Book Description
From sushi and karaoke to martial arts and technoware, the currency of made-in-Japan cultural goods has skyrocketed in the global marketplace during the past decade. The globalization of Japanese "cool" is led by youth products: video games, manga (comic books), anime (animation), and cute characters that have fostered kid crazes from Hong Kong to Canada. Examining the crossover traffic between Japan and the United States, Millennial Monsters explores the global popularity of Japanese youth goods today while it questions the make-up of the fantasies and the capitalistic conditions of the play involved. Arguing that part of the appeal of such dream worlds is the polymorphous perversity with which they scramble identity and character, the author traces the postindustrial milieux from which such fantasies have arisen in postwar Japan and been popularly received in the United States.
Amazon.com
In this important book, Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy present an enormous amount of information about 2,000 series and features, detailing their plots and relationships to other anime properties. In these areas, the book is definitive, and readers can only wish a comparable volume existed for American animation. The authors are less sure about non-Japanese influences (Cowboy Bebop owes more to noir detective films than to Route 66), and they focus more on storylines and the business of anime than on visuals. They don't discuss the influence of American Saturday morning TV on early anime designs (Speed Racer, the component series of Robotech) or the art nouveau styling in Revolutionary Girl Utena. The editorial evaluations are much harsher than McCarthy's The Anime Movie Guide: some of the most popular anime series in America--Tenchi, Evangelion, Ranma 1/2--receive sharp criticism. The result is a book that anime fans will either love or love to argue with. --Charles Solomon
Book Description
Bigger and better! Our first edition rocked the anime world with its in-depth entries on anime famous and obscure and its superb index/film finder. Now this fantastic book is 40 percent larger-with all-new entries on hundreds of anime released after 2001, updates on older entries, and over fifty thousand words on anime creators (like Tezuka and Otomo) and genres ("Early Anime," "Science Fiction and Robots," etc.). An absolute must-have for every anime shelf!
Customer Reviews:
Only as good as the latest edition.......2007-05-14
There haven't been any major format changes or content revisions since the prior edition. More content has simply been added, which is fine, I suppose.
It's a fun encyclopedia for browsing and perhaps stumbling across an anime you'd never heard of before. However, due to the haphazard and inconsistent amount of detail provided on each entry I wouldn't really recommend this as a serious research tool.
Bought it as a gift........2007-03-20
The friend I bought this book for has not put it done since.
I recommend this book especially if you are buying it as a gift and know nothing about Anime.
You cannot go wrong.
Good idea, bad execution.......2006-08-12
The idea of a book like this was a great one, and the fact is you are able to find out about a lot of anime in this book that are completely overlooked, not just by companies in the US, but fansubbers as well. The book sure is epic, and covers an absurd amount of stuff.
That said, this is a severly flawed book. First off, the amount of errors in this book is absurd. Its obvious that the authors are completely unfamiliar with many of the animes in this book, and have not seen many of them. Take just one example, Space Runaway Ideon, which contains by my count, 5 errors:
1)The book claims it has 38 episodes, it actually has 39.
2)The book claims the second movie recaps episodes 35 to 38, it actually recaps the final episode and then features all new footage
3)The book describes a character as a pilot when they are not one
4)The book states that multiple adults are children
5)The book claims one of the characters pilots the Ideon when they don't
Or how about Angel's Egg, which the book states is 101 minutes when its actually only 71 minutes? And the book states one of the characters kills themself when the character is shown clearly still alive at the end of the film.
As has been mentioned in other reviews, the book lumps entire franchises together, not giving them enough space. The various Gundam series for example are barely given a sentence since they're all grouped into one section.
The author's bias at times is absurd. For example, the labelling of every single mecha show after 1995 as an Eva ripoff, no matter how different the show is from Eva. They bash many shows with little to back up their argument.
I have a tough time recommending this one. Use the internet instead, you'll get more objective and factual help.
the seventh wonder of the anime world.......2004-11-05
if the first wonder of the anime world is astro boy
osamu tezuka the second
akira the third
hayao miyazaki the fourth
ninja scroll the fifth
ghost in the shell the sixth
then this book is the seventh.
full of useful and really appreciated information about the diverse and colorful world of anime. you'll get mostly everything you want to know about your favourite anime. from writer to director to animator to studios to the english and japanese titles and date of production.plus the enjoyable and amazing information of the cross-references. every few pages you turn in this book you discover an anime you saw ,heard about or looking for.which makes reading this book a long and very enjoyable read.
written by jonathan clements. a former editor of manga max magazine and contributing editor to the online edition of newtype.
and helen mccarthy .a founding editor of anime uk/fx magzine and subsequently editor of manga mania. she is also the author of anime! a beginners guide.which was the first english language book on the medium.
both authors won the japan festival award for outstanding contribution to the understanding of japanese culture.
the writers deserve more credit than the half page about the authors ,in the last page of this book.
this book is a cherished property no anime fan can resist owning.
the ultimate anime guide.......2004-02-13
This is the only one of my college text books that I hung onto last year when it was all over. Why? Because i love it so much. It has something contentious or fascinating to say about most of the anime in the world, and it draws the most incredible links; the authors really know their film, TV and popular culture references, which is a refreshing change from certain other authorities, who have either watched no anime at all, or nothing *but* anime. Either way Clements and McCarthy beat them all. Before this book, anime was a wasteland.
Book Description
The authoritative guide to Japanese film, completely revised and updated. Thoroughly revised and updated, the latest edition of this authoritative volume by Donald Richie, the foremost Western expert on Japanese film, gives us an incisive, detailed, and fully illustrated history of the country's cinema. Called "the dean of Japan's arts critics" by Time magazine, Richie takes us from the inception of Japanese cinema at the end of the nineteenth century, through the achievements of Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, and Ozu, then on to the notable works of contemporary filmmakers. This revised edition includes analyses of the latest trends in Japanese cinema, such as the revival of the horror genre, and introduces today's up-and-coming directors and their works. As Paul schrader writes in his perceptive foreword, Richie's accounting of the Japanese film "retains his sensitivity to the actual circumstances of film production (something filmmakers know very well but historians often overlook) . . . and shows the interweave of filmmaking-the contributions of directors, writers, cinematographers, actors, musicians, art directors, as well as financiers." Of primary interest to those who would like to watch the works introduced in these pages, Richie has provided capsule reviews of the major subtitled Japanese films commercially available in DVD and VHS formats. This guide has been updated to include not only the best new movie releases, but also classic films available in these formats for the first time.
Customer Reviews:
A great read..........2007-09-03
There are two reasons why I enjoyed reading A Hundred Years of Japanese Film. The first is I have many of the films the author writes about. From Late Spring to Early Summer, from Manji to The Seven Samurai, from After Life to When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, I have watched a small cross-section of Japanese movies and it allowed me to understand many of the points he was trying to make.
Also, the author Donald Richie, has done the commentary of many of the above films, which means I already have a feel of where he is going with his views and observations. Overall the author is a very serious person when it comes to Japanese films, how they developed and what has happened to them over the years. A great book for anybody already deeply interested on the subject.
Huge fan.......2007-08-23
I am a huge fan of Japanese cinema and this book was an excellent accompaniment to my already huge collection.
Too superficial.......2007-06-23
I've seen this book assigned as the basic text for top college courses on Japanese cinema, and seen it praised by Amazon reviewers. Much as I hate to write about books I didn't like, I must make an exception here for the sake of future buyers. This is not college-level material, and it's way below five stars. It is a 200-page plus list of names and titles put in narrative form, with a batch of overly concise plot summaries at the back. None of the authors, works or topics mentioned ever gets more than a few lines of attention. You will be lucky to find a full paragraph on anything that you find interesting. Surprisingly for a history of cinema, the book gives no in-depth analyses of individual works or filmmakers, makes no mention of the institutional developments in the filmmaking industry, and fails to position works within contemporary aesthetic movements or intellectual debates. In a word, this book is too superficial to be of any use.
As others noted, there are some perceptive observations scattered here and there, but these only serve to show how much better this author could have done, had he conceived this as something a little more substantial. The thing is, as far as I know there isn't a solid history of Japanese cinema in English around, and we have to make do with what is available.
Edit: I stand corrected. There IS a new history of Japanese cinema in English in print: Isolde Standish, A New History of Japanese Cinema.
He knows what he's talking about!.......2007-02-07
Donald Richie has spent a good part of his life living in Japan and has been reviewing Japanese films for just as long. He personally knows many of the film makers and so his reviews carry weight and are sensative to the changes in Japanese film-making. A must buy for the serious fan of films made in Japan.
The heart and soul, and mind, behind Japanese movies.......2007-01-11
I scout around for shortcuts to the Japanese mind, having a mild interest in the subject. This is the best I've found. The text usefully comments on the Japanese temperament, traces through film the trends in that temperament over the first two-thirds of the 20th C, and through those trends gives insight into the experience of the Japanese, through their film directores, in becoming "Westernized." I felt it could give me as much insight as I was ready for. And of course once I needed more I could view the movies themselves--a useful guide to sources of video and DVDs is included. Wonderful writing, from a trustworthy guide. An enjoyable read.
Average customer rating:
- This has probably changed many lives
|
The MUSIC OF LIGHT: THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF HIKARI AND KENZABURO OE
Lindsley Cameron
Manufacturer: Free Press
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Music of Hikari Oe, Vol. 1
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Music of Hikari Oe, Vol. 2
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A Personal Matter
ASIN: 0684824094 |
Amazon.com
In The Music of Light, Lindsley Cameron chronicles the Japanese writer Kenzaburo Oe's remarkable relationship with his son Hikari. Although Hikari was born with a severe brain deformity that resulted in retardation, autism, near-blindness, and poor coordination, he has become an accomplished composer of classical music. Kenzaburo Oe, the winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize for Literature, has written much about Hikari and the rest of his family over the years. Cameron studies the intersections between Oe's life and work in this volume. She also discusses the nature of creativity, the scientific theories about brain injuries, and the history of musical savants.
Oe's close relationship with his son is unusual, especially in Japanese society, where men do not usually get very involved with raising their children. While helping Hikari deal with his health problems, the Oe family struggled to cope with their culture's severe discrimination against disabled people. Cameron describes Hikari's musical development and his amazing ability to memorize songs. Hikari's life story is an inherently fascinating one--a man who cannot express himself very well verbally somehow figured out how to do something most people cannot do: make up songs. Cameron interviewed both men and other family members for this book, and has done a good job of capturing their personalities on paper. Hikari and Kenzaburo Oe influence each other's work tremendously, and the elder Oe's writing and fame have had an enormous impact on the family's life. Fans of Kenzaburo Oe and people who are interested in the roots of creativity will find a lot to like in this book. --Jill Marquis
Book Description
The most popular classical composer of our day was born with a medical deformity so severe that his parents had to fight to keep him alive. When the child of novelist Kenzaburo Oe and his wife, Yukari, was born with a herniated brain, the doctors recommended letting him die. Instead, his parents defied Japan's then-harsh customs and saved him with a complicated operation that left him severely handicapped. They named him Hikari, which means "light"; now in his thirties, with an I.Q. of 65, limited language and motor skills, and an inability to express emotions clearly, Hikari has indeed become a beacon of inspiration. He has miraculous musical gifts, including a phenomenal memory and the ability to compose chamber works that have broken sales records and delighted hundreds of thousands of listeners.
His father's boundless love for and devotion to Hikari have been inspirational in more than one way. Kenzaburo Oe has written many novels and essays based on the experience of raising his musical-savant son, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1994. His stories and novels have been translated into many languages and read by millions.
Based on exclusive access to the Oe family, as well as interviews with brain specialists and performers of Hikari's music, and including assessments by leading music critics, The Music of Light offers a portrait of uniqueness. Hikari is the only savant known in history who has composed original music. Lindsley Cameron explains how his brain works; how he can express sadness in his music but not with language or his face; and how his musical activities have extended his mental capacities. The creative interdependence of father and son is unprecedented, too. Kenzaburo's need to give Hikari a voice was so essential to his own art that he announced, just before winning the Nobel Prize, that he was giving up writing fiction because Hikari, through his music, had now found a voice of his own. Cameron shows how writing has allowed Kenzaburo to explore possibilities too painful to confront in any other way. The Music of Light explores the mysteries of the human brain, and reveals the miraculous power of creativity.
Customer Reviews:
This has probably changed many lives.......2007-05-09
This is the best book I've read this year. It covers so much: a family's love for their brain damaged child and their commitment to the grueling, challenging years raising him in a society that wants him to just disappear. It is at once literary criticism, classical music criticism, cultural commentary, biography, pschology, psychiatry, medicine and a touchingly told love story between man and son. By the end of this book you will fallen in love with Hikari the sweet savant from Kobe and his wonderful father, Kenzaburo.
Average customer rating:
- DON'T PANIC...IT'S ONLY GODZILLA!
- A good book with info not found elsewhere
- Bad.
- Not as good as other books on the subject
|
Collecting Japanese Movie Monsters
Dana Cain
Manufacturer: Antique Trader Books
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0930625552 |
Book Description
They came from Japan -- those larger-than-life monsters that terrorized Tokyo and then stomped their way into America's households and hearts. The success of Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan has inspired action figures, dolls, plush toys, model kits, comic books, posters, and records. This thorough guide covers five decades' worth of collectibles based on these appealing monsters.
Customer Reviews:
DON'T PANIC...IT'S ONLY GODZILLA!.......2002-04-02
Dana Cain's book is an enjoyable, well written guide to an increasingly popular sub-category of monster toy collecting. No book on pricing collectibles is likely to remain current for long, and its real value lies in providing the reader with a pictorial overview of its subject. COLLECTING JAPANESE MOVIE MONSTERS succeeds very well in this, and its text provides some lively historical background into that singularly odd period in cinema where colossal creatures used Tokyo as a ring and we watched guilt-free. Note to "serious" Japanese movie monster collectors: don't take it all so seriously. Those responsible for the men in the monster suits didn't.
A good book with info not found elsewhere.......1999-07-26
While not perfect, this book is better than the earlier reviews said. The book is very well illustrated, and most of the pictures are very clear and sharp. To say that the pictures come mainly from a Toys-R-Us is simply false: The vast majority of the toys pictured are items not even distributed in the U.S., to say nothing of the movie posters, magazines, etc.
Any price guide is eventually going to be out of date. Many of the prices in this book are still current, although there are several that are not. I did find a couple of errors, where a picture was incorrectly labeled. To be fair, Sean Linkenback's book has similar errors and in many examples his prices are more dated than Ms. Cain's, plus her book includes items not even listed in his.
Yes, Linkenback's book is more in-depth, but it has its flaws too. As with other kinds of price guides, thinking of a single edition as being all encompassing or definitive is a mistake.
Bad........1999-01-30
This is not the first price guide on these toys. Sean Linkenback's was the first and much better than this.... Ms./Mr. Cain should research the subject before saying what prices are. Linkenback is a respected dealer of Japanese toys and thus infitely more qualified for an endeavor such as this. Cain, you should take a research class.
Not as good as other books on the subject.......1999-01-09
I was really looking forward to this book, and unfortunately con not find much to recommend about it. The listings are woefully incomplete and many times inaccurate. Photography is only so-so, and is mainly filled with items from the local Toys-R-Us. A better book to get would be "The Unauthorized Guide to Godzilla Collectibles". The one bright spot is the 14 pages on Gamera, which while could be better is finally altogether under one cover.
Book Description
An expanded edition of the cult classic on Japanese animation This new edition of the groundbreaking bestseller is a must-have for both seasoned and new fans of anime. Japanese animation is more popular than ever following the 2002 Academy Award given to Hayao Miyazakis Spirited Away. It confirmed that anime is more than just childrens cartoons, often portraying important social and cultural themes. With new chapters on Spirited Away and other recent releases, including the forthcoming Howls Moving CastleMiyazakis next hit film, already breaking records in Japanthis edition will be the authoritative source on anime for an exploding market of viewers who want to know more.
Customer Reviews:
Significant improvements over the first edition.......2007-05-31
It is readily apparent that professor Napier has watched a considerable amount of anime since writing the first edition of this book. The analysis now covers a much broader range of material, and is much more effective for it. My only gripe is that professor Napier mentions Gundam in passing, but was unwilling to invest the time to explore that peculiar institution of Tomino-san's. I hope that she can overcome her reticence in time for the third edition.
exhaustive and thought-provoking.......2007-03-21
A wonderfully deep book that finely examines anime across all genres to explore the anime itself and what influenced it.
A deep analysis of Japanese Anime in general. .......2006-09-04
The author discusses the different anime genres (Mecha, fairy tales, fantasy, Sci fi, shojo, history, pornography etc). She examines the common themes like metamorphosis, merging of humans and machines, gender panics, masculine crisis, identity, disappearing shojos and the role of young heroins (shojos) across different animes. She attempts to explain how these themes fit into Japanese society, identity and culture both traditional and new. She uses examples from many different animes to illustrate her arguments. Animes used in the discussion includes Evangelion, Ghost in a Shell, Akira, Twin Dolls, Inuyasha, Wolve's Rain, Rouroni Kenshin, Ranma ½, Utena, Grave of the Fireflies and Miyazaki's work just to name a few. If you watch these animes, you might want to read this book to better understand Japanese anime in general. One whole chapter is devoted to pornographic anime. Since I am not allowed to watch these anime due to religious restrictions, I found her writing very informative. Dr Napier gave good explanations of the themes and genres in the context of Japanese culture and issues that challenge modern day Japanese society. I would recommend this book to anime lovers, students and researchers who have an interest in Japanese culture and literature.
One star has been taken out because:
1. Japanese anime is a lot more than what was covered in this book.
2. I greatly admire Rumiko Takahashi, the author of Inuyasha for her definition of the word "demon". Through Inuyasha, the author demonstrated the very abstract post modern notion that a word (eg demon) has a fixed meaning in our minds only because humans/man defined it as such, our understanding of a word can be re-defined. I did not like Dr Napier's short and superficial analysis of Inuyasha although I agreed with her views.
3. I think at times, the author was so carried away summarizing the animes that the point she is trying to make becomes unclear.
4. My favourite animes in order of preference: Inuyasha, 12 Kingdoms, Samurai 7, Last Exile, Escaflowne, Evangelion, Gundam, etc most of which are not selected for discussion in the book.
If you are die hard Miyazaki fan, you should love this book because a lot of focus is put on Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Nausicaa etc.
Due to the omission of Ono Fuyumi's 12 Kingdoms, I wanted to give this book a 2 star rating. However, I'm grateful that Dr Napier wrote a very well researched book on Japanese anime, giving us an insight into different themes and how these fit into Japanese society and culture.
"Napier Draws a rather complete picture of Japanese animation as a legitimate art form, and uses anime as a key to the culture that created it" Entertainment Weekly.
Book Description
An eye-opening portrait of a vibrant film culture, The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film is the most comprehensive study of the Japanese filmmaking scene yet written. Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp explore the astounding resurgence of Japanese cinema, both live action and animated, profiling 19 contemporary Japanese filmmakers, from the well-known (Kitano, Miike, Miyazaki) to the up-and-coming (Naomi Kawase, Satoshi Kon, Shinya Tsukamoto) and reviewing 97 of their recent films. With 100+ images from behind and in front of the camera, this is a book any film lover will savor. Foreword by Hideo Nakata, director of Ring.
Tom Mes (in Paris) and
Jasper Sharp (in Tokyo) co-edit Midnighteye.com, the premier English-language website on Japanese cinema.
Customer Reviews:
The best book available on modern Japanese film.......2005-06-01
For modern Japanese film, Midnight Eye is the definitive information source. Tom Mes and Jaspar Sharp's website covers film reviews, interviews, DVD releases, feature articles, a calendar of events and film festivals, and absolutely anything an interested person would want to know. With such a pedigree, there are no more qualified people to write a guide of this kind.
"The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film" is as excellent as one would expect, an essential book for those interested in modern Japanese film. The layout is well-balanced, covering director profiles and film reviews, using both original material and previously featured articles. The writing is crisp and clear, and each chapter provides insight even on topics where one is knowledgeable. Over 100 photos show some of the visual highlights of this visual media.
Each chapter focuses on a director, from history to motivation to style, with a review of that director's top five or six films. Being new Japanese film, the profiles begin in 1956 with Seijin Suzuki ("Elegy to Fighting," "Tokyo Drifter"), a complicated and controversial director. With the Criterion Collection currently making a push of Suzuki's catalog on DVD, this makes a great starting point and leaves me looking forward to each new release. All of the major directors are profiled, such as Shohei Imamura ("The Eel"), Kinji Fukasaku ("Battles without Honor and Humanity" "Battle Royale") Masato Harada ("Bounce KoGals"), Kiyoshi Kurosawa ("Cure"), Studio Ghibli luminaries Isao Takahata ("Grave of the Fireflies") and Hayao Miyazaki ("Spirited Away"), Takeshi Kitano ("Hanabi"), Takashi Miike ("Ichi the Killer," "Audition"), Hirokazu Kore-eda ("After Life"), and Hideo Nakata ("The Ring"). Other, lesser-known directors are also given their due, such as Nara-based naturalist Naomi Kawase ("Suzaku.")
The final section covers what they call "The Other Players," those who have put out a film or two of exceptional quality but hadn't yet established a solid career in the same rank. Animator Satoshi Kon's "Perfect Blue," Masayuki Suo's "Shall We Dance?," Mamoru Oshii's "Avalon," Juzo Itami's "Tampopo" and Mitsuo Yanagimachi's "Fire Festival" are all given their due. More than just simple film-reviews, the authors pack each spotlight with as much interest and insight as their director profiles.
With Donald Richie's seminal "100 Years of Japanese Film" covering the past, it is great to see such a qualified inheritor of the future. Anyone interested in Japanese film will be pleased with "The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film," both for its insights into current favorites as well as the host of new favorites that they will undoubtedly discovered.
Move over Ozu.......2005-01-07
If you are a fan of modern Japanese Film and have the Internet, it is most likely that you are familiar with the website Midhight Eye opperated by Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp. The website is a treasure trove of not only movie and book reviews, but interviews with numerous directors and actors, including the likes of Suzuki Seijun and Asano Tadanobu.
The book covers around 50 years of film, beginning with older, but still popular, directors Imamura Shohei and the above mentioned Suzuki Seijun to younger directors such as Tsukamoto Shinya and Ishii Sogo. The book portrays well known directors such as Kitano Takeshi and Miike Takashi as well as lesser known directors such as Kawase Naomi, also the only female director in the book, whose base of opperation is the ancient capital of Nara rather than Tokyo or Osaka.
The book covers a wide variety of films from yakuza numbers such as Fukasaku's fierce _Battles without Honor and Humanity_ to the Kore-eda's pseudo-documentary _After Life_. horror films, pink films, science fiction, and documentaries are also covered.
The writing is quite clear and informative, and one learns interesting tidbits of information about their favorite directors. this book would be a good guide for fans of Japanese films as well as newcomers.
Average customer rating:
|
My Reality: Contemporary Art and the Culture of Japanese Animation
Jeff Fleming ,
Takashi Murakami ,
Matthew Benedict ,
Lee Bul ,
Taro Chiezo ,
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Inka Essenhigh ,
Masakatu Inamoto ,
Mika Kato ,
Micha Klein ,
Miltos Manetas ,
Richard Patterson ,
Momoyo Torimitsu ,
Charlie White ,
Kenji Yanobe ,
Paul McCarthy , and
Yoshitomo Nara
Manufacturer: Independent Curators International, New York
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Kyozon: Mariko Mori, Takashi Murakami
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Superflat
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Drop Dead Cute
ASIN: 1879003333
Release Date: 2001-08-02 |
Book Description
Japanese animation, or anime, which has attained cult status among young people globally during the past several decades, is increasingly breaking into the mainstream. My Reality: Contemporary Art and the Culture of Japanese Animation, investigates the influence of this form of pop culture on today's art in Japan, other Asian countries, and the West.
Customer Reviews:
3/5.......2002-03-31
The synergy between Japanese anime and American pop culture is explored in this book, a companion piece to the traveling exhibition currently in installation at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. My Reality examines the role of anime on modern art; in particular, there's a technology-friendly bent to anime, which the book asserts has been assimilated in the technique of "serious" artists in both hemispheres. The book, much like the exhibition, touches upon the common anime themes of high technology, aliens, cyborgs and so on, but through a series of essays, draws a link between these and real-life themes such as gender roles and popular and consumer culture. Showcasing artwork from emerging artists like Takashi Murakami, Mariko Mori, and Paul McCarthy, this book is an interesting, although way too brief, commentary on art and culture in the face of technology and the future, as well as providing additional depth to the context of this intriguing exhibition.
A Disappointment.......2001-12-12
This is a this book of three essays with some just sort of interesting photos and illustrations. I was expecting lots of great Anime and collectable art that is inspired by Manga and Anime, but this is a companion to a traveling exhibit of art inspired by Anime and Manga. The art is just ok, nothing really interesting, and the essays are dull as if written for a thesis. There are way too many footnotes, and phrases like "ontological insecurity". I just don't see this type of art as high-brow art. Skip this book.
Book Description
In recent years, the popularity and availability of Japanese films in the West—including but not limited to those belonging to the animation and horror genres—have resulted in new, more diverse audiences for some of the most critically acclaimed and thoroughly entertaining films ever made. Reading a Japanese Film, written by a pioneer of Japanese film studies in the United States, provides many of these viewers with the necessary tools to construct a deeper understanding of Japanese cinema. In her introduction, Keiko McDonald presents a historical overview for those with little or no knowledge of Japanese cinema and outlines a unified approach to film analysis. Sixteen "readings" of films currently available on DVD with English subtitles put theory into practice as she considers a wide range of work, from familiar classics by Yasujiro Ozu (Floating Weeds), Kenji Mizoguchi (Sisters of Gion), and Akira Kurosawa (Drunken Angel), to the films of a younger generation of directors, including Hirokazu Koreeda's Maboroshi, Yoshimitsu Morita's The Family Game, Takeshi Kitano's Kids Return, and Naomi Kawase's Suzaku. Specific genres are also represented. Shiro Toyoda's melodramatic The Mistress adapts a work of Japanese literature. Kaneto Shindo's Onibaba is a horror film with socio-political overtones. My Neighbor Totoro is a beloved anime by Oscar-winner Hayao Miyazaki. The Japanese commitment to period film is examined via Hiroshi Inagaki's classic Musashi trilogy. Suitably analytic yet thoroughly accessible, this work will become a staple of Asian film studies courses and enrich any cinema lover's appreciation of Japanese film.
Book Description
Anime is from Japan, so it's full of all sorts of cultural details that are downright perplexing . . . unless you're Japanese or unless you've got The Anime Companion. Find out why characters wear belly bands and what nosebleeds really mean. Learn about the Edo Jidai and those games they play at New Year's. Gilles Poitras has taken his popular anime website and created a new print version that's filled with curious details and fresh insights drawn from dozens of the most popular anime. And for students of Japanese, The Anime Companion is a great way to learn about Japan while indulging in your favorite pastime.
"Combining personal passion with an intelligent sense of perspective, this enjoyable book is just right for dipping into, full of amusing and informative snippets which fans will love and even non-fans can enjoy."-Helen McCarthy, author of The Complete Anime Guide
"I've worked on over 20,000 pages of manga over the last ten years, and I still learned quite a bit from this fascinating book. For anyone with more than the most casual interest in anime and manga, The Anime Companion should be on their coffee table right next to the remote control."-Toren Smith, Studio Proteus
"Entire generations of English speakers now receive their first exposure to Japanese culture through anime. But many cultural references can be puzzling. Gilles Poitras's book is like a Rosetta Stone for confused anime fans. Before slipping that next anime video into your VCR, make sure this book's handy!"-Frederik L. Schodt, author of Manga! Manga! and Dreamland Japan
Categories covered:
Building/Structure/Landmark
Clothing
Culture
Entertainment/Game
Food And Drink
General
Geographical Feature/Location
History/Society
Home
Nature
People
Religion/Mythology/Belief
Sports/Activity
Weaponry/War
Sample Entry: AIDORU (IDOL SINGER)
Pop singers. Idol singers are not unique to Japan; every modern country has its clean-cut prefabricated stars known for their short careers. In Japan highly competitive management companies maneuver to get their latest singers in the spotlight for as long as they can before the nex
Customer Reviews:
Great.......2007-04-28
This is a really great book, lots of fun to read. You'll learn a lot of interesting things about Japanese culture, but it doesn't feel like a text book or a learning book. Highly recommended.
Professionalize, please........2005-12-27
The fannish attitude expressed in the book's introduction ("go read a bestseller," you inferior being you) almost made me stop reading, as did the lame illos, "rants" about topics like breast sizes, etcetera. I was also frustrated by certain entries that told me what an item was and what anime it appeared in, but not what its cultural significance might be. (For instance, the shrub in a certain cartoons was a hydrangea. In the first place, duh. In the second place, what does that hydrangea mean? Anything? Nothing? Does this plant carry the cultural baggage of, say, cherry blossoms/sakura, or is it just set dressing?)
All gripes aside, this is a fascinating intro to Japanese culture as well as anime that could benefit from a little professionalizing to take it beyond the fanboy level, since the author obviously knows what he's talking about. I'd definitely supplement this book with Levi's Samurai From Outer Space and/or Napier's Anime: from Akira to Princess Mononoke.
This book went wrong from page 1..........2005-08-21
I am glad I was not the only person on here who rated this book with less than 3 stars. As I was reading this, I was pretty disgusted, but when I got to Amazon to do my review, I was shocked to see this book had as high as a rating as it did. I did feel a little better after I read some of the reviews that shared the same concerns I had, however.
This book is not for a "veteran" anime fan, not by any means. There are many interesting tidbits of info, but it all comes in the form of a dictionary, and unless you like to sit down with your Webster's and have a good read, I suggest you pass on this book and look elsewhere for your info. All the entries are alphabetical in Japanese, which means you are going to have a hard time finding the info you want if you are indeed looking up something, unless you are pretty fluent in the language. The organization is bad and the sidebar "rants" the author has are annoying. He claims in the first "rant" that he has a right to whine all he wants in his book, but to that I say "No you don't, not when you are attempting to be professional." I'm all for fun in books, but there is a thin line between fun and immaturity, and I'm sure you can guess where this guy is. Some of the things this guy rants about are boobies, guns, boobies, guns, boobies, boobies, boobies. You get my drift? It's VERY insulting to female readers. He even talks about his ex-Asian girlfriend's breasts. Like we care!
Other problems include the author's sources...While he claimed he was limited because of the only 100 or so titles he had available to him at the time, he pretty much refered to the same 6 anime titles when he did his entries, and 90% of those references were Rumiko Takahashi references. I don't like Rumiko Takahashi's art or stories at all, but even her fans are complanining in their reviews that enough is enough and that there are many other talented manga artists and animes this guy could pull references from. If you are not a fan of Takahashi or have never seen her work, how are you supposed to know what these things are or where they came from?
Yet ANOTHER problem are the pictures and artwork for this book...you may have noticed the cover is very ugly, it looks like some bad fanart laminated, the inside illustrations are the same way, and the screencaps that you do get to see are black and white and blurry. Over all, this is terrible design, and I cannot understand how the editor let this pass through his hands without gagging.
This book only further progresses the bad anime fan stereotype. The author talks about how anime fans are loud, like to complain, and obnoxious, among other things. He whines that "dubs suck lol, subs forever!". We know that there aren't a lot of good dubs out there, but if you are writing a reference book about anime and anime in the United States, you can't be a snob and only focus on subtitled shows. I know a lot of fans who appreciate both. He also constantly uses the word "Otaku" to describe himself and other anime fans...this is a very derogatory word used by the Japanese, and any true fan would be nuts to go around calling themselves that. If you have any respect for yourself or your anime hobby, you won't take this book very seriously, or better yet, you won't read it. I wouldn't even read it again if someone handed it to me off the street for free.
Don't buy this book, don't buy the second edition, and don't encourage this guy to write ANYMORE!
Gives translations/blurbs of Japanese language and customs.......2005-06-22
It's not bad for what it is, which is a concise and playful alphabetical listing of Japanese terms and customs that one might come across in Anime. But the blurbs are all very short, so if you're looking for deep essays on Japanese or Anime culture, look elsewhere. In other words, if you want a scholarly analysis of the Anime art style, portrayal of women, attitude toward sex or violence, etc., this book will NOT be of much value. However, it does have informative blurbs on Japanese holidays, foods, cram school, hygiene, school-girl uniforms, etc. (The better Fansubs out there usually provide crucial cultural information when it is needed, but this book can help to fill in the gaps a little further.) It also has some interesting tidbits on the more peculiar aspects of Anime, such as the preoccupation with panties, nosebleeds, and intergenerational romance. But don't expect anything in the way of real analysis or critique. You won't find it.
Terrific resource, and not just for anime fans.......2005-03-25
My kids were adolescents back in the `80s, when Japanese animation began to be seen on American TV, and for a long time -- even though I'd been interested in modern Japanese literature since college -- I unconsciously equated "anime" with Speed Racer. Then I learned better and became a semi-fan, enough to rent several of the best-reviewed series from Blockbuster. But I had never sat down to learn the milieu of the art form until I came across this author's two books on the subject. He covers a very wide range of Japanese cultural "stuff," from names of historical periods and the different types of bells you find in temples, to major writers whose work has been adapted in anime and the reason for the big-eye-pink-hair thing. You'll no longer wonder why guys in Japan get nosebleeds from looking at girls, what the sound of cicadas in the background are intended to imply, and why you shouldn't be upset that some anime meant for kids includes mild nudity. For that matter, he goes into the sexual psychology of various other Japanese folkways, too, with no embarrassment or leering, which supplies the cultural context you really need if you're going to understand this stuff. Actually, this book would be useful not only to would-be otaku but to any westerner puzzled by various aspects of Japanese society. There's a new, thicker edition coming out soon and I'm definitely going to have to acquire it.
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