The Research

There are two different ways to approach my methods: through a thematic analysis, or through a content analysis. Now a thematic analysis is qualitative, whereas a content analysis is quantitative. I decided that the best way to use mixed methods, combining both a content analysis and a thematic analysis. Collecting my data for my thematic analysis would consist of me taking detailed notes on plot, dialogue and character changes between dubbed and subbed versions of an anime. The next part of the thematic analysis would be me using the data I collected to come up with themes and changes in complexity of the anime. In the content analysis, I would code for the number of the changes and the trends in what types of changes are most common when an anime is Americanized. 

 I am certain that I am going to use the thematic analysis in my methods. However, I am not so certain on whether or not I should use a content analysis. First of all, since I am doing more of an exploratory research project, I can not code for the themes that are changed, until after I do my thematic analysis. This could take up a lot of time, so to make it feasible I would have to limit the number of anime episodes I could analyze.

 However, there are also a lot of benefits to a content analysis. The biggest problem with a thematic analysis is that it is all based on the author’s credibility and is very subjective. So if I conducted a content analysis to code for the themes that I create, and the content analysis shows the prevalence of these particular themes, then it would boost my credibility and by extension my thematic analysis’s credibility.

Doing some seriously deep thinking.

 Whether I should include a content analysis in my paper is the largest part of my paper that I am iffy on. What I am most confident about is on how to conduct and format my thematic analysis. I found a detailed guide on conducting a thematic analysis, as well as several sources that conduct a thematic analysis, including one source that pertains to anime. I found that the general trend when conducting a thematic analysis is that contradictions are important to talk about and that is something that I know I will be including in my research. Overall, I feel pretty confident about my methods, all that is left is clarifying the content analysis part of my research and ironing out the small details of my methods. 

Word Count: 420

Looking Back (Over My Shoulder)

 We have come a far ways. One-third of our project is done (or nearly done) after we turned in our literature review. My only concern is that since I revamped my entire literature review, that new problems will have arisen. I am a little concerned about how I introduce my research gap in my literature review, so I still need to keep working on my literature review, even as we move onto the methods section. Overall, I feel confident in my literature review, and I can’t wait to get moving with the research part.

It's a pretty good song.

 For the future, the largest parts of my paper that remain are my methods and my research. My methods will most likely be qualitative, because I will be looking for thematic differences. How I am expecting to go about this is by watching the dubbed version and subbed versions of the anime episode and comparing the side by side. I can then note the specific differences between then and from there make my qualitative inferences from what those themes are. I have one source, Brian Ruh, that used a similar method to the one I am planning on using. For a part of his study, Ruh compared the Americanized version of an anime movie to the original anime, and stated major differences and how they changed the complexity and themes of the original anime. This is his passage: 

For example, at one point Zandra (Nausicaa in the Japanese) says to Selena (Kushana) that she doesn't believe Selena is evil, to which Selena replies, "Oh, but I am." Later, when advised that it s too soon to revive the ultimate weapon she has planned, Selena scoffs, "Its never too soon to rule the world." Such utterances work against the complexity of the world Miyazaki tried to create in the original Nausicaa film, which was never supposed to present two opposing sides in such stark terms. 

 Although this passage was the only part of Ruh’s paper that used such a comparative-thematic analysis, I am thinking of expanding on this example and making it the base for my methods sections. I have tried looking for other sources, although I have not come up with any that use a similar method, I have found a few sources that use thematic analysis in their methods. Most of these sources though use thematic analysis for  texts, and I have yet to find one for movies, but I’m sure there are some out there, I just need to look harder. Overall, I am excited for the project, proud of myself and everyone else who has made it this far, and I can’t wait to get going with my research. 

 Word Count: 400 or something like that