Iyashikei
Iyashikei (癒し系) is a genre specific to Japanese works, primarily manga and anime. It is a sub-genre of slice of life, portraying characters living out peaceful lives in calming environments, and is intended to have a healing effect on the audience.[1] The word iyashikei means "healing-type" in Japanese.[2]
Origins
Iyashikei first emerged as a distinct sub-genre in 1995, in the wake of the Great Hanshin earthquake and the Tokyo subway sarin attack. These traumatic events, combined with the economic recession, would lead to what scholar Paul Roquet calls the iyashi trend, or healing boom.[3] The trauma suffered by the Japanese public provided "the emotional context for the emergence of calm as a lucrative and marketable feeling." [3]
List of iyashikei works
- Animal Crossing
- Aria
- Bunny Drop
- Girls' Last Tour
- Laid-Back Camp
- Yokohama Shopping Log
- Hakumei and Mikochi
- The Helpful Fox Senko-san
- Non Non Biyori
- Flying Witch
References
- ^ "Iyashikei Anime". Anime-Planet. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ Orsini, Lauren. "8 Soothing Anime To Help You Relax In Quarantine". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ a b Paul Roquet (2009). "Ambient Literature and the Aesthetics of Calm: Mood Regulation in Contemporary Japanese Fiction". The Journal of Japanese Studies. 35 (1): 87–111. doi:10.1353/jjs.0.0050. ISSN 1549-4721.