Mechademia 3: Limits of the Human

by Frenchy Lunning

An important aspect of the Seimei boom is that there is no central narrative or story that is the object of interest and repetition. Culture producers rummage around in old folktales and histories of the Heian era for ideas about Seimei stories to tell, and patch together and create widely different versions of Seimei’s life. The interest is not in the story but in the character of Seimei. Scholars of manga have also noted the deep interaction between artists and their fans and how this mutually influences both production and consumption. Unlike many culture producers in the United States, who represent their work as artistic endeavors not informed by market forces or audience desire, creators of Seimei like Yumemakura are very open about the fact that their projects are propelled by market reasoning. Most of the Seimei products point toward the interests and desires of an imagined girl-audience.