라이트노벨과 미성년 욕망의 매커니즘 - 니시오 이신(西尾維新)을 중심으로

Abstract

This article examines the juvenile desiring mechanism of Light Novel centered on the analysis of Isin Nisio’s works. Given the prolific Light Novel creating almost 20 years, Nisio’s works are emblematic of Light Novel and its mechanism. Light Novel, one of the representative genres of Otaku subculture, is operated by two desire in regard to juveniles: one is the desire to stay the position of juvenile as a subject and the other is to posses the other juveniles as objects. What’s important here is that the gender identity of juvenile subject of Otaku subculture is male, in other words, they desire to be boys to obtain girls. Even if they are no longer juveniles in actual ages, they would like to stay the position of boys as ever. Within the mechanism in regard to juveniles, Otaku subculture has secured their contents users almost 40 years. From the psychoanalytical point of view, especially in terms of the Melanie Klein’s theory, Light Novel may be viewed that they stay the early stage of Oedipus, to be concrete, between the paranoid-schizoid position and the depressive position. The juvenile subjects repeat the progress and the regression between those two positions. In Nisio’s Light Novel, the progress to the depressive position is presented by misogyny: the cliché sexualising of girls, which is a sort of literacy of Otaku subculture, reproduces at Nisio’s works. Meanwhile, the regression towards the paranoid-schizoid position is expressed as desire for degrowth and they show solidarity in their Otaku community. At the same time, however, they express anxiety about being adults and being influenced by their older generation, especially the influence by their senior writers. That anxious identity revels the position of Light Novel as a new form of Literature.