Desired Identities
New Technology-based Metamorphosis in Japan
Digital International Conference organized as a Live Streaming Event, on the YouTube channelof musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, by the ERC-Funded Research Project“Emotional Machines: The Technological Transformation of Intimacy in Japan” (EMTECH) in cooperation
with the Department of Research and Higher Education of the musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac

SATURDAY: 12:00–17:20 CEST | June 27, 2020
Live on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/ydgwtg2k

12:00-12:10 | Philippe CHARLIER
Director of the Department of Research and Higher Education of musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, France

Welcome Speech – “How to Make Love with a Ghost?”
12:10–12:20 | Liudmila BREDIKHINA & Agnès GIARD
Can’t Stop “Me” Anymore (short film, 2020)
12:20–12:30 | Superflux (Anab JAIN & Jon ARDERN)
Trigger Warning (short film, 2018)12:30–13:10 | Dominique BOULLIER - Keynote
Professor, Sciences Po, CEE, France
Extension of the Domain of Fake
13:10–13:30 | Chat Meeting (20 mn) - https://tinyurl.com/y7pbql33
13:30–14:00 | Lunch Break (30 mn)°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°° PANEL: High-tech and kyara-ka °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

14:00–14:30 | Akihiko SHIRAI
Director of GREE VR Studio Lab, Japan
Research and Development for Avatar-Driven Virtual Society in VR4.0 Era
14:30–15:00 | Patrick W. GALBRAITH
Lecturer, Senshū University, Japan
Character, Culture, Platform: Locating Emotional Technology in Contemporary Japan
15:00–15:20 | Chat Meeting (20 mn) - https://tinyurl.com/yckgjj37
15:20–16:00 | Coffee Break (40 mn)°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°° PANEL: Avatars and Self-Presentation °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

16:00–16:30 | Alain DELLA NEGRA & Kaori KINOSHITA
Spotting “Tsuma” (short film, 2020)
16:30–17:00 | Agnès GIARD
Postdoctoral Researcher, Freie Universität Berlin, EMTECH, Germany
Becoming an Avatar in a Japanese Love Game: Female Identity and Desired Alienation
17:00–17:20 | Chat Meeting (20 mn) - https://tinyurl.com/ydaokl8x

SUNDAY: 12:00–17:20 CEST | June 28, 2020
Live on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/ydgwtg2°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°° PANEL: Kyara-ka and Embodiment °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

12:00–12:30 | Shunsuke NOZAWA
Assistant Professor, Hokkaido University, JapanThe Seiyūesque: the Layering of Agency and the Labor of Characterization
12:30–13:00 | Debra J. OCCHI
Professor, Miyazaki International College, Japan
Kyara-ka Characterizations, Technologies, and Tensions of Embodiment for Local Tokusatsu Action Heroesin Miyazaki’s Himukaizer Media Mix
13:00–13:20 | Chat Meeting (20 mn) - https://tinyurl.com/ycyfcg26
13:20–14:00 | Lunch Break (40 mn)°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°° PANEL: VirtualTubers and Visual Transgendering °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

14:00–14:30 | Edmond ERNEST DIT ALBAN
Course Lecturer, McGill University, Canada
Kyara-ka as a Queering Process? From Queer Animation to Online VTubers Personas
14:30–14:45 | Lou RAMBERT PREISSLes Zumains / DOLLER (short film, 2017)14:45–15:15 | HOLOGRAPHIC
VTubers, graduates from Tōkyō University & Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences (IAMAS), JapanThe Babiniku Phenomenon in Japan: when Men Metamorphose into Bishōjo Characters
15:15–15:35 | Chat Meeting (20 mn) - https://tinyurl.com/y7wydjj5
15:35–16:00 | Coffee Break (25 mn)°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°° PANEL: Hatsune Miku and Vocaloid Metamorphoses °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

16:00–16:30 | Rafal ZABOROWSKI
Lecturer, King’s College London, United Kingdom
Virtually Authentic: Co-creating Hatsune Miku
16:30–17:00 | Cody POULTON
Professor, University of Victoria, Canada
Performative Metamorphoses: Hatsune Miku and 3.5 Dimension Culture
17:00–17:20 | Chat Meeting (20 mn) - https://tinyurl.com/ydfle87z
Conference Organized by:
Elena Giannoulis
Agnès Giard
Berthold Frommann

SATURDAY: 12:00–17:20 CEST | June 27, 2020
Live on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_LU_vwWM7ps

12:00-12:15 | Philippe CHARLIER(Director of Department of Research and Higher Education of musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Paris, France)
Welcome Speech - “How to Make Love with a Ghost?”
12:10–12:20 | Can’t Stop “Me” Anymore (short film)
Liudmila BREDIKHINA & Agnès GIARD
Switzerland, 10’, 2020.
A synthetic parade of people (and even robots) who changed into characters – made from videos on YouTube andTwitter – reflecting the aspirations and creativity of those involved in the social networks.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°° Keynote°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
12:30–13:10 | Dominique BOULLIER(Professor, Sciences Po, CEE, Paris, France)
Extension of the Domain of Fake
Transforming oneself into a character, the kyara-ka phenomenon, publicly visible and highly advertised, should not
be considered as an extreme experience for teenagers since it is fueled by a more general trend: “Fakeism” iseverywhere and is becoming a key factor for economic and cultural life. It now becomes a learning process that isshared by individuals as well as large economic or institutional agents, brands, and consumers together, traders andinvestors, politicians and voters, media and audience, since everybody has to become media. Everyone learns how
to trigger attention by sending the right signals, how to cheat on identities, how to seduce or to convince bymanipulating pictures and hashtags, data and concepts, how to fool people as much as “deep fake” are able to do it
in digital systems. The attention shock created by the “weird” behavior of people online or on-site is enough todeliver a bonus to the most original and surprising signal, as it has been demonstrated by “fake news”. All scoring
systems are rewarding the most “engaging” messages. When face recognition systems are supposed to become
standard even in public places, the only reasonable behavior in order to protect oneself against this generalsurveillance policy is to learn how to cheat and fool the algorithm. Make-up, tattoos, jewels, hair design, umbrellas,
all that is part of kyara-ka will be a critical resource as well as a field of controversy for the implementation of thesepolicies.
13:10–13:30 | Chat Meeting 1 - https://tinyurl.com/y7pbql33
13:30–14:00 | Lunch Break (30 mn) °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°© Superflux

12:20–12:30 | Trigger Warning (short film)
Superflux (Anab JAIN & Jon ARDERN)
United Kingdom, 7:43’, 2018.
Trigger Warning is the fast-paced
journey through an imaginary city
full of “memes” (internet phenomenons), a fragmented reality full offictional characters behind masks
and avatars. The algorithmicallymediated networks which amplify
opinions, manipulate biases andshape beliefs have caused widespread civic unrest. People emerge
from behind memes and screens tobear arms for their beliefs.

PANEL: High-tech and Kyara-ka

Akihiko Shirai © GREE VR Studio Lab..

14:00–14:30 | Akihiko SHIRAI(Director of GREE VR Studio Lab, Tōkyō, Japan)
Research and Development for Avatar-Driven Virtual Society in VR4.0 Era
This talk will present recent R&D experiences and state of the art of social VR platforms in Japan that have been
motivated by VTubers and VRChat since 2018.
Wright Flyer Live Entertainment (WFLE) and GREE VR Studio Laboratory is working for R&D and R2D(Research and Development) in the VTuber industry, which is real-time live entertainment by animated characterand social broadcasting platform “REALITY”. The past VR history and XR entertainment can be explained as
VR3.0 with some reincarnation. Virtual Beings and VRSNS will bring us a singularity of human beings.
“Virtual Voice Incarnation” (Tensei Koe-uranai) https://vr.gree.net/lab/vc/ is an experimental character-driven
voice changer service. An exaggerated facial detection and expression system is developed with deep learning for
professional VTubers’ facial expressions and manga style effects.
The lab is also working to organize
VRSionUp events, which are hybrid
workshops in both physical locations andVR for development opportunities foryoung talent. As a presence of research,
Director Akihiko SHIRAI (Ph.D in
Engineering, Tokyo Tech) performed
dances and games by his avatar play in
ACM SIGGRAPH Real-Time Live! with
VTuber actors who linked by remotehaptics between Japan and Australia
simultaneously. The session is aimed atvarious audiences with an entertainment
sense.

© Diomedéa

14:30–15:00 | Patrick W. GALBRAITH(Lecturer, Senshū University, Tōkyō, Japan)
Character, Culture, Platform: Locating Emotional Technology in Contemporary Japan
In the recent television anime Beatless (2018), a humanoid robot is described as engaged in “analog hacking.”
Appearing as a beautiful woman, the robot “hacks” human emotions and responses to move them to action, if notalso to form relationships. We later see the same humanoid robot
this to the young male protagonist. Recognizing this for what it is,
the young male protagonist realizes that it nonetheless works; heresponds to the humanoid robot, or rather to “her,” as she performs
as his big sister and drastically alters the intimacy between them.
Perhaps most fascinating about this key scene – written by Hase
Satoshi, a science-fiction novelist and member of the Ethics
Committee of the Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence – isthat it is not so far from present-day reality. Cutting-edge robots
such as Lovot are praised precisely because of their design to“hack your emotions.”
Focusing on the case of Gatebox and its “virtual home robot,” thispaper argues that understanding emotional technology incontemporary Japan requires consideration of character culture
and the character as technology and platform.
More specifically, I argue that a number of humans today are fully
aware that they are being “analog hacked” and do not resist this,because they desire a relationship with the character or nonhumanother. This desire, now supported by technological innovations,can be traced back to the media and material culture of cartoon
fans in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
15:00–15:20 | Chat Meeting 2 - https://tinyurl.com/yckgjj37
15:20–16:00 | Coffee Break (40 mn) °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

PANEL: Avatars and Self-Presentation© Della Negra / Kinoshita

16:00–16:30 | Spotting “Tsuma” (short film)
Alain DELLA NEGRA & Kaori KINOSHITAFrance, 28’, HD Video,
2020.
In Japan, there is a lack ofavailable women and men
have to find ways to fill this
void.
Some
disguisethemselves with masks,
costumes and wigs. Others
sculpt and mold female
shapes in silicone. There
are also men who program
virtual girlfriends liketamagotchi or holograms.

Wolf Toxic © Arithmetic©

16:30–17:00 | Agnès GIARD(Postdoctoral Researcher, Freie Universität Berlin, EMTECH, Germany)
Becoming an Avatar in a Japanese Love Game: Female Identity and Desired Alienation
Japan is the leading producer of Love Simulation Gamesfor women, called otome games, designed to provide“heart-throbbing” (mune kyun) excitement to female
players. The goal of these games is to develop a romantic
relationship between the female protagonist and one selected character. But the most popular of these games –called soshage (“social games”) – include some extra options such as the possibility to send “sweet looks” toother female players and to communicate with themthrough avatars. These avatars are crafted to look likecute characters, inducing the player to identify with thesedoll-like figures.
What is the point with incorporating Social Networking
Services (SNS) in a love game? The easiest answer may
be, of course, that this social feature of the game mechanism is a great way to hook players and to make them pay,
more and more, for fancy accessories. Women are often
viewed as vulnerable persons who can easily get addicted
to shopping, especially if the game features a ranking
system. But such an analysis would fail to acknowledge
the players’ agency (what is their point of view on avatars?) as well as the hidden logic underlying the combination of SNS and romance (what is the consistency between networking and love?). Trying to understand how
players customize their avatars, why they turn themselves into a character and how it helps them go deeper
into the simulated love relationship, I would like to buildon this case study to propose a research hypothesis concerning the concept of love in contemporary Japan.
17:00–17:20 | Chat Meeting 3 - https://tinyurl.com/ydaokl8x

SUNDAY: 12:00–17:20 CEST | June 28, 2020
Live on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/ydgwtg2k

PANEL: Kyara-ka and Embodiment
12:00–12:30 | Shunsuke NOZAWA(Assistant Professor, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan)
The Seiyūesque: The Layering of Agency and the Labor of Characterization
Drawing on the analysis of Japanese voice actors (seiyū), I propose the seiyūesque as a generalized analytic conceptreferring to states, processes, and qualities pertaining to the layering of semiotic agency and attachment. Just as invoice acting, where fan attachment and professional skills get generated, negotiated, and evaluated in the gap(espacement) between characters and seiyū, the seiyūesque applies when the locus of agency and attachment isconstitutively displaced or distributed among multiple actants, or when such displacement itself becomes a site ofpleasure and labor. After briefly reviewing the structure of layering in voice acting in the Japanese context and theidiom of “person inside” (naka no hito) as the conceptual emblem of the seiyūesque, I examine such seiyūesque
topology in several concrete phenomena, including so-called “manual Vocaloids” and related practices of phonosonic manipulation. Then I look to the modality of characterization in the recent proliferation of “Virtual YouTubers”
in the Japanese-language virtual communicative landscape. Rather than seeing them as representing one single
social phenomenon, or following mass media narratives that often treat them as media spectacles, I focus on theeveryday life of specific communities of VTubers. In particular, I identify seiyūesque topology in texts of multiplayer gameplay, now an exemplary genre of VTuber culture, by revealing its complex structure of participant
frameworks and citational practices. The paper closes with an observation regarding the nature of desire in thecontemporary condition of sociotechnical metamorphosis, arguing that the seiyūesque topology of agency and attachment found in the practices and phenomena discussed here should lead us to a critique of the compensatorymodel of desire. Meanwhile, this discussion should also prompt us to examine how seiyūesque layering and displacement point to emergent alibis for the division of affective labor in postindustrial society.

Himukaizer © Impact Works Corp.

12:30–13:00 | Debra J. OCCHI(Professor, Miyazaki International College, Miyazaki, Japan)
Kyara-ka Characterizations, Technologies, and Tensions of Embodiment for Local Tokusatsu Action Heroesin Miyazaki’s Himukaizer Media Mix
This paper examines the technologies and tensions of Tenson
Koorin Himukaizer, a Japanese character-driven tokusatsu‘special effects action hero’ narrative based in Miyazaki.
This media mix franchise uses kyara-ka effacement of actors
into full-body costumed action style characters, reminiscentof the colorful sūpā sentai ‘superhero team’ productions.
Participant observation reveals the resulting tensions between character and actor identities in various contexts ofpractice. Himukaizer is constructed across a wide range oftechnologies ranging from the handmade to the virtual.
While the actors are professional and do most of the production in-house, participation by fans may include not only
spectatorship but also learning the stage fighting techniquesin action school. Rather than cosplay the characters, somestudents have appeared in stage shows and in a crowdfunded,filmed episode. The narratives of these local heroes connect
to the Kojiki book of origin stories and to their locations in
Miyazaki; the main heroes are even said to have descended from heaven. Their work in and out of costume, in close
proximity and even involvement with fans, provides potential for identity leakage between the costumed narrative
performance on stage and post-performance interactions by some of the actors. Social media exposure of
Himukaizer can contribute to fame and even scandal; maintaining the secrecy of actor identity necessitates fancollaboration.
13:00–13:20 | Chat Meeting 4 - https://tinyurl.com/ycyfcg26
13:20–14:00 | Lunch Break (40 mn) °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

PANEL: VirtualTubers and Visual Transgendering© Lou Rambert Preiss

14:00–14:30 | Edmond ERNEST DIT ALBAN(Course Lecturer, McGill University, Canada)
Kyara-ka as a Queering Process? From Queer Animation to Online VTubers Personas
This paper explores the notion of kyara from the media specificities of anime characters. As Itō (2005) noticed, themobile images of characters always oscillate in between kyara and kyarakutā, immobility and mobility, stereotypical and psychological tendencies, as well as a position in between objectification and subjectification. I will draw
inspiration from the pioneering work of Ishida (2008), Azuma S. (2015)
and Mori (2010) to demonstrate how queer techniques of mobiles images
pushed the reconciliation in between bodily images with subjective representations of inner monologues, psychological dives and sexual drives. As
such, I will compare the montage techniques of queer manga and anime
with the digital animation techniques used nowadays by VTubers online.
In doing so, my goal is to frame kyara-ka (transformation into a character)as a potentially queer practice, with the insight of the recent testimony of
the self-identifying “cross-dresser” VTuber Todoki Uka. I will conclude
that the transformation of Japan’s subcultures into kyara-based contents
uses the power of characters as moving images to queer identities and deviate from a proper “subject”.
14:30–14:45 | Les Zumains / DOLLER (short film)
Lou RAMBERT PREISSECAL Goodseed Prod., Switzerland, 13’, 2017.
Jonathan, a lonely teenager, is used to dress up like his favorite virtual
singer. Finding a fellow on the internet lets him dream of a date andhope for a bit of humanity…

© Holographic

14:45–15:15 | HOLOGRAPHIC(VTubers, graduates from Tōkyō University & Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences, Japan)
The Babiniku Phenomenon in Japan: when Men Metamorphose into Bishōjo Characters
In Japan, avatars are defined as“another side of a person or theother identity of the person”.
People who wear avatars are freed
from stereotypes caused by their
real
body
identity.
Thisphenomenon emerged from theanonymous online culture. Often
people choose and wear an avatar
body
accordingtotheirpreferences: we can find manybishōjo (cute/beautiful young girlthat is very similar to manga oranime characters) avatars, animal
avatars, machine avatars or so on. When a male wears a female avatar, it is called babiniku. People who use babiniku
appear to long for freedom from the societal pressures put upon their real identities. Such can be achieved by
wearing and becoming a character that has the opposite role compared to themselves. In Japanese culture, a male isexpected to be patient and strong, but when inhabiting a babiniku avatar they feel freed from societal expectations.
Being regarded as kawaii gives people pleasure, some permission and motivation to live, while some of them sufferfrom a dependence on others’ compliments. During our research we have also discovered that some women enjoy
avatars as they allow them to talk differently than in real life. By wearing an avatar they avoid being discriminatedagainst based on their appearance, which seems to be the case for women in Japanese culture. We propose several
important keywords to understanding avatar phenomena: gender, a desire for recognition from others, and selfesteem.
15:15–15:35 | Chat Meeting 5 - https://tinyurl.com/y7wydjj5
15:35–16:00 | Coffee Break (25 mn) °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

PANEL: Hatsune Miku and Vocaloid Metamorphoses
16:00–16:30 | Rafal ZABOROWSKI(Lecturer, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom)
Virtually Authentic: Co-creating Hatsune Miku
© Crypton Future Media

Hatsune Miku is the world’s most popular
virtual idol, and the most successful of theJapanese vocaloid software line. But what
does that mean, exactly? A vocaloid idol isneither a person (as it is not human, but essentially a software package) nor a character(as it goes beyond the narrative boundaries),and not exactly a persona, at least in thesense of mediating a real person (for the fans,
Hatsune Miku does not stand for “her” voiceactor, Saki Fujita).
In this paper I suggest we can understandMiku as a coevolutionary product of virtual
collaboration by creators and fans on message boards and online music/video platforms. To do that, I discuss ethnographic
data from Japan, drawing critical comparisons between vocaloid enthusiasts and pop
idol fans. First, I argue that comprehensive
understanding of vocaloid cultures challenges established concepts of authenticity
and reception. Due to the complexity of production, circulation and participation processes involved, Miku’s authenticity is dynamically negotiated and not easily defined.
Second, remaining attentive to socio-economic and generational contexts, I argue
that said participation is enhanced by changes in media and technology. For vocaloid fans (and music listeners
more broadly), digitalization and datafication transform music as the object of cultural practice from text to a metasystem of platforms, streams and formats.
16:30–17:00 | Cody POULTON(Professor, Department of Pacific and Asian Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada)
Performative Metamorphoses: Hatsune Miku and 3.5 Dimension Culture
The past decade has witnessed a significant revolution in live concerts and theatre productions featuring charactersfrom manga, anime, and the gaming worlds. This phenomenon, whereby two-dimensional characters from the pageor screen emerge into three-dimensional corporeality on stage while still maintaining the iconic superficiality of thekyara, has been called “2.5 Dimension Culture.” Productions of this nature have increased exponentially, from as
few as thirty-one shows in 2011 to over a hundred in 2015, with overall attendance in the millions annually. Even
kabuki has got onto the bandwagon, with productions like NARUTO, One Piece, and the “ultra-kabuki” show
Hanakurabe Senbonzakura, featuring Vocaloid idol Hatsune Miku. My paper will focus on Miku’s stage and concert performances. I will examine the nature of the liveness of a spectral figure, conjuring a virtual reality that may
even be called “3.5 dimension culture.” Hatsune Miku’s transformation is similar to the “2.5 dimension” characters,
because her kyara is a mangafied embodiment of an artificial voice, which is then rendered as a kind of holographic
puppet. “She” appears on stage with human actors, who themselves are performing kyara. Here, real, fictional, andvirtual identities are superimposed, literally so in the case of Miku, whose ghostly image flickers over or behind or
beside the human performers playing to her. I will probe the nature of liveness in a virtual reality and the unique“participation mystique” of characters like these for audiences who attend these live productions.
17:00–17:20 | Chat Meeting 6 - https://tinyurl.com/ydfle87z

Desired Identities
New Technology-based Metamorphosis in Japan
GOES ONLINE
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the “Desired Identities” conference (scheduled to be held in Paris on April 29-30)
will be hosted as a LiveStreaming Event on the YouTube Channel of musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chiracon Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 of June 2020.
A LIVE STREAMING EVENT
Saturday 27 and Sunday 28, starting at 12:00 p.m. (noon) Paris time (CEST time), pre-recorded videos of eachpresentation in English (and with subtitles in English) will be streamed online, one after another, following theschedule, in order to foster the excitement of a real-time event. Connect here to attend the event: YouTube Desired
Identities (https://tinyurl.com/ydgwtg2k). Or on the museum website: http://www.quaibranly.fr
ONLINE MEETINGS IN PUBLIC CHAT-ROOMSAt the end of each panel, the lecturers will log-in online for question and answer sessions in a public chat-room.
To attend the chat meetings, attendees are requested to register (for free) on this anonymous Google form: https://tinyurl.com/y8yxjff6. After registering, attendees will receive invitations to join the lecturers and share 20 minutesof discussion.
For those who won’t be able to register, just click on the url indicated in the Program and connect directly to each
Chat Meeting.
A FULLY RECORDED CONFERENCE
For those who won’t be able to attend the LiveStreaming event, no worry: after being streamed, each video willautomatically be put online, in free access, on the YouTube channel of the musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac:
https://tinyurl.com/ydgwtg2k and on the museum website: http://www.quaibranly.fr
However, during the LiveStreaming, two art videos will become public, never to be seen again.
Also, during the LiveStreaming, attendees will be able to meet through the YouTube ChatBox and post comments
in real time. The comments will disappear automatically at the end of each presentation, thus making the
LiveStreaming event more lively: we want it to be a shared experience of exchanges through different time zones.

Scientific Planning Committee:
Elena Giannoulis
Agnès Giard
Berthold Frommann
Coordination:
Anna Gianotti-Laban, Coordination manager of scientific events, musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac. Email:anna.gianotti-laban@quaibranly.fr
Liudmila Bredikhina, EMTECH
Websites:
http://www.quaibranly.fr
https://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/emtech