The changing role and representation of Stevenson's Mr Hyde in Dr Jekylls of popular culture

Abstract

In this thesis, I examine the impact of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, on contemporary popular cultural media, specifically through the Japanese popular genre of anime. Whether the main characters having an immoral doppelgänger they can transform into, makes them a morally grey superhero, instead of a cursed criminal like Mr Hyde was. I will reveal the relations between Stevenson’s main character, Dr Jekyll, and the protagonist in two animes: Yuji Itadori in Jujutsu Kaizen and Denji in Chainsaw Man, and whether the public perception of their villainous alter egos changed since the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.