Becoming the Protagonist: Finding Oneself Through Studying Abroad in Japan

International experiences, including studying abroad, can impact individuals’ identities in many ways. What is this like in the case of an anime fan studying abroad in Japan for six weeks? What are potential ways in which anime fans can be transformed? Throughout this autoethnography, I make sense of the ways in which I personally navigated and was transformed by studying abroad in Japan. It is my hope that making sense of my journey will allow other anime fans traveling to Japan to make sense of their own adventures.