Aoyagi Hiroshi is Professor in the School of Asia 21 at Kokushikan University in Tokyo. He is the author of Islands of Eight Million Smiles: Idol Performance and Symbolic Production in Contemporary Japan (Harvard University Asia Center, 2005).Patrick W. Galbraith is Associate Professor in the School of International Communication at Senshū University in Tokyo. He is the author and editor of many books on Japanese media and popular culture.Mateja Kovacic is Assistant Professor in the Animation and Media Arts program, Academy of Film, School of Communication, at Hong Kong Baptist University. She researches intersections between science, technology and popular culture.

• 1. Idology in Transcultural Perspective: Anthropological Investigations of Popular Idolatry.- 2. On Popular Idolatry: A Reflexive Symbological Spin.- 3. Idols that Speak: How Psyche and Material Culture Co-construct Each Other.- 4. Idol Economics: Television, Affective and Virtual Models in Japan.- 5. Cyborg in Idology Studies: Symbiosis of Animating Humans and Machines.- 6. The “Ultimate Athlete:” Bruce Lee, Martial Arts and the Pursuit of Human Perfection.- 7. Idolization of Miyazaki Ken Local Mascots and Himukaizer Local Heroes: The Animate Spirits of Miyazaki, Japan.- 8. Sacralize a Digital Character to Enhance Its Charm? Japanese Love Games and Female Fan Strategy.- 9. “He Is My Precious:” The Cross-Referential Consumption and Use of “2.5-D” Idols in the King of Prism “Ōenjōei” Screening Series.- 10. Love Live! as an Affective-Religious Medium in the Postsecular Era.- 11. Idolatry and Mediumship: Topologies of Affect in Japanese Media Culture.

Aoyagi Hiroshi is Professor in the School of Asia 21 at Kokushikan University in Tokyo. He is the author of Islands of Eight Million Smiles: Idol Performance and Symbolic Production in Contemporary Japan (Harvard University Asia Center, 2005).Patrick W. Galbraith is Associate Professor in the School of International Communication at Senshū University in Tokyo. He is the author and editor of many books on Japanese media and popular culture.Mateja Kovacic is Assistant Professor in the Animation and Media Arts program, Academy of Film, School of Communication, at Hong Kong Baptist University. She researches intersections between science, technology and popular culture.

• 1. Idology in Transcultural Perspective: Anthropological Investigations of Popular Idolatry.- 2. On Popular Idolatry: A Reflexive Symbological Spin.- 3. Idols that Speak: How Psyche and Material Culture Co-construct Each Other.- 4. Idol Economics: Television, Affective and Virtual Models in Japan.- 5. Cyborg in Idology Studies: Symbiosis of Animating Humans and Machines.- 6. The “Ultimate Athlete:” Bruce Lee, Martial Arts and the Pursuit of Human Perfection.- 7. Idolization of Miyazaki Ken Local Mascots and Himukaizer Local Heroes: The Animate Spirits of Miyazaki, Japan.- 8. Sacralize a Digital Character to Enhance Its Charm? Japanese Love Games and Female Fan Strategy.- 9. “He Is My Precious:” The Cross-Referential Consumption and Use of “2.5-D” Idols in the King of Prism “Ōenjōei” Screening Series.- 10. Love Live! as an Affective-Religious Medium in the Postsecular Era.- 11. Idolatry and Mediumship: Topologies of Affect in Japanese Media Culture.