2D and the Sacred: Exploring the Reorientation of Desire and Love

Abstract

This thesis explores the potentiality for sacred, spiritual, and religious experiences of two-dimensional love; specifically, romantic love for fictional characters from Japanese media, such as anime, manga, and video games. Analysing the phenomenon in both Japanese and Western contexts illuminates the unique features of loving two-dimensional characters, demonstrating the sacred and religious qualities in each socio-cultural context, and probing how and why these individuals choose to commit themselves to fictional others. This thesis argues that this phenomenon is a profound and meaningful endeavour which allows individuals to find purpose and meaning in their lives. Loving and seeking committed relationships with two-dimensional characters may have started as a response to unfavourable socio-economic conditions for some, but nowadays it is an enchanting and compelling choice for those disillusioned with reality. As such, these sacred, spiritual, and religious elements are evident within the beliefs and practices in which a human individual engages with two-dimensional love. To demonstrate this, I explore the notions of moe and love: moe provides a variety of deep, profound encounters shaped by concepts of animism, transcendence, and salvation, and love has inherently religious and mythical qualities. This is also exemplified in the growing presence of the fictosexual movement, which has elevated two-dimensional love to be an intrinsic human desire - as legitimate as other romantic and sexual orientation, which encompass religious functions. This thesis opines that two-dimensional love is representative of broader trends in the evolution of, and alteration of, the experience of intimacy and the nature of human relationships. Moreover, it argues that the committed choice/practice of two-dimensional love is inherently sacred, using religious frameworks and spiritual qualities to respond and answer the ultimate concerns of one’s identity, and of meaning in life.