★ Anatomist and University of Tokyo professor emeritus Takeshi Yoro co-wrote this with Hiroichi Yanase, professor at Tokyo University of Science. Yoro‘s bestseller “The Wall of Stupidity” (Baka no Kabe) won the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award and sold over 4 million copies. He served as director of the Kyoto International Manga Museum from 2006 to 2017. Starting from the national trait of “loving insects and loving illustrated guides,” the two ask why Japan produces so many characters.
★ Is Pokémon rooted in insect collecting? Japanese people turn everything into illustrated guides—from insects and Tyrannosaurus to manga and anime characters. Classification and naming themselves are culture. This is not anime studies; it dissects Japanese culture through anatomy, biology, linguistics, and religious studies.
★ Japanese people obsess over “differences,” so they classify living things in fine detail and keep discovering new species. They find joy in seeing tiny differences magnified hundreds of times. This sensibility also drives the endless proliferation of manga, anime, and game characters. With generative AI, the world has opened the door to an “ultimate cerebral society.” A heart that loves characters might save the world.
★ A theory of characters—insects, manga, and the Japanese—written by a giant of knowledge.

Manga, anime, games, yokai, gods, robots, and even AI—
Why are Japanese characters so diverse and endlessly multiplying?
Behind this lies the national trait of “loving insects,” the publishing culture of illustrated guides, the structure of the Japanese language, biodiversity, and even religious views—!?
A giant of knowledge unravels the Japanese people and their theory of characters.

Takeshi Yoro（養老孟司）
Anatomist. Born in 1937 in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. After graduating from the University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine, he entered the Department of Anatomy. In 1995, he retired from his position as professor at the University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine and became professor emeritus. In 1989, he won the Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities for “How to See the Body” (Chikuma Shobo). In 2003, he won the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award for “The Wall of Stupidity” (Shincho Shinsho). He served as director of the Kyoto International Manga Museum from 2006 to 2017.

Hiroichi Yanase（柳瀬博一）
Professor at Tokyo University of Science, Liberal Arts Research and Education Development. Born in 1964 in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. After graduating from Keio University Faculty of Economics, he worked at Nikkei BP as a reporter for “Nikkei Business,” editor of single-volume books, and producer of “Nikkei Business Online.” He assumed his current position in 2018. His books include “Kingfisher City Tokyo” (Heibonsha Shinsho) and “National Route 16.”

Chapter 1: Why Does Japan Mass-Produce Characters? The Origin Is a Culture of “Loving Insects and Loving Illustrated Guides”
(From manga, anime, and game characters to insects and Tyrannosaurus. Japanese people turn everything into “illustrated guides.” / The book notes that the world’s strongest IP, “Pokémon,” was also born from insect collecting. etc.)

Chapter 2: Humans Are Naturally Drawn to Manga, Anime, and Games: A Long Lineage of “Loving Characters”
(I’ve been a manga fan for 60 years. I was absorbed in Osamu Tezuka and “Weekly Shonen Sunday.” / Senior scholars seriously began searching for the Yeti. Reality is like manga. etc.)

Chapter 3: Discovering “Difference” Is the Starting Point of Character Culture: The “Language” That Separates Western and Japanese Sensibilities
(Japanese people obsess over “differences” in everything. So they classify all living things in fine detail, and species keep increasing. / Finding joy in differences so tiny they can‘t be seen without magnifying them several, dozens, or even hundreds of times. etc.)

Chapter 4: The “Cerebral Society” Taken to the Extreme by AI, and What Lies Beyond: A Heart That Loves Characters Saves the World
(With the arrival of generative AI, the world has opened the door to an “ultimate cerebral society.” / Placing one’s living base in both the city and the countryside—this “modern alternate attendance” is worth recommending now. etc.)