The two-dimensional dimension refers to "two-dimensional space" and "two-dimensional world", that is, a plane. It also refers to a term used in ACGN subculture to refer to the fictional world in animation, games and other works. The "three-dimensional" (real world) relative.

Any point in the second dimension can be positioned by two coordinate axes (such as X axis, Y axis).

Since early animation and game works (ACGN works) were all composed of two-dimensional images, and the picture was a plane, it was called the "two-dimensional world", or "two-dimensional" for short. .

“The world where anime characters exist”, that is, the second dimension, is a misunderstanding. Things that exist in the second dimension include but are not limited to “anime characters”.

The second dimension also generally refers to animation, games, novels and their derivative fan creations and peripheral products.

The Internet is only a medium for the spread of second-dimensional culture, not a specific representative of the second dimension. There are also various comics, which all belong to the second dimension.

What we now call the second dimension (ACGN subculture) is based on the third dimension (real world animation cultural works). Therefore, the second dimension can be recognized and understood by people as a cultural phenomenon. .

Chinese name: Two-dimensional Dimension

Foreign name: Two-dimensional Dimension (にじげん)

Word origin: Japan

Type: ACGN terminology space

Related vocabulary:: Two-dimensional culture, ACGN culture, OTAKU

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Term explanation

"Second-dimensional culture ( The word "にじげん" originates from Japanese, and its original meaning is "two-dimensional, flat".

After the first language shock wave represented by words such as "democracy" and "science" in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, and the second language shock wave represented by words such as "Shinkansen" in the 1980s , with the climax of the third round of Japanese word input since the millennium based on the popularity of Japanese pop culture such as anime and Japanese dramas in mainland China, the term "two-dimensional" has gradually been accepted by animation enthusiasts.

The essence is the unique result of the exchange of Chinese character culture circles and the input of Japanese pop culture.

Two-dimensional space

Two-dimensional space

One-dimensional space refers to a space composed only of points within a line. It has only length and no width. and height can only be extended infinitely to both sides.

Two-dimensional space refers to a plane space composed of only two elements: length and width (X-axis and Y-axis in geometry), which only extends toward the plane where it is located. (An expert once made an analogy: Let us first assume that some flat people live in a two-dimensional space. They only have the concept of planes. If you want to lock up a two-dimensional flat person, you only need to draw lines around him. A circle is enough. In this way, within the scope of two-dimensional space, he cannot get out of this circle no matter what.)

Three-dimensional space, also called three-dimensional, 3D, can be used in daily life. Refers to the space composed of three dimensions: length, width and height. Moreover, the term "three-dimensional space" used in daily life often refers to the three-dimensional Euclidean space. (The world we live in)

Fictional world

The so-called "one-dimensional" refers to the line world of collections of points; the "two-dimensional" refers to the flat world formed by points and lines, that is, What we see on the screen usually refers to the virtual world in animation in the ACGN world.

The "dimension" referred to in Japanese ACGN works usually refers to the fantasy world in the work and the collection of its various elements. For example, a world with rules and orders that are completely different from the reader's existing world, such as a world where magic or Gundam exists, is often called an "different-dimensional world", or simply "another dimension." However, three-dimensional figures and other objects, as well as characters made with three-dimensional computer images, should be three-dimensional things by their original definition. But because they are usually based on the three-dimensionalization of two-dimensional characters, or emphasize their virtual nature, they are sometimes called "2.5-dimensional characters" and are also called 2.5-dimensional in the Cosplay (role-playing) world.

The second dimension is an idealistic world full of love and freedom defined and created by three-dimensional creators.

Those who are only interested in people in the second dimension and have no interest in people in the three-dimensional world are called forbidden love.

Because of the infinite possibilities of the universe, some enthusiasts believe that a two-dimensional world may exist. (Just a subjective idea)

Different from the two-dimensional space that the two-dimensional dimension originally refers to, usually the two-dimensional dimension in animation and games is an artistic work defined and created by the third dimension, and is not an independent space or world. Similar to the definition of film and television dramas.

Usage

The term "two-dimensional" can be used to refer to the world itself in ACGN works, or it can omit to refer to specific characters and things in the ACGN world.

For example:

How to enter the two-dimensional world? (Used to refer to the virtual world itself in ACGN’s works)

I ignore three-dimensional women, I only like two-dimensional ones. (Used to refer to characters in ACGN works)

ACGN Culture

In the 21st century, ACGN culture is booming from Japan to the world. Virtual culture is not unique to contemporary times. With the development and penetration of the virtual, that is, information-based media of the Internet itself, virtual culture eventually developed into a huge undercurrent of this era. Western postmodernism scholars have interpreted and studied it philosophically, sociologically, semiotics and linguistics. However, there is a lack of in-depth understanding and research on virtual culture, especially the two-dimensional virtual culture, domestically and even internationally. The reason is the particularity of virtual culture.

It should be noted that although the two-dimensional dimension is similar, it is different from ACGN.

Differences and connections

The second dimension refers to a visually flat world, but its essence is actually the three-dimensional world (the world we live in)

As opposed to the two-dimensional world The three-dimensional dimension is not only used to refer to the real world, but also to real people and things.

Images and video works born from people and things in the real world belong to the third dimension, not the second dimension, such as live-action movies & TV series, real-life photos, etc.

So, if you are only interested in ACGN characters and not real people, when faced with a photo of a real person or watching a movie of a real person, you can still say "Ignore the three-dimensional people, I I only like the second dimension."

In addition, under special circumstances, 3D animations, games and other works use three-dimensional modeling technology (or virtual reality technology), so although they do not belong to the three-dimensional (real world), they are not traditional either. Two dimensions (ACGN world). This kind of special world between the two is also called the 2.5 dimension.

There is also a saying that light novels are the "1.5 dimension" between the first dimension and the second dimension. This emphasizes that light novels cannot be classified as animation, but are relatively independent of traditional literature