Inside the Algorithmic Kaiwai: Negotiating Anime Subcultural Filter Bubbles

Abstract

This study extends the filter bubble concept in mass media studies to the production and circulation of anime subcultures, focusing on fan identification and resistance. Drawing connections between marketing practices and personalized algorithms in the anime industry, this study examines how they jointly shape subcultural interest circles—referred to in Japanese as Kaiwai. The anime Kaiwai depicts a self-reinforcing system in which members of the Kaiwai are classified through digital tags of audience representation, embedded in character design and narrative flow to facilitate emotional projection. At the same time, engagement on social networking services further strengthens such classification. As a result, fans are redefined and preserved through their consumption and participation on anime entertainment platforms. Under this framework, Kaiwai is not merely an interest group but a subcultural ecosystem shaped by media industries, marketing segmentation, and algorithmic personalization, whether intentional or unintentional. Methodologically, this study combines platform analysis, industry reports, and case studies of representative anime to examine how Kaiwai operates. The findings reveal that anime Kaiwai is gradually solidified through platform logics; yet the high commitment threshold and narrative polysemy allow fans to reflect, debate, and resist the filter bubbles in the current global digital media environment.