Between Loob and Labas: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Identity Synthesis and Resilience Among Filipino Anime Fans

The purpose of this project is to explore what it means to be an anime fan as an adult living in the Philippines. It focuses on whether engaging with anime helps influence identity formation or if it helps improve overall emotional wellness. Quantitative data have shown that people in the Philippines find comfort through watching anime; however, there are very few studies about the psychology behind how anime gives them comfort, and even fewer studies that examine how the cultural background of being a Filipino affects their comfort level. The primary focus of this qualitative study is to understand the lived experience of five Filipino adults (ages 19 – 25) who have been actively participating in the anime fan community for at least five years. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. A six-stage recursive process was utilized to analyze the collected data. Recursively analyzing the data allowed for the identification of four superordinate themes across all participants. These superordinate themes were: Narrative Escapism as Proactive Recovery, which is defined by participants using anime as a proactive way to “recharge” (pahinga) from the stresses they encounter daily; Character Identification and Self Growth, which is characterized by fans utilizing fictional character archetypes to practice developing resilience; The Kapwa Bond, which is defined by how Filipino values such as kapwa (we share an identity) shape participants’ perceptions of parasocial relationships formed with fictional characters, causing those characters to become perceived as hindi-ibang-tao (one of us); and Low Context Social Decoding, which is defined by participants using anime’s explicit visual language to provide structure for processing the overwhelming amount of social cues present in the high context culture of the Philippines. Overall, anime is found to be an important tool for helping individuals navigate the challenges associated with transitioning during young adulthood and navigating ambiguous social situations. As opposed to providing a broad range of applicability, this study highlights how fandom communities offer culturally contextualized informal psychological strategies for negotiating the boundaries of one’s loob (internal self) and labas (outside world).