Lecturer, Animation

Dr Gan Sheuo Hui

DR GAN SHEUO HUI
  • PhD in Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Japan
  • Master of Communication (Screen Studies), University of Science Malaysia, Malaysia
  • Bachelor of Communication (Film Studies), University of Science Malaysia, Malaysia

From the outset of her academic career, Dr Gan Sheuo Hui has explored critical questions relating to Japanese anime, manga and broader cinematic culture, investigating their widespread international reception across Asia and the West. Her research merges theoretical exploration with practical insights into production and distribution, incorporating fieldwork and dialogues with creators, curators and communities engaged in storytelling.

Following her doctoral studies at Kyoto University and subsequent postdoctoral research on the historical development of anime (funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science), Dr Gan was a guest researcher at Kyoto Seika University’s Manga Department and a fellowship recipient at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. After nearly a decade of research abroad, she joined the National University of Singapore , where she led visual culture field trips and taught modules focused on contemporary Japanese visual culture and society.

Dr Gan plays a central role as a curriculum developer for the University of the Arts  Singapore’s interdisciplinary IN-depth module. She is responsible for syllabus development, designing teaching decks, creating lesson plans, observing trial sessions, and overseeing the module's actual delivery. Dr Gan has extensive teaching experience in Japanese film, manga and anime studies, visual culture, and popular culture representation. She also collaborates internationally through initiatives such as the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project with Bristol University, fostering cross-cultural engagement in animation studies.

Dr Gan actively organises symposia, notably the annual Making Animation symposium series, which explores intersections of media, performance and contemporary visual culture. Additionally, she collaborates closely with Niigata University under a departmental MOU, facilitating research exchanges, collaborative projects, and student field trips linked to the Niigata International Animation Film Festival.

Her current research includes the Visual Clash project, examining how anime’s distinctive visual language and emotional expressions influence digital self-expression and identity formation on social media platforms. Dr Gan is also developing a practice-based children's book project that explores environmental awareness and sustainable outdoor experiences, blending storytelling, scientific content and reflective essays.

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Chapters in books

  • ‘The Art of Storytelling in Studio Ghibli: Immersion, Reflection, and Spaces Beyond the Screen’. In The World of Studio Ghibli (exhibition catalogue), ArtScience Museum, Singapore (2024)
  • ‘Motion and Emotion in Anime: Beyond the Aesthetics of the Multiplane Camera’ in The Cambridge Companion to Manga and Anime, edited by Jaqueline Berndt, Cambridge University Press (2024)
  • ‘Poétique de l’animation sélective: l’anime et la notion d’animation limitée [Poetics of Selective Animation: Anime and the Concept of Limited Animation]’. In La Qualité du Cinéma d’Animation en Question, Entre Économie et Esthétique: Full Animation vs. Limited Animation?, edited by Sébastien Denise, Lucie Merijeau and Marie Pruvost-Delaspre, pp. 179–197 (2023)
  • ‘The Sound of Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba『鬼滅の刃』の音.’ in Global Anime Discourse グローバル・アニメ論: Body, Archive and Transnationalism 身体／アーカイブ／トランスナショナル, edited by Minori Ishida and Joon Yang Kim, Sekyusha 青弓社, Tokyo, pp. 97–112 (2022)
  • ‘To be or Not to be: The Controversy in Japan over the Anime Label’, Animation Studies Online Journal, vol. 4, 2009, pp. 35–43; reprinted in Animation: Critical and Primary Sources, Volume 3: CONTEXT Animation, edited by Chris Pallant, Bloomsbury Academic (2021)
  • ‘Exhibiting Anime: Archive, Public Display, and the Re-narration of Media History’ in Archiving Movements: Short Essays on Materials of Anime and Visual Media, edited by Ishida Minor and Kim Joon Yang, Archive Center for Anime Studies, Niigata University, pp. 2–11 (2019)
  • ‘「マレーシアのマンガ――少女マンガ家カオル（Kaoru）を通してみる文化混交（ルビ：ハイブリディティ）へのアプローチ」(‘Manga in Malaysia: An Approach to its Hybridity Through Shōjo Mangaka Kaoru’) in『女性MANGA研究欧米・日本・アジアをつなぐＭＡＮＧＡ』(Women Manga Research in Europe, Japan and Asia) 大城房美編著 (edited by Ogi Fusami)（青弓社, 2015), pp.62–83 (2015)
  • ‘Auteur and Anime as Seen in the Naruto TV Series – An Intercultural Dialogue between Film Studies and Anime Research’ **in Manga’s Cultural Crossroads, edited by Jaqueline Berndt and Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer. London: Routledge, pp. 220–242 (2013)
  • ‘「セレクティブ・アニメーションという概念－「リミテッド・アニメーショ ン」の限界を超えて－」『アニメーションの映画学』加藤幹郎編 (臨川書店、2008)、245-308。The Concept of Selective Animation: Going Beyond the “Limited” in Limited Animation’ in The Cinema Studies of Animation (Animēshon no egagaku), edited by Kato Mikiro. Kyoto: Rinsen Shoten, pp. 245–308 (2008)
  • ‘Prefiguring the Future: Tezuka Osamu’s Adult Animation and its Influence on Later Animation in Japan’ in The Proceedings of the Asia Culture Forum 2006 – A Preliminary Project, October 26 – 29, 2006, Cinema in / on Asia, edited by Shin Dong Kim & Joel David. Seoul: Asia Future Initiative, pp. 189–200 (2006)

Journal articles (peer-reviewed)

  • ‘Physicality in Animation’. Japanese Journal of Animation Studies. Vol. 18, No.2, 2017, pp. 59–72 (2017)
  • ‘Stimulating Thoughts Rather Than Appetite: On TAKAHATA Isao’s Animation Aesthetics’. The Japanese Journal of Animation Studies. Vol 21, No.1, 2020, pp. 111–125 (2020)
  • ‘To be or Not to be: The Controversy in Japan over the Anime Label’. Animation Studies Online Journal, Vol. 4, 2009, pp. 35-43. Reprinted in Animation: Critical and Primary Sources, Vol. 3: CONTEXT, edited by Chris Pallant, Bloomsbury Academic (2021)
  • ‘Manga in Malaysia: An Approach to its Current Hybridity through the Career of the Shōjo Mangaka Kaoru’. International Journal of Comic Art. Vol. 13, No.2, fall 2011, pp. 164–78 (2011)
  • ‘The Transformation of the Teenage Image in Oshii Mamoru’s The Sky Crawlers’. Animation Studies – Peer-reviewed Online Journal for Animation History and Theory (2011)
  • ‘To Be or Not to Be: The Controversy in Japan over the Anime Label’. Animation Studies – Peer-reviewed Online Journal for Animation History and Theory, pp. 35–43 (2010)
  • ‘The Newly Developed Form of Ganime and its Relation to Limited Animation for Adults in Japan’. Animation Studies – Peer reviewed Online Journal for Animation History and Theory, pp. 6–17 (2008)
  • ‘Re-evaluation of Mushi Pro’s Three Adult-Oriented Films’. Cinema Studies. Vol.2, pp. 63–90 (2007)

Translations

  • Watanabe, Yashushi. **‘The Walt Disney of Japan: Masaoka Kenzo’ in Japanese Animation: East Asian Perspectives, edited by Tze-yue G Hu and Yokota Masao. MS: University Press of Mississippi, pp. 98–114 (2013)
  • Inomata, Noriko. **‘Bande Dessinee (BD) in Girls’ Oriented Magazines in France’ in Comics Worlds and the World of Comics: Scholarship on a Global Scale. Proceeding of Kyoto Seika University International Manga Research Center’s First International Conference, edited by Jaqueline Berndt and Yoshimura Kazuma. Kyoto: Daigo Shobo, pp. 165–76 (2010)
  • Wen, Tien-Hsiang. Hsiao-Hsien. ‘A standard for evaluating Taiwan’s cinema’ in Inter-Asia Cultural Studies. Vol.9, No.2, pp. 211–238 (2008)

Resource materials

  • The Dictionary of Animation, Asakura Shoten (2012)

Conferences and seminar papers (select)

  • ‘Reflecting on Motion and Emotion in Anime: From Screen to Everyday Practices’, conference presentation at Forum 2025 – LASALLE UAS × Niigata University, Niigata International Animation Film Festival, Kaishi University; Japan (2025)
  • ‘Listening Carefully: Reflecting on Cultural Re-Sensing Through Podcast Eat by Ear, Produced by Woo Yen Yen and Terence Lau’, panel presentation at Eat by Ear: Re-sensing Food Environments Through Podcasting, Creative Cube, LASALLE College of the Arts; Singapore (2025)
  • ‘Motion and Emotion in Anime: From Screen to Everyday Practices’, plenary speaker at The Association of Japanese Studies in Spain (AEJE) Biennial Conference 2024, University of Vigo; Spain (2024)
  • ‘Instant Attraction: On Animated Characters in Today’s Saturated Media Environment’, conference presentation at Characters: Rights and Roles International Workshop, Stockholm University, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies; Sweden (2024)
  • ‘The Challenges of Designing a Curriculum for Art Education: Balancing Practicality and Theory’, research exchange talk at Animating Partnerships: LASALLE x Niigata University Research Exchange 2024, Niigata University; Niigata, Japan (2024)
  • ‘Reimagining Futures: Flipping Classrooms for Enhanced Engagement’, paper presentation at Unlearning Realities – Reimagining Futures Symposium, Shared Campus & LASALLE College of the Arts; Singapore (2023)
  • ‘Cultural Tactics and Friendship: The Evolution of Kadokawa Gempak in ASEAN Manga Creation’, conference presentation at 8th Biennial International Conference of the Japanese Studies Association of Southeast Asia (JSA-ASEAN), Chiang Mai University; Thailand (2023)
  • ‘The Aesthetics of Visual Layering and Consuming in Bits in Anime’, conference presentation at Mechademia International Conference in Kyoto 2023 “Aftermath”, Kyoto International Manga Museum; Kyoto, Japan (2023)
  • ‘The Aesthetics of Show Not Tell in Anime: The Playfulness in Anime Storytelling’, conference presentation at Animex Research and Innovation Conference 2023, Teesside University; UK (2023)
  • Curator, ‘A World is Born: Emerging Arts and Design in 1980s Japanese Animation’, DECK and The Ngee Ann Kongsi Library, LASALLE College of the Arts; Singapore (2018)
  • ‘Cosplay as Gijinka – The Metamorphosis of the Anime Body in Fan Cosplay’, 18th Japan Society for Animation Studies Annual Conference at Niigata University. Plenary paperr (2016)
  • ‘Reading Manga-esque Girls-themed Comics in Southeast Asia’, **Mutsumi’s World – From Ribon for Girls to Manga for Women, Kitakyushu Manga Museum; Kitakyushu, Japan (2015)
  • ‘Locally made! The gag comics in Malaysia’, **Manga and The Manga-Esque: New Perspectives to a Global Culture at Ateneo De Manila University, plenary paper; Manila, Philippines (2015)
  • ‘The Poetics of Selective Animation – From the Spell of Tezuka and Astro Boy to the Appeal of The Tatami Galaxy’, **Full or Limited? The “Quality” of Animation on TV, between Economy and Aesthetics. International Symposium by Labex ICCA & Sorbonne Nouvelle University, keynote paper; Paris (2014)
  • ‘The Concept of “Limited Animation” in TV Anime and Japanese Animation’, 4th International Conference JSA-Asean 2014 in Bangkok: State and Non-state Actors in Japan-ASEAN Relations and Beyond (2014)
  • ‘Selective Animation: **Why **“Limited Animation” is not Limited’, Media Mix Summer Program 2014 Tokyo University; Tokyo, Japan (2014)
  • ‘Cool Japan Initiative and its Implications in Southeast Asia’, **Nomura Cool Japan Lecture Series at Graduate School of Media Design, Keio University; Kanagawa, Japan (2014)
  • ‘Mixed Media in the Digital Age – Corporate Standard vs. Creative Vision’, Mixed Media in the Digital Age, University of Leipzig; Leipzig, Germany (2014)

  • Japanese anime and anime aesthetics
  • Animation narrative structures, media culture and visual storytelling
  • Audience engagement with contemporary visual media
  • Digital self-expression and identity on social media (Visual Clash project).