When the unfamiliar barges in: A comparative analysis of embodiment in the manga Tokyo Ghoul Vol. 1 and Super-Frog Saves Tokyo

Abstract

This thesis is a comparative analysis of embodiment in the manga Tokyo Ghoul Vol. 1 by Sui Ishida and the short story Super-Frog Saves Tokyo by Haruki Murakami. Using a cognitive approach to literature and manga this thesis has aimed to explore the way both tales depict emotion, embodiment and how they employ sound, in order to determine how they differ in presenting these. This study performed a close reading on both text and manga in order to accomplish this. While differences were already apparent as the manga uses mainly images to tell the story, similarities were found as well. It can be concluded that analysing two different media through the same lens of embodied cognition brings to light varying ways of dealing with the body through text and images and the importance of the readers, reading these from a shared human perspective.