secret so that one can forgo accountability for their actions online. For
outcasts like Suzu and Kei, “U” allows them to convey their true feelings in a way that they are
unable to in real life. The drawback that Hosoda focuses on, however, is that the unspoken
confidentiality prevents the two from opening their hearts to each other and from forming a
connection beyond superficial acquaintances. The shame and secrecy they associate with their
current state of affairs begets dissonance between them, irregardless of how much they desire
genuine companionship. If Belle cannot accept herself as Suzu nor prove that she does indeed
identify with Kei’s isolation, then her concern for him simply amounts to false platitudes in his
eyes. Similarly, the boy must learn to admit his vulnerability to the protagonist so that he and his

20

brother can receive the help they need. They are afraid of disappointing their respective fans with
their ordinariness, which is why unveiling is analogized to a public execution. In trying to escape
their loneliness by experiencing the online community vicariously through their digital
apparitions, they remain isolated because of their crippling doubt. The end of the film is
powerful in that Suzu exposes herself in the face of her worst fear to reach out to a defenseless
Kei, allowing him to finally trust her for who she says she is. In doing so, she also accomplishes
demonstrating to everyone to be confident in showing what lies beneath the pretense.
Belle distinguishes itself as an allegorical facsimile of a modern technologically-mediated
society in the real world by framing U as a visual narrative device illustrating Internet activity in
an artistic manner. It notably portrays the influence of technology in an objective light, meaning
that there are both positives and negatives. In regards to the former, the characters are motivated
to engage with people online for various reasons, typically including but not limited to: social
interaction, escapism, and communication. U is romanticized as a safe haven, at first, for
alienated individuals to feel welcome, expressing their repressed side and channeling it into an
alternate ego of sorts. The thin veil separating material from virtual lets everyone bounce
between the two with ease. On top of this, the virality of social media allows talent that may have
otherwise gone overlooked to become famous in an instant. Much like the real Internet, however,
the convenience and utility of it comes with drawbacks as well. For example, anonymity enables
users to speak their mind unfiltered, subjecting anyone to unnecessarily harsh ridicule.
Furthermore, it is common to deceive others with falsified and cherry-picked information, which
can lead to implicit doubt and hostility towards online acquaintances. It appears the message
conveyed is that frequent communication does not automatically correlate to connection. In other
words, a lonely person can still remain as such even when interacting with the virtual community

21

since they may simply receive banal responses for their deep-seated personal inquiries. The latter
case is exemplified by Kei’s initially rigid reaction towards Belle, who herself is generally
misunderstood in U. A superfluity of followers encompasses these celebrities constantly, but
seldom does anyone bother to see beyond the well-constructed fallacy, like a withering plant
enclosed in ocean water.
The real life connotations that the film dissects is the necessity of masks in both the
Internet and contemporary society. The instinctive emphasis on secrecy and disguises in
Japanese culture, in particular, is examined from the perspective of the socially anxious
protagonist, Suzu. Her trauma with her mother mentally restrains her and she continues living a
quaint life in her rural village. Because of this, she has been ostracized by her peers, who see her
as aloof and strange. Suzu using U as a way to escape her reality is therefore relatable since she
is incapable of communicating her sentiments to people in real life. Her experience is not unlike
the outcasts in Japan addicted to social media and the Internet for the same reason. Even still, she
only manages to leave one lonely society for another that is similar yet different. Suzu may have
had her reasons, but she is just as culpable in perpetuating a deceitful environment by revealing
her inner self under a mask. She, like Kei, interacts with others on a surface level and flees when
someone tries to pry further because they are fearful of judgment and pity for their true, meek
forms. In the end, the audience learns from Suzu’s bold actions to not be afraid of revealing
one’s true self – one’s emotional vulnerability – to people for the sake of meaningful connection.

22

Chapter 2: Hiding
In Colette Balmain’s Introduction to Japanese Horror Film, the author notes that “to be
outside the group is considered as a metaphorical death.”
31
Lonely individuals will often isolate
themselves from society out of guilt because of the intense derision towards outcasts in Japanese
culture. As such, this notion reinforces “the oppression of the socially disadvantaged in Japanese
society.”
32
In extreme cases, this can take on the form of hikikomori where they stay with their
parents and live their lives in a continuous state of solitude. On a similar note, these parents will
typically try to care for their reclusive children in secret because they are ashamed of them.
Telling others would likely only result in the caretakers being blamed for such an undesirable
outcome. It is imperative to understand that seclusion can differ based on context. For example, a
man who willingly chooses to become a hermit in the mountains can be seen in a positive light
due to spiritual connotations. The solitary state discussed in this paper, on the other hand, focuses
primarily on the affect derived from being ostracized for various reasons. The implication in the
latter case is that these individuals were unwillingly cast out of society because they typically
either failed to live up to strict cultural expectations or suffered from an antagonizing
environment.
Japanese writer Hiroko Oyamada’s 2014 novel The Hole showcases the theme of hiding
through the eyes of its disgruntled and flawed characters. The main protagonist and narrator of
the novel is a young woman named Asahi Matsuura who is unhappy working long hours for little
pay as a temporary hire and is in a tepid marriage with a phone-crazed husband. The story begins
when her spouse, Muneaki, must go on a job transfer and his mother offers to let the pair stay at

31
Colette Balmain, “Techno-Horror and Urban Alienation,” in Introduction to Japanese Horror Film
(George Square: Edinburgh University Press, 2008), 174, https://www-jstor-
org.libproxy2.usc.edu/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1g09x15.16.
32
Balmain, “Techno-Horror and Urban Alienation,” 174.

23

an old house in the countryside for free. Though grateful for the help, Asahi wonders why the
mother never mentioned the house before and struggles to remember if it ever existed when she
went to visit.
A downpour begins on the day they move, as if forewarning their entry into an entirely
different world. Upon settling in, Asahi realizes that her new life is marked by boredom. Without
a job, she is confined to the house all day with nothing to do except wait for her husband to come
home. The monotony affects her mentally and she gradually begins to lose her sense of time. The
only constant she notices is her grandfather-in-law watering the garden regularly and the
incessant droning of cicadas around her.
Eventually Tomiko, her husband’s mother, asks Asahi to deliver a package of money to a
nearby 7-Eleven because she had forgotten it at home. Asahi relents but notes that it is
uncharacteristic of the usually meticulous and diligent parent. While walking on a path near a
river, Asahi notices a black animal of a species she had never seen before. The creature runs off
when the housewife approaches, but she pursues it along the riverbank. Her journey eventually
leads her to misstep and fall into a giant hole, which she notes is exactly her size. In the hole, she
takes in her surroundings and starts to notice the smallest details regarding the flora and fauna in
her vicinity. These observations ease her, and she begins to feel as if the hole was “made just for
[her].”
33
Interestingly, Asahi beforehand had felt unnerved and out of place after the sudden
move from the city to the countryside. It is only when she falls into the conveniently sized hole
that she merges with the environment and grows accustomed to the pastoral domain.
After failing to escape the hole, a stranger comes to help Asahi and introduces herself as
a neighboring villager named Sera. The housewife remarks on her white formal attire and is

33
Hiroko Oyamada, The Hole, trans. David Boyd (New York: New Directions Publishing, 2020), 29.

24

confused when she is referred to as “the bride.” After the strange encounter, Asahi arrives at the
7-Eleven and tries to turn in the deposit check but is surprised to see that there is not enough
money, which forces her to withdraw some from her own account. She tries to make her way to
the ATM only to see that the path is blocked by children covered in a sweet white powder.
Suddenly, a man walks into the convenience store and yells at the children to make way for her
to which they oblige. She then manages to draw out 24,000 yen and pay off the remaining debt
before returning to Tomiko’s household. The mother apologizes for the trouble but mistakenly
only gives Asahi back 4,000 yen. Although the narrator is shocked, she ultimately decides not to
object because she doesn’t want to be rude to the one who had given her a place to live for free.
She then makes dinner for her husband and speaks with him about the events that day to no avail.
The husband appears to only be interested in typing on his phone, neglecting the woman he
supposedly loves right before her eyes.
The next day, Asahi sees the black animal again and chases it through a hole in the wall.
On the other side of the barrier lies a decrepit shed and the man she saw in the convenience store.
He introduces himself as an estranged brother of her husband and is referred to as “Sensei” by
the children. He then admits that he had been living in the shed for the past twenty years and had
been practically disavowed by his entire family after choosing to live on his own away from
society. While he seems relatively good natured and jovial about his tragic past, he suddenly
becomes serious when he realizes he is considered a hikikomori. He tells Asahi not to mention
this chance meeting to their family, much to her chagrin. She then notices the black animal
hiding in a hole under a metal grill nearby and recounts the story of when she fell into one by the
river to her new acquaintance. In an instant, the man’s carefree attitude dissipates and Asahi

25

notes that “he looked almost offended.”
34
Sensei starts interrogating the woman on how it
happened and ridicules her for doing so, even mockingly comparing her to Alice in Wonderland.
Interestingly, in the midst of his rant on falling into holes, he admits to Asahi that she “[doesn’t]
belong there” on top of it being dangerous and pointless.
35
Afterwards, Asahi ponders why her
family kept this man a complete secret from her and feels betrayed. The brother offers to guide
Asahi back to the hole she first fell in as a sign of their friendship.
One day, on their way to the river, they both see their grandfather watering the garden
again. The moment the elderly man’s eyes land on Sensei, however, he loses his smile and goes
silent. The brother points out the continuous noise of the cicadas and mentions that when he is
listening to them in his shed, he can “almost feel like [he is] becoming one of them,” much like
Asahi felt when she was confined to the hole or her home.
36
The conversation shifts to the black
animal once again and the man discloses the fact that the creature is the one secretly digging up
holes everywhere. When asked why the problem is being ignored, the man retorts that “people
always fail to notice things” and that “most folks don’t see what they don’t want to see.”
37
This
may be referencing that in traditional Japanese society most outcasts like hikikomori are hidden
and covered up by the family, as if trying to overlook their failure to raise them. In this case,
Muneaki’s side of the family were so ashamed of their son that they pretended he didn’t even
exist, thereby refusing to acknowledge what they are disinclined to admit.
Asahi and her brother-in-law finally make it to the river and encounter some children in
the area. Once they tell the kids that they are searching for a hole, the unreliable narrator

34
Ibid., 56.
35
Ibid.
36
Ibid., 60.
37
Ibid., 61.

26

suddenly realizes that they are everywhere around them. The adolescents then begin playing and
jumping into the pits of varying sizes and shapes. While Asahi tries to find the one she
specifically fell into, Sensei starts guffawing at their antics almost hysterically and yells that he
will not go in any since there are no holes for him. Disturbed by the sight of the brother’s near
mental breakdown, she returns home and leaves him there.
One night during the Obon, Asahi wakes up to realize that her grandfather-in-law is
missing. She follows the sounds to see him leaving the house and decides to follow him outside
in the cold. On the way, she meets Sensei and he accompanies her to track down their elderly
family member. Eventually they find him fully immersed in a hole by the river with his head
sticking out. Asahi copies him and hops into a ditch, as if compelled by an unknown force.
There, she notices the black creature underneath her foot. Sensei does not join them and instead
wonders why his brother returned to live with such an abusive and oppressive family. He later
admits that he has been observing his family members from afar the entire time through cracks in
the wall. He asks Asahi to not blame his family for their actions and laments the fact that he
turned out this way. Before long, she and the grandfather get out of their holes together and
return home where the latter dies due to pneumonia soon after.
Asahi attends the grandfather’s funeral and adorns the casket with flower arrangements to
appease the guests and her mother-in-law. Afterwards, she searches the shed to question why her
brother-in-law refused to show up to such a momentous occasion; however, he is nowhere to be
found. The uncanniness of the novel comes to a climax as it is revealed that the shed has been
abandoned for quite some time with no traces of anyone discovering it. Despite this, Asahi finds
the white powder previously seen on the children scattered along the ceiling of the shed, which
suggests that the encounters with Sensei, the animals, and the kids were merely figments of her

27

imagination. Asahi’s story ends with an epilogue where she is preparing to go to work at the 7-
Eleven she visited before. Just before leaving, she looks in the mirror and sees Tomiko as her
reflection.
Isolation is symbolically portrayed through the usage of shelter, such as the titular holes
and the home where Asahi resides. It can be argued that these places denote conformity as they
offer security to those who still feel unseen despite being a part of society. It is only when Asahi
fits into her hole that she is able to connect with kindred spirits and appease her loneliness. The
novel appears to relay the cautionary tale of a woman who, instead of overcoming oppressive
gender roles, eventually succumbs to her new role as a housewife in the rural outskirts. It is
rightfully presented as a tragic downward spiral since Asahi relinquishes her freedom and
autonomy to appease her traditional relatives. Although she tries to be an active part of her
husband’s side of the family, they continue to neglect her and are rarely ever mentioned
throughout the novel. Without any children to take care of, her time is spent meticulously
observing the environment around her and fulfilling her homely duties. Where once she was the
one working overtime to labor for her husband, she now is a prisoner in her own home and
forced to live up to the oppressive expectations of a housewife. In the end, she ends up accepting
her life and resigning to being assimilated into the family. Fitting into the hole poetically seals
her fate in the countryside. The implication is that she is destined to follow in the footsteps of her
grandfather-in-law, doomed to a monotonous daily routine and working for a family that
disregards her until her death.
It is understandable why Asahi is disillusioned by their false formalities when having to
endure such a mundane lifestyle under the pretense that everything is perfectly normal. Even
though she is supported by supposedly loving individuals and is consistently told how lucky her

28

life is, she is still undeniably alone in the sense that she has no one who truly empathizes with
her. The protagonist divulges all her true thoughts and emotions in her inner narration but seldom
if ever states them out loud. Every attempt to try and communicate with someone emotionally is
thwarted by their disinterest, especially with her negligent husband. She thus partakes in a
journey similar to Alice in Wonderland by going down a literal rabbit hole to discover the truth
kept away from her by her loved ones.
The character of Sensei best embodies the hidden depth to the novel. On the surface,
everything seems normal; however, once Asahi encounters her hole by the river, she discovers
information about her family that exposes their hatred and turmoil underneath the compassionate
front. Sensei’s experience being completely cut off from his family and feeling guilty for
choosing to stay in the shed parallels that of the typical hikikomori, who live the rest of their
lives concealed in their rooms. In a way, both Sensei and Asahi are similar in that they are
imprisoned in their respective shelters and overlooked by their family members. The difference
lies in the fact that the former can no longer reintegrate into society and is alienated to the point
that his very existence is debatable. He is notably the only character to state that there are no
holes for him because he is incapable of conforming to the societal norms that he renounced. The
novel may be using the man’s tragedy in a metaphorical way to show how decades of loneliness
and neglect can lead to one essentially feeling as if they were erased from reality.
Hiding is used by the majority of the cast to keep up a facade of normality irregardless of
the destructive consequences. While Asahi conceals her emotions to keep peace with her step-
relatives, the brother-in-law hides himself physically to avoid negative confrontation with his
family. Despite his implicit desire to interact with the world again, he acquiesces to his demise as
a bizarre, vague apparition. Finally, Muneaki and his mother purposefully withhold information

29

from Asahi and never even mention Sensei’s existence in the entire story. The result of this
perennial mental warfare inevitably leads to a broken caricature of a family loosely held together
by traditional obligation rather than genuine care. Even when they all share the same household,
hardly anyone speaks with each other or knows basic facts about their personal lives. As such,
every single member is undoubtedly lonely, and will remain this way forevermore.

30

Chapter 3: Death
Death is the culmination of loneliness and the ultimate end for outcasts once they reach a
breaking point. In fiction, it is a powerful storytelling device meant to galvanize the characters
into action and to show the audience the full effect of mental deterioration. Meanwhile, it is a
serious and unspoken inevitability of all living beings in reality.
Suicide, as Ozawa-de Silva notes, is “not a rational choice made because it is the best
option in a difficult situation; it is a product of loneliness.”
38
The author discerns from her
research into comments by online suicidal victims that this desperation for solidarity and fear of
shamefully dying alone can even lead to the peculiar phenomenon of group suicides. The act has
traditionally been seen “as a form of corporate atonement” in Japan.
39
In recent times, however,
it is more often done to obtain a “painless death” because living without purpose or meaning is
too agonizing.
40
Younger generations tend to feel more disillusioned by the declining state of
affairs and uncertainty about their future, thus losing hope and taking on a passive, listless
attitude in regards to dying. For one to choose to take their own life reflects the failure of society
for being unable to either accommodate their independent needs or properly understand their
inner turmoil.
In Japan, there is a term known as the “lonely death” (kodoku-shi) where people pass
away in their homes and are left to rot without notice. Although it mostly happens to the elderly,
it can undoubtedly occur to anyone living perpetually alone. It is then left to specific cleaning
services to dispose of the body and purge the contaminated remnants completely. Some YouTube
channels, such as Fudōsan Tōshi no Rakumachi ( 不動産投資の楽待), showcase the state of

38
Ozawa-de Silva, The Anatomy of Loneliness, 69.
39
Ibid., 98.
40
Ibid., 92.

31

disrepair that the previous inhabitants lived in. Watching these videos elicits an absolute sense of
horror and disgust at the sheer amount of pestilence shown. In a 2020 video titled “Kodoku-shi:
Dying Alone in Japan,” Rakumachi records the events as they clear out the living space of a
solitary death victim.
41
Each compact room is densely filled with trash, magazines, rotten food,
and knickknacks. The piles of junk have been neglected for so long that insect colonies have
infested the vicinity and are seen writhing around as the camera pans along the floor. The
cleaners are forced to wear hazmat suits to avoid the stench of decay from the polluted
assortment that contaminates the air.
Underneath the victim’s resting place lies a black stain from his various bodily fluids, a
clear reminder of his tragic end. In some cases, the mark can seep heavily to the point where the
entire floorboard must be replaced, and the tainted earth shoveled. The documentary shows the
truth in a brutal fashion by forgoing any background music or narration out of respect for the
victim. It is a heartbreaking conclusion to a person abandoned by society. The fact that the rooms
deteriorated to such an extent proves that the man completely neglected his personal hygiene
while staying inside for weeks without end. It is unbearable to see such a lonely and painfully
slow demise because empathizing with him makes the viewer wonder how terrible his mental
state must have been to resign himself to wasting away in a putrefying prison. The image of the
black smear indicating the remnants of a once active person serves as a haunting metaphor for
the fleetingness of life.
In 2001, esteemed horror film director Kiyoshi Kurosawa released Pulse (Kairo) to
depict the growing reliance on technology and the affective malaise it contributed to. The story

41
Fudōsan Tōshi no Rakumachi, “Kodoku-shi: Dying Alone in Japan,” YouTube, September 27, 2020,
educational documentary, 0:00-27:59, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRDIgqd-Kvc.

32

takes place in the bustling city of Tokyo and revolves around the idea of ghastly apparitions
communicating with the human world through the use of machinery such as phones and
televisions. Eventually a mystery unfolds on a grand scale as more and more people go missing
and the ghosts start leaking into reality.
The movie begins with a woman named Michi visiting her friend Taguchi in his
apartment to check on him after disappearing for several days. Once inside, she greets him and
then goes to look for the disk he was editing for the shop they work at. Taguchi acts strange and
appears noticeably disheveled but Michi dismisses these details and he goes to another room.
The camera angle foreshadows Taguchi’s fate as the curtain in the forefront frames around his
upper neck. When Michi notices that her friend has gone silent for a while, she follows him only
to discover his hanging corpse.
Afterwards, she confides in her friends and seeks their companionship while they discuss
why Taguchi may have committed suicide. They ultimately decide to examine the disk he left
behind out of morbid curiosity. In it, an image of Taguchi eerily standing in front of his monitor
appears and they zoom in to find that there is a creepy face in the reflection of one of the
computer screens. Later that night, one of the coworkers named Yabe attempts to use the
internet; however, his computer soon becomes plagued with videos depicting rooms with lonely
and depressed people. The scene cuts to introduce another plot with two new people named
Kyosuke and Harue. Although the former is incredibly inept at computers, the latter is very
knowledgeable about it. The focus returns to Yabe as he receives a phone call soon after and
picks it up. Instead of a response, he simply hears someone whisper “help me” repeatedly with
the voice resembling his dead companion. Eventually, he chooses to go to Taguchi’s abandoned
apartment to confirm his suspicions and finds a note hidden between the computers that mentions

33

a place called the forbidden room. When he turns on the lights, he notices a dark stain on the
wall where Taguchi died that is vaguely in the shape of a human.
Soon after, Yabe comes back to the mark and finds his supposedly deceased friend
standing in its place. Before he can try and talk to him though, Taguchi disappears and leaves the
stain behind once more. Yabe then goes to an underground apartment area and sees a door with
red tape surrounding it. He decides to go in and encounters a ghastly woman slowly striding
towards him, which scares him immensely. The scene cuts to the two women, Michi and Junko,
at the shop they operate. Suddenly, Yabe comes in and immediately ignores them while
secluding himself in a nearby room. Michi checks on him but finds that he is now reclusive and
depressed.
The story returns to Kyosuke and Harue as the latter describes her computer simulation
modeling a miniature version of the world. The screen observes that if two dots get close
together, they die, whereas if they get too far apart, they are drawn in towards each other.
Interestingly, Harue compares them to humans saying that “people don’t really connect” because
“[they] all live totally separately.”
42
The slow and floaty movements of the dots are reminiscent
of specters. Following this, Kyosuke enters a library and sees a ghost boy. Another person
explains to him that the lonely apparitions are progressively leaking into the real world because
the realm of the spirits has a finite capacity. Yabe is shown once more as he speaks with Michi
about seeing a terrible face in the Forbidden Room and says he is cold. When she turns around to
look at him again, there is nothing there except for a disturbing black smudge on the wall.

42
Pulse (Kairo), directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Toho, 2001), 00:39:26.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTqiXJm_738.

34

Junko later enters a forbidden room and starts crying for help, which leads Michi to save
her from the impending attack. Ghosts subsequently appear more frequently in their daily lives
as a result. Harue and Kyosuke are shown on screen again with them both looking at monitors in
the former’s room. The former then goes into a lengthy exposition about the ghosts. She reveals
how she had always wondered what it was like to die ever since she was little and turns on the
monitors depicting men in their rooms. Pointing to them, she tells Kyosuke that these lost souls
are no different from the ghosts. The spirits are not killing people, but instead trapping them in
an eternity of their own loneliness.
Junko, following the ghastly encounter, begins behaving like a recluse. In her room, she
reaches out to Michi and asks her if she will simply just die like this. Junko’s final words are “I’ll
just keep on living, all alone…” as she disintegrates into a black stain before Michi’s eyes. Going
back to Harue and Kyosuke, it appears that the world is practically empty as people have gone
missing overnight. The girl leaves him alone and goes back to her room. On one screen, she
witnesses a man with a black bag over his head shoot himself in front of the camera. His room is
dark and has “help me” written along the wall in the back of the room. She sees the videos of
lonely people in their rooms and suddenly sees the back of her room on one monitor coming
from the closet. The camera angle in this scene comes from behind, making the audience take the
form of the invisible presence. She slowly walks towards the camera itself, picks it up, and
smiles saying she is no longer alone.
Kyosuke later returns and desperately tries to salvage his and Harue’s relationship by
offering to live with her, but it is too late. When he finds her, she is reduced to a stain. The man
then goes outside and realizes the entire world is now completely abandoned. He walks around
the barren landscape and finds Michi, who decides to leave with him. They choose to look for

35

Harue since they cannot fathom the ghastly phenomenon and the end of their reality as they
know it. Their journey brings them to an empty factory where they meet Harue but she shoots
herself in the head out of despair. Near the end, Kyosuke enters a forbidden room as if in a trance
and encounters a terrifying ghost who tells him that death was eternal loneliness. He escapes and
passes by the resting place of Harue, which has left a stain. The film ends with Kyosuke and
Michi resting in a boat together and closing their eyes as they travel to somewhere far. As Michi
narrates how being alone with her last friend allowed her to find happiness, Kyosuke’s body
silently withers away.
The apocalyptic scenario indicates the inevitable outcome of succumbing to loneliness.
The most notable aspect of the movie is the fact that the fate of the humans is eerily similar to
that of lonely deaths. As Allison notes in her observations of the phenomenon, “To be alone in
life continues then into death.”
43
The film visually encapsulates this by using the imagery of the
black stains on the wall to symbolize both the victim’s inability to escape their room and their
isolation corroding their will to live. Even as ghosts, the people call out for help using virtual
technology as a medium to connect with the city folk. According to Balmain’s analysis of the
film, “The ghosts within the machine, sucking the life out of its victims, are clearly a metaphor
for the centrality of disconnection amongst the younger generation in Japan.”
44
Although the
internet can be utilized as a way to connect with others online, it can also amplify the already
present feelings of alienation. The people shown in their rooms doing nothing is the kind of
lifestyle that technology can perpetuate due to its increasing versatility. While hikikomori used to
be limited in ways to stimulate themselves, the introduction of the computer allows them the

43
Allison, “Lonely Death: Possibilities for a Not-Yet Sociality,” 667.
44
Balmain, “Techno-Horror and Urban Alienation,” 183.

36

means to completely cut off from the real world by immersing themselves into the virtual one. It
is clear that they feel the need to escape and forget their current situation.
Nevertheless, ignoring the pains of chronic loneliness can have dire consequences. As
mentioned in the film, humans instinctively seek each other’s company but are repelled away by
the societal factors perpetuating a lack of connection and empathy. Japanese culture ingrains the
desire of conformity into its citizens but unknowingly harms them through repressing their true
feelings to maintain the norm. Everyone begrudgingly abides by the standard expectation to
work hard for one’s company and to avoid conflict because those that do not are publicly
lambasted. To community-driven beings like humans, social rejection is akin to death. To avoid
being hurt, people live their lives separately and without emotional intimacy, accepting that this
worsens the pain. They are ultimately afraid to speak out against the cruelty due to this intense
desire to be seen as normal.
In the film, the dark implication is that the accumulation of people who perished feeling
ostracized and unsatisfied became so great to the point where it overflowed into the surface
realm and slowly condemned like-minded people to a numbing purgatory as well. Since
everyone felt lonely to some extent, the entire world population vanished. The grim reality
shown is the truth in how contemporary Japanese society affects outcasts. Even though they
yearn for connection with others, in some cases they have no one willing to care for them and
thus have their existence ignored entirely. This realization and acceptance over the years numbs
the victims to the dull pain of depression and despair, causing them to neglect their own health.
Their listless attitude in regards to dying originates from the fact that their life means nothing at
all in the midst of a bustling and uncaring society filled with adults working tirelessly out of
necessity.

37

An interesting aspect is the way that the film portrays the usage of technology. Though
the Internet may be generally used as a tool to socialize with others easily, Kurosawa shows the
downside to its widespread accessibility through the depiction of blank-faced specters.
According to Colette Balmain’s research, Japanese Methodist minister Yukio Saitō, who was the
instigator of Japan’s first suicide hotline, suggested that the high suicide rates in the nation
amongst the young stem from the disconnection between people as a result of mobile, Internet
and other technologies.
45
The permanent integration of these influences into society has led to a
particular form of modern loneliness, “where nuclear families occupy the same home but
scarcely communicate, where dating and friendships are negotiated on the tiny screens of mobile
phones, and where the phenomenon of shut-ins is total, housebound seclusion has become
endemic.”
46
As such, social recluses now no longer need to bond with people in reality because
these tools can provide endless entertainment and online interaction. The added anonymity and
freedom of the digital world allows people to say whatever they want and to take on a false
persona without much consequence. It is clear that virtual ties are incapable of replacing genuine
ones for some people since it is difficult to discern the authenticity of someone’s interest through
mere comments.
In the film, it seems the ghosts communicate with the real world through technology in a
desperate cry for help to be seen by anyone. Using the Internet as a means to satisfy the desire
for connection is similar to real life where people visit various websites to participate in an
online community. Harue, who understands the numbing state of being lonely, finds comfort in
these kindred spirits and embraces her fate believing that she is no longer alone in her misery.

45
Ibid., 180.
46
Ibid.

38

Her character is comparable to that of individuals on suicide websites being relieved at receiving
affirmation for their feelings from like-minded peers. In an ironic twist, the most technologically
knowledgeable and extroverted worker is also shown to harbor feelings of loneliness.
Death as a theme shows the failure of society to comfort those hidden away past each
door in the city. By overlooking this issue, the people are doomed to suffer each day enduring
falsities until the day they cease. Furthermore, it is normalized to endure and overlook such
injustice, meaning that the majority will typically continue to try moving on with their life
instead of collectively rebelling to bring awareness to the cause. Even in the works discussed
thus far, attempts for communication are almost always thwarted due to the acceptance of the
deep-seated melancholy. There have been no solutions shown since the problem is rife with
complexities. Loneliness heavily corresponds with the loss of will to live, and the more people
fail to acknowledge or understand these shamed introverts, the more they will die thinking there
is absolutely no place for them in this world.
While Pulse visualized how people can disappear from loneliness, horror-meister Junji
Ito shows that people would rather die together than be by themselves in his short manga Billions
Alone. The story offers a scathing social critique of Japan’s predicament with loneliness and uses
the prospect of a world-ending scenario to metaphorically showcase the sentiments of its
denizens. Repressed aspects of humanity are displayed in its entirety as the humans are
powerless to stop their reality and civilization from collapsing. Similar to classical Lovecraftian
tales, it is a bleak depiction that combines horror and mystery to enthrall the reader and to ensure
the message conveyed stays with them long after.
The comic begins with a morbid drawing of a deceased couple stitched together naked in
a river. It soon transitions into a bedroom where a young hikikomori named Michio is watching

39

the news discussing the details of the discovery. His mother suggests that he go to his school’s
coming-of-age ceremony and class reunion since he had been confined to his room for seven
years at this point. He rejects the idea at first until he remembers a girl named Natsuko Horie
who stood up for him when he was being bullied. Suddenly, his radio broadcasts a song
repeating the phrase “billion’s alone” and encouraging everyone to come together as friends.
Michio scoffs at the idea and thinks to himself that being alone is the only way to live.
Later, Natsuko comes to visit Michio in person and asks him to lunch with friends, to
which he reluctantly agrees. At the cafe, the school friends discuss their careers and their future
plans. Michio feels out of place since they indirectly mock him for being unproductive and
decides to leave upon hearing that Natsuko is getting married to another man at the table as he is
secretly smitten with her. There is a commotion outside of the cafe and he approaches to see
more dead bodies stitched together. A plane flies overhead to drop a plethora of flyers
advertising to join the Billions Alone Club.
As the number of predominantly young people disappearing rises, the government
suspects that the Billions Alone group is a murderous organization targeting those in large
gatherings and advises against communion from this point forward. Despite this, the school
ceremony still takes place with an increased amount of security. Natsuko and Michio briefly
attend but soon realize that everyone has mysteriously vanished. In an instant, around 500
people, including Natsuko’s fiancé, are found attached together like a quilt along the forest
nearby.
The two protagonists then isolate themselves in their rooms and call one another for
comfort. Natsuko is heartbroken by the deaths of her friends and fiancé, stating she is so lonely
that she wants to die. Michio agrees to meet with her to keep her company and is overjoyed

40

seeing military fighter jets pursuing a hijacked plane throwing leaflets below. Filled with
renewed confidence and hope, he runs over to Natsuko’s house and plans to confess his love for
her. When he finally arrives, though, he is greeted by a terrifying scene: the girl in question is
mindlessly stitching her own parents’ corpses together with a smile, as if in a trance. As Michio
looks on in horror, Natsuko hums the Billions Alone song to herself while the final panel shows
the fighter jets dropping flyers overhead.
Much like Pulse, loneliness is depicted as a harrowing departure that corrupts people both
physically and mentally into a state of despair. It is an inevitable and hopeless end that serves as
an ominous premonition for the future of the world so long as nothing changes. Where the two
works differ is in the characters’ reactions to the all-consuming plague of loneliness. Kurosawa’s
film has tragic overtones since everyone fades out of existence like shadows, doomed to spend
eternity alone. In comparison, Junji Ito’s manga has surreal elements where the characters act
irrational and almost maniacal to emphatically convey the moral of the story. When faced with
the likelihood of her demise, Natsuko decided without hesitation that she would rather die than
forgo human interaction for the rest of her life. Even Michio, who felt accustomed to being
alone, was readily willing to join her out of love in spite of the horrific consequences. The act of
dying with loved ones is, in a twisted way, intimate and reflects the sentiment that lonely
individuals desperately crave companionship. Being condemned to perpetual solitude is a fate
worse than death for some. This belief is reminiscent of the ones expressed on Japanese group
suicide websites.
As Ozawa-de Silva observed in her 2021 book The Anatomy of Loneliness, suicidal
commenters on these sites “want to escape the pain of loneliness and absence of meaning in this
life while remaining in connection with another person or persons, because to die alone would be

41

too painful.”
47
The fear is magnified by the fact that dying alone in Japanese society is heavily
stigmatized as it is a cultural imperative for family members to be present when a person dies.
48

In a poetic sense, such a death is considered the epitome of failing in life and essentially means
that one’s existence amounted to nothing in the end. Unable to make an impact on the world,
they pass away in misery and uncertainty about ever being remembered. The finality of this
demise is devastating to imagine, especially since the bond between family and succeeding
bloodlines are heavily emphasized in Japanese culture.
If those who are lonely instinctively seek relationships of any kind to avoid a shameful
end, then perhaps their plight can be eased by a good rapport with someone who truly
understands their feelings. Both the horror media discussed appear to be introspectively
critiquing Japanese society rather than the individuals for dissolving the traditions of a close-knit
community with groupism and competition. Anyone not part of the general collective and
actively working to be productive is ostracized and severely judged. Meanwhile, even characters
who are surrounded by people daily still feel lonely because they are missing a purpose in life
and a genuine connection with others.

47
Ozawa-de Silva, The Anatomy of Loneliness, 96.
48
Ibid., 94.

42

Chapter 4: Descent
The theme of descent is prevalent in works that explore the full effects of loneliness on
the mental state to showcase how much of an impact it can have on a regular person. It is often a
tragedy depicting the progressive mental degradation of the protagonist as their life spirals out of
control due to a combination of unfortunate occurrences and harmful decision-making. By
experiencing the story through the main character’s perspective and reflecting on what led to
their downfall, the audience can learn to empathize with these characters in both fiction and in
real life. As stated before, social isolation can inadvertently exacerbate psychological disorders,
causing a cycle of repeated torment.
A worst-case scenario is when the victim withdraws further while continuing their self-
destructive habits, forgoing any opportunities to recuperate. If the hikikomori state “almost never
naturally resolves on its own,” then it is highly likely that the same logic applies to other
negative conditions.
49
One’s penchant for using harmful drugs, being afraid of social interaction,
or hiding vulnerability, for instance, will be nearly impossible to overcome barring external
interference. Saitō Tamaki argues that this makes the withdrawn state like an addiction since
pathological behaviors give rise to new conflicts.
50
Without the attentive care of family or
friends, victims of social withdrawal can easily go on a downward spiral that inhibits their
participation in society.
One contemporary work that portrays how loneliness can cause one’s life to deteriorate
into insanity and misery is Inio Asano’s manga series Goodnight Punpun. The comic ran from
March 2007 to November 2013 and features seven volumes with a total of 146 chapters. The

49
Saitō, Hikikomori: Adolescence Without End, 23.
50
Ibid., 85.

43

most notable draw is the peculiar usage of visual juxtaposition to tell the coming-of-age story of
an average Japanese boy named Punpun Onodera. Although the protagonist and his family are
portrayed as white bird-like cartoons, the world they inhabit and the people that surround them
are drawn in excruciating detail. This is shown to be a narrative device for the reader to better
understand and empathize with the main characters since they appear human to others. Despite
the simplistic appearance of Punpun, the cover is merely a ruse that belies the mature undertones
of the manga. The manga, in actuality, is a seinen series that primarily targets young men as the
main demographic.
Throughout the novel, the form of Punpun changes to reflect his mental state and age. In
the beginning, he is shown as a white bird reminiscent of a child’s drawing to indicate his naive
outlook at that point in time. Near the middle of the manga, however, he becomes a gray
tetrahedron with a sideways face as a young adult. His final form is that of a tall and black bull-
horned figure, a reflection of how he views himself after committing a terrible crime in the
story’s denouement. This gradual psychological degradation is characteristic of numerous media
where the main character is ostracized, such as Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human written in
1948 and Kobo Abe’s 1964 book The Face of Another.
In 1918, Haruo Satō poetically detailed the lonely lives of villagers in his fictional work
titled The Sick Rose: A Pastoral Elegy. The novel mentions that the most necessary thing for a
normal person who feels themself lonely is to seek a person of the opposite sex: a motif that is
best exemplified by the motives of characters in Goodnight Punpun.
51
It is undeniable that love
or intimacy can serve as a potential solution to loneliness in a densely populated setting so as to

51
Haruo Satō, The Sick Rose: A Pastoral Elegy, trans. Francis B. Tenny (Honolulu: University of Hawaii
Press, 1994), 23.

44

form a genuine connection, as observed by psychologists such as Saitō Tamaki. The genius of
Inio Asano’s twisted Bildungsroman is its subversion of expectation of the slice of life genre.
Despite starting off as a typical romance, the themes of descent and corruption slowly come to
fruition.
The story begins with Punpun as a little white bird caricature in elementary school. He is
one day introduced to a new student named Aiko Tanaka, whom he gains a crush on
immediately. While the story initially presents itself as an innocent romance, there are surreal
bits of comedy interwoven throughout with the usage of grotesquely exaggerated facial
expressions and adults acting bizarre. It becomes readily apparent that the fictional world they
inhabit is meant to be a satire of reality.
The outlandish setting is soon contrasted by the realistic and serious subject matter, such
as when Punpun comes home to see his mother beaten on the ground later with his father
denying involvement. From this, the audience can deduce that the cartoon visuals from the
protagonist’s perspective are meant as a subconscious coping mechanism for him. After the
accident hospitalizes the mother, the child is left to the care of his uncle Yuichi Onodera, who is
a pessimistic misanthrope.
Despite the uncle’s inherent hatred for humanity, he is supportive of Punpun’s
individuality and serves an important role not only as his closest relative, but also his most
positive adult role model. Although he occasionally sees his father again, the man is unable to
return home with his son and becomes an absent figure alongside his recovering mother. Lastly,
his attempts to communicate with his uncle end in failure because of the man’s pessimism as a
result of his past experiences. Yuichi’s blunt approach visibly discomforts the protagonist and
disillusions him of his romantic outlook on life. Thus, he conjures a manifestation in his mind he

45

refers to as “God” and uses a chant taught to him as a child by his uncle that is meant to summon
the figure whenever he feels lonely. In reality, it appears that this serves as a method of coping
with his emotional isolation.
One day, Punpun and Yuichi receive a visit from Aiko and her religiously fanatic mother,
the latter of whom attempts to sell water bottles at an exorbitant price. The two adults begin to
argue, and when the two children’s eyes meet, Aiko becomes embarrassed by the commotion and
runs off with Punpun chasing her. She cries and makes a promise with Punpun that they will go
to Kagoshima together in the future so that Aiko can escape her abusive household. This one
moment lingers with Punpun for the remainder of the series.
In the second volume, Punpun sees Aiko is dating another boy named Yaguchi and
becomes plagued by envy and sadness. He constantly thinks about their relationship and hopes
for their misfortune out of spite. As this is happening, his mother is discharged from the hospital
while his father sends him handwritten letters. One day, he meets Yaguchi outside of school by
chance, which ends with them betting on Aiko’s love depending on the outcome of the next
badminton match. If Yaguchi defeats his opponent, then he gets to keep her whereas losing
would allow Punpun to confess to her. The day of the match arrives and Aiko speaks to Punpun
on the sidelines about her thoughts on romance. She reveals that she is willing to give up her
entire life to be with the one she loves and awaits just one person who knows her with “perfect
comprehension.” She then states that she cannot be with Yaguchi because he is not willing to
devote his life to her as she would for love.
Punpun holds her hand but mentally has intense inner turmoil. He eventually decides to
reject the facade of being a good person and take his chance with Aiko despite feeling guilty for
betraying Yaguchi. In his mind, he embraces the depravity and lust he had been repressing up

46

until now and acknowledges that this is the beginning of his metaphorical descent into darkness.
The match concludes with Yaguchi losing due to a foot injury; however, Punpun ultimately
refuses to go to Kagoshima with Aiko, instead telling her to comfort her boyfriend out of
sympathy for him. He returns home to his family feeling empty and despondent while they
socialize around him. The atmosphere becomes welcoming with Yuichi and his newfound
girlfriend Midori getting along with Punpun’s mother. Nevertheless, the protagonist’s failing
lovelife affects him mentally to the point where he no longer cares about the minor positives in
his youth.
Volume 3 begins with Punpun as a third-year middle school student finishing his high
school entrance exams. In spite of him being a smart and diligent student, he thinks nothing of
academics and states that he heavily desires sexual intercourse with a woman. Later on, Yuichi
has an affair with another woman, which leaves Midori distraught. She initially sleeps next to
Punpun for comfort, but her interactions gradually become more treacherous and predatory until
it inevitably ends in sexual assault. Punpun is left mentally traumatized and immensely repentant
post-coitus for doing so with someone other than Aiko. In the end, he decides to bottle up his
emotions and tell no one.
Time passes, and he eventually tries to move on with his life, but he cannot deny his
near-constant feelings of despair and emptiness. It is clear that he is suffering from the aftermath
of traumatic experiences and feels ostracized because he neither has anyone to talk to about it nor
one who can empathize with him. This all culminates in bitter self-hatred for himself and for
humanity. Following this, his mother goes to the hospital again for breathing issues and admits to
why she loathes her only son after befriending a passerby.

47

Essentially, she believes that Punpun and her are unable to truly understand each other
even if they see each other’s pain because there is no true desire to connect from either end. So
long as they continue to be distant, their loneliness will never be filled. As she lays in her
hospital bed awaiting surgery, she laments that there is no one who needs her and cries bitterly.
The volume concludes with Punpun finally visiting his mother at the hospital. She is left
weakened and dying after the surgery and imparts her final words before passing away. Despite
her saying that she loves him and expressing remorse over her abusive personality, Punpun
admits that he could not reciprocate those emotions for his mother even until the very end.
Volume 4 begins with the protagonist finding out that the letters from his father had been
fabricated by his mother the entire time. Later, the man shows up after years of negligence and
radio silence, trying to pretend that nothing happened. Punpun is understandably emotionless as
he speaks with the one who had abandoned him since childhood. When his father offers him to
live in Fukushima together, he instead declares that he wants to live alone. Afterwards, he
purchases a studio apartment for himself and reflects on his situation. A glimpse of Aiko in the
city leads to him having suicidal thoughts upon realizing how nothing in his life had changed in
the past few years. He takes action by getting a job at a grocery store, but dejectedly thinks that
he is drifting through life and losing time while accomplishing nothing. Comparing himself to
the previous tenant, who died of loneliness, he feels that he will succumb to the same fate and
yells in despair.
This epiphone of anguish transforms his perception of himself as a cartoon bird into that
of a plain white pyramid. His new form is far less expressive than the old and obscures his
emotions, which prevents the reader from connecting with him. In the context of the story, it is
likely that this metamorphosis shows how the redundancy of his daily life has negatively

48

impacted his worldview and gradually led him to suppress his sentimentality. The pyramid is
suggested to be a visual representation of how he feels as an adult: simple, trapped, and
impassive.
One day, he amicably converses with a woman named Sachi Nanjo at a bar but passes out
from drinking. He wakes up to find her sleeping at his apartment and is embarrassed. The two
have a heartfelt moment with Sachi revealing her dreams of being a manga artist and explaining
why she tries so hard to pursue her dreams. While she used to be a dejected and ugly individual
during her school years, she used that ostracization to change herself for the better. She strictly
believes in discarding the past and is determined to accomplish her ideals through hard work and
dedication. Punpun resonates with her due to their similarities and she resolves to help him by
pushing him to be more proactive and confident. Her efforts galvanize him into getting a full-
time job as a manga artist and they soon begin a relationship, which subconsciously helps him
move on from his obsession with Aiko and his childhood.
Volume 5 begins with Punpun and Sachi's story for their manga being rejected because of
its depressing premise. The protagonist subsequently becomes reclusive as a result of feeling
inadequate and useless in comparison to someone like her. Then one afternoon, as he is perusing
a clothing store, he happens to come across his first crush, Aiko. Punpun initially tries to act
overly confident and lies about being successful to avoid seeming pathetic in comparison to
someone he assumed was already accomplished. But after Aiko rebuffs his sexual affections, he
runs off and meets back with Sachi. It is then that a shocking revelation occurs: Sachi has
decided to abort the baby she had with her ex-husband, all of which went completely
unmentioned. Punpun is visibly shaken and yet he reluctantly promises to visit her in the
abortion clinic in the near future.

49

It is later revealed, however, that Aiko had also lied to her peers and that she still lives
with her mother with the hopes of escaping to Kagoshima one day. The sad reality is that neither
of their lives had changed since they were children. Punpun and her subsequently have
intercourse, and the former reflects on the fact that he had not once formed a connection with
anyone in his twenty years of living. In the end of the volume, he decides to go with Aiko to
Kagoshima, ultimately choosing to fulfill his promise with her over the one with Sachi.
The penultimate volume begins with Punpun visiting Aiko’s mother to inform her of the
lovers’ imminent departure. Upon realizing that Aiko is trying to leave her permanently, she
becomes manic and attacks them both with a knife. The situation escalates to the point where
Punpun has no choice but to hold her down and choke her to death. Although the murder was
done in self-defense, the protagonist feels like a monster: his new form instantly becoming that
of a horned and black effigy afterwards. They shakily move forward with their plan to go to
Kagoshima and discard the mother’s body. Try as they might to return to normalcy, however,
they are immeasurably traumatized by the event and their relationship falls into pieces. The
volume ends on an ominous note with a radio announcing the discovery of the victim’s body just
as the two lovers are in the midst of getting jobs.
The denouement unfolds with one final tragedy: Aiko’s suicide. Unable to bear the life of
a fugitive and feeling responsible for tormenting her lover, she is discovered by Punpun after
waking up just days prior to the Star Festival. Her parting wish is for them to always remember
each other, and she expresses gratitude for their time together. Afterwards, Punpun drives back
to Tokyo and stabs himself in the eye in an effort to join his lost love, but he is found by Sachi
and taken to the hospital on the brink of death. The audience is then finally shown a glimpse of
the protagonist’s true face underneath a mask of bandages. The story concludes with Harumi, an

50

old friend from Punpun’s childhood, meeting with him one summer day. Just before his
departure, he looks back and smiles ruefully at the sight of a white cartoonish bird seemingly
surrounded by friends, never to see him again.
The main premise revolves around the growth of the protagonist and is primarily told
through his perspective. Punpun is presented as passive and youthful to act as a stand-in for the
audience. Because of this, the author is able to portray a variety of social critiques by having him
interact with caricatures personifying different stereotypes and reacting to the strange world
surrounding him. He is arguably the embodiment of the average Japanese student in the present
as his story shares many similarities with the generally listless and hopeless attitudes of
documented Japanese youths. As the manga progresses, he loses the naive and jovial outlook as a
child and is begrudgingly forced to mature early. In the midst of this development is his failed
romantic pursuits with a variety of women. The conflict of the story arises from the fact that
Punpun continuously tries to grasp onto the remnants of his innocent childhood, becoming
mentally fractured as a result.
The protagonist’s depressive upbringing may serve as a reason for his eventual downfall
as his parents are both deeply flawed individuals. Punpun’s faulty family relations impels him to
mature at a young age. His mother is an alcoholic who often loses her patience with the people
around her, verbally and physically assaulting them out of a drunken rage. Meanwhile, the father
is carefree to the point of neglect. The boy’s monologues reveal that he is aware of the
comparatively depressing outcome of events that occur during his youth. Alongside his stream of
self-destructive thoughts is a melancholic desire to see the world eradicated. Despite having a
group of friends and excelling in school, he constantly mentions how alone he feels. While he
learns to become financially self-sufficient and productive, he is undeniably emotionally stunted

51

in regards to relationships as a result. He craves the love of another woman and continuously
indulges in sexual fantasies over the course of the series.
Nevertheless, his attempts to find connections with others through sexual intimacy
flounder because he is unwilling to truly empathize with his partners due to being hurt by
numerous people he loved. He feels he must close himself off emotionally to protect himself
from further emotional harm and scorns the world that ostracized him. And yet, he cannot bear
the pain of loneliness. The monotony of his daily routine as an adult combined with seeing his
friends and family find love led to him being depressed and suicidal. Thus, he finds himself
continually seeking the comfort of affection in any way even knowing he will be taken
advantage of again. Punpun’s experience is an exemplary depiction of the ghost model in Pulse,
where Japanese society is represented as a never-ending paradox of attraction and separation.
The false platitudes of forming temporary friendships pales in comparison to genuine
connections formed out of love and affection, an experience that Punpun was completely
deprived of as a result of his parents’ divorce. He has no one to relate to his personal issues other
than Aiko, and thus clings to her desperately. To him, she is the embodiment of the innocence of
youth and is a reminder of the few happy memories he held from the distant past. She hardly
changes in appearance, personality, and lifestyle throughout the story, much like Punpun. No
matter how much he resolves himself to become a functional adult because of his domestic and
financial situation, she appears continuously to ignite his obsession of reconnecting with his
childhood by encouraging him to fulfill the promise between them. In doing so, he would be
throwing away his life for the sake of love since running away with Aiko to Kagoshima would
mean abandoning his responsibilities as an adult in Tokyo. Her role is to perpetually remain that

52

of a child and to tempt the main character into indulging in a romantic fairytale dream. Her death
at the end symbolizes the protagonist moving on from his attachment to the past.
In contrast, Sachi represents maturity and guides Punpun towards a successful future as
an aspiring manga artist. She treats him harshly and indirectly toys with his heart by refusing his
desires for a romantic relationship but maintains a strict moral and work ethic. She is undeniably
a hard worker and offers Punpun a path to integrating into society as a self-reliant and
functioning member. Instead of wallowing in self-doubt, she is pragmatic in overcoming societal
hurdles and resolutely advocates for proaction.
She is the antithesis to Aiko: characterized by changing her appearance and working
towards a brighter future. Sachi is not without her flaws, though; she maltreats the main
character by refusing to stay in a genuine romantic relationship with him while exploiting his
passivity. The dichotomy between her and Aiko is the primary conflict of the manga as Punpun
must choose to pursue either the romantic connection he always desired or the mature ideal he
vowed to attain. In a sense, this love triangle serves as a metaphor for the main character’s
personal growth. In the end, he is torn between indulging in the wistful idealism of childhood or
partaking in the grueling monotony of adulthood.
Loneliness is a core theme in the series because it is a major influence for the characters’
motivations. The entire cast have been ostracized by society at some point and seek to appease
their loneliness through love. What the manga does phenomenally is showcase their journeys and
failures to the audience in a realistic fashion. Punpun, in particular, is thoroughly emotionally
abused to where he cannot fathom empathy or a connection despite instinctually craving it. His
efforts to integrate into society are not enough no matter what he does due to his lack of ability to
connect with others, as his mother pointed out. The bustling world around him does not appear to

53

care for his suffering, and many of the acquaintances he meets never bother to learn of his
turmoil. He resigns himself to repressing his emotions, believing that he is destined to be alone.
Although the manga is satirical and surreal for the most part, it depicts a “lonely society”
and grounds its characters in hardships. Punpun, his family, and his partners are all left
psychologically impaired as a result of being unable to form a connection with anyone. Even
worse is the fact that every attempt to bond with another outcast ends in further heartbreak
because of their distinctive mental trauma. It is a painfully truthful portrayal of how socially
withdrawn people struggle to conform to urban society. As stated before, having even one person
who fully understands and cares for a lonely individual can help them recover. But in this manga,
no one is ever truly saved. Punpun is kept alive against his wishes and merely continues his life
loveless and irreparably broken. Such a morose story serves as a cautionary tale to the audience
about the outcome of modern alienation.
The main character’s descent into madness acts as a gateway for the audience to
understand the perspective of those who relate to his ordeal. It is mainly because of loneliness
that he grows obsessed with finding love as he believes it will give him the companionship he
desires. It is also his isolation in his apartment each day that magnifies his suicidal and depressed
feelings. Every thought he has is written in excruciating detail through his internal dialogue with
“God” and explains his reclusive mentality. Punpun is meant to be bland so that the reader can
immerse themselves by vicariously experiencing the world through him. Projecting oneself onto
him makes it easier to empathize with his feelings. He hardly speaks or objects outright, instead
reacting to everything changing around him beyond his control. Furthermore, his face is never
properly shown.

54

Punpun is written to be like a typical Japanese youth: starting out with aspirations for the
future only to be gradually numbed as he reaches adulthood. His stellar grades in school hardly
affect his life since he is still unable to obtain a well-paying job in the end, even becoming
unemployed at one point. On top of this, he represses his true feelings to appease the
authoritative figures he is naturally drawn to. He destroys himself metaphorically in trying to
conform to the societal expectations of his urban environment because he has been led to believe
obedience is necessary to achieve normality. In essence, he is desperate to be perceived as part of
the general community as a result of his abnormal upbringing. His placid nature and perpetual
mediocrity culminate in a listless lifestyle with little hope for the future. The monotony of this
regimen eats away at his sanity and will to live. He is needed by his peers simply for their own
ulterior motives, and his own feelings are disregarded time and again. As such, his rapid mental
deterioration is inevitable.
The audience is left to wonder whether Punpun’s tragedy could have been prevented
entirely had he been truly supported and cared for by anyone. He is a product of a failed society
and family, embodying the development of introverted social phenomena such as hikikomori.
The horrific realization is that his downfall is a current reality for many in Japan who have
secluded themselves either emotionally or physically. His interactions with Aiko and Sachi
represent the mental turmoil that afflicts the youths there: the nostalgic longing to return to
childhood or to escape the difficulties of life by those forced to mature too quickly. It is chilling
to imagine that there may be millions of suicidal or lonely individuals continuing to exist for no
particular reason other than mere obligation. Goodnight Punpun shows how years of disconnect
can lead to a lifetime of isolation in modern cities - it is imperative for stories like this to be told
so that the causation of social recluses can be fully comprehended.

55

Conclusion
The tragedy of loneliness is an imminent and silent disaster with catastrophic
consequences in the future. It is imperative to not only acknowledge the prevalence of it, but to
also properly understand what it entails. According to clinical definitions given by psychologists
and anthropologists, loneliness is not a mental illness or pathological disorder. Instead, it is a
feeling and psychological state that arises in response to one’s environment. Herein lies the
problem: when someone withdraws, they often limit their chances of recuperating back into
society, thus hurting themselves more. While people can be emotionally affected by others,
communication and companionship is proven to be an effective method to mental recovery.
Every culture deals with isolation in their society differently depending on a combination of
circumstances and cultural values.
This paper is told from the perspective of Japan, a nation which largely struggles with
this issue yet is making increasingly active contributions to address it and to help raise awareness
through its global influence in the media. Perhaps observing the way the country deals with
alienated individuals is important because of the highly distinctive community-based culture.
The lonely outcasts that manifest in the Western world as homeless tend to be cast out to the
streets whereas the family in Japan typically try to hide their shame by caring for the outcast in
their home. Gaining insight into the lives of the hidden people and bringing attention to their
situation can teach us to empathize with the lonely instead of shunning them. One such method I
propose – other than documentaries and interviews – is through media exposure.
The media can often be used to aggravate the issue of loneliness by fostering virtual
habitats as escapism and encouraging parasocial relationships online. Conversely, it can also
serve to reflect current affairs and prompt profound critical thinking depending on its intended

56

utilization. The works discussed thus far are effective as social commentary because they present
the theme of isolation and the mental repercussions it has on the protagonist in a multi-faceted
manner. The need for escapism is not romanticized or shown as a solely positive experience.
Rather, it is used as a means to help the main character realize the perils of their reclusive
predicament. As their newfound environment quickly loses its mystique, the hero is forced to
face their past and the reasoning behind their social withdrawal to varying degrees of success.
By analyzing these small samples of Japanese film and literature, it can be determined
that there is an implicit sense of disconnect that is contributing to loneliness in contemporary
society. Although each work tells a different story, they are similar in that they showcase
different aspects of Japanese culture in the present, from which we can parse together a notion of
what could potentially be intensifying feelings of hopelessness and escapism among social
outcasts. The themes that are associated with loneliness can then be used to identify the factors
leading to isolation.
A pattern that can be discerned spanning across the sample of works is the alienation of
the youthful protagonists. It appears that they eventually become this way in turn because of their
response to their environment. While they are begrudgingly complicit in conforming to the rigid
and established societal norms, their mental wellbeing is soon worn down by the pressure. Thus,
the main characters attempt to soothe their loneliness through pursuing companionship, be it
romantic or otherwise. Even so, it is to no avail because a genuine connection requires mutual
trust and care in one another; those who have been emotionally burdened by past experiences are
shown to be vehemently unwilling to disclose their trauma, leading to fragility in their
relationships. Though people surround them daily, their negative emotions do not disperse. In
Allison’s terms, they are “affectively alone, feeling untouched, unaccompanied, unrecognized by

57

anyone else.”
52
Suzu’s efforts to garner enough courage to sing in front of her allies pay off, and
allow her to move forward with her life unencumbered by the past. In contrast, the other
protagonists’ stories end in tragedy and stagnation, resigned to their suffering and choosing to
remain in hiding.
Secrecy and metaphorical masks are another common correlation to loneliness and are
utilized by all of the protagonists. Every one of them obscures their true feelings in any given
situation when interacting with their peers. They instead choose to endure and bemoan their
unfortunate circumstances alone rather than to ask for help for fear of further rejection and
judgment. A notable detail about the leads is the reasoning behind their feelings of isolation.
Some, like Suzu and Harue, are reticent after being bullied or neglected by family members and
hostile individuals. Meanwhile, men like Michio, Punpun, and Sensei withdraw as hikikomori
because they are unable to adhere to societal expectations to work rigorously. Lastly, Asahi must
continually repress her discomfort at being forcefully displaced and thrust into an unfamiliar
setting. Be it physically or figuratively, it is clear that they believe hiding is essential to their
survival. The pretense of normality and trying to assimilate into society at the cost of their sanity
is a better alternative to being judged for emotional vulnerability once again. Paradoxically, each
character expresses the wistful sentiment of having someone whom they can truly connect to,
paralleling the ghastly simulation of humans in Pulse. This can easily lead to a downward spiral
of doubt and depression without outside interference.
The protagonists individually express remorse to their alienation to varying degrees.
While Asahi and Suzu indicate silent acquiescence, the characters originating from genres
incorporating horror go as far as to display suicidal thoughts. This deep-seated unrest, in

52
Allison, “Lonely Death: Possibilities for a Not-Yet Sociality,” 669.

58

combination with extreme social avoidance, can worsen to the point of either ending one’s life or
dying a lonely death. Understanding the events culminating in the loss of will to live from their
perspective allows the audience to sympathize with those in similar situations in reality. The
directors and authors specifically chose to tell their stories from the viewpoint of a comparatively
ordinary and lonely Japanese citizen to share insight into how and why many today, especially
youths, feel socially distant.
Aspects of contemporary society in these media are reflected in the implementation of
technology. Each offers a glimpse of Japan at differing periods. Computers and the Internet are
central to the premises of Belle and Pulse whereas simple, early box television sets can be seen
in Goodnight Punpun and Billions Alone. Meanwhile, Asahi’s husband is addicted to social
media to the point of repeatedly neglecting his own wife. The mass affect of dissonance remains
even during the rise of virtual communities. It is difficult to form genuine bonds with others
online because of rampant deception, and asking for helpful guidance may garner mere placating
words and advice.
What I believe is the reason for the disconnect is the lack of purpose. As stated before,
interviews with students and comments by suicidal youths online prove that having someone to
mutually care for as well as receive affection from can alleviate loneliness. Furthermore, they
can serve as a strong motivation to continue living. Although the sample of media are fictional,
they reflect these notions as well. Suzu, who at first feels abandoned by her deceased mother, is
no longer alienated by the end of her story because she sees saving Kei and Tomo as her reason
to persevere through her anxiety. In doing so, she accomplishes reintegration and forms genuine
connections with her friends and family.

59

The other stories show how the protagonists attempt to adjust accordingly in a lonely
society to differing degrees of success. Asahi feels useless due to the monotony of her newfound
rural life and uses the holes to communicate with similarly emotionally confined individuals
since she is neglected by everyone otherwise. Pulse, Billions Alone, and Goodnight Punpun, on
the other hand, depict tragic tales of the main characters failing to reconnect, as they have no one
to trust or confide in their true thoughts. Their attempts to find a purpose and will to live through
love are to no avail as a result. They have been forsaken by negative social interactions their
entire lives, which is befitting of the horror and drama genres to portray the worst of reality with
haunting accuracy. The power of media lies in bringing attention to and addressing issues by
means of skillful storytelling. Therefore, understanding these flawed characters’ journeys may
arguably be useful to contemplate as fictional facsimiles of real life.
Student interviews conducted by Ozawa-de Silva concluded that the interviewees who
knew their purpose in life found it through relational well-being.
53
However, what seemed to
matter more than having many people around was the intentional choice of taking responsibility
for another.
54
Just having a single person willing to love and care for them can give someone a
reason to keep living. Typically, this role is given to the parents who nurture their children for
the majority of their lives and advise them to work hard for a lucrative job in recompense;
however, these expectations can be dangerous as the progeny are pressured to succeed
academically and financially, driven more so out of familial obligation than interest. While the
individuals fulfill their instinctive desire to be needed, an interview with a twenty-year-old

53
Ozawa-de Silva, The Anatomy of Loneliness, 135.
54
Ibid.

60

student named Mie reveals that being needed by others can be a burden if it is not accompanied
by mutual empathy and understanding.
55

The palpable sense of disconnectedness plaguing Japanese society has not only been
noted by scholars researching the nation but also become an increasingly predominant topic of
social reflection, as indicated by the analysis of the sample of media. Japanese psychiatrist Wada
Hideki, as cited by Allison, succinctly states that “Japan as a whole is suffering the problem of
inability to communicate” and are retreating into themselves as a result.
56
Without a means to
express their genuine emotions, they tend to seek an outlet to do so, such as through technology,
violence, or physical companionship. The observations and evidence compiled by academics on
this subject suggests that the economic precarity of the 1990s led to an era of unease,
culminating in the manifestation of a society delineated by loneliness and emotional detachment.
Interestingly, the specificities of communication are not limited to jovial conversations and the
revelation of inner truths and feelings to one another. Rather, the necessary interpersonal
relations sought by the socially withdrawn may be more complex than the typical denotation of
the term.
Allison quotes Tomita Fujiya, a head of a Japanese counseling center for hikikomori,
who aptly defines communication as “an ability to form intimacies with others and with(in) the
self as well.”
57
Essentially, the peculiar and chronic habit of emotional repression often found in
individuals constituting negative social phenomena correlated with loneliness requires an
intimate understanding and acceptance of their feelings. Validating their innermost sentiments
may create a connection imperative to reducing lonely and suicidal thoughts; By consoling the

55
Ibid., 138.
56
Allison, “Millennial Japan: Intimate Alienation and New Age Intimacies,” 81.
57
Ibid., 83.

61

belief that their life is inconsequential and assuaging the shame of thinking this way, so too is
their existence affirmed.
The restructuring of modern Japanese society has led to the erasure of an affective
family. The communal bonds between parent and child are now largely based on their potential
financial success, and those shared between neighbors and peers currently carries an
undercurrent of competition and judgment. Should one falter and remain unemployed, it is
highly likely that admonishment will follow. The modern malaise of alienation and hopelessness
for the future afflicting Japanese youth appears to be a consequence of corrosive conformity.
Addressing the cultural issues scrutinized in Japanese film and literature can be beneficial in
raising awareness to the audience and offering insightful social critique. Although there is no
concrete solution available yet, the first step is to acknowledge its existence and the
psychological consequences it can lead to. Those suffering from social withdrawal inwardly and
outwardly are deserving of empathy and kindness rather than judgment; In the midst of a
stagnant society from which they have been abandoned, it is our obligation as human beings to
ensure that no one is ever truly alone.

62

Bibliography
Allison, Anne. “Lonely Death: Possibilities for a Not-Yet Sociality.” In Living and Dying in the
Contemporary World: A Compendium, edited by Veena Das and Clara Han, 662-674.
Oakland: University of California Press, 2016. https://www-jstor-
org.libproxy2.usc.edu/stable/10.1525/j.ctv1xxwdf.46.

Allison, Anne. “Millennial Japan: Intimate Alienation and New Age Intimacies.” In Millennial
Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination, 66-92. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 2006. https://www-jstor-
org.libproxy2.usc.edu/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1ppk4p.8.

Asano, Inio. Goodnight Punpun. Edited by Pancha Diaz. Translated by JN Productions. 7 vols.
San Francisco: VIZ Media LLC, 2016-17.

Balmain, Colette. “Techno-Horror and Urban Alienation.” In Introduction to Japanese Horror
Film, 168-187. George Square: Edinburgh University Press, 2008. https://www-jstor-
org.libproxy2.usc.edu/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1g09x15.16.

Doi, Takeo. The Anatomy of Self: The Individual Versus Society. New York: Kodansha USA Inc,
1988.

Fudōsan Tōshi no Rakumachi. “Kodoku-shi: Dying Alone in Japan.” YouTube. September 27,
2020. Educational documentary, 0:00-27:59.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRDIgqd-Kvc.

Hosoda, Mamoru, director. Belle. Studio Chizu, 2021. 2 hrs., 4 min.
https://www.max.com/movies/78c442ff-3421-4f41-991b-9bc1002d9a0d.

Ito, Junji. “Billions Alone.” In Venus in the Blind Spot, edited by Masumi Washington, translated
by Jocelyne Allen, 5-44. San Francisco: VIZ Media LLC, 2019.

Kitanaka, Junko. “Questioning the Suicide of Resolve: Medico-legal Disputes Regarding
‘Overwork Suicide’ in Twentieth-Century Japan.” In Histories of Suicide: International
Perspectives on Self-Destruction in the Modern World, edited by John Weaver and David
Wright, 257-280. Toronto: University of Toronto Press Incorporated, 2009.
https://www-jstor-org.libproxy2.usc.edu/stable/10.3138/9781442688247.15.

Kurosawa, Kiyoshi, director. Pulse (Kairo). Toho, 2001. 1 hr., 59 min.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTqiXJm_738.

OECD (2023), Suicide rates (indicator). doi: 10.1787/a82f3459-en (Accessed on 11 June 2023).

Oyamada, Hiroko. The Hole. Translated by David Boyd. New York: New Directions Publishing,
2020.

63

Ozawa-de Silva, Chikako. The Anatomy of Loneliness: Suicide, Social Connection, and the
Search for Relational Meaning in Contemporary Japan. Oakland: University of
California Press, 2021.

Satō, Haruo. The Sick Rose: A Pastoral Elegy. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1994.

Tamaki, Saitō. Hikikomori: Adolescence Without End. Translated by Jeffrey Angles. Minnesota:
University of Minnesota, 2013.

Abstract (if available)

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

In search of new possibilities of self-expression and empowerment in Hallyu 3.0: Gen Z female fans in Japan

PDF

Picture perfect: how social media's pressure to be beautiful can exacerbate body dysmorphia in women

PDF

Horrific environments: confronting the nonhuman in Korean and Japanese Ecomedia

PDF

Representation of gay Asian men in the media

PDF

The Our Ad Project: eliminating stigmatizing and racialized imagery in pharmaceutical marketing

PDF

COACH: Connecting Older Adults to Community for Health - an evidence-based program to address older adult social isolation and loneliness

PDF

Rebels with a cause: Youth, social movements, and media

PDF

A second chance: a documentary that follows the rescue, rehabilitation and release of California's sea lions amidst a new wave of algal bloom poisoning caused by rising ocean temperatures.

PDF

Addressing financial barriers to college completion through community cultural wealth

PDF

Social media in community policing: a vehicle for communication

PDF

The social work-medical-legal partnership: next-level collaborating

PDF

Perceived social consensus: a metacognitive perspective

PDF

Social media as a tool for increasing access to art

PDF

Projected coevalness and post-colonial tourism: the persistence of cultural hierarchy in contemporary Japanese-Taiwanese film

PDF

Scaffolding conscientization to mitigate inequities in organizational design

PDF

The underrepresentation of African Americans in information technology: an examination of social capital and its impact on African Americans’ career success

PDF

Stress and burnout: a qualitative study of the influences on female leaders' decision to leave

PDF

Energotopia: re-turn communication in energy transition

PDF

Closing the gender divide: how social status, connections, media, and culture relate to public attitudes towards female social entrepreneurs

PDF

Embracing the demon: the monstrous child in Japanese literature and cinema, 1946-2008

Asset Metadata

Creator Chang, Jasmine (author)

Core Title Loneliness in Japanese media: empathizing with hidden outcasts in a stagnant society

School College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program East Asian Area Studies

Degree Conferral Date 2023-08

Publication Date 07/17/2023

Defense Date 07/14/2023

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag alienation,anime,Belle,Billions Alone,conformity,contemporary society,Death,descent,Empathy,Film,film analysis,Ghost,Goodnight Punpun,hidden,hiding,hikikomori,honne,Internet,Isolation,Japan,Japanese culture,Japanese economic bubble,Japanese society,Junji Ito,Kairo,kodokushi,listlessness,Loneliness,lonely death,Lost Decade,manga,Masks,media,Mental Health,mental issue,modern society,movie,NEET,OAI-PMH Harvest,ostracization,Oyasumi Punpun,Pulse,Purpose,repression,secrecy,social anxiety,social avoidance,social isolation,societal norms,Suicide,tatemae,Technology,the hole,tragedy

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Bialock, David (committee chair), Bernards, Brian (committee member), Yasar, Kerim (committee member)

Creator Email jasminechang878@gmail.com,jazzycha@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113279230

Unique identifier UC113279230

Identifier etd-ChangJasmi-12091.pdf (filename)

Legacy Identifier etd-ChangJasmi-12091

Document Type Thesis

Format theses (aat)

Rights Chang, Jasmine

Internet Media Type application/pdf

Type texts

Source 20230717-usctheses-batch-1068 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright.

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu