The journey began with highly stylized performance arts that set the aesthetic standard for Japanese storytelling: Noh and Kyogen : Emerging in the 14th century,
Finally, the lines between producer and consumer are blurring. With tools like Pixiv (art sharing) and Niconico (video with commenting), fans create derivative works that often become official canon. The Japanese industry, once notorious for crushing fan works with cease-and-desist orders, is slowly learning what Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino always knew: The fan is the final stage of the creative process. The journey began with highly stylized performance arts