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Japaneseness according to Joan of Arc: Western Myths and Narratives in Manga and Anime The appropriation of transnational cultural flows that occurs as a result of globalization is studied here through adaptations of Western narratives in manga and anime. This “Other” is integrated by exacerbating some of its features: The West is presented in Japanese works as conveyor of an excessive, unjust and potentially dangerous world, as the manifestation of Cartesianism taken to the extreme. Japaneseness, which is then defined by opposition to this incorporated otherness, brings out a supposedly specifically Japanese sensitivity, thus perpetuating a long intellectual tradition that sees in the feeling of things the very essence of Japaneseness by contrast to the rational Chinese and Western mind. Episodes from the life of Joan of Arc and Athena’s divine interventions for instance then take on new meaning, which serves to promote Japaneseness and the essential values it conveys, such as the importance of social harmony and the close interdependence among members of the community.