Occidentalism

Japanese fans have been going crazy over Harry Potter, who is become an unlikely sex symbol, if the photo above is to be believed.

Japanese teens in wizard costumes went into a frenzy at the premiere of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on Thursday, cheering actor Daniel Radcliffe whose coming of age is a big story on- and off-screen.

Dressed in a white suit, Radcliffe – who will turn 18 next month and has played boy wizard Harry since 2001 – looked distinctly grown-up at the red carpet event in Tokyo.

The Order of the Phoenix sees Harry reach greater maturity as he takes a leading role in the fight against the evil Voldemort and experiences his first kiss at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Radcliffe’s own rite of passage has not been quite as dramatic: earlier this year he played a disturbed stable hand in the play Equus on the London stage, in a break with his child actor image.

Speaking to reporters before a crowd of screaming Japanese fans holding “We love Harry” signs, Radcliffe shrugged off suggestions that the Potter saga defined his adolescence.

“I don’t see myself as having grown up on screen. I simply see myself as having grown up. So it’s probably stranger for people who have watched all the films,” he told Reuters.

The success of the Potter film franchise is one reason why Radcliffe’s growing up is a big deal, at least for the movie industry and millions of fans.

Went to the first Harry Potter movie with my one and only Korean girlfriend. I slept through the whole thing.