What is 2.5-Dimensional (2.5D) Culture?

History of 2.5D stage productions（1）
Manga-based theater from prewar to the 70s

The history of adapting manga for the stage is surprisingly old. “Shōchan no Bōken [The Adventures of Shō-chan]”, a four-frame manga by Shosei Oda (story) and Touhujin (illustrations), which was published in Japan’s first pictoral magazine “Asahi Graph” and the “Asahi Shimbun” newspaper, as well as “Katei Hōkoku Omoitsuki Fujin [Household Patriotism: The Resourceful Wife]”, a graphic novel-style manga by Fusando Hirai, were adapted for the stage by the Takarazuka Girls Revue (now the Takarazuka Revue) in 1924 and 1939, respectively. After WWII, the Takarazuka Revue launched into fame with their 1974 stage adaptation of “The Rose of Versailles”, a shōjo (girls’) manga by Riyoko Ikeda. An example of a shōnen (boys’) manga live adaptation around this time is “Ashita no Joe [Tomorrow’s Joe] ” by Asao Takamori (story) and Tetsuya Chiba (illustrations), which was adapted for the stage by the Shinkokugeki theater group in 1970.

*―The Takarazuka Revue is a musical theater company based in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, that is composed entirely of unmarried females.
*―Shinkokugeki (lit., “New National Theater”) is a Japanese theater company that existed from 1917 to 1987.

History of 2.5D stage productions（2）
The birth of children’s musicals in the 1990s

In the 1990s, children’s musicals became a popular form of entertainment during the summer vacation (July to August), and many stage adaptations of manga were performed. Examples include “Super Musical Saint Seiya” (1991) starring the idol group SMAP and the Sailor Moon musicals (1993–2005), both produced by the toy company Bandai. Performers Anza Ohyama(now ANZA), Kenji Urai, and Yu Shirota from the “Sailor Moon” musicals later went on to achieve success as musical actors. Further examples are the musicals based on shōjo manga that were staged by the Hakuhinkan Theater located in the Hakuhinkan Toy Park. These include stage adaptations of “Hime-chan no Ribon [Hime-chan’s Ribbon]” (1993), “Akazukin Chacha [Red-hooded Chacha] ”(1994), and Mizuiro Jidai [Aqua Age] (1997).

History of 2.5D stage productions (3)
The popularity of on-stage character portrayals by voice actors in the 1990s–2000s

From the late 1990s to the 2000s, stage productions in which characters were performed by the voice actors (seiyū) who portrayed them in the anime became popular. These were truly “2.5-dimensional,” as the use of the same voices as in the anime made the productions feel real. The “Sakura Wars” musical shows (1997–2006), which are based on a multimedia franchise that began as a video game and expanded into anime and manga, cast voice actors who resembled the characters they portrayed from the very beginning, in anticipation of later live stage adaptations.

In another example, the popular shōnen manga “Hunter x Hunter” by Yoshihiro Togashi was adapted into two musicals (2000, 2002) and a straight play (2004), all of which featured several of the voice actors who portrayed the characters in the anime adaptation.

History of 2.5D stage productions （4)
The birth and rise of 2.5D stage productions

The hit musical “The Prince of Tennis” opened its curtains in 2003. This musical casts young actors who possessed the “seeds” of the characters, emphasizing their ability to recreate the characters and the world of the story on stage.

This triggered a succession of hit 2.5D stage productions designed to make audiences feel as though the characters had leapt from the page, such as the “Nintama Rantarō [Rantarō the Ninja Boy]” musical, “Yowamushi Pedal [Weakling Pedal]” stage play, “Sailor Moon” musicals, and “Live Spectacle Naruto.
More than 200 works that can be categorized as 2.5D stage productions are created each year; these typically include elements such as idol-like activities by actors, concerts, and live broadcasts of theater productions at movie theaters. Also on the rise are productions based on video games such as “Sengoku Basara”, “Touken Ranbu”, and “A3!”.

Cosplay: From “costume play” to worldwide event

Cosplay (short for “costume play”) is an English-derived Japanese word that basically refers to the practice of dressing up as a character from a manga, anime, or video game.

The roots of the concept can be traced back to American sci-fi conventions in the 1960s, when fans dressed up as “Star Trek” characters. As more “dōjinshi” conventions (fan conventions for self-published works) such as the Comic Market popped up in Japan during the 1980s, the number of cosplayers (people who do cosplay) also increased.

The World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya, which started in 2003, is the world’s largest cosplay event. In 2019, a record-breaking 40 countries and regions participated in its cosplay competition. Throughout the duration of the event, characters roam rampant around Nagoya, spreading the 2.5D world across the city.

Voice actors/character concerts: The fusion of voice actors and the characters they voice

The vocaloid (vocal singing synthesizer software) known as Hatsune Miku is credited as being the original 2.5D idol, but with the “Idol Boom” of the 2000s, more and more 2.5D idols were created through idol anime and games. The “multi-media franchizing project” Love Live!, which portrays female high school students becoming “school idols”, idols organized in high school, held live performances by voice actors as the school idol group μ’s (pronounced “Muse”) that they voiced in the series, giving rise to the term “Love Livers” (Love Live! fans).
This genre of voice actor/character-based concerts occupies one corner of video game-derived multimedia franchises such as the idol production game “The Idolmaster” (2005–) and “Uta no Prince-sama [Princes of Song] ” (2010–).

The King of Prism was adopted into 2.5D stageplay, which was so successful.

Contents tourism (pilgrimages to the “sacred sites” of anime): Traveling to experience the 2D world

People have been visiting the real-life locations featured in anime since around the 1970s, but the phenomenon first became news with the rise of the internet in the ’90s, especially when fans of “Sailor Moon” began visiting the Hikawa Shrine in Azabu, Tokyo, after which the Hikawa Shrine in the series was modeled, as a sort of “sacred site” among fans. Such pilgrimages made by fans in order to experience the world occupied by characters subsequently became widely known under the term “contents tourism” with the blockbuster anime movie “Your Name” (2016) directed by Makoto Shinkai.

Not only does contents tourism provide fans with an experience of the 2.5D world, it has also been attracting attention for the positive impact it can have in revitalizing regions that are otherwise poor in tourism resources, as has been the case for Kuki City, Saitama Prefecture, a pilgrimage site for fans of the “Lucky Star” series.

Conclusion: The future of 2.5D culture

2.5D culture thrived with the active exchange of information by fans through social media, but the entertainment industry took a severe blow in 2020 due to the effects of the novel coronavirus. Aiming to support the theater industry, including 2.5D stage productions, and create a new online stage, the “Theater Complex” project raised approximately 160 million yen in one month through crowdfunding. The event, music, film, and tourism industries are also exploring various 2.5D possibilities in the cyber world. Through online cosplay competitions, live streaming to virtual audiences, contactless tourism, and other innovations, 2.5D culture continues to shine despite the challenges it faces.