Japanese Anime Fandoms in the UAE: An Exploratory Study on Media Accessibility, Habits and Cultural Perceptions

Abstract

The satellite TV revolution in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the early 1990s precipitated the proliferation of foreign media broadcasts. Japanese anime dubbed into Arabic became the most-watched content in Emirati households, a trend that continues to date because the Japanese entertainment and digital media industry offers youngsters easy access to and diverse options for anime. This paper provides an overview and analysis of the growing popularity of anime fandoms in the UAE to ascertain the level of commitment, involvement and the moral perceptions of Emirati fans vis-à-vis Japanese pop culture. A focus group discussion was conducted in a leading UAE university among the otaku or aficionados of Japanese anime (males and females). The participant responses offered comprehensive insights into the fandom trends of the region and articulated interesting opinions on Japanese pop culture and digital media accessibility. Notably, the findings of this study suggested that the enthusiasm of this fan following is often obstructed rather than celebrated and thus cannot achieve its potential. Therefore, the study finally contemplates how Emirati otaku and their practices may be better supported in UAE.

Anime Fandom of University Students in the United Kingdom: A Study of Subculture

“…An important finding of this study is that Japanese anime has three main elements that attract university students in the United Kingdom. Most interviewees mentioned the character, the art style, and the story as the appealing aspects of anime, echoing the results of existing studies (for instance, see [10]). Moreover, the reasoning and elaboration of the informants provide new insights.…”

“…Many studies have demonstrated that gender, in more socially constructed terms, has an unneglectable influence on fandom. Apart from the aforementioned observation by Rich [9] and Tariq and Nesti Willard [10], scholars have been arguing that some fan behaviours are dominated by a certain gender (for instance, see [22]). This is vaguely supported by the data gained from this study, as Bard, identified as male, is ardent about collecting character merchandise, a type of curatorial fandom, which is more common among male fans [23].…”

“…In a more recent study, Tariq and Nesti Willard [10] look at the anime fandom among university students in the UAE. Based on a grounded theory design, the research is conducted with eight male and eight female students in gender-segregated groups.…”