This study focuses on the images of “Sousyokukei-danshi” herbivorous boys in the Japanese animations from 2003 to 2012. Recently in Japan some young people are categorized as herbivorous boys. Their characters are weak, kind, and timid.The image of those boys is different from the traditional male image. Not only in actual life but also in animations this kind of boys has often come to be seen. I will analyze how represented Sousyokukei-danshi characters and show how some young people change themselves into herbivorous boys through performance that is practiced through the influence of media.

The image of Sousyokukei-Danshi in recent Japanese animations