• Ph.D., University of Alberta, Comparative Literature, 2019
• M.A., Brock University, Text, Community and Discourse, Department of English Literature, 2013
• M.A., Brock University, Popular Culture, Communications and Film, 2012
• Hons. B.A., Brock University, English Literature /Minor in Applied Linguistics, 2010

Hi there! I am a comparatist specializing in manga adaptations of classic detective stories in neo-Meiji and Japanese neo-Victorian works, such as those influenced by Edogawa Rampo and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Specifically, I examine the evolution of the youth detective trope and on interpretations of the role of youth throughout the history of modern Japan in the construction of the boy detective from the 1990s. My forthcoming monograph with Bloomsbury, Manga, Murder and Mystery: Investigating the Revival of the Boy Detective in Japan’s Lost Generation, advances new insight in Japanese Studies and detective fiction criticism, as it explores children’s mystery stories appearing in Japanese manga tracing the literary figure of the boy detective over the course of Japan’s ‘lost decade’ (1990 – 2001) to explore broader social expectations of youth in contemporary Japan. Ultimately, my research goal is to expand the field of Japanese mystery fiction criticism beyond current scholarship’s focus on well-known, classic writers and beyond the focus of literature alone.

I also conduct research on cultural and media studies with a focus on gender and gaming, which branches off into two distinct streams: an analysis of how tropes and themes of classic detective stories are deployed in Japanese game content; and an exploration of the production and consumption side of games and, specifically women’s participation in the industry. To learn more about my research interests, publications and projects, visit my website.

2023 - (July) Manga, Murder and Mystery, Bloomsbury

2023 (forthcoming) Okabe, Tsugumi. “Game-changing Policies in the Japanese Game Industry: Ladies, Leaves and Corporate Liabilities” The Handbook of Japanese Games, MHM Press and Amsterdam University Press, edited by Rachael Hutchinson

2023 -  “Policing Youth: The Role of Detectives in Japanese Visual Novel Games” Introducing Japanese Popular Culture (Second Edition), edited by Alisa Freedman, Routledge

2022 - “Starving Beauties? Instabae, Diet Food and Japanese Girl Culture,” Food Instagram: Identity, Influence, and Negotiation, edited by Zenia Kish and Emily Contois, University of Illinois Press, pp. 47-64.

2015 - “Jane Austen in Translation: On Sisterhood and Romance in Mochizuki Reiko’s Sense and Sensibility.” Persuasions On-Line, Jane Austen Society of North America, vol. 36, no. 1.

2022 - Whaley, Ben. Sketching Semitism: Exploring Jewish Identity in Post-war Manga. 

You can read about shōjo representations of Jewish identity in manga and explore the chronology of Anne Frank manga, and more!

2021- Scheiding, Ryan. Nagasaki Kitty. Translated by Mimi Okabe. Hamilton, Tubba Games Manufacturing Concern.

In collaboration with Dr. Ryan Scheiding, I am translating Nagasaki Kitty 2.0! Learn more about the passion project.