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This study examines representative robot anime works from the 1960s to the present through thematic analysis and case studies, engaging in dialogue with Foucault\u2019s theories of power alongside contemporary artificial intelligence ethics and theories of subjectivity. Adopting a digital humanities approach, this study treats Japanese anime as cultural data revealing the evolving relationship between humans and intelligent machines within Japan\u2019s sociohistorical context. Findings indicate a three-stage transformation in human\u2013machine relations: from \u201ctool and other\u201d to \u201csubject and companion,\u201d ultimately progressing to \u201csymbiosis and kin.\u201d This trajectory demonstrates the significance of cultural narratives in reshaping power dynamics, biopolitics, and posthuman subjectivity. Through the interdisciplinary integration of critical theory, media studies, and digital humanities, this research emphasizes that Japanese robot anime serves both as a mirror reflecting societal anxieties and as a creative framework for envisioning future models of human\u2013machine symbiosis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/llc\/fqaf136","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]],"date-time":"2025-11-18T12:51:30Z","timestamp":1763470290000},"page":"223-235","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Reframing human\u2013AI relations in Japanese robot anime: a sociopolitical and thematic analysis"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"41","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-1562-4950","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zixuan","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur 50603,","place":["Malaysia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026040404395463600_fqaf136-B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"241","DOI":"10.1023\/B:HUMA.000004213079208.c6","article-title":"Pragmatism, Artificial Intelligence, and Posthuman Bioethics: Shusterman, Rorty, Foucault","volume":"27","author":"Abrams","year":"2004","journal-title":"Human Studies"},{"key":"2026040404395463600_fqaf136-B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/aisy.202300899","volume-title":"Advanced Intelligent Systems","author":"Alessi","year":"2024"},{"key":"2026040404395463600_fqaf136-B3","first-page":"23","article-title":"Michel Foucault: L\u2018Analyse du Pouvoir\u2019 (Li C. and Deng G., Trans.)","volume":"3","author":"Annick","year":"2007","journal-title":"Tongji University Journal Social Science Section"},{"key":"2026040404395463600_fqaf136-B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"125","DOI":"10.1080\/08038740.2023.2294194","article-title":"Promises of Cyborgs: Feminist Practices of Posthumanities (against the Nested Crises of the Anthropocene)","volume":"32","author":"Asberg","year":"2024","journal-title":"Nora - Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research"},{"key":"2026040404395463600_fqaf136-B5","volume-title":"New Materialism: Interviews & Cartographies, New Metaphysics","author":"Barad","year":"2012"},{"key":"2026040404395463600_fqaf136-B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"82","DOI":"10.1177\/0095399702250347","article-title":"Foucault\u2019s Theory of Governance and the Deterrence of Internet Fraud","volume":"35","author":"Beresford","year":"2003","journal-title":"Administration & Society"},{"key":"2026040404395463600_fqaf136-B7","volume-title":"Il Manga: Storia e Universi del Fumetto Giapponese","author":"Bouissou","year":"2011"},{"key":"2026040404395463600_fqaf136-B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","author":"Chen","year":"2013","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-642-33030-8_113"},{"key":"2026040404395463600_fqaf136-B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"78","DOI":"10.1177\/0263276409347694","article-title":"Topologies of Power Foucault\u2019s Analysis of Political Government beyond \u201cGovernmentality\u201d","volume":"26","author":"Collier","year":"2009","journal-title":"Theory Culture & Society"},{"key":"2026040404395463600_fqaf136-B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"650","DOI":"10.1080\/01425692.2025.2501118","article-title":"Revisiting Foucault\u2019s Panopticon: How Does AI Surveillance Transform Educational Norms?","volume":"46","author":"Dai","year":"2025","journal-title":"British Journal of Sociology of Education"},{"key":"2026040404395463600_fqaf136-B11","volume-title":"Twilight of Subjectivity: Contributions to a Post-Individualist Theory of Politics","author":"Dallmayr","year":"1981"},{"key":"2026040404395463600_fqaf136-B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"258","DOI":"10.1177\/15586898241257546","article-title":"Qualitative Thematic Analysis in a Mixed Methods Study: Guidelines and Considerations for Integration","volume":"18","author":"DeJonckheere","year":"2024","journal-title":"Journal of Mixed Methods Research"},{"key":"2026040404395463600_fqaf136-B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"213","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-27939-4_11","volume-title":"Animation and Advertising, Palgrave Animation","author":"Douglass","year":"2019"},{"key":"2026040404395463600_fqaf136-B14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"777","DOI":"10.1086\/448181","article-title":"The Subject and Power","volume":"8","author":"Foucault","year":"1982","journal-title":"Critical Inquiry"},{"key":"2026040404395463600_fqaf136-B15","volume-title":"Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (A. 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