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The discourse links this exclusion of society to Japanese social problems such as hikikomori and youth disengagement, arguing that the genre endorses withdrawal and refusal of maturity through loss of a shared “grand narrative.” The thesis reexamines key sekai-kei texts and argues that existentialist freedom conditioned on responsibility can exist within the genre.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/sekai-kei-as-existentialist-narrative-positioning-xenosaga-within-the-genre-framework/199394/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/sekai-kei-as-existentialist-narrative-positioning-xenosaga-within-the-genre-framework/199394.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Logic","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-09-04",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",16,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What is the main concept of the sekai-kei genre discussed in the thesis?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"Sekai-kei narratives are defined by omitting a mediating social dimension between individual characters and apocalyptic large-scale situations. The thesis treats this omission as central to how the genre is used in cultural criticism.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"Which sekai-kei works are analyzed to challenge the idea that the genre promotes withdrawal?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"The thesis examines Saishū heiki kanojo (“Final weapon girlfriend”), Iriya no sora, UFO no natsu (“Iriya’s sky, summer of UFOs”), and Hoshi no koe (“Voice of a star/Star’s voice”), alongside the sekai-kei prototype Shin seiki evangerion.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"How does the thesis position Xenosaga within sekai-kei and existentialism?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"Xenosaga is presented as a sekai-kei work that explicitly draws on existentialist philosophical concepts. The thesis argues that a grand narrative about existentialist freedom contingent on personal responsibility can exist within the sekai-kei genre.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},199394,1788505854,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":130,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},1099513958762,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/1000023916a998db790?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1784791008015729253","Sekai-kei as Existentialist Narrative: Positioning Xenosaga within the Genre Framework.  \nTHESIS  \nPresented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University  \nBy  \nStefanie Thomas, B.A.  \nGraduate Program in East Asian Languages and Literatures  \nThe Ohio State University  \n2014  \nCommittee:  \nDr. Kerim Yasar, Advisor  \nDr. Richard E. Torrance  \nCopyright by Stefanie Thomas  \n2014  \nAbstract  \nThe term sekai-kei (“world-type”), a genre of subcultural narrative whose defining characteristic is the omission of a mediating social dimension between individual characters and an apocalyptic large-scale situation, has come to be used as a tool of cultural criticism pertaining to young adults of the mid-90s to the mid-2000s. Within this critical discourse, the exclusion of society in such works is frequently connected with the rise of problematic phenomena within Japan while the genre was at the height of its popularity, among them the increase in hikikomori (“shut-ins”) and youths not seeking careers or education. Critics claim in this context that sekai-kei narratives affirm social withdrawal and refusal of maturity, citing the postmodernist loss ofa shared societal“grand narrative” as being evident in these works. In this study, I will examine the definitive sekai-kei narratives Saishū heiki kanojo (“Final weapon girlfriend”), Iriya no sora, UFO no natsu (“Iriya’s sky, summer of UFOs”), and Hoshi no koe (“Voice of a star/Star’s voice”) alongside the sekai-kei prototype Shin seiki evangerion (“Gospel of anew century”/Neon Genesis Evangelion), utilizing an existentialist hermeneutic approach, and demonstrate that these narratives unanimously reject withdrawal. Furthermore, I will present Xenosaga, a sekai-kei work explicitly making use of existentialist philosophical concepts, and illustrate the fact that a grand narrative, namely that of existentialist freedom being contingent on personal responsibility, can exist within the sekai-kei genre.  \nAcknowledgments  \nI would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Kerim Yasar, without whose patient guidance, consistent encouragement, and unfailing support this thesis would have never been completed. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Richard E. Torrance for offering valuable advice and pointing out a number of potential avenues regarding further development of this project with his questions and comments. Finally, Iowe thanks to my husband, Jason Thomas, for providing additional opinions on my theories, as well as a shoulder to lean on in times of stress and discouragement.  \nVita  \nJune 2001……………………Geschwister-Scholl-Gesamtschule, Göttingen, Germany May 2011................................ B.A. Japanese/German, Ball State University September 2011-present……..The Ohio State University, Department of East Asian ……………………………….Languages and Literatures 2012-2013…………………... Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies  \nFields of Study  \nMajor Field: East Asian Languages and Literatures  \nSpecialization: Modern Japanese Literature  \nTable of Contents  \nAbstract………………………………………………………………………………ii  \nAcknowledgments…………………………………………………………………..iii  \nVita……………………………………………………………………………….....iv  \nTranslation statement……………………………………………………………….vii  \nChapter 1: Introduction.……………………………………………………………..1  \nHistorical background of sekai-kei genre development………………………….6  \nSekai-kei definitions as proposed in critical discourse…………………………10  \na. Holistic definitions……………………………………………………...10  \nb. Specification of defining factors………………………………………..16  \nc. Differential analysis………………………………………………….....18  \nChapter 2: Comparative analysis of sekai-kei narratives.……………………….....22  \nSekai-kei plot progression……………………………………………………....22  \na. Shin seiki evangerion…………………………………………………...22  \nb. Saishū heiki kanojo……………………………………………………..27  \nc. Iriyano sora, UFO no natsu………………………………………….....32  \nd. Hoshi no koe……………………………………","cbCaikxG9KLzI5SF","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaikxG9KLzI5SF","pdf",1193333,193,"English","# Abstract\n# Acknowledgments\n# Vita\n# Fields of Study\n# Chapter 1: Introduction\n## Historical background of sekai-kei genre development\n## Sekai-kei definitions as proposed in critical discourse\n# Chapter 2: Comparative analysis of sekai-kei narratives\n## Sekai-kei plot progression\n## The philosophy of sekai-kei narratives\n# Chapter 3: Xenosaga: Proof of sekai-kei’s potential as a genre\n## Xenosaga: Plot synopses\n## Xenosaga as sekai-kei narrative\n# Chapter 4: Conclusion\n## Are sekai-kei narratives incapable of incorporating a grand narrative?\n## Concluding remarks\n# Bibliography\n# Appendix A: The Plot of Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht\n# Appendix B: The Plot of Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse\n# Appendix C: The Plot of Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra","[{\"question\":\"What is the main concept of the sekai-kei genre discussed in the thesis?\",\"answer\":\"Sekai-kei narratives are defined by omitting a mediating social dimension between individual characters and apocalyptic large-scale situations. The thesis treats this omission as central to how the genre is used in cultural criticism.\"},{\"question\":\"Which sekai-kei works are analyzed to challenge the idea that the genre promotes withdrawal?\",\"answer\":\"The thesis examines Saishū heiki kanojo (“Final weapon girlfriend”), Iriya no sora, UFO no natsu (“Iriya’s sky, summer of UFOs”), and Hoshi no koe (“Voice of a star/Star’s voice”), alongside the sekai-kei prototype Shin seiki evangerion.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the thesis position Xenosaga within sekai-kei and existentialism?\",\"answer\":\"Xenosaga is presented as a sekai-kei work that explicitly draws on existentialist philosophical concepts. The thesis argues that a grand narrative about existentialist freedom contingent on personal responsibility can exist within the sekai-kei genre.\"}]","Sekai-kei as Existentialist Narrative - Positioning Xenosaga within the Genre Framework | PDF",486]