At 3:00 PM on May 15, the 22nd “Shangyan Forum” of the SFL was successfully held in Room 7-210, Binhai Campus. The SFL invited associate professor Wang Lihua, a master’s supervisor from Beijing International Studies University, to deliver a lecture titled “From Literature to Image: Anime Adaptation and Narrative Reconstruction of No Longer Human”. The lecture was chaired by Dr. Zhao Junhuai from the SFL, and attended by faculty members, graduate students, and undergraduate students.

Wang Lihua first introduced the life of Osamu Dazai, the author of No Longer Human, recounting his childhood, formative experiences during his student years, and the profound impact of marriage, family, and war on his literary creations. No Longer Human, published in 1948, is Dazai’s representative work—a semi-autobiographical novella. Written in the form of personal notebooks, it narrates the story of Yozo Oba, a man born into a wealthy family, who gradually descends into alcohol and debauchery, ultimately feeling he has “lost the qualifications to be human”. Through the protagonist Yozo Oba, Dazai revealed his own thoughts and life experiences to the world.

Wang Lihua then provided a detailed introduction to film, television, and anime adaptations of Dazai’s No Longer Human. The film adaptations include: Shin Ningen Shikkaku (1978), directed by Hiroshi Kiro; the biographical film Picaresque:Ningen Shikkaku (2002); No Longer Human (2010) starring Takeru Sato; and No Longer Human: Dazai and Three Women (2019), directed by Mika Ninagawa. The anime adaptations include: Aoi Bungaku Series –No Longer Human (2009), directed by Morio Asaka; Bungo Stray Dogs (2016), directed by Takuya Igarashi; Human Lost (2019), directed by Fumihito Ueda; and IsekaiShikkaku (2024), directed by Shigeki Kawahara.

Subsequently, Wang Lihua offered a comprehensive analysis of the emergence, process, and impact of cross-media dissemination. She argued that the rise of cross-media adaptation is primarily influenced by three factors: the demand for cultural dissemination, changes in audience demographics, and the universal value of literary works. The dissemination process is realized through various means, including text selection and adaptation, character design and image construction, and production and promotion strategies. Through anime adaptation, literary works reach a broader audience, challenge traditional perceptions of both literature and animation, and promote cross-media cultural exchange.

Following the lecture, faculty and students engaged in an in-depth discussion on the thirteen elements involved in adapting literary works into anime, as well as the differences between European/American and Japanese literary works in the field of manga creation. The session provided attendees with new perspectives and expanded research horizons in their academic pursuits.