Emotional Flow in Hybrid ACG Culture: A Computational Grounded Study on Japanese Players of Genshin Impact

This study examines how Japanese players of Genshin Impact emotionally respond to the hybrid representation of Chinese and Japanese cultures within the game, framing these responses through the lens of affect theory and cultural hybridity in ACG (animation, comics, and games) subculture. Drawing on Spinoza's concept of affectus and Massumi's notion of emotional flow, the authors argue that digital imagination mediates how players connect with culturally blended game elements, and that the affective flow generated by such encounters can be traced through discourse analysis.

The methodology combines computational and qualitative approaches. Japanese-language posts, titles, and comments from the 5channel forum's Genshin Impact discussions were collected and analyzed using transformer-based BERT sentiment and emotion-word analysis, supported by GPT-4 and grounded theory coding carried out in NVivo 14. Engagement metrics such as upvotes, downvotes, and comment counts were incorporated alongside textual data to contextualize the expression of emotion within community discussion.

The authors report that the integration of familiar ACG aesthetics into character design significantly heightens affective engagement, particularly for characters and regions representing Liyue and Inazuma. Cultural inclusiveness in the depiction of Inazuma is linked to a sense of familiarity and emotional attachment, allowing players to feel personally connected to characters. The study further contends that the game's probability-driven mechanics, including gacha pulls and equipment upgrades, establish an "affective economy" in which players' emotional investments, both joyful and frustrating, encourage repetitive play and strengthen community interaction.

The scope of the research is limited to Japanese players engaging with a single game on one forum, and its findings are interpretive rather than generalizable across cultures or platforms. The paper's contribution lies in demonstrating how computational grounded methods can be applied to cross-cultural affect research in game studies, offering a framework for understanding how hybrid cultural content shapes emotional and communal responses among transnational audiences.