I Am Writing a Thesis

So this is something that I have thought about doing for over a year now and I am finally able to do it. The great thing about this particular thesis is that it is based around something close to my heart: anime. Anime, in general, is an underdeveloped section in film theory so you could call my thesis “innovative research”.

My thesis will be focusing on the works of Shinichiro Watanabe, the director of anime such as Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo and how he can be considered an auteur anime director. Basically, I will be analysing his anime and trying to prove, academically, that he has a particular style that is prominent in all his series; such as his use of “genre mixing” – in terms of film and music – lonely characters and the surrogate family, the theme of the journey and the use of intertextual references, just to name but a few. I have been a fan of Watanabe for a very long time, yet I was surprised by just how little academic work has been done on him. Hopefully, if my thesis is a success, I will think of possibly publishing it one day, but I’ll worry about that near the end of the year.

Because of this, I won’t be as active on my blog as I once was, but if you’re interested in hearing about my progress, I’ll be more than happy to write about it. Until then, see you, Space Cowboy!