Representations of nature and natural phenomena have long been a part of Japanese cultural productions. Flowers, plants, birds, and other natural phenomena are common motifs present in Japanese...Show moreRepresentations of nature and natural phenomena have long been a part of Japanese cultural productions. Flowers, plants, birds, and other natural phenomena are common motifs present in Japanese literature, such as waka, picture scrolls, and paintings. Even in more contemporary media, such as anime, these themes are widespread. The interdisciplinary field ecocriticism—which is relatively new in non-Anglophone spheres—allows us to analyse how nature and the nonhuman world are portrayed in these works. In addition, one of the concepts used by ecocritical philosophers called “ecocentrism” decentralises the human in the anthropocentric ideals and conceptualise a world where both human and nonhuman nature are equal. Ecoscapes, a term borrowed from urban ecology studies, takes ecocentric thought as its basis. These ecoscapes conceptualise the integration of the human and the nonhuman where the two coexist interdependently. In other words, they portray an environment that is less human-centred than an environment that is shaped to benefit humans without any concern of the nonhuman world, exploiting and exhausting the natural world. This thesis explores how the representations of such ecoscapes that are created by human-nonhuman relationships challenge anthropocentrism in the anime Mahoutsukai no Yome. Furthermore, these relationships are also looked at through an ecofeminist lens, which argues for the connection between women and nature in their oppression. This case study analyses the TV series and breaks down its various ecoscapes after which it argues for their opposition against anthropocentric views.Show less
