In this groundbreaking analysis of virtual reality in Japan, Paul Roquet uncovers how the technology intersects with the politics of labor, gender, home, and nation. At a time when digital platforms continue to encroach on everyday life, this book takes a critical look at these attempts to jettison existing social realities and offers a bold new approach for understanding the media environments to come. "Roquet's timely book offers a refreshing new take on VR as a consumer technology. Situating the development of VR within Japan's robust media networks of anime, manga, visual novels, and video games, he deftly illuminates the ways VR is also seen as a panacea to the country's shrinking labor force." - Yuriko Furuhata.